"How near Christmas is getting," she interrupted, blithely, determined to change the subject. "Have you all your gifts ready, Alla?"
"Patty," said Chick, reprovingly, "how can you introduce commonplace subjects just now? I'm learning to remove rust stains from my dingy old soul. By the way, how would it do to scour one's soul with the sands of time?"
"Beautiful!" cried Sam. "Wonderful! What imagery! I wish I had said that!"
"You may, as often as you like," granted Chick, politely. "I'll be proud if you'll accept it. Among unrusted souls, there should be no give and take. My thoughts are yours. I am honoured."
"You are a delight," said Alla, calmly, looking at Chick, who blushed at this unexpected compliment. "I have never met any one so quickly responsive, so immediately simpatica."
"Except me," cried Patty. "You said I was that. Simp—what—d'ye call it? Now there are two of us, Chick."
"We are all simpatica," said Nan, who, like Patty, began to fear Chick's chaff would yet offend the guests. And then, she determinedly led the conversation away from soulful matters and talked of current events and casual subjects that had no aesthetic significance.
But it was difficult to keep the Blaneys off their favourite themes and hard to quell the fun of the irrepressible Chick.
And so, Nan was rather relieved when at a surprisingly early hour the two aesthetes took their leave.
"Oh, Piccalilli blossoms!" cried Chick, when they were fairly out of hearing, "did you ever see anything like that! Where did you unearth them, Patty? The lady one, especially! Wow, but she's a five-reel scream!"