"Cuthbert," called out Mrs. Leighton after she had investigated her own piece, "I notice that your father has none of the cake. Please take him a slice and see that he eats it."
Mr. Leighton waved it away.
"I do not eat walnuts," said he.
Mrs. Leighton went to him.
"John, this is not fair, this is your idea of a party," she said. "You ought to eat Cuthbert's cake."
"He can't," cried Jean; "nobody can. It's only Mabel who likes iced marbles."
"You will all have to eat gingerbread," said the voice of Betty hopefully.
Jean started up in great indignation with a large battered-looking "orange iced cake" ready to cut.
"Betty always gets herself advertized first," she complained. "Please try my orange icing."
They did--they tried anything in order to escape Mabel's walnuts. It occurred to the girls that Mabel would be quite broken up at the wretched failure of her wonderful cake--the Cuthbert cake too. It was such a drop from their high pedestal of perfection. Even mummy, who had been so much on her own high horse at all their successes, now became quite feelingly sorry about the cake. She gave directions for having the loose pieces collected and surreptitiously put out of sight, but the large dish had to remain in front of Mabel. Mabel was still charmingly occupied over her coffee cups. She poured in a pretty direct way and yet managed to talk interestedly to Mr. Meredith. He was invaluable as a helper.