"Oh, I say!" exclaimed Lionel. "Mr. Fitz-Brown's check won't help the Progressive Mothers very much."
"Why not?"
"Because his bank account is always overdrawn."
"Dear, dear!" murmured Spooner.
"In fact, if you want my opinion," here the gardener surprised his listener by a burst of unseemly merriment, "if you really want my opinion, Mr. Lionel Fitz-Brown is—haw, haw, he's a regular piker."
At this moment the countess appeared in the conservatory door. Her skirts were pinned up, a handkerchief was tied around her head, and her eyes were dancing with mischief. At the sight of her, Lionel's merriment redoubled.
"I was just telling this gentleman," he chuckled, "that Lionel Fitz-Brown is a regular piker. Isn't he, Kate? Excuse me, this lady is—the cook, Mr. Ferdinand Spooner."
Kate courtesied demurely.
"Thank you, I don't care for the opinion of the cook," replied Spooner with dignity. "And I may add that it is most extraordinary for a gardener to speak in this way of his employer. Will you please tell Mr. Fitz-Brown that I am waiting?"
"Beg pardon, sir," put in Kate, "but I think it was the Countess Clendennin who purchased the articles from the Progressive Mothers. Isn't that so?" She winked at her confederate.