"Oh, Tubby, shut up!" said Ben. "You're insufferable. But what is it you want? You didn't come here merely to be destructively clever, I'm sure."
"I came to look round," said Tubby. "After all, a parent may inspect his young, mayn't he? And I consider 'The Beck and Call' largely my own child. How is it doing?"
"Not so badly," said Ben. "I've just carried out an American commission that netted quite a lot."
"Thank God for America!" said Tubby. "As Canning said, or meant to, 'The New World was called in very largely to redress the bank balances of the Old.' Could you get me a lady-cook?"
"What for?" Ben asked.
"To be a lady and to cook, of course," he said.
"How many in family?" Ben asked.
"Just the three of us," he said.
"Three? Who is the other?" Ben asked.
"Myself—1," he replied; "the lady—2; the cook—3."