"Poor little man!" said Gay with sudden emotion. "Did ums want some nice vasy on ums poor sick nose?"
"He would only lick it off," regretted Arthur.
Mr. Langham's jolly face appeared in the open door.
"I've seen two depart," he said, "and thought maybe the meeting was over."
"It is," said Mary, and, after a moment's hesitation, she boldly joined Mr. Langham and walked off by his side. Even Arthur chuckled.
"And what was the meeting about?" asked Mr. Langham.
"Oh," said Mary, "they won't be serious—not any of them—not even Arthur. So we forgot what the meeting was for, and got into violent discussion about—about natural history."
"And what side did you take?"
"Oh," said Mary, "we were all on the same side—really, and that was what made the discussion so violent."