“Rather nice, though, in spite of the friends of the family.”
“Let us go and pull the leg of the silly old fool, and make him turn out for us to-morrow.”
Whereupon the Contemporaries rose from their table, very finely grown young men and superbly tailored, as all distinguished athletes should be.
“Why, Shel, old man, how are you?”
Hearty hand-grips were exchanged, although the Twin Brethren were not feeling so very robust at present.
“Fancy meeting you here!”
There was no particular reason why they shouldn’t meet there, but it is always a useful opening card. And then the Olympians were introduced to Mary, and pretty keenly did they scrutinize her, although they pretended so well that they were doing nothing of the sort that it would have taken a woman to have told what the sly dogs were at.
And then Miss Mary trod very hard on the foot of Eton and Ch: Ch:, which begged pardon humbly and introduced Mr. Horace Allwright and Mr. Johnny Dubosque, and piously hoped to its Maker that it hadn’t got mixed in their names.
“Pleased to meet you, gentlemen,” said Mr. Horace Allwright spaciously. “’Ave a drink.”
The Olympians had had a drink already, but they had no objection to having another; and this accommodating disposition caused Mary to take them into favor at once, and they were invited to sit down.