“Well, you certainly gummed it!”
“Oh, shoot! Dada wouldn’t buy that Nelson place if it only cost a nickel.”
“Well, you didn’t do much to advance the cause!”
“See here,” said Leila, “one time’s just as good as another with Dada. I knew he’d never agree to it. I only spoke of it because you gave me the lead. You never seem to learn his curves.”
“If you’d backed me up right we could have got him interested and won him over. Anybody could see that he was away off tonight—even more difficult than usual!”
“Oh, tush! You and Shep make me tired. You take father too seriously. All you’ve got to do with him is just to kid him along. Let’s have a little drink to drown our troubles.”
“Now, Leila——”
Leila had drawn a hat-box from the inner recesses of a closet and extracted from it a quart bottle of whiskey.
“I’m all shot to hell and need a spoonful of this stuff to pep me up! Hands off, old thing! Don’t touch—Leila scream!” Constance had tried to seize the bottle.
“Leila, please don’t drink! The Claytons are having everybody of any consequence at this party and if you go reeking of liquor all the old tabbies will babble!”