During the game Mr. Parker had been very busy in his polite attentions to all of us, and from his generally agreeable manner it looked as though he thought we were all worth saving and none of the litter was to be drowned. Mabel had renewed her attack on Zebedee and had crawled out on the engine by him, where she stood clutching his arm for support and generally behaving as though he were her own private property.
"She makes me sick!" declared Dum. "And Zebedee acting just as though he liked it!"
"Well, what must he do? Let her fall off?" I asked.
"Yes, let her fall off and stay off!"
All was over at last and the automobiles were busy backing out of their places. Mr. Parker gathered in the pushing Mabel, who had done everything in her power to be asked to dinner with us at the Jefferson, but Zebedee had had so many quiet digs from Tweedles that even had he considered her an addition to the party, he would have been afraid to include her.
Our car was the last one out of the grounds because Mabel took so long to make up her mind to get off the engine and accept an invitation from some acquaintances who passed and asked her to let them take her home.
"See you to-night!" she called affectionately to Tweedles as she finally took advantage of the offer.
"Not if we see you first!" they tweedled, in an aside.