“Oh, yes; only more so. But tell me more of this wonderful ham, Miss Stewart.”
Molly wondered if Professor Green really understood that it was all a joke on her when he asked that question.
Suddenly she formed a resolution. Following her assistant into the next room, she whispered:
“Which would you rather do, Miss Brinton? Go over to Queen’s and ask Nance to give you the rest of my ham or wait on the table while I go?”
“I’d rather get the ham,” replied Miss Brinton, whose proud spirit was crushed by the menial service she had been obliged to undertake that evening.
The dinner progressed. In a little while Molly had cleared the table and was preparing to bring on the grape-fruit salad when Caroline appeared with the remnants of the ham. Molly removed it from its wrappings and, placing it on a dish, bore it triumphantly into the next room.
“What’s this?” cried Richard Blount. “Do my eyes deceive me? Am I dreaming? Is it possible——”
“The old ham, or, rather, the attenuated ghost of the old ham!” ejaculated Mary Stewart.
Even Judith joined in the burst of merriment, and Professor Green’s laugh was the gayest of all.
Molly returned with the carving knife and fork, and Richard Blount began to snip off small pieces.