"You're a lucky beggar, you know, Archie," I sighed heavily.

He had moved, to set down his cup of untasted tea on the floor. He looked up.

"How?" he asked.

I settled myself farther back.

"How!" I repeated almost vindictively. "Don't you call it lucky having a house and people and so on?"

"Oh! Everybody has——" he began, but corrected himself. "I mean, I thought you meant some special luck!"

"Oh no—just that," I murmured. "Having a place to ask people down to when you want—that's all."

He seemed surprised. "Do you mean Miss Soames?" he said.

"Miss——?" I shook my head absently. "Oh no, I wasn't thinking of Miss Soames—I was thinking of something quite different."

He meditated for a moment.