Mrs. Neff smiled and retaliated: "Now I'm Alice's Hibernian maid: 'At that the ould shrew had nothin' on Miss Aluss. Whilst her mother was toorkey-trattin', wasn't the darlin' child after tahkin' four dollars' worth of baby-tahk over the telephone to that young bosthoon of a Stowe Webb.'"
"How on earth did you find out?" said Alice.
Mrs. Neff's answer was further revelation of the domestic secret service: "It's a nice little colleen, Aluss is, and pays me liberal for smooglin' notes in and out of the house. And then the ould woman pays me still more liberal to bring the notes to her first. It's a right careful mother she is."
Alice stared in horror, and Mrs. Neff tee-hee'd like a malicious little girl. Winifred came to Alice's rescue with a cross-fire:
"Now I'm Mrs. Neff's secretary talking to my little niece's governess."
"Help, help!" cried Mrs. Neff. "No fair, Winifred. I had to discharge the cat. If you dare, I'll give an imitation of your laundress talking to—"
"I surrender," said Winifred, hastily.
"Go on," said Ten Eyck. "As Connie Ediss sang, 'It all comes out in the wash.'"
Mrs. Neff put up her hand. "As official duenna of this family, I think we'd better change the game or put out the lights."
"That's a fine idea!" said Ten Eyck. "A game of tag in the dark."