“New arrivals, I suppose,” remarked Uncle John, who from his position could observe the group.

“No,” said Patsy; “their waitress seems to know them well.  But I’ve never before seen them in the hotel.”

“We are always early at meal time,” explained Beth, “and to-day these people are certainly late.  But they are pretty girls, Patsy.  For once I concur in your judgment.”

“You arouse my curiosity,” said Arthur, speaking quietly, so as not to be overheard in the far corner.  “If I hear more ecstatic praises of these girls I shall turn around and stare them out of countenance.”

“Don’t,” said Louise.  “I’m glad your back is toward them, Arthur, for it preserves you from the temptation to flirt.”

“Oh, as for that, I do not need to turn around in order to see pretty girls,” he replied.

“Thank you, Arthur,” said Patsy, making a face at him.  “Look me over all you like, and flirt if you want to.  I’m sure Louise won’t object.”

“Really, Patsy, you’re not bad to look at,” he retorted, eyeing her critically.  “Aside from your red hair, the pug nose and the freckles, you have many excellent qualities.  If you didn’t squint—­”

“Squint!”

“What do you call that affection of your eyes?”

“That,” she said, calmly eating her dessert, “was a glance of scorn—­burning, bitter scorn!”

“I maintain it was a squint,” declared Arthur.

“That isn’t her only expression,” announced Uncle John, who loved these little exchanges of good-humored banter.  “On Monday I will show you Patsy as a terror-stricken damsel in distress.”

“Also Beth, still more distressful,” added Patsy; and then they told Louise and Arthur about the picture.

“Fine!” he cried.  “I’m deeply gratified that my own relatives—­”

“By marriage.”

“I am gratified that my secondhand cousins have been so highly honored.  I’d rather see a good moving picture than the best play ever produced.”

“You’ll see a good one this time,” asserted Patsy, “for we are the stars.”

“I think that unscrupulous Mr. Werner deserves a reprimand,” said Louise.

“Oh, he apologized,” explained Beth.  “But I’m sure he’d take the same liberty again if he had the chance.”

“He admits that his love of art destroys his sense of propriety,” said Patsy.

As they rose from the table Arthur deliberately turned to view the party in the other corner, and then to the amazement of his friends he coolly walked over and shook the elder lady’s hand with evident pleasure.  Next moment he was being introduced to the two girls.  The three cousins and their Uncle John walked out of the dining hall and awaited Arthur Weldon in the lobby.

“It is some old acquaintance, of course,” said Louise.  “Arthur knows a tremendous lot of people and remembers everyone he ever has met.”