“Try,” said the girl, encouragingly.

“Only it is so difficult,” said Edward, thoughtfully, “to you.”

Miss Drewitt stopped again.

“For me,” added the other, hastily.  His companion said that she supposed it was.  She also reminded him that nothing was easy without practice.

“And I ought not to find it difficult,” complained Mr. Tredgold.  “I have got plenty of sense hidden away somewhere.”

Miss Drewitt permitted herself a faint exclamation of surprise.  “It was not an empty boast of yours just now, then,” she said.

“Boast?” repeated the other, blankly.  “What boast?”

“On your wonderful powers of concealment,” said Prudence, gently.

“You are reverting of your own accord to the nonsense,” said Mr. Tredgold, sternly.  “You are returning to the subject of uncles.”

“Nothing of the kind,” said Prudence, hotly.

“Before we leave it—­for ever,” said Mr. Tredgold, dramatically, “I should like, if I am permitted, to make just one more remark on the subject.  I would not, for all the wealth of this world, be your uncle Where are you going?”

“Indoors,” said Miss Drewitt, briefly.

“One moment,” implored the other.  “I am just going to begin to talk sense.”

“I will listen when you have had some practice,” said the girl, walking towards the house.

“It’s impossible to practise this,” said Edward, following.  “It is something that can only be confided to yourself.  Won’t you stay?”

“No,” said the girl.

“Not from curiosity?”

Miss Drewitt, gazing steadfastly before her, shook her head.

“Well, perhaps I can say it as well indoors,” murmured Edward, resignedly.

“And you’ll have a bigger audience,” said Prudence, breathing more easily as she reached the house.  “Uncle is indoors.”

She passed through the kitchen and into the sitting-room so hastily that Captain Bowers, who was sitting by the window reading, put down his paper and looked up in surprise.  The look of grim determination on Mr. Tredgold’s face did not escape him.

“Mr. Tredgold has come indoors to talk sense,” said Prudence, demurely.

“Talk sense?” repeated the astonished captain.

“That’s what he says,” replied Miss Drewitt, taking a low chair by the captain’s side and gazing composedly at the intruder.  “I told him that you would like to hear it.”

[Illustration:  “I told him that you would like to hear it.”]

She turned her head for a second to hide her amusement, and in that second Mr. Tredgold favoured the captain with a glance the significance of which was at once returned fourfold.  She looked up just in time to see their features relaxing, and moving nearer to the captain instinctively placed her hand upon his knee.

“I hope,” said Captain Bowers, after a long and somewhat embarrassing silence—­“I hope the conversation isn’t going to be above my head?”