Marcia merely smiled, saying nothing, and when she joined the talk of another group I saw Una’s gaze following her curiously.

She seemed to be able to understand Marcia little better than I did.  But in a moment from my seat in the corner just beside them I saw Una look about the room and give a little gasp of pleasure.

“This cabin!  Do you remember, Jerry?” she said quietly.  “You gave me a cup of tea here and we decided just what you and I were going to do with the wicked world?”

“Oh, don’t I?  And you told me all about the plague spots?”

“Yes.”  She gazed out of the window.  “You were interesting that day, Jerry.”

“Was!  I like that.”

“So elephantine in your seriousness—­”

“Elephantine!  Oh, I say—­”

“But you were nice.  I don’t think I’ve ever liked you so much as then.  I think you’re really much more interesting when you’re elephantine.  It was quite glorious the way you were planning to go galumphing over all vice and wickedness.”

He shook his head soberly.

“I haven’t made good, Una.”

“Oh, there’s still time.  The jungle is still there, but it’s an awfully big jungle, Jerry, bigger than you thought.”

“Yes—­bigger and swampier,” he said slowly.

“I think if I could see more of you, Una, I might be better.”

“I don’t know that I’ve ever denied you the house,” she laughed.

“I—­I’m coming soon.  But I want you to see my place here—­the house, I mean.  Couldn’t you come with your mother and—­and sisters and spend a few days up here?”

“Perhaps it would be time enough for me to answer that question when mother does.  I—­I am busy, you know.”

“Please!  And we can have one of our good old chats.”

“Yes,” and then mischievously, “but you’d better ask Marcia first, don’t you think?”

His gaze fell and he reddened.

“I—­I don’t quite see what Marcia’s got to do with it,” he muttered.

“Oh, don’t you?”

“No.”

She smiled and then with a really serious air: 

“Well, I do.  I’m sorry I intruded, Jerry.  I wouldn’t have come for the world if I had known—­”

“What nonsense you do talk.  Promise me you’ll come, Una.”

“Ask Marcia first.”

He laughed uneasily.  “What a tease you are!”

“You ought to be very much flattered.”

“How?”

“To be worth teasing.”

Here they moved slightly away, turning their backs toward me and unfortunately I could hear no more.  And so I sat listening to the group around Marcia, who was again enthroned at the tea-table.