"I don't seem to remember it, sir--not _precisely_--h'm--but could it be this: ''Tis well to be off--'" He paused with finger on chin, rolling his eyes upward.

"Oh, dash it, yes!" I said disgustedly. "Why, _I_ told you--"

He lifted his hand. "'Tis well to be off and on--'" And he stuck again, dash it! Then his lips worked some more and his face cleared. "Oh, _here_ it is, sir--_I've_ got it now! See if this ain't it:"

And he laid it off with his fingers the way a woman counts the words in a telegram to keep from going over ten:

"'Tis-well-to-be-off-and-on-with-the-old-love, but-don't-let-on-to-the-new'--_there you are, sir_!"

"By Jove!" I exclaimed, batting at him; and the brushes in my hands paused and pulled hard on each side of my part. "Oh, I say!" And I had him repeat it again.

The thing troubled me! Odd I had not more carefully noticed before the wording of the jolly thing! But then of course my interest in it had not been so dashed personal as now. Kept running in my head now and disturbing me all the while Jenkins was busying himself about me. And _then_, as if I didn't have quite enough already to try me, Jenkins at the last moment chucked the crimson scarf altogether, and slipped through my collar a Persian bat! By Jove, I was so dashed annoyed, I took it from him to tie myself.

"Off and on with the old love!" It kept whispering itself in my ear till I hardly knew what I was doing. _Could_ it be that she would--but, oh, dash it, _no_! I knew she wouldn't! And yet another chap might come along and she might find she would rather be engaged to _him_! Oh, but I was sure _she_ was not so variable as that. Still a vague fear kept recurring; a miserable, tiny, p.r.i.c.king doubt--the crumpled what's-its-name in the bed of down, you know--that sort of thing!

What the deuce was the best thing to do?

"Pardon, sir," came in Jenkins' voice, and in the gla.s.s I saw his head piking anxiously over my shoulder; "but _I_ think with them changeable kind, the best thing to try for is a sudden, firm knot!"

"Eh?" I said, staring. And then I whirled upon him, seizing both his hands.

"By Jove, Jenkins!" I exclaimed admiringly. "What a perfectly out-and-out corking idea--a regular ripper, you know! How devilish clever of you, dash it!"

"Certainly, sir!" Jenkins batted a little--always does when I notice these little things--so modest, don't you know.

But I had the idea now, and I gripped it tight along with my monocle, as, ten minutes later, I sauntered down the stairs.

I would speak to her father at once!

CHAPTER XXIV

I SPEAK TO HER FATHER

"So glad to see you here, my boy," the judge was saying. And his little round face beamed at me across the library table. I had encountered him in the hall just as I had descended to rejoin the girls in the living-room. Forthwith, he elbowed me into the library.

"Know from Jack how glad you always are to escape girls," he remarked cheerily as he produced cigars. "Don't blame you at all--in fact, do you know it refreshes me to find--"

Don't know what dashed thing it refreshed him to find, for I never caught it. For just then through the doorway there floated, from across the hall, a bar of music--the laugh of the dearest girl in the world!

I strained for another bar.

"Hah!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the judge, pausing with questioning uplift of cigar.

"The silly cackle of those girls--it disturbs you. Yes, it does--I can see it--you _look_ disturbed." And, dash it, he insisted upon closing the door. "You mustn't let _them_ bother you while you are here," he urged pleasantly; "you must just go ahead and do the thing you _want_ to do."

By Jove, there seemed little opportunity for it!

"Thanks awfully," I murmured feebly.

The judge proceeded genially: "Of course we all understand that you just came up to Wolhurst to please Jack." Then his face clouded. "H'm! Sorry to learn that he came home with another--" his eyes rolled through a circle--"er--is not feeling just fit. It's too bad, for I wanted some one to take you over the neighborhood--interesting landmarks, you know, reminiscent of Major Andre and Washington Irving."

"Charmed, I'm sure," I chirped up. Jolly lie, though, for I wasn't impressed; didn't know _who_ the other fellow was, but I had _seen_ Irving in London--scores of times. Not a patch on John Drew to _my_ thinking!

The judge was murmuring something apologetic:

"So I can't go with you, myself, you see--but I know you will understand. Just so infernally tied up with preparation of reb.u.t.tal in suit the attorney-general is bringing against one of my corporations--most unreasonable thing you ever heard of!" The judge crossed his legs with a fling of impatience and pulled savagely at his cigar. "By George, Lightnut, we are getting to a pa.s.s with politics where party organization is going to the dogs--don't you think so, eh?"

"Oh, dash it, yes--rotten, you know!" I worked off indignantly--her father, don't you see! Sat wondering when I would get to see her--by Jove, they would _have_ to let me see her at luncheon! I just caught back in time to get the end of a sentence:

"Utter defiance of personal obligations!" His hands spread eloquently.

"Tell me what is the use of electing men to office, when they time-servingly yield before the clamor of the cursed populistic and revolutionary spirit of the times?" He was leaning toward me now, his jolly face swelling with indignation, his fist beating upon his knee.

"What has become, Mr. Lightnut," he pounded, "of the time-honored sanct.i.ty of the 'gentleman's agreement'--eh? Where now the _pact conventa_?"

"Where?" I shrugged, and I let it go at that, pretending to be busied with a match; for dash me if _I_ knew! Never had seen it even--in fact, didn't care a jolly hang if I never did, don't you know.

He went on hammering: "Here I've got to go and stultify myself, arguing against my own decision when I was on the bench!" He snorted. "It's perfectly abominable, sir--outrageous!"

And the judge hurled his little body back into the chair and furiously pumped himself into a cloud of smoke. He glared at me expectantly, and I knew I had to come up.

"Beastly bad form, you know!" I tried, sending a great funnel upward and frowning after it. Fact was, I never took any interest in political questions--dashed bore, you know. Wondered if he would spring them much when Frances and I were--

"Um--well, I should say so!" he grunted; and my jerk sent ashes all over me. But I saw that he was just mollified because I agreed with him.

Best system, Pugsley says, is always to agree with _everybody_ in politics--"humor 'em gently, just like children," were his exact words; "you know it really _don't_ matter!"

"And now, let's see," resumed the judge, brightening. "I wonder who we _can_ get to take you!" His fingers drummed together thoughtfully. "Um, of course, there is Francis--" my heart took a jolly leap--"but Francis is impossible--_quite_ impossible!"

"By Jove, no!" I e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed eagerly, and I came up in my chair like a galvanized what's-its-name. "Just the thing--be delighted, you know."

He smiled grimly. "Natural _you_ should say that, but--" He expectorated with deliberation, glowering at me as he did it. "_No_, sir!" His head shook with decision. "Wouldn't do--I wouldn't think of trusting you with Francis," he finished shortly.

"O!" Just a gasp, you know; and my jolly cheeks stung as from a dash of fiery what's-its-name sauce. So _he_ knew about the pajamas, too!

I half rose from my chair.

"I--I a.s.sure you, sir--" I began stiffly.

His fussy shrug checked me. "No, no, we'll just have to wait till Jack gets up. The only thing _I'm_ anxious about is the scenery and the view points; and I just know if Francis went with you, you would never see any of it."

By Jove, I thought that quite likely enough, but of course it was devilish personal of him to say so. And dash seeing the scenery and view points, anyway--who wanted to see _them_, if they could see _her_? I was just going to suggest this, when he went on:

"The fact is--" He hesitated, then flicked his ashes with a sigh. "Oh, well, since I've said as much as I have, I should go further, I suppose.

It's only fair not to leave you in the dark, especially as my daughter was enthusiastically telling me just now"--puff--"that she already looks on you as one of the family."

"By Jove, did she though?" I hitched to the front of the chair. "How dev--I mean how--"

He nodded. "And so I feel justified in talking to you frankly--not that I want to prejudice you against Francis, you understand, but just because"--his head wagged soberly--"_Francis won't do!_" And he looked at me steadily.