to this river!" She swung about excitedly to the other
members. "Why, do you remember her telling us that
she hadn't read 'The Supreme Instant' because she'd
taken it on a boating party while she was staying with her
brother, and some one had 'shied' it overboard—'shied'
of course was her own expression."
The ladies breathlessly signified that the expression had
not escaped them.
"Well—and then didn't she tell Osric Dane that one of
her books was simply saturated with Xingu? Of course
it was, if one of Mrs. Roby's rowdy friends had thrown it
into the river!"
This surprising reconstruction of the scene in which they
had just participated left the members of the Lunch Club
inarticulate. At length, Mrs. Plinth, after visibly labouring
with the problem, said in a heavy tone: "Osric Dane was
taken in too."
Mrs. Leveret took courage at this. "Perhaps that's what
Mrs. Roby did it for. She said Osric Dane was a brute,
and she may have wanted to give her a lesson."
Miss Van Vluyck frowned. "It was hardly worth while to
do it at our expense."
"At least," said Miss Glyde with a touch of bitterness,
"she succeeded in interesting her, which was more than
we did."
"What chance had we?" rejoined Mrs. Ballinger.
"Mrs. Roby monopolised her from the first. And that, I've
HYLAND
