MissTAside。Niceman！HeknowsthatquotationHeisn’taPhilistinewithamoustacheAloud。Good-bye，CaptainGamsby。
Aside。Whatahugehandandwhatasqueeze！Idon’tsupposehemeantit，buthehasdriventheringsintomyfingers。
POORDEARMAMMAHasVermillioncomeroundyet？Oh，yes！CaptainGadsby，don’tyouthinkthatthesaddleistoofarforward？Theypassintothefrontveranda。
CAPTGAside。HowthedickensshouldIknowwhatsheprefers？ShetoldmethatshedotedonhorsesAloud。Ithinkitis。
MissTComingoutintofrontveranda。Oh！BadBuldoo！I
mustspeaktohimforthisHehastakenupthecurbtwolinks，andVermillionbatesthatPassesoutandtohorse’shead。
CAPTGLetmedoit！
MissTNo，VermillionunderstandsmeDon’tyou，oldman？
Loosescurb-chainskilfully，andpatshorseonnoseandthrottle。
PoorVermillion！Didtheywanttocuthischinoff？There！
CaptainGadsbywatchestheinterludewithundisguisedadmiration。
POORDEARMAMMATartlytoMissT。You’veforgottenyourguest，Ithink，dear。
MissTGoodgracious！SoIhave！Good-byeRetreatsindoorshastily。
POORDEARMAMMABunchingreinsinfingershamperedbytootightgauntlets。CAPTAINGamsby！
CAPTAINGADSBYstoopsandmakesthefoot-restPOOR
DEARMAMMAblunders，haltstoolong，andbreaksthroughit。
CAPTGAside。Can’tholdup~evenstoneforeverIt’sallyourrheumatismAloud。Can’timaginewhyIwassoclumsy。
Aside。NowLittleFeatherweightwouldhavegoneuplikeabird。
TheyrideoatofthegardenTheCaptainfallsback。
CAPTGAside。Howthathabitcatchesherunderthearms！
Ugh！
POORDEARMAMMAWiththewornsmileofsixteenseasons，theworseforexchange。You’redullthisafternoon，CAPTAINGamsby。
CAPTGSpurringupwearily。Whydidyoukeepmewaitingsolong？
Etcetera，etcetera，etcetera。
ANINTERVALOFTHREEWEEKS。
GILDEDYOUTHSittingonrailingsoppositeTownHall。
Hullo，Gandy！’BeentrottingouttheGorgonzola！WeallthoughtitwastheGorganyou’remashing。
CAPTGWithwitheringemphasis。Youyoungcub！Whatthe-
doesitmattertoyou？
ProceedstoreadGILDEDYOUTHalectureondiscretionanddeportment，whichcrumbleslatterlikeaChineseLanternDepartsfuming。
FURTHERINTERVALOFFIVEWEEKS。SCENE-ExteriorofNewSimlaLibraryonafoggyeveningMissTHREECANandMissDEERCOURT
meetamongthe’rickshawsMissTiscarryingabundleofbooksunderherleftarm~
MissDLevelintonation。Well？
Miss’I’Ascendingintonation。Well？
MissDCapturingherfriend’sleftarm，takingawayallthebooks，placingbooksin’rickshaw，returningtoarm，securinghandbythirdfingerandinvestigating。Well！Youbadgirl！Andyounevertoldme。
MissTDemurely。He-he-heonlyspokeyesterdayafternoon。
MissDBlessyou，dear！AndI’mtobebridesmaid，aren’tI？Youknowyoupromisedeversolongago。
MissTOfcourseI’lltellyouallaboutitto-morrowGetsinto’rickshaw。OEmma！
MissDWithintenseinterest。Yes，dear？
MissTPiano。It’squitetrue——about-the-egg。
MissDWhategg？
MissTPianissimoprestissimo。Theeggwithoutthesalt。
Porte。Chalogharkojaldi，jhampani！Gohome，jhampani。
THEWORLDWITHOUT
Certainpeopleofimportance。
SCENE-Smoking-roomoftheDegchiClubTime，10。30PMofastuffynightintheRainsFourmendispersedinpicturesqueattitudesandeasy-chairsTotheseenterBLAYNEoftheIrregularMoguls，ineveningdress。
BLAYNEPhew！TheJudgeoughttobehangedinhisownstore-godownHi，khitmatgarlPoorawhiskey-peg，totakethetasteoutofmymouth。
CURTISSRoyalArtillery。That’sit，isit？WhatthedeucemadeyoudineattheJudge’s？Youknowhisbandobust。
BLAYNE’Thoughtitcouldn’tbeworsethantheClub，butI’llswearhebuysullagedliquoranddoctorsitwithginandinklookingroundtheroom。Isthisallofyouto-night？
DOONEP。W。D。AnthonywascalledoutatdinnerMinglehadapaininhistummy。
CURTISSMiggydiesofcholeraonceaweekintheRains，andgetsdrunkonchlorodyneinbetween’Goodlittlechap，though。
AnyoneattheJudge’s，Blayne？
BLAYNECockleyandhismemsahiblookingawfullywhiteandfagged’F’。malegirl-couldn’tcatchthename-onherwaytotheHills，undertheCockleys’charge-theJudge，andMarkynfreshfromSimla-disgustinglyfit。
CURTISSGoodLord，howtrulymagnificent！Wasthereenoughice？WhenImangledgarbagethereIgotonewholelump-nearlyasbigasawalnutWhathadMarkyntosayforhimself？
BLAYNE’SeemsthateveryoneishavingafairlygoodtimeupthereinspiteoftherainByJove，thatremindsme！IknowI
hadn’tcomeacrossjustforthepleasureofyoursocietyNews！
Greatnews！Markyntoldme。
DOONEWho’sdeadnow？
BLAYNENoonethatIknowof；butGandy’shookedatlast！
DROPPINGCHORUSHowmuch？TheDevil！MarkynwaspullingyourlegNotGANDY！
BLAYNEHumming。“Yea，verily，verily，verily！Verily，verily，Isayuntothee。”Theodore，thegifto’God！OurPhillup！It’sbeengivenoutupabove。
MACKESYBarrister-at-Law。Huh！WomenwillgiveoutanythingWhatdoesaccusedsay？
BLAYNEMarkyntoldmethathecongratulatedhimwarily-onehandheldout，t’otherreadytoguardGandyturnedpinkandsaiditwasso。
CURTISSPooroldCaddy！TheyalldoitWho’sshe？Let’shearthedetails。
BLAYNEShe’sagirl-daughterofaColonelSomebody。
DOONESimla’sstiffwithColonels’daughtersBemoreexplicit。
BLAYNEWaitashakeWhatwashername？Thresomething。
Three-
CURTISSStars，perhapsCaddyknowsthatbrand。
BLAYNEThreegan-MinnieThreegan。
MACKESYThreeganIsn’tshealittlebitofagirlwithredhair？
BLAYNE’Boutthat-fromwhatfromwhatMarkynsaid。
MACKESYThenI’vemetherShewasatLucknowlastseason。
’OwnedapermanentlyjuvenileMamma，anddanceddamnablyI
say，Jervoise，youknewtheThreegans，didn’tyou？
JERVOISECivilianoftwenty-fiveyears’service，wakingupfromhisdoze。Eh？What’sthat？Knewwho？How？IthoughtIwasatHome，confoundyou！
MACKESYTheThreegangirl’sengaged，soBlaynesays。
JERVOISESlowly。Engaged-en-gaged！Blessmysoul！I’mgettinganoldman！LittleMinnieThreeganengagedItwasonlytheotherdayIwenthomewiththemintheSurat-no，theMassilia-
andshewascrawlingaboutonherhandsandkneesamongtheayahs’Usedtocallmethe“TickTackSakib“becauseIshowedhermywatchAndthatwasinSixty-Seven-no，SeventyGoodGod，howtimeflies！I’manoldmanIrememberwhenThreeganmarriedMissDerwent-daughterofoldHookyDerwent-butthatwasbeforeyourtimeAndsothelittlebaby’sengagedtohavealittlebabyofherown！Who’stheotherfool？
MACKESYGadsbyofthePinkHussars。
JERVOISE’NevermethimThreeganlivedindebt，marriedindebt，and’lldieindebt’Mustbegladtogetthegirloffhishands。
BLAYNECaddyhasmoney-luckydevilPlaceatHome，too。
DOONEHecomesoffirst-classstock’Can’tquiteunderstandhisbeingcaughtbyaColonel’sdaughter，andlookingcautiouslyroundroom。BlackInfantryatthat！Nooffencetoyou，Blayne。
BLAYNEStiffly。Notmuch，thaanks。
CURTISSQuotingmottoofIrregularMoguls。“Wearewhatweare。”eh，oldman？ButGandywassuchasuperioranimalasarule。
Whydidn’thegoHomeandpickhiswifethere？
MACKESYTheyareallalikewhentheycometotheturnintothestraightAboutthirtyamanbeginstogetsickoflivingalone。
CURTISSAndoftheeternalmuttony-chopinthemorning。
DOONEIt’sadeadgoatasarule，butgoon，Mackesy。
MACKESYIfaman’soncetakenthatwaynothingwillholdhim，DoyourememberBenoitofyourservice，Doone？TheytransferredhimtoTharandawhenhistimecame，andhemarriedaplatelayer’sdaughter，orsomethingofthatkindShewastheonlyfemaleabouttheplace。
DONEYes，poorbruteThatsmashedBenoit’schancesofpromotionaltogetherMrsBenoitusedtoask“Wasyougem’tothedancethisevenin’？”
CURTISSHangitall！Gandyhasn’tmarriedbeneathhimThere’snotarbrushinthefamily，Isuppose。
JERVOISETar-brush！NotanannaYouyoungfellowstalkasthoughthemanwasdoingthegirlanhonorinmarryingher。
You’realltooconceited-nothing’sgoodenoughforyou。
BLAYNENotevenanemptyClub，adam’baddinnerattheJudge’s，andaStationassicklyasahospitalYou’requiteright。
We’reasetofSybarites。
DOONELuxuriousdogs，wallowingin-
CURTISSPricklyheatbetweentheshouldersI’mcoveredwithitLet’shopeBeorawillbecooler。
BLAYNEWhew！Areyouorderedintocamp，too？IthoughttheGunnershadacleansheet。
CURTISSNo，worseluckTwocasesyesterday-onedied-andifwehaveathird，outwegoIsthereanyshootingatBeora，Doone？
DOONEThecountry’sunderwater，exceptthepatchbytheGrandTrunkRoadIwasthereyesterday，lookingatabund，andcameacrossfourpoordevilsintheirlaststageIt’sratherbadfromheretoKuchara。
CURTISSThenwe’reprettycertaintohaveaheavygoofit。
Heigho！Ishouldn’tmindchangingplaceswithGaddyforawhile。
’SportwithAmaryllisintheshadeoftheTownHall，andallthat。
Oh，whydoesn’tsomebodycomeandmarryme，insteadoflettingmegointocholera-camp？
MACKESYAsktheCommittee。
CURTISSYouruffian！You’llstandmeanotherpegforthat。
Blayne，whatwillyoutake？Mackesyisfineonmoralgrounds。
Done，haveyouanypreference？
DONESmallglassKummel，pleaseExcellentcarminative，thesedaysAnthonytoldmeso。
MACKESYSigningvoucherforfourdrinks。MostunfairpunishmentIonlythoughtofCurtissasActaeonbeingchiviedroundthebilliardtablesbythenymphsofDiana。
BLAYNECurtisswouldhavetoimporthisnymphsbytrainMrs。
Cockley’stheonlywomanintheStationShewon’tleaveCockley，andhe’sdoinghisbesttogethertogo。
CURTISSGood，indeed！Here’sMrsCockley’shealthTotheonlywifeintheStationandadamnedbravewoman！
OMNESDrinking。AdamnedbravewomanBLAVNEIsupposeGandywillbringhiswifehereattheendofthecoldweatherTheyaregoingtobemarriedalmostimmediately，Ibelieve。
CURTISSGandymaythankhisluckthatthePinkHussarsarealldetachmentandnoheadquartersthishotweather，orhe’dbetornfromthearmsofhisloveassureasdeathHaveyouevernoticedthethorough-mindedwayBritishCavalrytaketocholera？It’sbecausetheyaresoexpensiveIfthePinkshadstoodfasthere，theywouldhavebeenoutincampamonthTHEWORLDWITHOUT