Vicky seemed to feel this too, for, following Mary out of the room presently, she said rather unhappily that the atmosphere was thickening too fast. "Volcanoes; sulphurous smoke," she added, in somewhat vague explanation. "I don't think it would be nice for her to have a divorce, do you?"

"It may not be true."

"Oh, I feel sure it is! Poor sweet, I wish she could have got it off her chest to us, because now I think quite probably she'll tell Robert Steel."

"She mustn't do that!" Mary said quickly.

"No, but I dare say she will," said Vicky, accepting it with exasperating nonchalance.

When Mary rejoined Ermyntrude, it was with the intention of reopening the discussion, but Ermyntrude said, still in that unnaturally repressed voice, that the least said the soonest mended. Rather to Mary's surprise, she soon made it plain that she meant to join the shooting-party for a picnic lunch, just as she had originally planned.

Accordingly, they both set out, a little before one o'clock, in Ermyntrude's ponderous car, and were driven rather grandly to the appointed rendezvous. Here the men soon joined them, and Ermyntrude's bitter thoughts were a little distracted by the discovery that the morning's sport had been enlivened by a slight mishap.

"In fact, Trudinka, almost we have added our good host's hat to the bag!" the Prince said, with a gaiety that failed to lighten the scowl on Steel's brow, or the look of long-suffering on Wally's face.

"Yes, you can laugh," Wally said. "Very funny for you, I've no doubt. Ha-ha!"

"But what happened?" asked Mary,

Hugh, to whom her question seemed to be principally addressed, smiled, and shook his head. "Not guilty!"