Yes. We were just starting. Does Miss Hemlock want anything? I will go to her if she wishes to speak with me. Maid She said, in case you were going out, that I was to tell you _not_ to do so. Mary Speaker _Not_ to do so? Maid Yes, ma'am; that's what she said. She said in case you were getting ready to go out, you were to change your plans and stop at home. John Speaker [_To Maid._] Not to do so? But, surely, there must be some mistake! [_Maid shakes her head slowly, deliberately, looking fixedly at John Speaker; and while she is doing so John Thinker says to Mary Thinker_:] John Thinker Some malicious idea is working in her head tonight! Maid [_To John Speaker._] No, sir, no mistake. She said very plainly and distinctly that you were not to go out tonight. [_Maid bows and exits._] John Speaker Cousin Fanny is not so well to-night, I'm afraid, dear, or she would certainly have put her request in some other way. Mary Speaker If I didn't love Cousin Fanny, John, I would be tempted to believe that she deliberately tries at times to annoy us. John Speaker Cousin Fanny is old, and we must remember that she is very fond of us. We will have to bear with her. [_John Speaker takes his top coat and his wife's coat> and lays them on a chair, while John Thinker, who has been frowning and brooding, flings himself into chair and says to Mary Thinker_:] John Thinker For cold-blooded, devilish nerve in a man's own house, Cousin Fanny certainly takes the cake, Mary! Mary Thinker She gets more spiteful every day. She knows her power, and the more childish she gets the more delight she takes in playing tyrant. John Thinker Cheer up, it isn't forever! If she doesn't change her will before she dies, it means fifteen thousand dollars a year. That's worth a little trouble! Mary Thinker You're away at your office all day. I'm here at home with her. It is I who catch all the trouble! John Thinker Well, after all, she's more nearly related to you, Mary, than she is to me. Mary Thinker She's my mother's third cousin, if you call _that_ near! John Thinker Well, then, she's my father's fifth cousin, if you call _that_ near! Mary Speaker What were you thinking of, John, dear? John Speaker Nothing... nothing, Mary... except that Cousin Fanny is a poor, lonely old soul, after all. Mary Speaker Poor, lonely old woman, indeed--it's odd, isn't it, that she is related to both you and me, John? John Speaker She's closer to you than to me, Mary. Mary Speaker You couldn't call a fourth or fifth cousin very near, John. John Speaker It almost seems as if you were trying to deny the blood tie, Mary! Mary Speaker No, John, dear, blood is thicker than water. John Speaker Thicker than water! John Thinker Relations are the most unpleasant persons on earth. I hate cousins. Mary Thinker Especially cousins who are also cousins-in-law! John Speaker