Ninian, while searching for the notices of Gilbert's play, had seen a sentence in a serial story in one of the newspapers.... "_Her hands fluttered helplessly over his breast_" ... and he was trying to discover exactly what the lady had done with her hands. "She seems to have just flopped them about," he said, and he turned to Gilbert. "Look here, Gilbert," he said, "you try it. I'll clasp you in my arms as the hero clasped this female, and you'll let your hands flutter helplessly over my breast!" "I'll let my fist flutter helplessly over your jaw, young Ninian!..." "I don't believe she let her hands do anything of the sort," Ninian went on. "She couldn't have done it. An engineer couldn't do it, and I don't believe a female can do what an engineer can't do!" "I suppose," he added, getting up from the table, "Tom Arthurs is half way across now. I wish I could have gone with him. What a holiday!" "Talking of holidays," Gilbert said, "I'm going to take one, and as you don't seem in a fit state to do any work, Quinny, you'd better take one too, and come with me!" "Where are you going?" Roger asked. "Anglesey?" "No. I thought of going there, but I've changed my mind. I shall go to Ireland with Quinny." "Ireland!" Henry exclaimed, looking across at Gilbert. "Yes. Dublin. We can go to-night. I've never been there, and I'd like to know what these chaps, Marsh and Galway, are up to. That whatdoyoucallit movement you were telling me about?... you know, the thing that means 'a stitch in time saves nine' or something of the sort!" "Oh, the Sinn Fein movement!" "Yes. That's the thing. The Improved Tories ought to know about that...." "That reminds me," said Roger, "of an idea I had in the middle of the night about the Improved Tories. We ought to publish our views on problems. The Fabians do that kind of thing rather well. We ought to imitate them. We ought to study some subject hard, argue all round it, and then tell the world just how we think it ought to be solved. I thought we might begin on the problem of unemployment...." "Good Lord, do you think we can solve that!" Ninian exclaimed. "No, but we might find a means of palliating it. My own notion...." "I thought you had some scheme in your skull, Roger!" said Gilbert. "Let's have it!"