For a moment there was a frozen silence. Then Dicky hurried forward. "My dear Percy," he exclaimed, wringing the newcomer by the hand, "here you are, after all! Dear old soul! Let me present the rest of my family." He linked his arm in that of the travel-stained cyclist, and led him towards the petrified Lady Adela. "Mother," he announced, "this is my friend Percy Welwyn." "Mr. Percy Welwyn," said a gentle voice in his ear. "Sorry, old man!" said Dicky hastily. "No offence taken," Mr. Welwyn assured him, "where none intended. This, I presume,"--he waved his dripping tweed cap in the face of the speechless matron before him,--"is your hostess." "Yes," said Dicky. "My mother, Lady Adela Mainwaring." Mr. Welwyn shook hands affably. "How de do, your ladyship?" he said. "Very pleased to make your ladyship’s acquaintance, I’m sure." "And this," continued Dicky, swiftly wheeling his guest out of the danger zone, "is my old Dad." "How do you do, Mr. Welwyn?" said Mr. Mainwaring, with a courteous little bow. "We make you welcome." "How de do, your lordship?" replied Mr. Welwyn, repeating his hand-shaking performance. "Very pleased to make your lordship’s acquaintance." "That’s an error on your part, Percy," said Dicky smoothly. "Dad’s only a commoner. But we’ll work it out afterwards. This is my little sister Sylvia." Mr. Welwyn greeted the statuesque Miss Mainwaring as he had greeted her parents, throwing in an ingratiating ogle which plainly intimated that he intended to make an impression in this quarter. "Very pleased to make _your_ acquaintance, Miss," he said. "We shall be calling each other Perce and Sylvie in no time, I can see. And now," he continued, turning his back upon the quivering figure of his future playmate, "I should like to address a few observations to the happy couple. You’re a nice pair of turtle-doves to come and play gooseberry to, I don’t suppose! Here I give up a whole Saturday afternoon to come and chaperon our Tilly and her young gentleman down to his ancestral home; and the first thing I know is the pair of them give me the slip at Waterloo! Chronic, I call it!" "What else did you expect, Mr. Welwyn?" interposed Connie, coming characteristically to the rescue, the majority of the Mainwaring family being in no condition to cope with Percy. "Have n’t you ever been engaged yourself?" Her unsolicited intrusion into the conversation was plainly a shock to Percy’s sense of decorum. He coughed reprovingly behind his hand, and turning to Dicky, remarked:-- "Introdooce me!" Dicky, humble and apologetic, complied. Mr. Welwyn went through his usual performance, and continued:--