Aunt Maria was more "duchessy" than ever in her dinner dress. Jewels shone in the great puff of snowy hair that lay like a crown about her head. (Graham had always wanted to poke his finger into this marvel to see if it would burst and flatten like a toy balloon.) Jewels shone in the laces of her dress and on her fingers. She sat very straight, as even a make-believe duchess should, and led the conversation. To do so was very easy, for everyone agreed with everything she said, remarked Isobel with pathetic enthusiasm. Behind her smile Mrs. Westley was thinking that Maria Drinkwater was a very silly woman! Aunt Maria spent most of her time berating the "government." That was why, she explained, she was going to France. The officials in Washington were just sitting there letting everything go to the dogs! "_Look_ at the prices! We're being _robbed_ by Labor--actually robbed, every moment of our lives!" She clasped her hands and rolled her eyes tragically upward. "A crepe de chine chemise--hardly good enough for Peregrine--_fifteen dollars_! And Congress just talking about the League of Nations! Ah, mon Dieu!" Graham, catching a fleeting glint of laughter in his mother's eyes, slowly and solemnly winked, then dropped his glance back to his plate. "Let's say we have to study," whispered Gyp to Jerry, when the family moved toward the library. Even Graham welcomed the suggestion. As they approached Aunt Maria to say good-night, she poked each in the cheek. "Not going to wait to have coffee with us? _So_ sensible--it hurts the complexion! _Nice_ children! Bon soir, Editha. Bon soir, Elizabeth. What's _your_ name, child? Jerauld? A _nice_ name. Bon soir, Graham!" "She's the only creature in the whole world that calls me Editha and Tibby Elizabeth," cried Gyp disgustedly. "_That's_ why I just can't endure her!" Safe in Jerry's room, Gyp cast off her "company" manner by a series of somersaults on the pink-and-white bed. "Hurray, Jerry, we needn't see her again until to-morrow night! That Peregrine-Sarah will take her breakfast up on a tray. Wasn't Isobel funny, trying to be a nice little goddaughter? For goodness' sake, what's _that_?" For there was a wild rush through the hall, then sharp shrieks from the library!