Hilda did not answer. She was wriggling her shoulders about, and was sitting bolt upright in her chair. She leaned back once and when she did so a spasm of acute pain distorted her face. It occurred to me that one of the three pins might have been jabbed in too far or not precisely in the right direction. Lalage could not fairly be blamed, for it must be difficult to regulate a pin thrust when a tram is in rapid motion. I did not like the idea of watching Hilda’s sufferings during tea, so I cast about for the most delicate way of suggesting that she should be relieved. Lalage was beforehand with me. “Turn round, Hilda,” she said, “and I’ll hook you up.” “Perhaps,” I said, “I’d better ring and get a housemaid.” “What for?” said Lalage. “I thought perhaps that Hilda might prefer to go to a bedroom. I don’t matter, of course, but Selby-Harrison may be here at any moment.” “Selby-Harrison isn’t coming. Turn round, Hilda, and do stand still.” A waiter came in just then with the tea, I regret to say that he grinned. I turned my back on him and looked out of the window. “Selby-Harrison,” said Lalage, “is on Trinity 3rd A., inside left, and there’s a cup match on to-day, so of course he couldn’t come.” “This,” I said, “is a great disappointment to me. I’ve been looking forward for years to making Selby-Harrison’s acquaintance, and every time I seem to be anywhere near it, something comes and snatches him away. I’m beginning to think that there isn’t really any such person as Selby-Harrison.” Hilda giggled thickly. She seemed to be quite comfortable again. Lalage snubbed me severely. “I must say for you,” she said, “that when you choose to go in for pretending to be an ass you can be more funerally idiotic than any one I ever met. No wonder the Archdeacon said you’d be beaten in your election.” “Did he say that?” “Yes. We were talking to him this morning, Hilda and I and Selby-Harrison, outside the exam hall. We told him we were going down to make speeches for you.” “Was it before or after you told him that he said I’d be beaten?” “Before,” said Lalage firmly. “Oh, Lalage! How can you? You know----” I interrupted Hilda because I did not want to have the harmony of my party destroyed by recrimination and argument. “Suppose,” I said, “that we have tea.” “I must say,” said Lalage, “that you’ve collected a middling good show of cakes, hasn’t he, Hilda?” Hilda looked critically at the tea table. She was evidently an expert in cakes. “You can’t have got all those out of one shop,” she said. “There isn’t a place in Dublin that has so many varieties!” “I’m glad you like the look of them. Which of you will pour out the tea?” “Hilda’s birthday was last month,” said Lalage. “Mine isn’t till July.” This settled the point of precedence. Hilda took her seat opposite the teapot. “There are ices coming,” I said a few minutes later, “twelve of them. I mention it in case----”