"No, I fancy not," replied Mrs. Wellington placidly. "Oh, but how can you know! Where is it that the writings of Careme are studied and known? Where is it that the memory of Beauvilliers and the reputations of Ranhofer and Casimir and Mollard are preserved? In Europe--" "In Paris," corrected Mrs. Wellington. "Well. And from Paris disseminated glowingly throughout Europe--'" "And the United States." Koltsoff struggled with himself for a moment. "Pardon," he said, "but, bah! It cannot be." "Naturally, you are at the disadvantage of not having had the experience at American tables that I have had abroad," observed Mrs. Wellington rising. "But we shall hope to correct that while you are here. . . . As for the sauce you praised, it was not by Rambon--who is out to-day--but by Takakika, his assistant, a Japanese whom Mr. Wellington brought on from the Bohemian Club, I think, in San Francisco." If Koltsoff did not catch Mrs. Wellington's intimation that he must have learned of the presence of Rambon in her kitchen,--which might have been more accurately described as a laboratory,--Anne Wellington did, and she hastened to intervene. "Oh, Prince Koltsoff," she said, "I have been so interested in those torpedo boats out there. They 've been dashing about the lightship all through lunch. What is the idea, do you know?" The Prince glanced out of the window. "I cannot imagine." He gazed over the ocean in silence for several minutes. "Have you a telescope?" he said at length. Anne nodded. "The large glass is on that veranda. And you 'll excuse me until half after three, won't you?" "Until half after three," said the Prince, still rather ruffled as the result of his duel with the mother. Then he went out on the porch and for an hour had the torpedo boats under his almost continuous gaze. "Nothing but hide and seek," he muttered as he finally snapped the shutter of the glass and went to his room to dress. He had quite recovered his spirits when he handed Anne Wellington into the motor car. Armitage had half turned and she caught his eyes. Just the faintest suspicion of a smile appeared on her face as she leaned forward. "Along the Ocean Drive, McCall, down Bellevue Avenue, past Easton's Beach, and out through Paradise. Drive slowly, please." Armitage touched his cap and the car was soon rolling along the Ocean Drive. They had not turned Bateman's Point when Anne had proof of the interest which the advent of the Prince had excited among her set. The Wadsworth girls with young Pembroke, Delaney Drew on horseback, and several others were gathered on the grass of the Point, watching the finish of the race for the Astor cups off Brenton's Reef. As the Wellington car rolled slowly by, every one withdrew attention from the exciting finish which three of the yachts were making, and gazed so hard at the Prince that some of them forgot to return Anne's nod. But the girl understood and smiled inwardly, not altogether without pride.