“Oh, Laura Mercy!” exclaimed Priscilla, and laughed. Before Rosa could demand an explanation of the laugh, they came face to face with Mr. Mozart Tutt. He was smiling, but not quite easily; it was plain that he was not sure how his behaviour in regard to the accompaniment would be regarded by the young women; he had a great respect for their point of view, and so his smile was a little blurred. Its outlines were fluctuating. He raised a playful forefinger to Priscilla. “I am ashamed of you,” he said in a low voice. “You need not be, Mr. Tutt. You know that I played the accompaniment quite well,” said she. “You played it artfully, not artistically,” he replied. “The composer would be ready to tear his hair at the way you pandered at his expense to that fellow. Did you mean to teach me a lesson in manners?” “I mean to teach him a lesson in manners, and music,” said Priscilla confidentially. “What do you say?” cried Rosa, who had failed to hear every word. “I only mean that in my opinion Mr. Tutt showed himself singularly lacking in tact as well as tactics,” said Priscilla. “The idea of a capable musician standing on his dignity with a man who sings without any knowledge of music! You should be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Tutt. You a master, and yet incapable of teaching him a lesson!” “I think that you were quite right, Mr. Tutt,” said Rosa. “You showed the most marvellous patience with that bounder, and you were fully justified in throwing him over. If he were Caruso himself he could not have behaved more insolently.” “I am so glad that you take my part, Miss Caffyn,” said Mr. Tutt. “I am sorry that you have not been able to persuade Miss Wadhurst to take your view of the incident. I assure you that in all my experience I never found it necessary to act as I did to-day. It was very painful to me. I wish I understood you better, Miss Wadhurst.” “Didn’t some one say that to be understood was to be found out?” said Priscilla. “Good-bye, Mr. Tutt. Mr. Kelton instructed me to spend the rest of the day in the company of--of the accompaniment, and I mean to obey him. I think I see my way to do a good deal with that accompaniment. Good-bye. I suppose you mean to wait for your mother, Rosa?” “I wouldn’t if you would make it worth my while not,” said Rosa. Priscilla shook her head and hurried off. CHAPTER II Attention was called to the fact that Mr. Kelton, the great tenor, who had come from Great Gagglington to sing at Mrs. Caffyn’s concert, was walking about the streets--to be strictly accurate, the street--of Framsby in the morning, just as if he was an ordinary person. He was greatly looked at, and it was clearly understood that he was fully cognisant of this fact, for the self-conscious way in which he tried not to appear self-conscious could scarcely fail to strike even the young women of the Glee and Madrigal choir, who, it was understood, were devoted to him, not merely collectively, but individually.