“Great!” said Carey. “I’ll bring you home by the way of the river. It’ll be peachy that way tonight. Say! This is wonderful! I think we ought to start by half past six or quarter to seven. Cornie can you get through dinner by six thirty? That would be safer.” “Oh, surely,” said Cornelia eagerly. “We’ll have the dinner on the table the minute father gets in, five minutes to six; and we’ll just stack the dishes and run. Won’t it be delightful?” Then suddenly the thought of Clytie Dodd and her party came back with a twinge of horror. Ought she to tell Carey at once? Grace Kendall was hurrying away with many thanks and happy exclamations of how glad she was she had made up her mind to come. She could not tell it before Grace, anyway, although perhaps Carey would have thought she ought. “What’s the matter, Nell?” asked her brother as he came in and shut the door. “Don’t you want to go? I should think it would be a good rest for you.” “Oh, yes, indeed! I want to go, of course; but I just remembered. Perhaps I should have told you before you promised. Clytie Dodd was here—” “What?” he looked angry and disgusted. “She wanted you to go to some ride and dance tonight and get Brand to go too. She wants you to call her up at once.” “Aw! Forget it! She’s always got something on the brain. Call her up. I shan’t call her up. She’s a little fool, anyway.” He looked half ashamed as he said it. He was perfectly aware that his sister must have seen him all dressed up taking her to a moving-picture show several weeks ago. “But—they’re going to stop here for you at half past seven.” “Well, let ’em stop! We’ll be gone, won’t we? She’ll have her trouble for her pains, won’t she?” He really was speaking in a very rude tone to his sister; but she could see that he was annoyed and mortified to have to talk with her at all on this subject, and the things he said filled her with a triumphant elation. “But, Carey, oughtn’t you to call her up and tell her you have another engagement? Isn’t that the right thing, the manly thing, to do?” “Oh, bother! You don’t understand! Let _me_ manage this, please. I guess I know my own business. I tell you she’s a—fool!” Carey slammed upstairs to his room, and she could hear him presently in the bathroom stropping his razor, and whistling a merry tune. He had forgotten all about Clytie. Cornelia’s hand trembled as she slipped the hot apple pie out of the oven, and dusted it with powdered sugar. Then she suddenly straightened up, and said out loud, “He answered!”