Lady Staines was the only person who noticed the arrival of two telegrams--they were taken to Charles and James, who were at that moment in the refreshment tent opposite the claret cup. The telegrams arrived simultaneously, and Charles said, "Good Lord!" and James said, "My hat!" when they read the contents, with every symptom of surprise and pleasure. "I shouldn't have supposed," Lady Staines thought to herself, "that two of my boys would have backed the same horse. It must be a coincidence." They put the telegrams rather carefully away, and shortly afterwards she observed that they had set off together in the direction of the village sports. The long golden twilight drew to a close, the swallows swooped and circled above the heavy, darkened elms. The flowers in the long herbaceous borders had a fragile look in the colorless soft air. The garden party drifted slowly away. Lady Staines stopped her daughter-in-law going into the house; but she was destined never to tell her what she thought of her. Estelle escaped Nemesis by the turn of a hair. Sir Peter came out of the library prepared to inspect the lawn. "What's up with those boys?" he demanded, struck by the unusual sight of his three sons advancing towards him from the river, their heads bent in talk, and not apparently quarreling. Lady Staines followed the direction of his eyes; then she said to Estelle, "You'd better go in now, my dear; I'll talk to you later." Sir Peter shouted in his stentorian voice an appeal to his sons to join him. Lady Staines, while she waited, took off her white kid gloves and her purple bonnet, and deposited them upon the balustrades. "What are you up to," demanded Sir Peter when they came within earshot, "sticking down there by the river with your heads glued together like a set of damned Guy Fawkeses--instead of saying good-by to your mother's guests--who haven't had the sense to get under way before seven o'clock--though I gave 'em a hint to be off an hour ago?" "Helping villagers to climb greasy poles, and finishing a sack race," Charles explained. "Lively time Winn's been having down there--I had no idea our second housemaid was so pretty." "None of that! None of that!" said Sir Peter, sharply. "You keep to bar-maids, young Charles--and manicure girls, though there ought to be an act of Parliament against 'em! Still, I'll admit you can't do much harm here--three of you together, and your mother on the front doorstep!" "Harm," said James, winking in the direction of his mother; "what can poor chaps like us do--here to-day and gone to-morrow--Mother'd better keep her eye on those near home!" "Off to-night you might as well say!" remarked Charles, glancing at James with a certain intentness. "Why off to-night?" asked Lady Staines. "I thought you were staying over the week-end?"