For lack of a gallery, the guests who had come to hear the speeches, sat in the double ranks of chairs which lined the large dining room. Conover and the two others arrived during a momentary lull between speeches. Letty was greeted cordially by such people as she passed on her way to her seat. Caleb, as one of her escort, found himself the object of more courtesy than had ever before been his portion at the Arareek. This new warmth of manner on the part of his fellow-members pleased Caleb tremendously. Incidentally, it gave him the germ of an idea,--vague, nebulous, yet of promising growth. The burgeoning germ found mental expression during the next after-dinner speech. Caleb allowed his shrewd gaze to rest on Letty Standish, more critically--with less of humorous depreciation--than before. She sat next him, one plump hand pillowing her slightly receding chin; her wide blue eyes fixed on the speaker in polite attention; her small mouth pursed in a smile of almost labored interest. “She’s better-lookin’ than I thought,” mused Conover, “An’ she’s a good dresser. Maybe her face ain’t really so foolish. Starin’ at Dey so much may have spoiled me for other girls. Everybody here seems glad to see this Standish person; an’ some of their gladness has slopped over onto me. If I’d a wife like that I’d strut right into the gold-shirt crowd an’ they’d hang up a ‘Welcome, Little Stranger!’ sign for me. If Dey can get into the right set by marryin’ one of ’em, I guess the same rule ought to work with me. I’ll talk it over sometime with Caine. He ought to know.” A ripple of hand-clapping roused Caleb from his disjointed reflections, and he joined with vigor in applauding the speech he had not heard. “What an easy speaker Mr. Vroom is!” said Letty. “Don’t you envy such men, Mr. Conover? Don’t you think it must be wonderful to make a speech without being frightened to death? To stand up before so many people and just talk to them as if--” “Easiest thing in the world!” announced Caleb, dully irritated at her praise, “Anyone can do it. All a man needs is to say to himself: ‘I’m a blame sight better, cleverer, bigger man than any of this bunch I’m talkin’ down to.’ _Then_ he won’t be afraid of ’em. Because he despises ’em. That’s the way _I_ always do when I’ve got a speech to make. It’s lots easier to stand up in an open-face suit an’ talk like Vroom did to a friendly crowd, than to try and persuade one grouchy grocer to handle your special brand of washin’ soda. _There’s_ where reel el’quence comes in.” “Yes?” rejoined Letty, with her wavering little smile. “How clever of you to put it in such an original way! I never thought of that, before.” “Of what?” demanded Caleb, inquisitorially. “Of--of--why, of what you said, of course. Now, shan’t we listen to the toastmaster? He’s always so funny, I think. Do you know him?” “No, ma’am,” said Caleb. “He’s a novelty to me. But we’ll listen if you like.”