"Well, take my word for it," snarled Bunch, "I don't hanker for that sort of amusement. If there's any train-hopping to be done, it's up to you, John. It's your game, not mine." "Say, are you going to welsh on me now that we've passed over our contract to Skinski?" I asked hotly. "No, I'm not going to welsh," Bunch came right back, "but I'm only a silent partner in this concern, so you for the Bad Lands to do the barking for the show." "Why didn't you flash this stingy talk on me before we got started?" I wanted to know. "It's a shine play to wait till you get me all tied up with these artists here!" Skinski and Dodo both took a bow. "I didn't," Bunch cackled, "You framed up the whole thing, and now you're sore because I won't leave home and friends to plug your game." "It's as much your game as mine!" "It isn't!" "It is!" "Rats!" "Make it twice on the Rats!" In two seconds more I suppose we would have come to blows, but just then a well-known voice behind us gurgled, "Hayo, John! why, I hadn't any idea you were here! And Bunch, too! I'm so glad to see you!" It was Peaches, and behind her, smiling sweet approval, stood Aunt Martha. Heart failure for mine as I stumbled to my feet and caught the interested expressions on the faces of Skinski and Dodo. "Aunt Martha and I have been shopping, and we dropped in here for luncheon," my wife rattled on, while I was slowly recovering. "Of course we don't wish to be _de trop_," she added, glancing curiously at the famous Skinski and his assistant in the mind-reading tests. "No, no, Peaches; certainly not!" I spluttered; "hadn't the faintest idea you were coming in town to-day. Let me present Bunch's Uncle Cornelius McGowan and his Aunt Flora from Springfield--my wife and my mother-in-law!" Skinski and Dodo were wise in a minute, and they never batted an eye, but Bunch took the full count. Of course he couldn't deny the relationship without giving himself away, so he simply stood there and looked foolish. "Have you been in the city very long?" my wife said most pleasantly to Signor Petroskinski, "No, Madam," he answered, with a most courtier-like bow; "we only broke away from the cars this morning, and we bumped into nephew quite by chance, didn't we, nephew?" Bunch growled something that wouldn't sound well on the graphophone. "Do you like New York?" Aunt Martha asked the other half of the sketch in an effort to be pleasant. "You betcher sweet!" said Dodo, whereupon Aunt Martha fell back two paces to the rear and looked pityingly at Bunch. "If you'll excuse us, Uncle Cornelius and Aunt Flora, I'll take my wife and her mother to the train," I said nervously. "Not at all, not at all," piped Skinski. "Dodey--I mean Flo--and I don't mind a bit, do we, Flo?" "You betcher sweet!" she answered, and I saw Peaches glance questioningly at Bunch, who was giving a brilliant imitation of the last rose of summer. "But, John, I'm so hungry," Peaches pleaded.