lovely. You boys are wonders! These bachelor establishments are
threatening to make women wonder what they were born for. And what do you
think? The major is coming! The first place he has gone this winter--and
he wants to sit between Phoebe and Caroline Darrah. I just ran over to
tell you. Good-by! We must both dress."

And Andrew smiled as he rearranged the place-cards.

And it happened that in more ways than one David Kildare found himself
the perturbed host. He rushed home and dressed with lightning-like
rapidity and whirled away in the limousine for Milly and Billy Bob.
He went for them early, for he had bargained to come for Phoebe as late
as possible so as to give her time to reckon with her six-thirty
freckled-faced devil at the office. But at the Overtons he found
confusion confounded.

"I'm so sorry, David," Milly almost sobbed, "but Mammy Betty's daughter
has run away and got married and she has gone to see about it, and the
trained nurse can't come. There has been an awful wreck up the road and
all the doctors in town have gone and taken all the nurses with them. She
didn't consider the babies serious, so she just had some one telephone at
the last minute that she had gone. I can't go; but please make Billy go
with you! There is no use--" and she turned to Billy Bob who stood by in
pathetically gorgeous array, but firm in his intention not to desert the
home craft.

"We just can't make it, Dave, old man," he said manfully, as he caught
his tearful wife's outstretched hand in his. "Go on before we both cry!"

"Go on, nothing--with Milly looking like a lovely pink apple-blossom!