"Theatrical expression," he said.

"I shouldn't have been surprised if you'd said that Miss Fairweather
called you an angel, but when it comes to--Oh, dear, what an awful
thing for one man to call another!"

"Now, see here, Mary, you don't under--"

But she interrupted him again and he sat back limply to wait for an
opportunity to get in the statement that he wanted most of all to make
to her--which, when the time came for him to speak, was this:

"Well, well, dear, we'll let the matter rest for a day or two. I only
thought you'd be interested in the experiment--you and I together, you
know--something new and thrilling. We could have a lot of fun planning
and secretly watching the play grow from day to day, and discussing
costumes and scenery, and meeting real actors and actresses, and
seeing the inside workings of the stage, and the green room--and the
dressing-rooms, and all that, you know. It's something we used to talk
about and wonder about, don't you remember? Remember how we used to
sit up in the balcony and wonder what was really happening behind the--"

"Indeed I do!" she cried, and her eyes sparkled. "I've always wanted
to have a peep behind the scenes and--" She had the good sense to stop
before she compromised herself beyond recovery--but she looked
extremely guilty.

"We'll talk it over to-morrow," said he. "It might be a relief to us
to have something like this to occupy our thoughts in case we--we