again and half led, half pushed him indoors. Mr. Bell's shyness he
attributed to his having lived so long in Ireland.

"He is quite the ladies' man, though," he said, artfully, as they
followed their hostess into the front room. "You should ha' seen 'im the
other night on the 'bus. We had a couple o' lady friends o' mine with
us, and even the conductor was surprised at his goings on."

Mr. Bell, by no means easy as to the results of the experiment, scowled
at him despairingly.

"Carrying on, was he?" said Mrs. Henshaw, regarding the culprit
steadily.

"Carrying on like one o'clock," said the imaginative Mr. Stokes. "Called
one of 'em his little wife, and asked her where 'er wedding-ring was."

"I didn't," said Mr. Bell, in a suffocating voice. "I didn't."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," said Mr. Stokes, virtuously. "Only,
as I said to you at the time, 'Alfred,' I says, 'it's all right for you
as a single man, but you might be the twin-brother of a pal o' mine--
George Henshaw by name--and if some people was to see you they might
think it was 'im.' Didn't I say that?"

"You did," said Mr. Bell, helplessly.

"And he wouldn't believe me," said Mr. Stokes, turning to Mrs. Henshaw.
"That's why I brought him round to see George."