was devoted to cooking and washing up in her underground lair, Brothers
Frank and Percy, gentleman of leisure, popularly supposed to be engaged
in the mysterious occupation known as "lookin' about for somethin',"
and, lastly, Muriel.

For some months after his arrival, Muriel had been to Roland Bleke a
mere automaton, a something outside himself that was made only for
neatly-laid breakfast tables and silent removal of plates at dinner.
Gradually, however, when his natural shyness was soothed by use
sufficiently to enable him to look at her when she came into the room,
he discovered that she was a strikingly pretty girl, bounded to the
North by a mass of auburn hair and to the South by small and shapely
feet. She also possessed what, we are informed--we are children in
these matters ourselves--is known as the R. S. V. P. eye. This eye had
met Roland's one evening, as he chumped his chop, and before he knew
what he was doing he had remarked that it had been a fine day.

From that wonderful moment matters had developed at an incredible
speed. Roland had a nice sense of the social proprieties, and he could
not bring himself to ignore a girl with whom he had once exchanged easy
conversation about the weather. Whenever she came to lay his table, he
felt bound to say something. Not being an experienced gagger, he found
it more and more difficult each evening to hit on something bright,
until finally, from sheer lack of inspiration, he kissed her.

If matters had progressed rapidly before, they went like lightning
then. It was as if he had touched a spring or pressed a button, setting
vast machinery in motion. Even as he reeled back stunned at his
audacity, the room became suddenly full of Coppins of every variety
known to science. Through a mist he was aware of Mrs. Coppin crying in