“And now,” said Mabel, “come into the kitchen and see the two maids that I have engaged. Two nice respectable sisters named Morse—Ellen Morse and——”

   “There isn’t an ‘l’ in Morse,” he said gloomily.

   “And Kate Morse,” Mabel continued.

   She opened the door into the spotless kitchen, and the two maids sprang instantly to attention. One of them was cleaning silver, the other was still lingering over tea. The first was very long, and the second very short.

   Luke slapped his leg enthusiastically. “Oh, by Jove,” he said, “this is ripping. Morse. Don’t you see? Dot and Dash. Dot and Dash.”

   He howled with laughter. Dash dropped the tea-pot. Dot had hysterics.

   “I think,” said Mabel, without a smile, “we had better go into the garden.”

   Everything in the garden was lovely.

   “Luke,” said Mabel, “I did not quite like what you said in the kitchen just now. It was just a teeny-weeny——”

   “Funny, wasn’t it?” said Luke. “You must admit it was funny. Seemed to come to me all of a flash. I’ll bet that nothing more amusing has been said in this house since the day it was built. Dot and Dash! Dot and Dash! Oh, help!”

   He rolled about the path in uncontrollable laughter.

   Mabel looked sadder and sadder. He said that made it all the funnier, and laughed more.

   After dinner he wrote the joke out carefully. It seemed a pity that

    Punch

   should not have it. Mabel yawned, and said she would go up to bed.

   “Tired?” asked Luke.

   “A little. There’s something about you, Luke, that makes one feel tired. By the way, did you ever know Mr. Mark Sabre?”

   “God forbid—I mean, no.”

   “Well, he called one of his maids High Jinks and the other Low, but it turned out later in the story that the one that was first Low became High, while High became Low. I thought I’d just mention it to you as a warning.”

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