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 dinner. A delicate meal was served, and Sheldon, his mouth full and good humor restored, suggested Mike's health, opining that Aladdin's genii wasn't in it with Mike. We agreed, and in thin glasses of oily greenish liqueur, Mike's health was freely toasted, varied occasionally with a send-off to ourselves and hobbies.

"Yours, Sally," said Sheldon, alluding to the hobbies, "will ripen, mature, fade and decay in the glorious rays of satiety, but when the inevitable mellowness does occur, for Heaven's sake, my dear boy, kill the pest, don't develop into a plague!"

Sheldon actually believed himself witty, original, but remembering he'd been up all night and crabbed I smiled, blandly thanking him for his advice and reminded him that no matter how severe a case I developed it wouldn't be catching. He seemed willing to drop the subject, but Saunders, evidently annoyed at my calmness, testily sputtered:

"Oh, fiddle! Salucci, you waste your time; love is a pastime, an inclination; turn your attention to more profitable pursuits. We will never visit this portion of the world again. Women, love, oh bosh!"

Saunders made me thoroughly angry. I sprang up, bouncing with fury.

"Gently, gently," murmured Saxe., laying a restraining hand upon me. Then as though it were a subject we had been discussing right along, he proceeded to give out his plans for the future.

Sheldon snickered, and Saunders's eyes twinkled,