He
laughed frequently at the wrong time and mirthlessly.
"He's got something on his mind," whispered Odwell in comment.
"Yes; he always laughs when there is anything on his mind," replied
Mrs. De Peyton. "That's the way he gets it off."
After dinner no one proposed cards. The party edged off into twos and
threes and explained how luck had been with or against them. Penelope,
who could not afford to play for stakes, and had the courage to say
so, sat back and listened to the conversation of her brother and the
group around him.
The duke was holding forth on the superiority of the Chinese over the
Japanese as servants and Bazelhurst was loudly defending the Japanese
navy.
"Hang it all, Barminster, the Japs could eat 'em up," he proclaimed.
"Couldn't they?" to the crowd.
"I'm talking about servants, Cecil," observed the duke.
"And shoot? Why, they're the greatest gunners in the world. By Jove, I
read somewhere the other day that they had hit what they shot at three
million times out of--or, let me see, was it the Prussians who fired
three million rounds and--"
"Oh, let's change the subject," said the duke in disgust. "What's
become of that Shaw fellow?" Penelope started and flushed, much to her
chagrin. At the sound of Shaw's name Lady Bazelhurst, who was passing
with the count, stopped so abruptly that her companion took half a
dozen paces without her.
"Shaw? By Jove, do you know, I'd completely forgotten that fellow,"
exclaimed Cecil.
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