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THE STRAND MAGAZINE . 
“ Nor have I,” said John, miserably. 
Then they both laughed. 
John explained. It was vital, of course, 
that he should find out at once everything 
that was to be known about the celebrity, 
but — how ? Row ? 
“ Leave that to me,” said the kindly 
Henry. 
“ Hold hard ! Let’s talk this over. In 
what line could Mab be a celebrity ? ” 
Henry hazarded a wild guess. 
“ Novelist ? ” 
John shook his head. 
£< Impossible. I know ’em all by name.” 
“ Actress ? ” 
“ Try again. Between us we may arrive 
at something. I know the names of actresses, 
singers, pianists, fiddlers, painters, and 
sculptors. We have this clue, old man : she 
has not talked shop to me. Now — wait ! 
We’ve talked over all the winter sports, and 
she doesn’t shine at any of them. We’ve 
discussed books, pictures, and plays. And 
music.” 
“ Be perfectly calm, John. I’ve got it.” 
“ Speak, or for ever hold your peace ! ” 
“ I’ll bet you she’s a suffragette. Cat and 
mouse — eh ? Escaped from starvation — 
what ? ” 
“ Mab doesn’t look like that. Suffragette 
— no ! Suffragist, well, it’s just possible.” 
“I’ll ask Dalton ; he knows everything. 
He’s playing auction in the next room. You 
sit tight till I come back.” 
John smoked four cigarettes before Henry 
returned. One glance at his friend’s honest 
face was reassuring. He knew , and the 
knowledge had not distressed him. 
“ It’s all right. Dalton is a wonder. 
Miss Simpson is a famous tennis player. She 
got into the semi-finals at Wimbledon last 
July. Dalton says she will be champion of 
the world one day.” 
“ Lady champion ? IIow awful ! ” 
ft Might be worse,” said Henry, cheerfully. 
“ She might have been a lady doctor, or a 
lady whistler.” 
“ 1 hate lawn-tennis.” 
“ So do I, but it’s a nice, clean, healthy 
game, although ruinous to the complexion — 
in time.” 
They stared at each other with lack-lustre 
eyes. Then Henry poured balm upon his 
friend’s lacerated tissues. 
“ Let’s face this like men of the world. 
You are engaged to be married to a really 
charming girl. She’s as fit as a fiddle and 
hard as nails. You have a lot in common. 
The thing is just right, barring this tennis, 
but fortunately you have no profession and 
an ample income.” 
“ I don’t quite take you, Henry ? ” 
“ I mean this. You can trot about with 
her to tournaments, and look after her.” 
“ Pick up the balls ? ” Deep despair 
thrilled his pleasant voice. 
u Cheer up ! I repeat, you can afford in 
every sense of the word to humour Mabel 
for a few months, to let her play her own 
game in her own superlative way. Then ” 
“ Please go on.” 
“ As your best man I suppose that I have 
a claim to officiate later on, as godfather. 
Now, motherhood and lawn-tennis cham- 
pionships don’t trot in the same class. 
See ? ” 
“ I see. Yes ; there’s something in that, 
but it’s a delicate subject, Henry, one that I 
can’t discuss, even with you.’ 
“ Right ! But the odds now are against 
her winning championships. Wait and see ! ” 
II. 
John waited patiently. 
His charming Mabel began to talk shop. 
So did her mother, who was not quite so 
charming. 
The trio left Miirren and travelled together 
to the Riviera, where John was introduced 
to other tennis-playing celebrities — Porson, 
the Irish champion ; Macmurdo, the American 
smasher ; Bott, and the mighty Windlesham. 
He acquired the patter of his future wife’s 
profession ; and he sat beside Mrs. Simpson, 
hour after hour, watching his Mabel, attired 
in virgin white, as she drove ball after ball 
down the side lines. 
The “ nuts ” called her Venus Victrix ! 
They were married at the end of April. 
Mrs. Simpson confessed that she was appre- 
hensive about May weddings. John possessed 
an ancient Tudor manor-house in Dorset, with 
a sunk garden which was the joy of his heart, 
but there was no tennis lawn. A court was 
constructed, what is technically called an 
en tout cas , and a wall covered with concrete 
rose behind the stables. No less a person 
than Bott superintended these important 
improvements. He had entered with Mabel 
for the Mixed Doubles at Wimbledon and else- 
where, and he told John that he regarded his 
playing partner as the coming woman. 
John submitted meekly that Mabel had 
already “ arrived.” 
“ She will win the All Comers’,” said Bott , 
fervently. “ Think of what she has won 
already ! ” Lie had black hair, a yellow face, 
and the profile of a chimpanzee, but John liked 
