Judy surrendered. If Patsy wanted quality dishes she must have them. Anyhow, Judy was sure the Binnies never opened a dinner with cocktails and it was always well to be a few frills ahead of them. Judy enjoyed every minute of her excursion to town and brought home a wine-colored satin of a luster to dazzle even Castle McDermott. It dazzled Tillytuck to whom Judy proudly displayed it that night.

“A bit too voluptuous” was all he would say. And got no pie that night. Tillytuck confessed to himself as he took his way to the granary that this was one of the times he had failed in tact. If he had known that Judy had in the pantry a cold roast duck and a dish of browned potato which she had intended to share with him by way of a “liddle bite” he would have had a still poorer opinion of his tact. As it was, Cuddles discovered it and she and Pat and Judy did justice to it before they went to bed, Sid coming in at the last to pick the bones and listen to Judy’s story about a lost diamond ring that had been found in a turkey’s crop cut open by accident.

“And that do be minding me…did I iver be telling ye av the first time yer Aunt Hazel dressed a turkey for dinner whin she was a slip av a girleen? Oh, oh, there niver was such a disgrace at Silver Bush. It tuk us years to live it down.”

“What happened, Judy?”

“Ye’ll niver be telling her I told ye? Well, thin, she tuk a great notion to be dressing and stuffing the turkey for dinner one time and nobody was to interfere wid it. We didn’t be ixpicting any company that day just having the turkey for ourselves we were, not being Binnies as sells ivery blessed thing off the farm they can and living on potatoes and point. But unixpicted company come…quality folks from town no less…a mimber of Parlymint and his lady wife. I did be thanking me stars we had the turkey but oh, oh, what happened whin yer dad cut a slice off the brist, maning to give all white mate to the lady visitor!”

“Judy, what did happen? Don’t be so mysterious.”