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Mr. Halycon—(Feeling that the usual thing is expected of him) Well, how is my little debutante daughter? About to flit into the wide, wide world?

Helen—No, Daddy, just taking a more licensed view of it.

Mr. Halycon—(Almost apologetically) Helen, I want you to meet a particular friend of mine, a youngish man—

Helen—About forty-five?

Mrs. Halycon—Helen!

Helen—Oh, I like them forty-five. They know life, and are so adorably tired-looking.

Mr. Halycon—And he is very anxious to meet you. He saw you when you came into my office one day, I believe—and let me tell you, he is a brainy man. Brought up from Providence by the—

Helen—(Interrupting) Yes, Daddy, I’ll be delighted to meet him. I’ll—

Enter Cecilia, Helen’s younger sister. Cecilia is sixteen, but socially precocious and outrageously wise on all matters pertaining to her sister. She has blonde hair, in contrast to her sister’s dark brown; and, besides, remarkable green eyes with a wistful trusting expression in them. However, there are very few people whom she trusts.