"If I came to supper barefoot, no one would notice."

"Hah! That's where you're wrong! Never underestimate fine shoes! It's the first thing the girls look for!"

"Hm ... That's something I didn't know."

"You'll find that I'm right. Girls are clever little creatures; they can size up a fellow in no time at all! If your nose is dripping or your fly is open or if your shoes aren't truly sporting, they'll tell each other:

"Don't give that turnip-head the time of day!"" "Those are valuable tips," said Glawen.

"I'll keep them in mind!"

Aries frowned. One could never be sure how to take Glawen's remarks; often they verged upon the caustic. At the moment Glawen seemed sober and respectful, which was as it should be. Reassured, Aries continued, even more grandly than before.

"Perhaps I shouldn't mention this, but I have taken the trouble to work out a manual of foolproof methods for getting along with the girls, if you know what I mean."

Aries gave Glawen a lewd wink.

"It's based on female psychology and it operates like magic, every time!"

"Amazing! How does it work?"

"The details are secret. In practice, one needs only to identify signals which instinct enforces on the little darlings, and then make the response recommended in my manual, and so forth."

"Is this manual generally available?"

"Emphatically not! It's top-secret, for the use of Bold Lions only." The Bold Lions included six of the most raffish young scapegraces of Araminta Station.

"If the girls got hold of a copy, they'd know exactly what was going on."

"They already know what's going on; they don't need your book."

Aries blew out his cheeks.

"That is often true, in which case the manual recommends strategies of surprise."

Glawen rose to his feet.

"I guess I'll have to work out my own methods although I doubt if I'll need them at the House Supper. In the first place, there won't be any girls on hand."

"You're joking! What of Fram and Pally?"

"They are too old for me."

"But not for me! I take them as I find them, young or old!

You should get involved with the Mummers! There are some real sizzlers in the troupe this year: Sessily Veder, for one."

"I don't have any talents along those lines."

"There's nothing to it! Master Floreste uses you to your best advantage; Kirdy Wook has no trace of talent; in fact, he's a bit of a lummox. Goody-goody, so to speak. In Evolution of the Gods he and I are primordial beasts. In First-Fire I am a being of clay and water, and I get struck by lightning. I change costumes and once again Kirdy and I are hairy beasts groaning for enlightenment. But the flame is stolen by Ling Diffin, who plays Prometheus. Sessily Veder is "Bird of Inspiration," and she inspired me to write my manual. Even that stick Kirdy drools to see her."

Glawen turned his back on the taffrail. Sessily Veder, whom he knew only from a distance, was a girl of charm and vitality.

"Have you tried the manual on Sessily?"

"She hasn't given me the opportunity. That's the one flaw of my system."

"A pity ... Well, I must get on with the sanding."

Aries settled himself upon a bench to watch. After a moment he said: "I suppose that you find this a good way to relax your nerves."

"Why should I be nervous? I've got to eat somewhere."

Aries grinned.

"You don't improve matters lurking and glooming down here at the boathouse. Your SI is already calculated and there is nothing you can do about it."

Glawen only laughed.

"If there were, I'd be doing it."

Aries' grin faded. Was there nothing sharp enough to puncture Glawen's self-possession? Even his mother, Spanchetta, had termed Glawen the most detestable child of her experience.

Aries spoke in an important voice: "Perhaps you're wise!

Enjoy your peace of mind while you can, because after today, you'll be a provisional, with the five-year worries on your neck."

Glawen gave Aries one of the sardonic side glances which Aries found so annoying.

"And these worries trouble you?"

"Not me! I'm a 16.1 can afford to relax."

"So did your Aunt Smonny. How are your grades at the lyceum?"

Aries scowled.

"Let's just leave me out of the conversation, shall we? Anytime my grades need attention, I can easily take care of them."

"If you say so."

"I say very much so. As for the matter under discussion--and'I don't mean my grades--I know a great deal more than you might expect." Aries gazed up toward the blue and green glass dome.

"In fact--I shouldn't tell you this---I've been privately notified of your SI. I'm sorry to say that it is not encouraging. I tell you only so that you won't be taken by surprise at the supper."

Glawen turned Aries another quick side glance.

"No one knows my SI but Fratano, and he would not tell you."