laughter of the group, he immediately lay down and stretched himself out beside George, his dapper little figure looking indescribably comical as he tried to follow George’s instructions and imitate his posture:
“How’s that, George?” he said presently, without moving. “Have I got it?”
George turned and observed him keenly for a moment.
“No,” he said quietly, “you haven’t got it yet, Howard. You see, you’ve got to flatten out completely. You’ve just got to let everything go limp—relax—so that your whole back is flat upon the ground.”
“But I am flat! I am flat!” little Howard protested in such a mincing and comical tone of protest that everyone burst out in hearty laughter, and even George smiled his fine, rare, and grave smile. “My God!” Howard said in an agonized tone when the laughter had subsided, “if I was any flatter I’d feel like a pancake.”
“No, Howard,” George Thornton said quietly after another moment of observant silence. “You haven’t got it yet. You see, your back is really arched—you’re not relaxed—your back is not upon the floor—the thing is to make yourself lie out as flat as a board—like this,” and with the fingers of his strong, small, bronzed hand he gently but firmly pushed Howard’s stomach down towards the floor. Howard grunted protestingly, but lay there after George had taken his hand away, and George, after looking at him closely for a moment, nodded approvingly and said:
“Yes, that’s better. You’re getting it now. But you’ve really got to practise every day. It looks easy, but it’s hard to do.”
“But, George,” Mrs. Pierce broke in, as Howard scrambled to his feet, “—what I’m interested in knowing is how you keep that beautiful, strong athlete’s figure that you’ve got! And that dancer’s waist! My dear sir, that is the curse of a woman’s life: so if you can tell me what to do to take it off around the waist and hips I’ll be eternally grateful to you.”—She was, as a matter of fact, herself as lean and well-conditioned as a race-horse, but George, still lying flat upon the floor, answered quietly:
“Did you ever try this, Ida? I think you’ll find it very useful for keeping the waist down.—You lie flat on your back—like this. You keep your arms flat at your sides—you mustn’t raise them or lift your head. You keep your legs straight—you mustn’t bend them at the knees—and then,” slowly, and with a sense of infinite, hard-muscled power
