Alf smirked as he stared into the fire.
"One of the flash-girls from the Hotel. I see her off to-day for Mr. Trupp."
Anne Caspar was breathing deep.
"Was Mr. Trupp seeing to her?"
"That's it," said Alf. "Sea View. You know."
Yes, Anne Caspar knew all about Sea View.
"Was that why Ernie left the Hotel?" she asked at last, white as a sword.
"Ah," said Alf, significantly. "It was one why, I reck'n."
Anne Caspar was not critical nor logical nor even just.
Next Saturday, when Ern called to take his father out, his mother met him with terrible hostility.