"Ha, hm," exclaimed the Professor, quite irresponsible in the matter of English for the moment. He had no real words for such a situation.
"Aren't you awfully proud of her?" asked Adelaide Maud.
The Professor recovered. That word "awfully!" It made him forget this new version of his daughter.
"So you are also in this conspiracy," whispered Lance afterwards to Adelaide Maud. "It's no good. A bomb under that fanatic is all that will move him."
But in the meantime Elsie made some moves for herself.
The Leightons were interested in their own affairs. Cuthbert was away, and Mr. Leighton had to make a run to London. He took Mabel with him and that occurrence was exciting enough in itself. As though to show up the helplessness of a family left without a man in the house, however, one night the maids roused every one in alarm. A burglar, it seems, was trying to get in at the pantry window. The girls, who were getting ready for bed, went quaking to their mother's room. Very frightened and most carefully they made their way to the vicinity of the pantry. There was certainly to be heard a faint shuffling.
"See'd him as plain as day, Miss, leaning up against the window. He moved some flower pots, and stood on 'em."
"Lock the kitchen door, telephone for the police, and light the gas," said Jean in a strained whisper.
She immediately obeyed her own orders by telephoning herself in a quick deep undertone, "Man at the pantry window trying to get in."
Then she took the taper from the shaking hands of Betty.