"I see," murmured Mary Alice.
The man was one of those great world-powers of finance whose transactions filled columns of the newspapers and were familiar to almost every school child.
That night when Godmother was tucking Mary Alice in, they had a long, long talk about the caller of the afternoon and about some other people Godmother knew, and about how sad a thing it is to take for granted about any person certain qualities we think must go with his estate.
"And now," said Godmother, "I'm going to tell you the Secret."
And she did. Then turned out the light, kissed Mary Alice one more time, and left her to think about it.
V
GOING TO THE PARTY
"Now," said Godmother, the very next morning after she had told Mary Alice the Secret, "to see how it works! This evening I am going to take you to a most delightful place."
"What kind of a place?" Mary Alice begged to know. Already, despite the Secret, she was feeling fearful.