“Let ’em all come.”
“My dear Henry, did you see them?”
“I did catch sight of a brown bunch of a woman, certainly.
“The brown bunch was Helen, but did you catch sight of a sea-green and salmon bunch?”
“What! are they out beanfeasting?”
“No; business. They wanted to see me, and later on I want to talk to you about them.”
She was ashamed of her own diplomacy. In dealing with a Wilcox, how tempting it was to lapse from comradeship, and to give him the kind of woman that he desired! Henry took the hint at once, and said: “Why later on? Tell me now. No time like the present.”
“Shall I?”
“If it isn’t a long story.”
“Oh, not five minutes; but there’s a sting at the end of it, for I want you to find the man some work in your office.”