Brockton bowed.
"You are very kind, madame. I regret exceedingly that business calls me immediately back to New York."
"But not before you've shown us your skill at bridge," she laughed. "We're having a game inside now. I'll be pleased to have you join us."
"I shall be delighted," he bowed.
The old lady reentered the house to join her friends, and he turned quickly to Laura:
"When can you get ready?"
She made no answer. Apparently she had not heard. Sitting at the end of the terrace, she leaned over the balustrade of the porch, looking intently into the cañon below, as if expecting to see some one, her eyes shielded with her hands from the hot afternoon sun. Approaching her, Brockton repeated the question.
"When can you get ready?"
She started as if suddenly surprised in some secret reverie.
"Ready? What for?"