Thayor gripped the arm of his chair.
"Why didn't you call Leveridge?" he cried.
"There was no necessity. Dr. Sperry merely told me that Margaret was not over strong, and that she needed a change of air, and where she could be kept out of doors. He said there was no immediate danger," she went on steadily, "because the child's lungs are still untouched."
"Does Margaret know?" he asked between his teeth. Sperry and Margaret were the two poles of a battery to Thayor.
"Does she know? Of course not! Do you consider Dr. Sperry a fool?"
"Do I think him a fool? Yes, and sometimes I think he's worse," and he looked at her meaningly. "I'll see Leveridge at once—now—before I change my clothes. He's seen Margaret almost every day since she was born and this silk-stocking exquisite of yours hasn't seen her ten times in his life!" And he strode from the room.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Thayor's interview with Alice only made him more determined than ever to carry out his plans at Big Shanty. If he had hesitated at the danger to Margaret, he got over it when Leveridge said, with marked professional courtesy:
"I should not have diagnosed her case as seriously; I should not worry in the least," adding confidentially—"I should be very much surprised if Dr. Sperry were right. However, I'll keep an eye on Margaret, and if I see things going the wrong way I might advise Lakewood in the spring. To send that child to as severe a climate as the woods in winter, would, in my opinion, be the worst thing in the world for her, Sam."
Thayor had repeated Leveridge's words to Alice, and she had replied: