"I shall hope to renew our old acquaintance. It is a great pleasure to find one's estimates of an old friend more than exceeded."
Elijah took Mrs. MacGregor's hand. In spite of his bewilderment over their implied intimacy in the past, he felt a glow of pride that she felt it worth her while to expand the mustard seed of their former acquaintance into a luxuriant growth. He gave the limp hand a warm pressure.
"Let me do anything I can for your pleasure, Mrs. MacGregor. I am always at your service."
Mrs. MacGregor bowed formally to Helen.
"We shall meet again, I hope. You are stopping here?"
"Yes." Helen could hardly bring herself to this curt response. She felt more like slapping.
It did not escape Mrs. MacGregor, who was following Uncle Sid from the room, that Helen had begun to move as well, and that she was checked by an almost imperceptible gesture from Elijah.
"What about tomorrow, Helen?" he asked.
"You mean the Pacific bank?"
"Yes. It's not our secret now. Every one knows that the run will begin when the bank opens."