Mrs. Hastings smiled. "Well," she said, "I'll think over it. I'll probably get Agatha to see what she can do in the first place."
She saw a trace of uncertainty in her husband's face, which was, however, what she had expected.
"As you like," he said. "Something must be done, but on the whole I'd rather you didn't trouble Agatha about the matter; it would be wiser."
Mrs. Hastings asked no more questions. She fancied she understood the situation, and she had Agatha's interests at heart, for she had grown very fond of the girl. There was certainly one slight difficulty in the way of what she meant to do, but she determined to disregard it, though she admitted that it might cause Agatha some embarrassment afterwards. During the afternoon she found the latter alone, and sat down beside her.
"My dear," she said, "I wonder if I may ask whether you are quite convinced that Harry's dead?"
She felt that the question was necessary, though it seemed rather a cruel one, and she saw signs of tension in the girl's expression.
"No," said the latter very quietly; "I can't quite bring myself to believe it."
"Then, since you heard what Sproatly said, you would be willing to do anything that appeared possible to prevent Gregory throwing Harry's dollars away?"
"Yes," said Agatha, "I have been thinking about it." A little sparkle of disdainful anger crept into her eyes. "Gregory seems to have been acting shamefully."
"Then as he won't listen to Allen, we must get Sally to impress that fact on him."