"I do wonder what she talks to them about," speculated Mrs. Penfield, and Mrs. Fessenden replied:
"My dear, you may depend, they do not let her talk."
Mrs. Penfield reflected, while three backs, two broad and one slender and sinuous as a tea-plant, receded toward the shrubbery.
"I wonder which one Mabel will come back with?" she said.
"If Jack were here, he would give odds on Mr. Hopworthy," replied Jack's wife.
"Of course, Mr. Hopworthy is the coming man," observed Mrs. Penfield. "But Mr. Ferris has 'arrived.'"
"Yes," assented Mrs. Fessenden, "as Jack says, he has arrived and taken all the rooms.... But, then, I have great faith in Mr. Hopworthy. You know Jack's aunt discovered him."
"Yes," said Mrs. Penfield, "I remember, but, Clara, it was you that introduced him."
"Oh, that was nothing," murmured Clara. "We were very glad——"