Fran patted the thin old arm with her thin young hand, as she shouted,
"I'll wheel you twenty times a day, if you say so!"
"But I do not see-saw," retorted the old lady with spirit.
"This is going to agitate my heart," interposed Simon Jefferson, as there came a louder dash of rain against the windows. "I ought to be getting the benefits of this soothing sound, in my bed. When is this company going to break up?"
Gregory, finding Grace's eyes fixed on him searchingly, felt himself pushed to the wall. "Of course," he said coldly, "it is understood that the daughter of—er—my friend, comes here as a—as an equal." As he found himself forced into definite opposition to his secretary, his manner grew more assured. Suddenly it occurred to him that he was, in a way, atoning for the past.
"As an equal, yes!" exclaimed his wife, again embracing Fran. "How else could it be?"
"This is going to be a good thing for you, if you only knew it," Fran said, looking into her face with loving eyes.
Hamilton Gregory was almost able to persuade himself that he had received the orphan of his own free choice, thus to make reparation. "It is my duty," he said; "and I always try to do my duty, as I see it."
"Would you like to know more about me?" Fran asked confidentially of
Mrs. Gregory.
Gregory turned pale. "I don't think it is neces—"
"Do tell me!" exclaimed his wife.