“Hasn’t gone to bed, has she?”
“She usually sits up till I come in.”
“Um.... How much longer will you be out here in the office?”
“I expect to lock up at nine, same as I usually do.”
“I see. Going into the house then, aren’t you?”
“I certainly am. I don’t expect to go out walkin’ in a pourin’ down rainstorm like this one.”
Townsend’s embarrassment seemed to increase. He pulled at his beard.
“Well,” he said, “I—I want to have a talk with the girl and—er——”
Again he paused. Reliance, her gaze fixed upon his face, broke in.
“What’s that?” she asked, sharply. “Do you mean to say you want to talk with her—with Esther?”