"Oh, I'm awfully sorry, Professor," said the girl, really distressed, as she unlocked the Shop door. "Come in, please. Mrs. Dyer told our girls to go into the attic and help themselves to anything they wanted. We've done splendidly with the old furniture, and fenders, and brassware, but I hope the two articles you prize are still unsold. If so, you shall not pay us for them, but we will deliver them to your house immediately."
He did not reply, for already he was searching through the accumulation of odds and ends with which the store-room was stocked.
"Perhaps I can help you," suggested Mary Louise.
He turned to her, seeming to hesitate.
"One was a chair; a chair with spindle legs and a high back, richly carved. It is made of black oak, I believe."
"Oh, I remember that well," said the girl. "Mrs. Charleworth bought it from us."
"Mrs. Charleworth? Well, perhaps she will return it to me. I know the lady slightly and will explain that I did not wish to part with it." Still his eyes were roving around the room, and his interest in the chair seemed somewhat perfunctory. "The other piece of furniture was a sort of escritoire, set on a square pedestal that had a carved base of lions' feet." His voice had grown eager now, although he strove to render it calm, and there was a ring of anxiety in his words.
Mary Louise felt relieved as she said assuringly:
"That, at least, I can promise you will be returned. My friend, Josie O'Gorman, bought it and had it sent to our house, where she is visiting. As soon as some of the girls come here to relieve me, I'll take you home with me and have Uncle Eben carry the desk to your house in our motor car. It isn't so very big, and Uncle Eben can manage it easily."
The tense look on the man's face relaxed. It evident that Professor Dyer was greatly relieved.