Bab was in a quandary. She dared not show herself. What would they think of her, their daughter's guest, were she to be seen crawling from a hole in the wall? Her first meeting with Mr. Presby had been unfortunate enough. He surely would not forgive her for this exploit. Then the humor of the situation dawned upon her. Bab stuffed her handkerchief into her mouth so that they might not hear her giggles.
All at once she ceased laughing and sat up very straight.
"Nathan Bonner called on me at my office to-day. It was of that that I wished to speak with you, and that is why I asked the girls to leave the room." Mr. Presby was speaking.
"Did he wish to help you?"
"He intimated something of the sort. What he did want was permission to call on Olive."
"Oh!" The exclamation escaped Mrs. Presby unwittingly.
"And you told him——?"
"No. Not with my permission. Bonner is a very rich man, Jane—and an unscrupulous one I am informed. I know little more about him, except that he has come to be an important figure on the Board of Trade. His rise has been phenomenal. I don't care for the man, however. I do not consider him the sort of man that Olive would like."
"You wish me to speak with her upon the subject?" asked Aunt Jane.
"No!" The word came out with explosive force. "The incident is closed. I am not so base as to consider for a moment the idea of my daughter making a rich alliance some day for the sake of retrieving our financial affairs. I am simply confiding the facts to you, that you may be governed accordingly."