Mrs. Alexander revived quickly, once she had gained her point, and by the time Mr. Algernon Alveston was announced, she had regained her usual strength of mind, as well as strength of ankles—the weakness which had caused her graceful subsidence upon the curb seemed to have vanished like magic.
Mr. Dalken’s party had given up their rooms at the hotel, at the time they believed themselves to be leaving for the train; then it became necessary for the Alexanders to engage another suite to allow the indisposed lady to recover without being annoyed by strangers.
Every member of the Dalken party, except Mrs. Alexander, was waiting in the luxurious lounge for further news of the invalid, when a thin, sallow-faced, silver-haired youth pranced into the hotel and glanced eagerly around. He must have been weak-sighted, because Dodo was a prominent figure in the waiting party of friends, yet the newcomer failed to see her.
“Oh, goodness!” whispered Dodo. “There’s Algy,—spats, cane and monocle!”
The others had seen the ridiculous-looking young man, and now they gasped at Dodo’s information. Was that the cause of their hold-up? Mr. Alexander frowned ominously, as he muttered aloud: “Where’d he come from, Dodo? And how long’ve you known him?”
“He doesn’t seem to know himself where he hailed from,” tittered Dodo, getting back of her friends to avoid being spied by the little green eye back of the monocle. “As for time in which to know him, Daddy, a minute or two is sufficient. There’s nothing more to discover, once you’ve had a look at his clothes and general get-up.”
Polly and Eleanor giggled, because Dodo’s description seemed to fit the object perfectly. Then they suddenly turned their attention to each other and seemed deeply interested in what the gentlemen were saying,—because a bell-hop was seen to take a card from the clerk and leave the desk. In a few seconds thereafter, he began to page “Mrs. Alexander! Mrs. Alexander!”
“S—sh! don’t one of you dare to reply to that!” warned Mr. Alexander, making sure that Dodo was safely screened from view by the girls and Mrs. Courtney. “If that swell collar-ad over there’s called to see Mrs. Alexander, let her answer the call. It ain’t fer you ner me, Dodo!”
Having paraded all around the public rooms on the first floor, the bell-hop was returning to the desk with the card in his hand, when the vigilant clerk spied the Alexanders in Mr. Dalken’s party.
“There, you’ll find out where the lady is by asking of her husband or daughter—over by the palms,” said the clerk. Then Mr. Alexander saw the boy hurry across the lobby in his direction.