"They'll do," he said. "Tell them to come and dine with us. But," he paused, and looked at Roseleaf, "we need still another."
The color mounted to the cheeks of the young novelist, as he understood the thought that prompted this statement.
"Not on my account—I would much rather not," he stammered.
"You will kindly leave that to my judgment," replied Archie, impressively. "Remember, you are not the instructor here, but the pupil. There must be some one else, Isaac."
Mr. Leveson hesitated. He was mentally going over the rooms upstairs and taking stock of what was in them.
"There are two girls," he said, at last, "who used to work in one of the dry goods stores, but you wouldn't want them. They are very strict, and they dress plainly,—and I am afraid the other ladies wouldn't like to associate with them."
Mr. Weil grew vastly irritated by this statement. He brought his hand down on the table with a bang.
"The other ladies!" he echoed, angrily. "When you tell Mrs. Delavan and Jenny Pelham that you want them to dine with us, you know that ends it! As to these shop girls, what do you mean by calling them strict? What would a strict girl be doing in this house?"
Mr. Leveson cringed before his interrogator and made the old, imploring movement with his hands.
"Let me explain," he said. "These girls came here a few weeks ago with some traveling men. They took dinner, but Adolf says neither drank a drop of wine. A few days later they came again, with other escorts, and the same thing occurred."