Louie looked at him half bewildered at first; then she replied:
“Oh, no, we have sent our regrets. Didn’t you know it? I shall not be there.”
“Not be there!” Fred repeated, feeling that the party, for which he did not particularly care, would lose all interest for him if this girl, to whom he had never spoken until this morning, were not there.
There was no time for further remark or expostulation, for Mrs. Grey had come to meet her daughter, whose long absence had made her very anxious, and whom she took at once into the house, asking in much concern what had happened and why her dress was so wet.
Herbert tried to explain, but he was too much excited and fatigued himself to make it very clear, and as his father was growing impatient, he said good-by, and with Fred returned to the carriage, which was driven rapidly away.
CHAPTER VII
THE JUDGE
Lunch had waited a long time at the White’s, where the ladies were in a state of great anxiety, which deepened into alarm, as no attention was paid to the message sent to the bank, asking how matters were progressing. Mrs. White had heard of the run from Mrs. Lansing and Miss Percy, without much emotion. It seemed absurd that such a thing could happen to them.
“It can’t amount to much. The judge will soon stop it. There must be money enough to meet every claim,” she said, and turned her attention to the upheaval in her house, where workmen of different kinds were constantly consulting her.
Lunch was ready promptly at twelve, but before that they had ‘phoned to the bank twice in quick succession. The first time there was no response. The second time the judge’s voice came back like a fog horn:
“Quit telephoning. Nobody can pay attention in this infernal racket. There’s the very old boy to pay!”