There were some things of which he would not speak, however, and hence Joe found himself in a state bordering on bewilderment when he finally went downstairs.
By this time the guests had finished supper and were again flocking into the parlors.
There were between twenty-five and thirty in all.
Eric was introduced all around.
He noticed that there was some little secret among a number of those present—Lillian, all blushes and confusion, was being consulted by an old gentleman with a white beard.
Although Eric had declared he was almost famished he would not leave the rooms now for supper—something was on the tapis, and he was bound to see it out.
Supper could wait.
Ah! it came at last.
The elderly gentleman rapped on a table. Silence ensued.
All eyes were bent on him, all but those of Joe Leslie, and his blazing orbs rested on the blushing face of Lillian—before he learned all he wanted to prove that he no longer entertained the slightest suspicion regarding her.