“Delighted!” said Susie, crumpling her napkin.
Mrs. Burgess showed signs of rising, but delayed a moment.
“Miss Parker, you rather implied that there was more than one reason why you happened to notice a singed document in a strange language, bearing upon a subject usually left to scientists and hardly within the range of a young girl’s interests. Would you mind enlightening us just a little further in the matter?”
“I thought it was so funny,” said Susie, smiling upon them all, “because of my papa.”
“Your father?” gasped Mrs. Burgess.
“Yes, Mrs. Burgess. Anything about bricks always seemed to me so amusing, because papa used to own a brickyard.”
V
A packet of newspaper clippings forwarded with other mail for Pendleton did not add to the joy of the Burgess breakfast table the next morning. The archæologist murmured an apology and scanned the cuttings with knit brows.
“How early,” he asked, “do you imagine Miss Parker can have a confirmation of her impression about that thing of Glosbrenner’s?”
“By noon, I should think,” answered Burgess.