Suddenly she gave such a start that she nearly lost her balance on the wheel.
As they wheeled around the corner, toward Mrs. Fleming’s elegant brownstone mansion, they came face to face with a man loitering on the corner as if waiting for some one, and—the man was James Cullen!
Yes, it was Mrs. Fleming’s old servant, whom no one had heard of since he left Sea View, swearing that he would find Letty and her lover, and kill them both.
Impulsively Daisie flung herself from her wheel, Annette following her example, and beckoned the man to approach.
He slouched toward them sullenly, looking as if he had far rather run away. He was well dressed, in a loud, flashy style, with rings on his stubby fingers, and a thick gold watch chain ostentatiously paraded across his plaid vest.
“How do you do, Cullen? I’m glad to find you looking so prosperous. Did—did—you ever find Letty Green?” demanded Daisie breathlessly.
Cullen turned red and pale by turns, and shuffled his feet confusedly, giving a rapid, furtive glance down the street toward Mrs. Fleming’s mansion; then he blurted out eagerly:
“No, madame; I swear I’ve never caught up with the little baggage yit!”
With that, he turned quickly from them, and hurried around the corner, losing himself in the crowds on Fifth Avenue.
“The man looked as if he were lying!” exclaimed Annette, as they remounted their wheels.