All through dinner Peggy had eaten nothing. She sat, pale and preoccupied, making bread balls and leaving her grandmother to entertain Beatrice. The hat-pin was weighing heavily on Peggy’s mind, taking away both appetite and sleep. She was trying to screw up her courage to ask Beatrice to explain its presence in her box, but each time she looked at her friend’s sad face her heart misgave her. What—what if she couldn’t explain? Peggy sighed drearily.
“For goodness’ sake, Peggy,” exclaimed Mrs. Macallister thoroughly exasperated. “You are very depressing to-night. What is the matter?”
“Nothing, nothing,” she hastily declared, suddenly waking up to the fact that she had not taken any part in the conversation for some time. “I was thinking of a story Mr. Sinclair told me this morning when I was in the bank about Mrs. Wheeler. He said his bookkeeper sent word to Mrs. Wheeler that she had overdrawn her bank account. She promptly wrote a note to him saying she was so sorry the mistake had happened, and she enclosed her check on them to cover the overdraw!”
“Poor Mrs. Wheeler,” said Beatrice, as they rose from the table and strolled into the library. “I wonder what Washington would do without her, her blunders are so numerous?”
“Their name is legion,” agreed Mrs. Macallister, helping herself to coffee. “Is that the door bell, Hurley?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I think it is probably Dick Tillinghast,” exclaimed Beatrice rising in her agitation. “I took the liberty of asking him to call here, Mrs. Macallister. I hope you won’t mind, but I—I—” she broke off. “It was imperative that I see him at once.”
“My dear, of course not. I am always glad to see Dick,” answered Mrs. Macallister, concealing her surprise. Could it be that he was the man in the case! Why, good gracious, she had other plans for him. “Ask Mr. Tillinghast to come in here, Hurley.” Her usually tranquil tones were so emphatic that the well-trained servant positively jumped as he hastened out of the room.
Mrs. Macallister looked at the two girls very sharply. Surely she had not been mistaken? Dick had seemed to have only ears and eyes for Peggy; and yet—Beatrice’s very evident excitement; Peggy’s open-eyed wonder. “Oh, these men!” thought Mrs. Macallister, disgustedly, “you can’t tell by the looks of a toad how far he’ll jump. If that young man has played fast and loose with my Peggy, I’ll—” And in growing anger she waited. The silence was unbroken by the two girls. They could hear the front door opened, and Hurley’s raised voice; then steps sounded down the hall and stopped when they reached the library. Hurley threw open the door and announced:
“Mr. Gordon.”