“By the way,” added Leila, following quite innocently her trend of thought, “Helen Shotwell tells me that her son is going back to the army if he can secure a commission.”
“Yes, I believe so,” said Elorn serenely.
Leila went on: “I fancy there’ll be a lot of them. A taste of service seems to spoil most young men for a piping career of peace.”
“He cares nothing for his business.”
“What is it?”
“Real estate. He is with my father, you know.”
“Of course. I remember––” She suddenly seemed to recollect something else, also––not, perhaps, quite certain of it, but instinctively playing safe. So she refrained from saying anything about this young man’s recent devotion to her friend, Palla Dumont, although that was the subject which she had intended to introduce.
And, smiling to herself, she thought it a close call, because she had meant to ask Elorn whether she knew why the Shotwell boy had so entirely deserted her little friend Palla.
The Shotwell boy himself happened to be involved 346 at that very moment, in matters concerning a friend of Mrs. Vance’s little friend Palla––in fact, he had been trying, for the last half hour, to find this friend of Palla’s on the telephone. The friend in question was Alonzo D. Pawling. And he was being vigorously paged at the Hotel Rajah.
As for Jim, he remained seated in the private office of Angelo Puma, whither he had been summoned in professional capacity by one Skidder, the same being Elmer, and partner of the Puma aforesaid.