“But what do you know about the child?” Mrs. Theddon asked.
“They found her in a hayfield over toward Ludlow ten years ago last summer. But no one reported a lost child. When the papers advertised her, no one came forward to identify or claim her. So they brought her here.”
“And you don’t know her last name?”
“Nothing about her whatever. I gave her the name Allegra, and of course when I adopted her, she got my own——”
“Then you have legally adopted her?”
“Well, all the red tape isn’t finished yet. I just say I’ve adopted her when people come here for babies because they always pick the prettiest first. And Leggy’s turned out so clever I could better afford to lose some of the older, homelier ones——”
Mrs. Theddon saw the psychological moment had arrived.
“Miss Howland,” she announced firmly, “I want that child badly. But I don’t want her badly enough to haggle over her. I’ll write you a check this moment for a thousand dollars—and not another cent more. But it’s on the understanding that all the legalities are settled by you with the trustees and the girl is delivered at my home before the coming Saturday!”
If Mrs. Theddon had drawn a revolver and shot the Howland person, the latter could not have sat more totally and adequately stunned.
“A—thou—sand—dol—lars!”