ed that she
had moved. She had no telephone yet, for it took a vast amount of time
to get any but a governmental telephone installed. So he noted her
address, and after some hesitation decided to call. If she did not
want to see him, her butler could tell him that she was out.

He called. Marie Louise had tried in vain to get in servants who would
stay. Abbie talked to them familiarly--and so did Jake. The virtuous
ones left because of Jake, and the others left because of Abbie.

So Abbie went to the door when Davidge called. He supposed that the
butler was having a day off and the cook was answering the bell. He
offered his card to Abbie.

She wiped her hand on her apron and took it, then handed it back to
him, saying:

"You'll have to read it. I ain't my specs."

Davidge said, "Please ask Miss Webling if she can see Mr. Davidge."

"You're not Mr. Davidge!" Abbie gasped, remembering the importance
Marie Louise gave him.

"Yes," said Davidge, with proper modesty.

"Well, I want to know!"

Abbie wiped her hand again and thrust it forward, seizing his
questioning fingers in a practised clench, and saying, "Come right on
in and seddown." She haled the befuddled Davidge to a chair and
regarded him with beaming eyes. He regarded her with the eyes of
astonishment--and the ears, too, for the amazing servant, forever
wiping her hands, went to the stairs and shrieked:

"Mamee-eese! Oh, Ma-mee-uz! Mist' Davidge is shere."

Poor Mamise! She had to come down upon such a scene, and without
having had any chance to break the news that she had a sister she had
to introduce the sister. She had no chance to explain her till a
fortunate whiff of burning pastry led Abbie to groan, "My Lord, them
pies!" and flee.

If ever Marie Louise had been guilty of snobbery, she was doing
penance for it now. She was too loyal to what her family ought to have
been and was not to apologize for Abbie, but she suffered in a social
purgatory.

Worse yet, she had to ask Davidge to give her brother-in-law a job.
And Davidge said he would. He said it before he saw Jake. And when he
saw him, though he did not like him, he did not guess what treachery
the fellow planned. He invited him to come to the shipyard--by train.

He invited Mamise to ride thither in her own car the next day to see
his laboratory for ships, never dreaming that the German menace was
already planning its destruction.

* * * * *