after which she nodded to Mary to
open the door.

To Jimmy, the maid's pert "good-morning" seemed to be in very bad taste
and to properly reprove her he assumed a grave, dignified air out of
which he was promptly startled by Zoie's even more unseemly greeting.

"Hello, Jimmy!" she snapped. Her tone was certainly not that of a
heart-broken widow. "It's TIME you got here," she added with an injured
air.

Jimmy gazed at Zoie in astonishment. She was never what he would have
called a sympathetic woman, but really----!

"I came the moment you 'phoned me," he stammered; "what is it? What's
the matter?"

"It's awful," sniffled Zoie. And she tore up and down the room
regardless of the fact that Jimmy was still unseated.

"Awful what?" questioned Jimmy.

"Worst I've ever had," sobbed Zoie.

"Is anything wrong with Alfred?" ventured Jimmy. And he braced himself
for her answer.

"He's gone," sobbed Zoie.

"Gone!" echoed Jimmy, feeling sure that his worst fears were about to be
realised. "Gone where?"

"I don't know," sniffled Zoie, "I just 'phoned his office. He isn't
there."

"Oh, is that all?" answered Jimmy, with a sigh of relief. "Just another
little family tiff," he was unable to conceal a feeling of thankfulness.
"What's up?"

Zoie measured Jimmy with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. She resented the
patronising tone that he was adopting. How dare he be cheerful when
she was so unhappy--and because of him, too? She determined that his
self-complacency should be short-lived.

"Alfred has found out that I lied about the luncheon," she said,
weighing her words and their effect upon Jimmy.

"What luncheon?" stuttered Jimmy, feeling sure that Zoie had suddenly
marked him for her victim, but puzzled as to what form her persecution
was about to take.

"What luncheon?" repeated Zoie, trying apparently to conceal her disgust
at his dulness. "OUR luncheon yesterday."

"Why did you LIE," asked Jimmy, his eyes growing rounder and rounder
with wonder.

"I didn't know he KNEW," answered Zoie innocently.

"Knew what?" questioned Jimmy, more and more befogged.

"That I'd eaten with a man," concluded Zoie impatiently. Then she turned
her back upon Jimmy and again dashed up and down the room occupied with
her own thoughts.

It was certainly difficult to get much understanding out of Zoie's
disjointed observations, but Jimmy was doing his best. He followed her
restless movements about the room with his eyes, and the