Elisha, irritation
getting the better of his discretion, "as 'tis the devilish fools
that--"

"Yes? Oh, all right, Mater."

"That are careless enough to get in the way of them," finished the
captain, with surprising presence of mind. "Still, if Caroline wants to
go--"

"I have it!" exclaimed Mrs. Dunn. "The young people shall go, and the
others remain at home. Malcolm shall take you for a spin, Caroline, and
Captain Warren and I will stay here and wait until you return. We'll
have a family chat, Captain, won't we? Because," with a gay laugh, "in a
way we _are_ like one family, you see."

And, somewhat to Miss Warren's surprise, her uncle agreed to this
proposition. He did not answer immediately, but, when he did, it was
with heartiness.

"Why, yes," he said, "that's a good idea. That's fust-rate. You young
folks go, and Mrs. Dunn and I'll wait here till you come back. That's
the way of the world--young folks on the go, and the old folks at home
by the fire, hey, Mrs. Dunn?"

The lady addressed did not relish being numbered with "old folks," but
she smiled sweetly, and said she supposed it was. Malcolm telephoned to
the garage and to Edwards at the Warren apartment, ordering the butler
to deliver his mistress's auto cap and cloak to the chauffeur, who would
call for them. A few minutes later the yellow car rolled up to the door.

In the hall Mrs. Dunn whispered a reassuring word to her departing
guest.

"Now enjoy yourself, dear," she whispered. "Have a nice ride and
don't worry about me. If he--if our encumbrance bores me too much I
shall--well, I shall plead a headache and leave him to his own devices.
Besides, he isn't so _very_ dreadful, is he?"

Caroline shook her head. "No," she answered, "he is a good man. I
understand him better than I did and--yes, I like him better, too."

"Oh!... Indeed! Well, good-by, dear. Good-by."

The yellow car roared as the chauffeur cranked it, then moved off up
the crowded avenue. Mrs. Dunn watched it until it was out of sight.
Her brows were drawn together, and she seemed puzzled and just a bit
disconcerted. However, when she returned to the drawing-room, her
gracious smile had returned, and her bland condescension was again in
evidence.

Captain Elisha had been standing by the window. She begged him to be
seated. He thanked her, but looked dubiously at the Louis XVI chair
indicated. She noticed the look.

"Suppose we go into the library," she said. "It is much less