t he said he was intending
to stay a while anyway, and would wait. I asked his business, but he
wouldn't tell it."

"That's odd." Mrs. Dunn was slightly interested. "A tradesman, perhaps;
or an agent of the landlord."

"No-o, ma'am. I don't think he's either of them, ma'am."

"What sort of a person is he, Edwards?"

The butler's face twitched for an instant with a troubled smile. Then it
resumed its customary respectful calm.

"I hardly know, ma'am. He's an oddish man. He--I think he's from the
country."

From behind him came a quiet chuckle.

"You're right, Commodore," said a man's voice; "I'm from the country.
You guessed it."

Edwards jumped, startled out of his respectable wits. Mrs. Dunn rose
indignantly from her chair.

"I beg your pardon, ma'am," said the intruder, appearing in the doorway.
"You mustn't think I'm forcin' my way where I ain't wanted. But it
seemed to take so long to make the Admiral here understand that I was
goin' to wait until Caroline came back that I thought I'd save time and
breath by provin' it to him. I didn't know there was any company. Excuse
me, ma'am, I won't bother you. I'll just come to anchor out here in the
entry. Don't mind me."

He bowed politely, picked up the large suit-case, plainly bran-new,
which he had momentarily placed on the rug at his feet, and, with it
in one hand and a big soft felt hat in the other, stepped back into the
hall out of sight. The astonished Mrs. Dunn and the paralyzed Edwards
heard a chair crack as if a heavy weight had descended upon it.
Evidently he had "come to anchor."

The lady was the first to recover the power of speech.

"Why!" she exclaimed, in an alarmed whisper. "Why! I never heard of
such brazen impertinence in my life. He must be insane. He is a lunatic,
isn't he, Edwards?"

The butler shook his head. "I--I don't know, ma'am," he stammered.

"I believe he is." Mrs. Dunn's presence of mind was returning, and with
it her courage. Her florid cheeks flamed a more vivid red, and her eyes
snapped. "But whether he is or not, he sha'n't bulldoze me."

She strode majestically to the door. The visitor was seated in the hall,
calmly reading a newspaper. Hat and suit-case were on the floor beside
him.

"What do you mean by this?" demanded the lady. "Who are you? If you have
any business here, state it at once."

The man glanced at her, over his spectacles, rose and stood looking down
at her. His expression was pleasant, and he was