up another
theme temporarily. Upon an unusually violent outbreak of her husband's,
in denunciation of the runaway, she cried out faintly that he was cruel;
and further wearied her broken voice with details of Walter's beauty as
a baby, and of his bedtime pieties throughout his infancy.

So the hot night wore on. Three had struck before Mrs. Adams was got to
bed; and Alice, returning to her own room, could hear her father's bare
feet thudding back and forth after that. "Poor papa!" she whispered in
helpless imitation of her mother. "Poor papa! Poor mama! Poor Walter!
Poor all of us!"

She fell asleep, after a time, while from across the hall the bare
feet still thudded over their changeless route; and she woke at seven,
hearing Adams pass her door, shod. In her wrapper she ran out into the
hallway and found him descending the stairs.

"Papa!"

"Hush," he said, and looked up at her with reddened eyes. "Don't wake
your mother."

"I won't," she whispered. "How about you? You haven't slept any at all!"

"Yes, I did. I got some sleep. I'm going over to the works now. I got
to throw some figures together to show the bank. Don't worry: I'll get
things fixed up. You go back to bed. Good-bye."

"Wait!" she bade him sharply.

"What for?"

"You've got to have some breakfast."

"Don't want 'ny."

"You wait!" she said, imperiously, and disappeared to return almost at
once. "I can cook in my bedroom slippers," she explained, "but I don't
believe I could in my bare feet!"

Descending softly, she made him wait in the dining-room until she
brought him toast and eggs and coffee. "Eat!" she said. "And I'm going
to telephone for a taxicab to take you, if you think you've really got
to go."

"No, I'm going to walk--I WANT to walk."

She shook her head anxiously. "You don't look able. You've walked all
night."

"No, I didn't," he returned. "I tell you I got some sleep. I got all I
wanted anyhow."

"But, papa----"

"Here!" he interrupted, looking up at her suddenly and setting down his
cup of coffee. "Look here! What about this Mr. Russell? I forgot all
about him. What about him?"

Her lip trembled a little, but she controlled it before she spoke.
"Well, what about him, papa?" she asked, calmly enough.

"Well, we could hardly----" Adams paused, frowning heavily. "We could
hardly expect he wouldn't hear something about all this."

"Yes; of course he'll hear it, papa."

"Well?"

"Well, what?" she asked, gently.