nawed his mustache. And when Pop Henderson's cracked old
voice broke altogether in the passage that touched on his departed
employer, old T. A. Buck, and the great happiness that this occasion
would have brought him, Emma's hand met young T. A.'s and rested there.
Hortense and Henry, standing very close together all through the
speech, had, in this respect, anticipated their employers by several
minutes.

They were to be away two weeks only. No one knew just where, except
that some small part of the trip was to be spent on a flying visit to
young Jock McChesney out in Chicago. He himself was to be married very
soon. Emma McChesney had rather startled her very good-looking
husband-to-be by whirling about at him with,

"T. A., do you realize that you're very likely to be a step-grandfather
some fine day not so far away!"

T. A. had gazed at her for a rather shocked moment, swallowed hard,
smiled, and said,

"Even that doesn't scare me, Emma."

Everything had been planned down to the last detail. Mrs. McChesney's
little apartment had been subleased, and a very smart one taken and
furnished almost complete, with Annie installed in the kitchen and a
demure parlor-maid engaged.

"When we come back, we'll come home," T. A. Buck had said. "Home!"

There had been much to do, but it had all been done smoothly and
expertly, under the direction of these two who had learned how to plan,
direct, and carry out.

Then, on the last day, Emma McChesney, visibly perturbed, entered her
partner's office, a letter in her hand.

"This is ghastly!" she exclaimed.

Buck pulled out a chair for her.

"Klein cancel his order again?"

"No. And don't ask me to sit down. Be thankful that I don't blow up."

"Is it as bad as that?"

"Bad! Here--read that! No, don't read it; I'll tell you. It'll
relieve my feelings. You know how I've been angling and scheming and
contriving and plotting for years to get an exclusive order from Gage &
Fosdick. Of course we've had a nice little order every few months, but
what's that from the biggest mail-order house in the world? And now,
out of a blue sky, comes this bolt from O'Malley, who buys our stuff,
saying that he's coming on the tenth--that's next week--that he's
planned to establish our line with their trade, and that he wants us to
be prepared for a record-breaking order. I've fairly prayed for this.
And now--what shall we do?"

"Do?"--smoothly--"just write the gentleman and te