the bell again, and it was now ringing impatiently,
Mrs. Colter was not convinced. She knelt before Barbara, straightening
a washed-out ribbon that stood up limply above the brown curls. "Now,
come! Quiet!" she admonished.

Out of the pocket of the gingham, Barbara had brought a small and
withered nosegay. There were asters in it, and a torn and woeful
carnation. "See!" she cried. "I'm going to give Aunt Clare all these."

Tottie was gone to admit the visitor. Mrs. Colter lowered her voice.
"Yes, honey," she agreed. "And you're goin' to tell your Aunt Clare
what a nice place we've got in Poughkeepsie, and how much you like it,
and----" The outer door had opened. She whispered an added suggestion.

There was a young man at the front door--a man with a quick, nervous
manner. He wore clothes that were unmistakably English, and
_pince-nez_ from which hung a narrow black ribbon. And he carried a
cane. As he took off his derby to greet the landlady with studied
courtesy, his hair showed sparse across the top of his head. His
mustache worn short, was touched with gray.

"She's out yodelin' somewheres, Mr. Hull," informed Tottie, filling the
doorway inhospitably, but unconsciously.

Hull's face fell. "Well,--well, do you mind if I wait for her?" he
asked.

"Oh, come in. Come in."

He came, with a stride that was plainly acquired in uniform. His cane
hung smartly on his left arm. He carried his head high.

It was Tottie's conviction that he was the son of a nobleman--perhaps
even of a duke; and that he was undoubtedly an erstwhile officer in the
King's service. She was respectful to Hull, even a little awe-struck
in his presence. He had a way of looking past her when he spoke, of
treating her as he might an orderly who was making a report. With him,
she always adopted a certain throaty manner of speaking,--a deep, honey
huskiness for which a well-known actress, who was a favorite of hers,
was renowned, and which she had carefully practiced. How many times of
a Sunday, cane in hand, had she seen him come down that street to her
steps, wearing a silk hat. Sometimes for his sake alone she wished
that she could dispense with that laundry.

"Then she didn't get my letter," said Hull.

"Can't say," answered Tottie, taking her eyes from the mantelpiece.

Hull spied the envelope. "No; here it is. You see, I didn't think I
could follow it so soon."

Mrs. Colter had risen, and was struggling with her