r crutches, a coarsely clad, uncouth
giant rose from the dimmest corner and shuffled toward her, twirling a
greasy felt hat in his ham-like hands, and looking decidedly ill at
ease. For once Peace was at a loss for a word of greeting, but stood
with mouth open surveying him much as if he had been an ogre, until
finally he growled out, "Well, d'you b'long to this shebang?"

"Y--yes."

"Well, where the deuce is the head mogul? I've been waiting here 'most
an hour and not a soul has hove in sight. I came to see about Essie
Martin."

"Essie Martin!" Peace was awake at once. That was the name of the
little girl whom Miss Wayne had told her about long ago. "Where is Essie
Martin?"

"Here."

"In this building?"

"Yep."

"When did she come?"

"A fortnight ago."

"What's the matter with her?"

"Darned nonsense. The doctor calls it appendiceetis."

"Are you her father?"

"Yep."

He had turned so the light from a nearby window fell full upon his face,
and Peace deliberately surveyed him from head to heels; then calmly, as
if speaking to herself, she remarked, "Well, Miss Wayne was right. You
_do_ look like a hog, don't you? Only the hogs I know are some cleaner."

The man glared angrily at her, but being too thick-skinned to take in
the full meaning of the child's words, he caught only the familiar name
she had spoken. "Miss Wayne?" he bellowed. "A nurse? Is she here?"

"No, but she was once. She took care of me. Has Essie still got her
doll?"

"Doll!" snarled the father savagely. "She can't think of nothing else.
The lazy jade!"

"I knew it, I knew it!" cried Peace, clapping her hands triumphantly. "I
told Miss Wayne that Essie and her mother were all right. 'Twas just
you that wanted that plug of tobacco. Why didn't Essie's mother come,
too?"

"She's dead."

"O!" Peace was staggered by his blunt, indifferent reply, but before she
could frame another question, Miss Murch appeared from an inner office,
at the same moment that Miss Keith stepped through the doorway from
behind them in search of her truant patient; and Peace suffered herself
to be led docilely away. So absorbed was she in her new discovery that
even her pleasure in her ability to walk again was forgotten.

Dr. Shumway and Gail had disappeared when she reached her room, and the
nurse reported that they had gone motoring; but the fact that they had
neglected to invite her to accompany them failed to bother her much. Her
busy brain was see