rs. Hastings besought him. "Do you
think this person, whoever it is, can do something? And whatever can
he do? Oh dear," she ended, "I do want to act the way poor dear Mr.
Hastings would have acted. Only I know that he would have gone
straight to Bitley, or wherever she is, and held a revolver at that
mulatto creature's head, and _commanded_ her to talk English. Mr.
Hastings was a very determined character. If you could have seen the
poor dear man's chin! But of course I can't do that, can I? And
that's what I say to Olivia. 'Olivia, one doesn't _need_ a man's
judgment if one will only use judgment oneself.' What is it you
think, Mr. St. George?"

Before St. George could reply there entered the room, behind a low
announcement of his name, a man of sixty-odd years, nervous,
slightly stooped, his smooth pale face unlighted by little deep-set
eyes.

"Ah, Mr. Frothingham!" said Mrs. Hastings in evident relief, "you
are just in time. Mr. St. John was just telling me horrible things
about this frightful mulatto creature. This is Mr. St. John. Mr.
Frothingham is my lawyer and my brother Otho's lawyer. And so I
telephoned him to come in and hear all about this. And now do go on,
Mr. St. John, about this hideous woman. What is it you think?"

"How do you do, Mr. St. John?" said the lawyer portentously. His
greeting was almost a warning, and reminded St. George of the way in
which certain brakemen call out stations. St. George responded as
blithely to this name as to his own and did not correct it. "And
what," went on the lawyer, sitting down with long unclosed hands
laid trimly along his knees, "have you to contribute to this most
remarkable occurrence, Mr. St. John?"

St. George briefly narrated the events of the morning and placed the
slip of paper in the lawyer's hands.

"Ah! We have here a communication in the nature of a confession,"
the lawyer observed, adjusting his gold pince-nez, head thrown back,
eyebrows lifted.

"Only the address, sir," said St. George, "and I was just saying to
Mrs. Hastings that some one ought to go to this address at once and
find out whatever is to be got there. Whoever goes I will very
gladly accompany."

Mr. Frothingham had a fashion of making ready to speak and
soliciting attention by the act, and then collapsing suddenly with
no explosion, like a bad Roman candle. He did this now, and whatever
he meant to say was lost to the race; but he looked very wise the
while. It was rather as