all," she said.

"I shall be delighted," he answered stiffly, and with a dissatisfied
look at her.

"Oh, Mr. Hawker," cried the younger Worcester girl, suddenly emerging
from the cloud of argument which Hollanden and Oglethorpe kept in the
air, "won't it be sad to lose Grace? Indeed, I don't know what we shall
do. Sha'n't we miss her dreadfully?"

"Yes," said Hawker, "we shall of course miss her dreadfully."

"Yes, won't it be frightful?" said the elder Worcester girl. "I can't
imagine what we will do without her. And Hollie is only going to spend
ten more days. Oh, dear! mamma, I believe, will insist on staying the
entire summer. It was papa's orders, you know, and I really think she is
going to obey them. He said he wanted her to have one period of rest at
any rate. She is such a busy woman in town, you know."

"Here," said Hollanden, wheeling to them suddenly, "you all look as if
you were badgering Hawker, and he looks badgered. What are you saying to
him?"

"Why," answered the younger Worcester girl, "we were only saying to him
how lonely it would be without Grace."

"Oh!" said Hollanden.

As the evening grew old, the mother of the Worcester girls joined the
group. This was a sign that the girls were not to long delay the
vanishing time. She sat almost upon the edge of her chair, as if she
expected to be called upon at any moment to arise and bow "Good-night,"
and she repaid Hollanden's eloquent attention with the placid and
absent-minded smiles of the chaperon who waits.

Once the younger Worcester girl shrugged her shoulders and turned to
say, "Mamma, you make me nervous!" Her mother merely smiled in a still
more placid and absent-minded manner.

Oglethorpe arose to drag his chair nearer to the railing, and when he
stood the Worcester mother moved and looked around expectantly, but
Oglethorpe took seat again. Hawker kept an anxious eye upon her.

Presently Miss Fanhall arose.

"Why, you are not going in already, are you?" said Hawker and Hollanden
and Oglethorpe. The Worcester mother moved toward the door followed by
her daughters, who were protesting in muffled tones. Hollanden pitched
violently upon Oglethorpe. "Well, at any rate----" he said. He picked
the thread of a past argument with great agility.

Hawker said to the girl, "I--I--I shall miss you dreadfully."

She turned to look at him and smiled. "Shall you?" she said in a low
voice.

"Yes," he said. Thereafter he stood before her awkwar