out."

"How long ago?"

"About ten minutes."

"Thank you."

She went back, and bundling the correspondence together as it had been
before, she removed the books from a shelf to the left of the door,
slid back another panel and revealed the second wall-safe corresponding
to the one to the right of the door from which she had taken the
papers. The combination of this second safe was known only to her
father and herself. She put the envelopes into it, closed it, and
replaced the books. Then she went to her father's desk, took from a
drawer a long typewritten report of which he had asked her to prepare a
digest, and read it through; consciously concentrating, she began her
work. The servant came at one to tell her luncheon was served,
but--immersed now--she ordered her luncheon brought to the study. At
three she heard Avery's motor, and went to the study door and looked
out as he entered the hall.

"What have you found out, Don?" she inquired.

"Nothing yet, Harry."

"You got no trace of them?"

"No; too many motors pass on that road for the car to be recalled
particularly. I've started what inquiries are possible and arranged to
have the road watched in case they come back this way."

He went past her and up to her father. She returned to the study and
put away her work; she called the stables on the house telephone and
ordered her saddle-horse; and going to her rooms and changing to her
riding-habit, she rode till five. Returning, she dressed for dinner,
and going down at seven, she found Eaton, Avery and Blatchford awaiting
her.

The meal was served in the great Jacobean dining room, with walls
paneled to the high ceiling, logs blazing in the big stone fireplace.
As they seated themselves, she noted that Avery seemed moody and
uncommunicative; something, clearly, had irritated and disturbed him;
and as the meal progressed, he vented his irritation upon Eaton by
affronting him more openly by word and look than he had ever done
before in her presence. She was the more surprised at his doing this
now, because she knew that Donald must have received from her father
the same instructions as had been given herself to learn whatever was
possible of Eaton's former position in life. Eaton, with his customary
self-control, met Avery's offensiveness with an equability which almost
disarmed it. Instinctively she tried to help him in this. But now she
found that he met and put aside her assistance in the sam