knew by the sound of the quick intake of her breath that Mrs.
Banks was on the verge of weeping.

I looked up, almost furtively, when I heard the crash of footsteps on the
gravel outside, and I found that the other three with the same instinctive
movement of suspense were turning towards Mrs. Banks.

She dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief and nodded to Anne, a nod
that said plainly enough, "It's them--the Jervaises."

And then we were all startled by the sound of the rude and unnecessary
violence of their knock at the front door. No doubt, Frank was still "in a
pad."

Yet no one moved until the old man at the head of the table looked up with
a deep sigh, and said,--

"They'd better come in and be done with it, Nancy."

His glance was slowly travelling round the room as if he were bidding
those familiar things a reluctant farewell. All his life had been lived in
that house.

XIV

MRS. BANKS

The insulting attack upon the front door was made again with even greater
violence while we still waited, united, as I believe, in one sympathetic
resolve to shield the head of the house from any unnecessary distress. He
alone was called upon to make sacrifice; it was our single duty and
privilege to encircle and protect him. And if my own feelings were
representative, we fairly bristled with resentment when this vulgar demand
for admittance was repeated. These domineering, comfortable,
respectability-loving Jervaises were the offenders; the sole cause of our
present anxiety. We had a bitter grievance against them and they came
swaggering and bullying, as if the threat to their silly prestige were the
important thing.

"You'd better go, dear," Mrs. Banks said with a nod to Anne. The little
woman's eyes were bright with the eagerness for battle, but she continued
to talk automatically on absurdly immaterial subjects to relieve the
strain of even those few seconds of waiting.

"Our maid is out, you see, Mr. Melhuish," she explained quickly, and
turning to Brenda, continued without a pause, "So Anne has even had to
lend you a dress. You're about of a height, but you're so much slighter.
Still, with very little alteration, her things would fit you very well. If
we should be obliged ..." She broke off abruptly as Anne returned,
followed by Mr. Jervaise and the glowering, vindictive figure of his son.

Anne's manner of entrance alone would have been sufficient to demonstrate
her attitude to the intruders, but