message at her head. Archie
hated discord; the very thought of it was abhorrent. He had never had a
care in his life beyond his health, and quarrels of every sort he left
to underbred people with evil tempers. Here was a furious lunatic
telegraphing his wife of the severance of the most sacred of ties and
demanding the immediate transfer of one child to his possession and
relinquishing only temporarily the custody of the other, presumably
younger and the lawful owner of the doll he had picked up on the stair
landing.

He now visualized the whole scene that followed upon the receipt of the
telegram; the hurried, tearful packing, the bewildered children, the
panic-struck servants rushing about obeying the orders of a hysterical
mistress. The more he thought of it the warmer became his defensive
attitude toward the unknown Alice. She had met the situation like a
woman of quick decisions,--perhaps she was a little too unyielding and
this had caused the rupture; but no man worthy to be called a gentleman
would commit to the wires so heartless a message directed at the mother
of his children.

His attention had been arrested several times by a photograph of a young
girl, of eleven or twelve, set in a silver frame on the living-room
table, whom he assumed to be the Edith mentioned in the telegram. She
was a lovely child, with a wealth of hair falling about her shoulders,
and roguish eyes that looked at him teasingly. It was a thoroughly
feminine face with an unusual perfection of line. Very likely the child
was the reembodiment of her mother who must, he thought, be a very
handsome woman indeed. His resentment hardened against the husband and
father, the author of the brutal message that disposed of his marital
obligations as coolly as though he had been canceling an order for a
carload of merchandise, as he held up the picture for the joy of meeting
the gaze of the merry eyes.

Though the breaking of eggs into the skillet had proved a fearsome
matter and the bacon sizzled strangely, the cooking had proved much
simpler than he had believed possible. He burnt his fingers handling the
toaster, but after ruining a considerable quantity of bread he produced
three slices of toast that were the equal of any offered by his favorite
club. As usual when frustrated in his plans (something that had rarely
happened in his whole life) he made the most of the situation, eating
slowly while the rain poured in an unbroken sheet down the w