en put down her work and looked across to her
interrogator.

"I was only smiling at my thoughts."

"Will you be so good as to state what they are? They may prove decidedly
interesting to me--at this juncture," she added emphatically.

Aileen's look of amusement changed swiftly to one of surprise.

"To be honest, I was thinking that what she writes about Mr. Googe
doesn't sound much like love, that was all--"

"That was all!" Mrs. Champney echoed sarcastically; "well, what more do
you need to convince you of facts I should like to know?"

Aileen laughed outright at this. "Oh, Mrs. Champney, what's the use of
being a girl, if you can't know what other girls mean?"

"Please explain yourself."

"Won't you please read that part again where she mentions the people
invited for the cruise."

Mrs. Champney found the paragraph and re-read it aloud.

"Falkenburg--that's the name--Ben Falkenburg."

"How did you ever hear of this Ben Falkenburg?"

"Oh, I heard of him years ago!" The mischief was in her voice and Mrs.
Champney recognized it.

"Where?"

"When I was in New York--in the asylum; he's the one that danced the
minuet with the Marchioness; I told you about it years ago."

"How do you know he was the boy?"

"Because Alice told me his name then, and showed me the valentine and
May-basket he sent her--just read the postscript again; if you want to
crack a letter for its kernel, you'll generally find it in a postscript,
that is with girls of Alice's age."

She spoke as if there were years of seniority on her part. Mrs. Champney
turned to the postscript again.

"I see nothing in this--you're romancing again, Aileen; you'd better put
it aside; it will get you into trouble sometime."

"Oh, never fear for me, Mrs. Champney; I'll take care of all the
romancing as well as the romances--but can't you see by those few words
that it's Mr. Ben Falkenburg who is going to make the yachting trip for
Miss Van Ostend, and not your nephew?"

"No, I can't," Mrs. Champney answered shortly, "and neither could you if
your eyes weren't blinded by your infatuation for him."

Aileen rolled up her work deliberately. If the time had come for open
war to be declared between the two on Champney Googe's account, it was
best to fight the decisive battle now, before seeing him again. She rose
and stood by the window.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Champney?" Her temper was rising quickly as it
always did when Mrs. Champney went too far.