, rising in disorder.

Mrs. Bowman opened her lips, but no sound came from them. Then she gave
a long, shivering sigh.

"Heat of the room too much for you?" inquired the other, anxiously.

Mrs. Bowman took another long, shivering breath. Still incapable of
speech, she took the slip of paper in her trembling fingers and an
involuntary exclamation of dismay broke from Mr. Tucker. She dabbed
fiercely at her burning eyes with her handkerchief and read it again.

"Tucker.--_If this should meet the eye of Charles Tucker,
who knew Amelia Wyhorn twenty-five years ago, he will hear
of something greatly to his advantage by communicating with
N. C, Royal Hotel, Northtown._"

Mrs. Bowman found speech at last. "N. C.--Nathaniel Clark," she said, in
broken tones. "So that is where he went last month. Oh, what a fool I've
been! Oh, what a simple fool!"

Mr. Tucker gave a deprecatory cough. "I--I had forgotten it was there,"
he said, nervously.

[Illustration: I had forgotten it was there 202]

"Yes," breathed the widow, "I can quite believe that."

"I was going to show you later on," declared the other, regarding her
carefully. "I was, really. I couldn't bear the idea of keeping a secret
from you long."

Mrs. Bowman smiled--a terrible smile. "The audacity of the man," she
broke out, "to stand there and lecture me on my behavior. To talk about
his spoilt life, and all the time--"

She got up and walked about the room, angrily brushing aside the
proffered attentions of Mr. Tucker.

"Laughing-stock of Trimington, is he?" she stormed. "He shall be more
than that before I have done with him. The wickedness of the man; the
artfulness!"

"That's what I thought," said Mr. Tucker, shaking his head. "I said to
him--"

"You're as bad," said the widow, turning on him fiercely. "All the time
you two men were talking at each other you were laughing in your sleeves
at me. And I sat there like a child taking it all in, I've no doubt you
met every night and arranged what you were to do next day."

Mr. Tucker's lips twitched. "I would do more than that to win you,
Amelia," he said, humbly.

"You'll have to," was the grim reply. "Now I want to hear all about this
from the beginning. And don't keep anything from me, or it'll be the
worse for you."

She sat down again and motioned him to proceed.

"When I saw the advertisement in the _Northtown Chronicle_," began Mr.
Tucker, in husky voice, "I danced with--"