, this dread that
they may run away together is moonshine. Mrs. Lockwood sets too high a
value on herself. Besides, there's only one man whom she loves or ever
has loved for that matter. He happens to be dead!"

"One moment, my dear fellow," Sir Tobias interrupted, "I always
understood that the lady had had three husbands. Was this man one of
them or did she have no affection for any of the men she married?"

Tabs felt himself cornered--and he had been getting on so well. He
realized that if once he allowed Sir Tobias to start questioning him he
would get tangled up. "She's complex," he explained; "she's complex in
her simplicity. She's one of the most simply complicated and
complicatedly simple women that I ever met. To understand her you have
to talk with her. I talked with her for six hours. The upshot was that
she promised to shut her door against Adair."

The innocent old eyes blinked. "I'm not modern, like you, Lord Taborley.
I have my suspicions of these simply complicated and complicatedly
simple women. Set me down as old-fashioned. Having been only once
married, I can't enter into the refinements of feeling of such
matrimonially inclined boa-constrictors as Mrs. Lockwood. I sha'n't give
myself the chance of meeting her. I'm an old man; it would be too
upsetting. If I talked with her, I shouldn't understand. So I must take
your word for it that, however much appearances may have been against
her, her motives were beyond question." He slipped forward in his chair
with a disconcerting suddenness; for a moment his filmy eyes became
penetrating. "She seems to have made a deep impression on you, my dear
fellow. If your optimism proves correct and through your efforts Adair
is free from her clutches, we all owe you a debt of gratitude. But--and
I'm sure you won't take amiss what I'm saying--I would advise you, now
that you've effected Adair's rescue, not to see too much of her
yourself. In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't see her any more if I could
help."

It was clear that the benignant, sly old gentleman had overheard a
substantial part of Maisie's telephone conversation. It was equally
clear that his interference was wisely and kindly intended. He had a
perfect right to be scrupulous about the conduct of a man whom he
regarded as his future son-in-law; but he had no right to take advantage
of the worst managed telephone-system in the world to eavesdrop on a
private conversation. At the same time Tabs could hard