t
not a word further.

"Very well. That was enough for me. I wanted to prove that I was going
to stand by you now, in every way, and I hope this is as big a proof as
a man can give," said the noble saviour of the situation. "We must marry
as soon as possible, of course. I'll get the license to-day. And then
you can have your wish. You shall live in the Stanislaws house, and when
your father and Mrs. Shuster get back from their honeymoon you can write
them to visit us, and stay as long as they like."

Pat, as pale as she had been red, stammered confused thanks for his
thoughtfulness. How _could_ the girl, when he'd just announced the
expenditure of five hundred thousand dollars for her _beaux yeux_, tell
him not by any means to get the license?

I was sickeningly sorry for her. I knew exactly how she felt. As for me,
I had rush of luncheon to the head, a frightful effect, considering that
I'd just eaten a soft-shelled crab. With the little I knew of affairs
between them I was still instinctively sure that Pat and the Stormy
Petrel had come to some sort of a vague understanding the day of rain at
Bretton Woods. I thought that the rain had melted down the wall between
the two, and Peter had prematurely said more than he meant to say,
perhaps begging her to break off with Caspian. Evidently she had refused
(for Larry's sake), but had very likely hoped that somehow Peter would
step in and save her before it was too late.

Now, all of a sudden, it _was_ too late! And Peter wasn't even near. I
could imagine the child's despair, with the present of a
five-hundred-thousand-dollar house flung at her head--a house which
would be "no use" to her fiance if it were not to be shared with her.
Even knowing what _I_ knew, I feared that the situation might become
serious, more because of Peter's absence than anything else.

As soon as we finished luncheon and Caspian was saying good-bye to Pat
(decorously in the presence of Larry, from whom she refused to be
detached), I asked Jack what he thought. "If only we knew where to get
at Peter in New York!" I wailed. "I'm afraid the girl will be _married_
to that creature before Peter comes back; and then nothing will be of
any use."

"We mustn't let that happen," said Jack. "Not that I believe Storm has
turned his back without thinking of every contingency. And he must know
about the sale."

"He didn't mention it when he told me the story," I said. "Not a word
about the Stanislaws hou