-luncheon, I mean."

CHAPTER XII

Pearson called. He appeared at the apartment a week after the luncheon
at the boarding house and was welcomed by the Captain Elisha, who,
hearing his voice, strode into the hall, sent the shocked Edwards to the
right-about in a hurry, seized his friend's hand, and ushered him into
the library. Pearson said nothing concerning his change of mind, the
course of reasoning which led him to make the visit, and the captain
asked no questions. He took it for granted that the young fellow's
common sense had turned the trick, and, the result being what it was,
that was sufficient.

They spent a pleasant afternoon together. Caroline was out, and they had
the library to themselves. The newest chapters of the novel were read
and discussed, and the salty flavor of the talk was as pronounced as
ever. Pearson left early, but promised to come again very soon.

When Caroline returned her uncle told her of his visitor. She seemed
unfeignedly pleased, but regretted that she had not been there. "He was
such a friend of father's," she said, "that seeing him here would be
almost like the old days. And so many of those whom we thought were his
friends and ours have left us."

This was true. Rodgers Warren and his children had had many
acquaintances, had been active in church and charitable work, and their
former home was a center of entertainment and gayety while he lived. But
his death and the rumors of shrinkage in the family fortune, the giving
up of the Fifth Avenue residence, the period of mourning which forbade
social functions, all these helped to bring about forgetfulness on the
part of the many; and Caroline's supersensitiveness and her firm resolve
not to force her society where it might be unwelcome had been the causes
of misunderstanding in others, whose liking and sympathy were genuine.
"I don't see what has come over Caroline Warren," declared a former girl
friend, "she isn't a bit as she used to be. Well, I've done my part. If
she doesn't wish to return my call, she needn't. _I_ sha'n't annoy her
again. But I'm sorry, for she was the sweetest girl I knew."

Stephen had never been very popular, and his absence at college still
further reduced the number of young people who might be inclined to
call. Their not calling confirmed Caroline's belief that she and
her brother were deliberately shunned because of their change in
circumstances, and she grew more sensitive and proudly resentf