ve way she had, she bent and kissed his hand.
"Dear King Cophetua," she murmured, "your beggar maid will never be
done with adoring you." She looked up at him with a sweet and lovely
wistfulness shining in her sea-blue eyes. "And the sweetest thing
about it, you angelic simpleton," she added, "is that you will never,
never, never know why."

XLI

The first hint of the tremendous events impending came to Mr. Daney
through the medium of no less an informant than his wife. Upon
returning from the mill office on the evening of Donald McKaye's
marriage, Mr. Daney was met at his front door by Mrs. Daney who cried
triumphantly:

"Well, what did I tell you about Donald McKaye?"

Mr. Daney twitched inwardly, but answered composedly. "Not one-tenth
of one per cent, of what I have discovered without your valuable
assistance my dear."

She wrinkled the end of her nose disdainfully. "He's gone motoring
with Nan Brent in a hired car, and they took the baby with them. They
passed through town about half past two this afternoon and they
haven't returned yet."

"How do you know all this?" he demanded coolly.

"I saw them as they passed by on the road below; I recognized that
rent limousine of the Central Garage with Ben Nicholson driving it,
and a few moments ago I telephoned the Central Garage and asked for
Ben. He hasn't returned yet--and it's been dark for half an hour."

"Hum-m-m! What do you suspect, my dear?"

"The worst," she replied dramatically.

"What a wonderful fall day this has been," he remarked blandly as he
hung up his hat. She turned upon him a glance of fury; he met it with
one so calm and impersonal that the good lady quite lost control of
herself. "Why do you withhold your confidence from me?" she cried
sharply.

"Because you wouldn't respect it, my dear; also, because I'm paid to
keep the McKaye secrets and you're not."

"Is he going to marry her, Andrew? Answer me," she demanded.

"Unfortunately for you, Mrs. Daney, the young gentleman hasn't taken
me into his confidence. Neither has the young lady. Of course I
entertain an opinion, on the subject, but since I am not given to
discussing the intimate personal affairs of other people, you'll
excuse my reticence on this subject, I'm sure. I repeat that this has
been a wonderful fall day."

She burst into tears of futile rage and went to her room. Mr. Daney
partook of his dinner in solitary state and immediately after dinner
strolled down to