I'll ask for it." But
she made no move to investigate the contents of the promising pile upon
the table, and without attempting to mask his umbrage, Joel withdrew
his offended dignity to the porch. Even then, in splendid refutation
of the theory that curiosity is the cardinal vice of her sex, Persis
completed the task on which she was engaged before putting herself in a
position to answer Joel's inquiry as to the identity of the
correspondent using the stationery of the Clematis House.

It was her first letter from that source for many a year and she
scrutinized the address long and thoughtfully. "I shouldn't even have
known his handwriting. If anybody'd told me that six months ago, I'd
have laughed in his face." But now instead of laughing she sighed, and
her face remained grave throughout the reading of the communication.

"Dear Persis--I am unexpectedly called out of town and shall not be
able to see you Thursday as I had expected. I do not think, however,
that I shall be away more than six weeks or two months at the longest.
There are some good business prospects here, which I have not as yet
brought to a satisfactory termination, but apart from that, the
temptation to see more of my old friends is too strong to be resisted.

"Sincerely yours,

"J. M. W."

"I guess he means the Hornblowers, by 'business prospects,'" mused
Persis, and replaced the letter in its envelope. For Mrs. Robert
Hornblower's anticipations of a life of luxurious ease had been
temporarily thwarted by the unexpected and unprecedented opposition of
her hitherto compliant husband. Even a worm will turn. Robert
Hornblower, after a lifetime of meek submission, had suddenly become
contumacious and unruly. The wifely authority, exercised so long under
another name, had as yet been powerless to bring him to the point of
disposing of his farm. The man had aged under the strain, had lost
flesh and color, along with sleep and appetite, and yet to the surprise
of his acquaintances and his own secret amazement, he had proved that
he had a will of his own by stubbornly reiterating his refusal to be
coerced into acting against his best judgment. And while Mrs.
Hornblower was confident of ultimate victory, it was not easy for her
to forgive her husband for delaying in so unjustifiable a fashion their
entrance into the Promised Land.

The second letter to receive Persis' attention was addressed in a hand
which, like Justin's, seemed hau