d away through the door under the wedding-bell.

"You have news?" questioned Farvel.

Hull crossed the lawn to the dial. He walked slowly, like an old man.
And his shoulders were bent. His derby hat was off, and he clutched it
in two shaking hands.

"Tell us," bade Sue. "It's--bad news?"

"Yes."

"Take your time," she added kindly.

"Yesterday--just before you saw her--I was there. She was--well, you
know. She begged me to go--and keep away from the house. That made me
suspicious. I told her I wouldn't come back. Well, I didn't. Because
I never left. I knew she wasn't telling me the truth--I beg your
pardon, sir.--So I hung around. I saw you all go in. After a little,
I saw her come out--on the run. I followed. She went about twenty
blocks----"

"Where?"

"You're Miss Milo, aren't you?"

"Susan Milo."

"She spoke of you--oh, so--so loving. Well, it was a girl's
club--called the Gramercy. I knew it well because we'd met there many
a time. I went in. There was a new maid on hand, but I saw Clare.
She came right away, like as if she was more than glad to have a talk.
I didn't expect that, so I'd brought along a canary--to make her think
it was hers--the one she'd left behind, you see,--so she couldn't just
refuse to see me. Well, we talked. There wasn't any quarreling. She
wasn't a bit broke up--that surprised me. And it threw me clean off my
guard. She was highty-tighty, as you might say, and I'll admit it
hurt. We shook hands though, when I went, but she didn't ask me to
stay to tea." He turned to Farvel. "One thing she said about the
child she wanted you to know."

"What?"

"It's not your daughter, sir."

"Ah."

"And I hear from the St. Clair woman that the little one isn't as old
as Clare said. So----"

"I understand."

"Well, this morning, when I woke up--I didn't sleep much to speak of
last night--I got to thinking about--her. And I made up my mind that
I'd go look her up, and--and be a friend to her anyhow." His voice
broke. "I was fond of her, Miss Milo."

"She was gone?"

He nodded. "She'd been gone since the night before. Went out, the
maid said, with no hat on and a letter in her hand--for the post. And
she hadn't come back. I tell you, that worried me. I was half-crazy."
He tried to control his voice, to keep back the tears.

"Then it's very bad news," ventured Farvel. He laid a hand on the
other man's sleeve.

"I went over to the St. Clair house