n he remembers--that must be Mr. Piper's office through the closed
door there. He remembers, as well, Peter joking with his father once
about his never getting away from business even in the country and
pointing at the half dozen telephones on top of the big flat desk with
a derisive gesture while detailing to Oliver the fondness that Sargent
Piper has for secretive private wires and the absurd precautions he
takes to keep them intensely private. "Why he went and had all his
special numbers here changed once just because I found out one of them
by mistake and called him up on it for a joke--the cryptic old person!"
Peter had said with mocking affection.

The telephone chirrups again and Oliver gets up and goes toward the door
of the office with a vague idea of answering it since there seem to be
no servants about. Then he remembers something else--Peter's telling him
that nothing irritates his father more than having anyone else answer
one of his private wires--and stops with his hand on the door that has
swung inward an inch or so already under his casual pressure. It doesn't
matter anyhow--there--somebody has answered it--Mr. Piper probably, as
there is another door to the office and both of them are generally
kept locked. Mr. Piper like all great business men has his petty
idiosyncrasies.

Oliver is just starting to turn away when a whisper of sound that seems
oddly like "Mrs. Severance" comes to his ear by some trick of acoustics
through the door. He hesitates--and stays where he is, wondering all the
time why he is doing anything so silly and unguest-like--and also what
on earth he could say if Mr. Piper suddenly flung open the door. But Ted
has told him a good deal at various times of the more mysterious aspects
of Mrs. Severance, and her name jumping out at him this way from the
middle of Mr. Piper's private office makes it rather hard to act like a
copybook gentleman--especially with his last conversation with Ted still
plain in his mind.

The voices are too low for him to hear anything distinctly but again one
of the speakers says "Mrs. Severance"--of that he is entirely sure. The
receiver clicks back and Oliver regains the lounge in three long soft
strides, thanking his carelessness that he is still wearing rubber-soled
sport-shoes. He is very much absorbed in an article on "Fishing for
Tuna" when Peter comes in.

"Well, Oliver, everything ready for you. Awfully sorry you have to rush
in this way--"

"Ye