d him to. The maid was in the kitchen out of ear shot, and
Mrs. Hibberdell and Carlotta were in the library when the opening gun
was fired. In a way Carlotta was prepared, for she fancied her mother
might have seen other things--what or how much she could not guess. She
was not without the dignity of a Circe, for she had been through scenes
like this before. Her own husband had charged her with infidelity more
than once, and she had been threatened with physical violence by him.
Her face was pale but calm.

"Now, Carlotta," observed her mother vigorously, "I saw what was going
on yesterday morning when I came home. You were in Mr. Witla's room with
your clothes off. I saw you come out. Please don't deny it. I saw you
come out. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? How can you treat me that way
after your promise not to do anything out of the way here?"

"You didn't see me come out of his room and I wasn't in there," said
Carlotta brazenly. Her face was pale, but she was giving a fair
imitation of righteous surprise. "Why do you make any such statement as
that?"

"Why, Carlotta Hibberdell, how dare you contradict me; how dare you lie!
You came out of that room. You know you did. You know that you were in
there. You know that I saw you. I should think you would be ashamed of
yourself, slipping about this house like a street girl and your own
mother in it. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? Have you no sense of
decency left? Oh, Carlotta, I know you are bad, but why will you come
here to be so? Why couldn't you let this man alone? He was doing well
enough. It's a shame, the thing you have done. It's an outrage.
Mrs. Witla ought to come here and whip you within an inch of your life."

"Oh, how you talk," said Carlotta, irritably. "You make me tired. You
didn't see me. It's the old story--suspicion. You're always full of
suspicion. You didn't see me and I wasn't in there. Why do you start a
fuss for nothing!"

"A fuss! A fuss for nothing--the idea, you evil woman. A fuss for
nothing. How can you talk that way! I can hardly believe my senses. I
can hardly believe you would dare to brazenly face me in this way. I saw
you and now you deny it."

Mrs. Hibberdell had not seen her, but she was convinced that what she
said was true.

Carlotta brazened it out. "You didn't," she insisted.

Mrs. Hibberdell stared. The effrontery of it took her breath away.

"Carlotta," she exclaimed, "I honestly think you are the worst woman in
the w