my yards, Elsie Whayne and
Dena, and the old grandmother fondling the sunny curls of little
Terence.

When she finished, old Judge Brown was wiping his eyes, and portly
Doctor Haverhill was adding to the general din of applause by pounding
on the floor with his gold-headed cane. The chairman rose to announce
the last speaker on the programme, but Phil did not wait for anything
more. He had seen Mary pick up the coat which she had left hanging on
the chair behind the palms, and leave the platform. At the same time
Sandford Berry started up from his place at the reporters' table and
hurried after her.

Immediately Phil slipped from his seat and dashed down the aisle along
the side wall, to the door leading into one of the wings. Not familiar
with the back exits, he stumbled into several wrong passages before he
found some one to start him in the right direction. Despite his haste,
when he reached the street, Mrs. Blythe's automobile was just whirling
away from the curbstone, and Sandford Berry was coming back from putting
Mary into it. He had the newspaper in his hand which she had brought
from Diamond Row. It was for that he had hurried after her, promising
to use it to good advantage and return it to her in the morning. She had
refused at first, remembering old Mrs. Donegan's caution not to let it
out of her hands, and it was that brief parley which held her long
enough for Phil to reach the street and catch a fleeting glimpse of her.

He looked around for a taxicab or a carriage, but there was none in
sight. A policeman on the next corner directed him to a trolley car, and
told him where to transfer in order to reach Dudley Blythe's residence.
As he swung up on to the platform of the car he looked at his watch
again. It was half-past four o'clock. It was past five when he reached
the house. A tie-up of cars on the track ahead was accountable for the
delay.

Mary, in the machine and by a more direct route, had reached home nearly
half an hour before. She found a trained nurse in attendance on Mr.
Blythe. He had regained consciousness and, though still unable to speak,
was so much better that they were sure of his ultimate recovery. Mrs.
Blythe came out into the hall to tell her the good news.

"There's no need to ask you how _you_ got through," she exclaimed,
slipping an arm around her in an impulsive embrace.

"I know you did splendidly, and I'll be in your room in a few minutes to
hear all about it. Now, run al