Page:The Breath of Scandal (1922).djvu/131

 despairingly she longed that hers might have been one of them.

She had late luncheon at home, for her mother had left for the hospital a few minutes before her arrival. As neighbors were beginning to hear of Mr. Hale's illness, the telephone rang frequently for inquiries; and several calls came from the office and from his friends down town; flowers were delivered and some people stopped in at the house. Marjorie let the servants continue the repetition of the information which the family was giving out; but when Clara Sedgwick called, Marjorie had her come in.

She brought the news that some people were saying that Mr. Hale was not at home, but had been taken to a hospital in Chicago for a serious operation. She was not a gossipy girl, Clara, and she did not try to trick Marjorie into telling more than she wished, but, after frankly relating what she had heard, Clara asked if the Hales wanted it denied.

Marjorie said, yes; probably it was better to deny it, but that it was true; and after Marjorie admitted this, it was plain that Clara was satisfied and suspected nothing more; so Marjorie gained another proof of the astuteness of Felix Rinderfeld who, having a serious secret to conceal, had not made the mistake of publishing a story which hid nothing, but who had supplied a less serious secret for curious friends to discover.

Clara stayed and made an effort to interest Marjorie by going into the details of favors for a dance set for next week; then she launched upon the novelties which were being suggested to the entertainment committee of the golf club to vary the usual monotony of golf for men and bridge for women, on Saturday afternoons through the approaching season. Somebody had sug-