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 "Morton. He hasn't been near me for over a week."

"Well, Philippa knows him, doesn't she?"

"Yes. But he wouldn't believe such stuff if he heard it. And even if he did, it would make no difference as far as he is concerned. He would say I had a right to do as I pleased."

"Oh, with a woman in the case you can't tell," Mrs. Durham wisely suggested. "How well does he know Miss Ford?"

"I'm sure I don't know—I've been away so long. But"—and memory brought up a sudden picture of his face—"he was rather put out when I dissected her character for his benefit the last time I saw him. However, we'll clear it up. Put on your things and come."

She snatched her hat airily and harpooned it with a hat-pin, while Mrs. Durham proceeded to a more careful and leisurely toilet.

"I'm glad we're going to have it out while I'm still hot and have it all fresh in my mind," Mrs. Durham remarked, as they emerged from the building into the raw air of the outside world. 198