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at the hints of hunger and ill-usage—glowed as she scented romance and mystery in his vague allusions to his mother’s people. She broke in here, tactics forgotten, all eager interest.

“But their name, Tony! You must remember their name.”

“No, I can’t. It was never mentioned. It was only when I was going that he said it, and I didn’t pay much attention then. Afterwards when I thought about it I couldn’t remember.”

“Try very hard—it’s so important.”

“I can’t get it. I only know that it went like this.”

He beat with one hand on the bed. “There!—like that—one beat, and then three more. I can hear it like that.”

“It may be a title, Tony.”

“I don’t think so. I don’t know. It’s no good.”

“Then I think you should advertise. You couldn’t help finding them if you advertised in all the English papers. Since your father has behaved like this, they would be certain to do something for you—your mother’s own people.”

“I don’t think they would. I don’t want to find them anyway, whoever they are.”

“You don’t want to find them, when it might make such a big difference to you?”

“No.” Then, much lower: “They practically cut my mother off when she married my father. I don’t want to have anything to do with them, even if they should own me.”

Alison said no more then, but she had a great deal to say to Winthrop that night.

“It’s a real live romance, Winthrop, going on right here, under our own roof! Isn’t it delightful? Only I’ll never be happy till the mystery’s cleared up. Just think!—he may be heir to a title and a beautiful English property, and all sorts of things.”