There were always pleasant white lies whereby one could get out of careless promises, and she had no conscience against such.

So now she went home, puzzling to know whether Paige Madison really had a distinguished job with aristocratic people, or whether he hadn’t!

Well, anyway, she needn’t worry, for though she had gone as far as possible in offering to sponsor Mrs. Madison in the Woman’s Club, her offer had been firmly, almost amusedly, declined. What was the woman made of? Wasn’t she human? To choose a Bible class in place of the likelihood of being prominent in a flourishing woman’s club! Imagine it! Well, that was that, and she was really glad she was out of it all. It might have been an awful chance she had taken if the woman had decided to go with her and she had been obliged to introduce her to Mrs. Chalmers! For Mrs. Chalmers had a way of making anyone very uncomfortable if they presumed to bring some undesirable to their sacred club, and instead of finding a royal road to the Chalmerses’ favor, she might have brought down retribution upon her aspiring head.

So she entered her own home, rather well satisfied with herself. At least she didn’t have to watch any longer to find out if the boy next door went out to a regular job every morning and evening. Well, that was a relief at least. But there were those luscious strawberries, utterly wasted on a neighbor she didn’t care a fig for. Well, next time she would wait till she was sure of something before she acted.

So Mrs. Harmon went into the house thanking her lucky stars that she was safely through this experience without getting into any serious trouble. It wouldn’t be difficult to drop Mrs. Madison like a hotcake if it became necessary.

Nevertheless, in the back of her mind there lingered the haunting possibility that, after all, she might be missing a chance. If it just should be that young Madison had a job with the Chalmers Company, she could easily pick up the dropped threads and get in with the Madisons after all. Through those strawberries, and the green peas that had been promised, she could get a hold when something became sure.

So, with relief she went into her house and set herself to find a new maid and get her life into normal lines again.

Chapter 4

Three days later Paige came home from the office rather early. He had not seen Miss Chalmers since the evening he had taken dinner with her family, and he was not particularly anxious to see her. He had enough problems of his own without taking on a girl, any girl, even a girl who was expecting to be a great heiress. It just wasn’t a question he cared to take up at this time. Girls were an awful nuisance, anyway, always a complication when one had serious matters to consider. And the more Paige saw of the methods of the company he was working for, the more he was worried. He tried to convince himself that the whole feeling he had about business was because he had been so long where all considerations were matters of life and death, and not of how much money could be made in any given deal. Probably he would get over this extreme squeamishness about matters that really did not concern him. This was for Mr. Chalmers to worry over, not a mere assistant. And anyway, he had nothing definite to go on yet, just hunches.

So he was glad to get home a little earlier than usual and enjoy the sensation of doing just what he pleased, at least for an hour or so. But as he stepped into the house after parking the old car in the garage, he heard the telephone ringing. He heard the faithful old cook coming down hurriedly from the third story to answer it, but she would certainly not be down to answer before the people had hung up, not with her lame feet that had to clump down a half step at a time. Quickly he stepped across the hall and took the receiver himself. “Yes?”

Then a queer, excited voice began to speak.

“Is this somebody who lives across from the preacher?”

He had to ask over twice before he really gathered what was being asked.

“You mean do we live across the road from the minister?” he asked.

“That’s right. Will you please go cross an’ ask my girl’s teacher to come right away.