Her absence had not been long and when she re-entered the familiar salon at the hotel she found her father and sister sitting there together as if they had timed her by their watches, a prey, both of them, to curiosity and suspense. Mr. Dosson however gave no sign of impatience; he only looked at her in silence through the smoke of his cigar — he profaned the red satin splendour with perpetual fumes — as she burst into the room. An irruption she made of her desired reappearance; she rushed to one of the tables, flinging down her muff and gloves, while Delia, who had sprung up as she came in, caught her closely and glared into her face with a “Francie Dosson, what HAVE you been through?” Francie said nothing at first, only shutting her eyes and letting her sister do what she would with her. “She has been crying, poppa — she HAS,” Delia almost shouted, pulling her down upon a sofa and fairly shaking her as she continued. “Will you please tell? I’ve been perfectly wild! Yes you have, you dreadful —!” the elder girl insisted, kissing her on the eyes. They opened at this compassionate pressure and Francie rested their troubled light on her father, who had now risen to his feet and stood with his back to the fire.

“Why, chicken,” said Mr. Dosson, “you look as if you had had quite a worry.”

“I told you I should — I told you, I told you!” Francie broke out with a trembling voice. “And now it’s come!”

“You don’t mean to say you’ve DONE anything?” cried Delia, very white.

“It’s all over, it’s all over!” With which Francie’s face braved denial.

“Are you crazy, Francie?” Delia demanded. “I’m sure you look as if you were.”

“Ain’t you going to be married, childie?” asked Mr. Dosson all considerately, but coming nearer to her.

Francie sprang up, releasing herself from her sister, and threw her arms round him. “Will you take me away, poppa? will you take me right straight away?”

“Of course I will, my precious. I’ll take you anywhere. I don’t want anything — it wasn’t MY idea!” And Mr. Dosson and Delia looked at each other while the girl pressed her face upon his shoulder.

“I never heard such trash — you can’t behave that way! Has he got engaged to some one else — in America?” Delia threw out.

“Why if it’s over it’s over. I guess it’s all right,” said Mr. Dosson, kissing his younger daughter. “I’ll go back or I’ll go on. I’ll go anywhere you like.”

“You won’t have your daughters insulted, I presume!” Delia cried. “If you don’t tell me this moment what has happened,” she pursued to her sister, “I’ll drive straight round there and make THEM.”

“HAVE they insulted you, sweetie?” asked the old man, bending over his child, who simply leaned on him with her hidden face and no sound of tears. Francie raised her head, turning round to their companion. “Did I ever tell you anything else — did I ever believe in it for an hour?”

“Oh well, if you’ve done it on purpose to triumph over me we might as well go home, certainly. But I guess,” Delia added, “you had better just wait till Gaston comes.”

“It will be worse when he comes — if he thinks the same as they do.”

“HAVE they insulted you — have they?” Mr. Dosson repeated while the smoke of his cigar, curling round the question, gave him the air of putting it with placidity.

“They think I’ve insulted THEM— they’re in an awful state — they’re almost dead. Mr. Flack has put it into the paper — everything, I don’t know what — and they think it’s too wicked. They were all there together — all at me at once, weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth. I never saw people so affected.”

Delia’s face grew big with her stare. “So affected?”

“Ah yes, I guess there’s a good deal OF THAT,” said Mr. Dosson.

“It’s too real — too terrible; you don’t understand. It’s all printed there — that they’re immoral, and everything about them; everything that’s private and dreadful,” Francie explained.

“Immoral, is that so?” Mr. Dosson threw off.

“And about me too, and about Gaston and my marriage, and all sorts of personalities, and all the names, and Mme. de Villepreux, and everything. It’s all printed there and they’ve read it. It says one of them steals.”

“Will you be so good as to tell me what you’re talking about?” Delia enquired sternly. “Where is it printed and what have we got to do with it?”

“Some one sent it, and I told Mr. Flack.”

“Do you mean HIS paper? Oh the horrid ape!” Delia cried with passion.

“Do they mind so what they see in the papers?” asked Mr. Dosson. “I guess they haven’t seen what I’ve seen. Why there used to be things about ME—”

“Well, it IS about us too — about every one. They think it’s the same as if I wrote it,” Francie ruefully mentioned.

“Well, you know what you COULD do!” And Mr. Dosson beamed at her for common cheer.

“Do you mean that piece about your picture — that you told me about when you went with him again to see it?” Delia demanded.

“Oh I don’t know what piece it is; I haven’t seen it.”

“Haven’t seen it? Didn’t they show it to you?”

“Yes, but I couldn’t read it. Mme. de Brecourt wanted me to take it — but I left it behind.”

“Well, that’s LIKE you — like the Tauchnitzes littering up our track. I’ll be bound I’d see it,” Delia declared. “Hasn’t it come, doesn’t it always come?”

“I guess we haven’t had the last — unless it’s somewhere round,” said Mr. Dosson.

“Poppa, go out and get it — you can buy it on the boulevard!” Delia continued. “Francie, what DID you want to tell him?”

“I didn’t know. I was just conversing. He seemed to take so much interest,” Francie pleaded.

“Oh he’s a deep one!” groaned Delia.

“Well, if folks are immoral you can’t keep it out of the papers — and I don’t know as you ought to want to,” Mr. Dosson remarked. “If they ARE I’m glad to know it, lovey.” And he gave his younger daughter a glance apparently intended to show that in this case he should know what to do.

But Francie was looking at her sister as if her attention had been arrested. “How do you mean —‘a deep one’?”

“Why he wanted to break it off, the fiend!”

Francie stared; then a deeper flush leapt to her face, already mottled as with the fine footprints of the Proberts, dancing for pain. “To break off my engagement?”

“Yes, just that. But I’ll be hanged if he shall. Poppa, will you allow that?”

“Allow what?”

“Why Mr. Flack’s vile interference. You won’t let him do as he likes with us, I suppose, will you?”

“It’s all done — it’s all done!” said Francie. The tears had suddenly started into her eyes again.

“Well, he’s so smart that it IS likely he’s too smart,” her father allowed. “But what did they want you to do about it? — that’s what I want to know?”

“They wanted me to say I knew nothing about it — but I couldn’t.”

“But you didn’t and you don’t — if you haven’t even read it!” Delia almost yelled.

“Where IS the d —— d thing?” their companion asked, looking helplessly about him.

“On the boulevard, at the very first of those kiosks you come to. That old woman has it — the one who speaks English — she always has it. Do go and get it — DO!” And Delia pushed him, looked for his hat for him.

“I knew he wanted to print something and I can’t say I didn’t!” Francie said. “I thought he’d crack up my portrait and that Mr. Waterlow would like that, and Gaston and every one. And he talked to me about the paper — he’s always doing that and always was — and I didn’t see the harm. But even just knowing him — they think that’s vile.”

“Well, I should hope we can know whom we like!”— and Delia bounced fairly round as from the force of her high spirit.

Mr. Dosson had put on his hat — he was going out for the paper. “Why he kept us alive last year,” he uttered in tribute.

“Well, he seems to have killed us now,” Delia cried.

“Well, don’t give up an old friend,” her father urged with his hand on the door. “And don’t back down on anything you’ve done.”

“Lord, what a fuss about an old newspaper!” Delia went on in her exasperation. “It must be about two weeks old anyway. Didn’t they ever see a society-paper before?”

“They can’t have seen much,” said Mr. Dosson. He paused still with his hand on the door. “Don’t you worry — Gaston will make it all right.”

“Gaston? — it will kill Gaston!”

“Is that what they say?” Delia demanded.

“Gaston will never look at me again.”

“Well then he’ll have to look at ME,” said Mr. Dosson.

“Do you mean that he’ll give you up — he’ll be so CRAWLING?” Delia went on.

“They say he’s just the one who’ll feel it most. But I’m the one who does that,” said Francie with a strange smile.

“They’re stuffing you with lies — because THEY don’t like it. He’ll be tender and true,” Delia glared.

“When THEY hate me? — Never!” And Francie shook her head slowly, still with her smile of softness. “That’s what he cared for most — to make them like me.”

“And isn’t he a gentleman, I should like to know?” asked Delia.

“Yes, and that’s why I won’t marry him — if I’ve injured him.”

“Shucks! he has seen the papers over there. You wait till he comes,” Mr. Dosson enjoined, passing out of the room.

The girls remained there together and after a moment Delia resumed. “Well, he has got to fix it — that’s one thing I can tell you.”

“Who has got to fix it?”

“Why that villainous man. He has got to publish another piece saying it’s all false or all a mistake.”

“Yes, you’d better make him,” said Francie with a weak laugh. “You’d better go after him — down to Nice.”

“You don’t mean to say he’s gone down to Nice?”

“Didn’t he say he was going there as soon as he came back from London — going right through without stopping?”

“I don’t know but he did,” said Delia. Then she added: “The mean coward!”

“Why do you say that? He can’t hide at Nice — they can find him there.”

“Are they going after him?”

“They want to shoot him — to stab him, I don’t know what — those men.”

“Well, I wish they would,” said Delia.

“They’d better shoot me. I shall defend him. I shall protect him,” Francie went on.

“How can you protect him? You shall never speak to him again!” her sister engaged.

Francie had a pause. “I can protect him without speaking to him. I can tell the simple truth — that he didn’t print a word but what I told him.”

“I’d like to see him not!” Delia fairly hooted. “When did he grow so particular? He fixed it up,” she said with assurance. “They always do in the papers — they’d be ashamed if they didn’t. Well now he has got to bring out a piece praising them up — praising them to the skies: that’s what he has got to do!” she wound up with decision.

“Praising them up? They’ll hate that worse,” Francie returned musingly.

Delia stared. “What on earth then do they want?”

Francie had sunk to the sofa; her eyes were fixed on the carpet. She gave no reply to this question but presently said: “We had better go tomorrow, the first hour that’s possible.”

“Go where? Do you mean to Nice?”

“I don’t care where. Anywhere to get away.”

“Before Gaston comes — without seeing him?”

“I don’t want to see him. When they were all ranting and raving at me just now I wished he was there — I told them so. But now I don’t feel like that — I can never see him again.”

“I don’t suppose YOU’RE crazy, are you?” Delia returned.

“I can’t tell him it wasn’t me — I can’t, I can’t!” her companion went on.

Delia planted herself in front of her. “Francie Dosson, if you’re going to tell him you’ve done anything wrong you might as well stop before you begin. Didn’t you hear how poppa put it?”

“I’m sure I don’t know,” Francie said listlessly.

“‘Don’t give up an old friend — there’s nothing on earth so mean.’ Now isn’t Gaston Probert an old friend?”

“It will be very simple — he’ll give me up.”

“Then he’ll be worse than a worm.”

“Not in the least ............