Mary had scarcely received from Aggie an account of Cassidy'sthreatening invasion, when the maid announced that Mr. Irwin hadcalled.

　　"Show him in, in just two minutes," Mary directed.

　　"Who's the gink?" Aggie demanded, with that slangy diction whichwas her habit.

　　"You ought to know," Mary returned, smiling a little. "He's thelawyer retained by General Hastings in the matter of a certainbreach-of-promise suit.""Oh, you mean yours truly," Aggie exclaimed, not in the leastabashed by her forgetfulness in an affair that concerned herselfso closely. "Hope he's brought the money. What about it?""Leave the room now," Mary ordered, crisply. "When I call to you,come in, but be sure and leave everything to me. Merely followmy lead. And, Agnes--be very ingenue.""Oh, I'm wise--I'm wise," Aggie nodded, as she hurried out towardher bedroom. "I'll be a squab--surest thing you know!"Next moment, Mary gave a formal greeting to the lawyer whorepresented the man she planned to mulct effectively, and invitedhim to a chair near her, while she herself retained her place atthe desk, within a drawer of which she had just locked theformidable-appearing document received from Harris.

　　Irwin lost no time in coming to the point.

　　"I called in reference to this suit, which Miss Agnes Lynchthreatens to bring against my client, General Hastings."Mary regarded the attorney with a level glance, serenelyexpressionless as far as could be achieved by eyes so clear andshining, and her voice was cold as she replied with significantbrusqueness.

　　"It's not a threat, Mr. Irwin. The suit will be brought."The lawyer frowned, and there was a strident note in his voicewhen he answered, meeting her glance with an uncompromising stareof hostility.

　　"You realize, of course," he said finally, "that this is merelyplain blackmail."There was not the change of a feature in the face of the womanwho listened to the accusation. Her eyes steadfastly retainedtheir clear gaze into his; her voice was still coldly formal, asbefore.

　　"If it's blackmail, Mr. Irwin, why don't you consult the police?"she inquired, with manifest disdain. Mary turned to the maid,who now entered in response to the bell she had sounded a minutebefore. "Fanny, will you ask Miss Lynch to come in, please?"Then she faced the lawyer again, with an aloofness of manner thatwas contemptuous. "Really, Mr. Irwin," she drawled, "why don'tyou take this matter to the police?"The reply was uttered with conspicuous exasperation.

　　"You know perfectly well," the lawyer said bitterly, "thatGeneral Hastings cannot afford such publicity. His position wouldbe jeopardized.""Oh, as for that," Mary suggested evenly, and now there was atrace of flippancy in her fashion of speaking, "I'm sure thepolice would keep your complaint a secret. Really, you know, Mr.

　　Irwin, I think you had better take your troubles to the police,rather than to me. You will get much more sympathy from them."The lawyer sprang up, with an air of sudden determination.

　　"Very well, I will then," he declared, sternly. "I will!"Mary, from her vantage point at the desk across from him, smileda smile that would have been very engaging to any man under morefavorable circumstances, and she pushed in his direction thetelephone that stood there.

　　"3100, Spring," she remarked, encouragingly, "will bring anofficer almost immediately." She leaned back in her chair, andsurveyed the baffled man amusedly.

　　The lawyer was furious over the failure of his effort tointimidate this extraordinarily self-possessed young woman, whomade a mock of his every thrust. But he was by no means at theend of his resources.

　　"Nevertheless," he rejoined, "you know perfectly well thatGeneral Hastings never promised to marry this girl. Youknow----" He broke off as Aggie entered the drawing-room,Now, the girl was demure in seeming almost beyond belief, achildish creature, very fair and dainty, guileless surely, withthose untroubled eyes of blue, those softly curving lips ofwarmest red and the more delicate bloom in the rounded cheeks.

　　There were the charms of innocence and simplicity in the mannerof her as she stopped just within the doorway, whence sheregarded Mary with a timid, pleading gaze, her slender littleform poised lightly as if for flight"Did you want me, dear?" she asked. There was somethinghalf-plaintive in the modulated cadences of the query.

　　"Agnes," Mary answered affectionately, "this is Mr. Irwin, whohas come to see you in behalf of General Hastings.""Oh!" the girl murmured, her voice quivering a little, as thelawyer, after a short nod, dropped again into his seat; "oh, I'mso frightened!" She hurried, fluttering, to a low stool behindthe desk, beside Mary's chair, and there she sank down, droopingslightly, and catching hold of one of Mary's hands as if in mutepleading for protection against the fear that beset her chastesoul.

　　"Nonsense!" Mary exclaimed, soothingly. "There's really nothingat all to be frightened about, my dear child." Her voice wasthat with which one seeks to cajole a terrified infant. "Youmustn't be afraid, Agnes. Mr. Irwin says that General Hastingsdid not promise to marry you. Of course, you understand, mydear, that under no circumstances must you say anything thatisn't strictly true, and that, if he did not promise to marryyou, you have no case--none at all. Now, Agnes, tell me: didGeneral Hastings promise to marry you?""Oh, yes--oh, yes, indeed!" Aggie cried, falteringly. "And I wishhe would. He's such a delightful old gentleman!" As she spoke,the girl let go Mary's hand and clasped her own togetherecstatically.

　　The legal representative of the delightful old gentleman scowleddisgustedly at this outburst. His voice was portentous, as heput a question.

　　"Was that promise made in writing?""No," Aggie answered, gushingly. "But all his letters were inwriting, you know. Such wonderful letters!" She raised her blueeyes toward the ceiling in a naive rapture. "So tender, andso--er--interesting!" Somehow, the inflection on the last worddid not altogether suggest the ingenuous.

　　"Yes, yes, I dare say," Irwin agreed, hastily, with someevidences of chagrin. He had no intention of dwelling on thatfeature of the letters, concerning which he had no doubtwhatsoever, since he knew the amorous General very well indeed.

　　They would be interesting, beyond shadow of questioning, horriblyinteresting. Such was the confessed opinion of the swain himselfwho had written them in his folly--horribly interesting to allthe reading public of the country, since the General was aconspicuous figure.

　　Mary intervened with a suavity that infuriated the lawyer almostbeyond endurance.

　　"But you're quite sure, Agnes," she questioned gently, "thatGeneral Hastings did promise to marry you?" The candor of hermanner was perfect.

　　And the answer of Aggie was given with a like convincingemphasis.

　　"Oh, yes!" she declared, tensely. "Why, I would swear to it."The limpid eyes, so appealing in their soft lusters, went firstto Mary, then gazed trustingly into those of the routed attorney.

　　"You see, Mr. Irwin, she would swear to that," emphasized Mary.

　　"We're beaten," he confessed, dejectedly, turning his glancetoward Mary, whom, plainly, he regarded as his real adversary inthe combat on his client's behalf. "I'm going to be quite frankwith you, Miss Turner, quite frank,&quo............