At breakfast Terry drank two cups of coffee and subsided¹ into thought. I could get no more from him on the subject of the bonds; he was not sure himself, was all the satisfaction he would give. When the meal was half over, to Solomon's dismay, he suddenly rose without noticing a new dish of chicken livers that had just appeared at his elbow.
 
"Come on," he said impatiently, "you've had enough to eat. I've got to see those marks while they're still there. I'm desperately² afraid an earthquake will swallow that cave before I get a chance at them."
 
Fifteen minutes later we were bowling³ down the lane behind the fastest pair of horses in the Gaylord stables, and through the prettiest country in the State of Virginia. Terry sat with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the dash-board. As we came to the four corners at the valley-pike I reined⁴ in.
 
"Would you rather go the short way over the mountains by a very rough road, or the long way through Kennisburg?" I inquired.
 
"What's that?" he asked. "Oh, the short way by all means—but first I want to call at the Mathers's."
 
"It would simply be a waste of time."
 
"It won't take long—and since Radnor won't talk I've got to get at the facts from the other end. Besides, I want to see Polly myself."
 
"Miss Mathers knows nothing about the matter," said I as stiffly as possible.
 
"Doesn't she!" said Terry. "She knows a good many things, and it's about time she told them.—At any rate, you must admit that she's the owner of the unfortunate coat that caused the trouble; I want to ask her some questions about that. Why can't girls learn to carry their own coats? It would save a lot of trouble."
 
It ended by my driving, with a very bad grace, to Mathers Hall.
 
 
"You wait here until I come out," said Terry, coolly, as I drew up by the stepping stone and commenced fumbling⁵ for a hitching⁶ strap⁷.
 
"Not much!" said I. "If you interview Polly Mathers I shall be present at the interview."
 
"Oh, very well!" he returned resignedly. "If you'd let me go about it my own way, though, I'd get twice as much out of her."
 
The family were at breakfast, the servant informed me. I left Terry in the parlor⁸ while I went on to the dining-room to explain the object of our visit.
 
"There is a friend of mine here from New York to help us about the trial"—I thought it best to suppress his real profession—"and he wants to interview Miss Polly in regard to the coat. I am very sorry—"
 
"Certainly," said Mrs. Mathers, "Polly is only too glad to help in any way possible."
 
And to my chagrin⁹ Polly excused herself and withdrew to the parlor, while her father kept me listening to a new and not very valuable theory of his in regard to the disappearance¹⁰ of Mose. It was fifteen minutes before I made my escape and knocked on the parlor door. I turned the knob and went in without waiting for a summons.
 
The Mathers's parlor is a long cool dim room with old-fashioned mahogany furniture and jars of roses scattered¹¹ about. It was so dark after the bright sunshine of the rest of the house, that for a moment I didn't discover the occupants until the sound of Polly's sobbing¹² proclaimed their whereabouts. I was somewhat taken aback to find her sitting in a corner of the big horsehair sofa, her head buried in the cushions, while Terry, nonchalantly leaning back in his chair, regarded her with much the expression that he might have worn at a "first night" at the theatre. It might also be noted¹³ that Polly wore a white dress with a big bunch of roses in her belt, that her hair was becomingly rumpled¹⁴ by the cushion, and that she was not crying hard enough to make her eyes red.
 
"Hello, old man!" said Terry and I fancied that his tone was not entirely¹⁵ cordial. "Just sit down and listen to this. We've been having some interesting disclosures."
 
Polly raised her head and cast him a reproachful glance, while with a limp wave of the hand she indicated a chair.
 
I settled myself and inquired reassuringly¹⁶, "Well, Polly, what's the trouble?"
 
"You tell him," said Polly to Terry, as she settled herself to cry again.
 
"I'll tell you," said Terry, glancing warily¹⁷ at me, "but it's a secret, remember. You mustn't let any of those horrid¹⁸ newspaper men get hold of it. Miss Mathers would hate awfully¹⁹ to have anything like this get into the papers."
 
"Oh, go on, Terry," said I, crossly, "if you've got anything to tell, for heaven's sake tell it!"
 
"Well, as far as we'd got when you interrupted, was that that afternoon in the cave she and Radnor had somehow got separated from the rest of the party and gone on ahead. They sat down to wait for the others on the fallen column, and while they were waiting Radnor asked her to marry him, for the seventh—or was it the eighth time?"
 
"The seventh, I think," said Polly.
 
"It's happened so often that, she's sort of lost track; but anyway, she replied by asking him if he knew the truth about the ghost. He said, yes, he did, but he couldn't tell her; it was somebody else's secret. On his word of honor though there was nothing that he was to blame for. She said she wouldn't marry a man who had secrets. He said that unless she took him now, she would never have the chance again; it was the last time he was going to ask her—is that straight, Miss Mathers?"
 
"Y-yes," sobbed²⁰ Polly from the depths of her cushion.
 
Terry proceeded with a fast broadening smile; it was evident that he enjoyed the recital²¹.
 
"And then being naturally angry that any man should presume to propose for the last time, she proceeded to be 'perfectly²² horrid' to him.—Go on, Miss Mathers. That's as far as you'd got."
 
"I—I told him—you won't tell anyone?"
 
"No."
 
 
"I told him I'd decided²³ to marry Jim Mattison."
 
"Ah—" said Terry. "Now we're getting at it! If you don't mind my asking, Miss Mathers, was that just a bluff²⁴ on your part, or had Mr. Mattison really asked you?"
 
Polly sat up and eyed him with a sparkle of resentment²⁵.
 
"Certainly, he'd asked me—a dozen times."
 
"I beg pardon!" murmured Terry. "So now you're engaged to Mr. Mattison?"
 
"Oh, no!" cried Polly. "Jim doesn't know I said it—I didn't mean it; I just wanted to make Radnor mad."
 
"I see! So it was a bluff after all? Were you successful in making him ............