"Do wait till the morning, Eddie," she said. "You know it’s at night that he does his best work, and it seems a pity to disturb him." "What about it’s being a pity to disturb me while I’m eating my dinner, to try and rectify one of his beastly, inexcusable blunders? No, by Jove, I’m entitled to _some_ consideration! He’s got to come out and tell me what he did." "Do wait!" cried Polly. He looked at her in anger and distress. "Don’t you _understand_?" he demanded. "It’s important. I’ve got to find out what he’s done with my letter. I’ve got to know at once--even," he added with irony, "at the risk of disturbing Vincent. I haven’t seen him for three days." "Oh, do wait!" cried Mrs. Russell. "I won’t!" he answered. Striding out of the room, he began to run up-stairs. To Angelica’s great amusement, the two women followed him. She followed, too, of course. "Oh, Eddie!" implored Mrs. Russell. "Don’t be so headstrong! Wait! I’m sure he’s asleep." "He can wake up, then. It’s only eight o’clock." "Or maybe he’s working, and if you interrupt him he’ll be so vexed!" "_He_ vexed!" cried Eddie, outraged. "It seems to me that I’m the one to be vexed!" Proceeding at once to his brother’s room, he knocked at the door, waited, and then knocked again. "Vincent!" he called. "Open the door! I want to speak to you!" He knocked louder and louder. Polly again touched his arm. "Eddie!" she said, in a low voice. "You’re making a dreadful noise. Why _don’t_ you wait? To please me!" "It can’t really matter," said Mrs. Russell. "You couldn’t really do much at this time of night." "No," said Eddie. "I could have waited, but now I won’t. There’s something damned queer about it. He can’t help hearing this row." "But you know how peculiar he is," said Mrs. Russell. "He wouldn’t answer if he didn’t feel like it." "I’ll make him. I won’t put up with this!" He had turned away and was starting down-stairs. "Where are you going?" called his mother. "I’m going to get Courtland, to help me break in the door!" Mrs. Russell drew near Polly. "What do you think we’d better do?" she whispered. "I don’t know," Polly answered in distress. "Even if he would wait till the morning, I don’t see just what we could do. Perhaps we’d better----” Mrs. Russell nodded. Eddie returned promptly, bringing with him the blond young chauffeur, pleased and alert. "Which door?" he asked. "This? All right! Now, then, all together! One----” "No!" cried Mrs. Russell. "No, Eddie. Wait a minute!" He did wait, but impatiently, while she hesitated. Finally she said to him in a half whisper: "Eddie, _he’s not there_!" "Not there?" he shouted. "Do hush! No; he’s been away for three days." "Why the devil didn’t you tell me?" "Because I didn’t want to upset you." "Did Polly know?" "Yes; she----” "And you both stood there and let me make a fool of myself?" "I couldn’t bear to upset you, Eddie, and neither could Polly."