"Yes.--Oh, _why_ did I go! Why didn't I ever find out! Milo--it isn't a common name. And I might have known! I'm a fool! A fool! But I needed the engagement. And I'd been there before, and I thought it was all right." "What has 'Milo' to do with it?" asked Sue. "This--this: I knew that Wallace knew Alan. So--so when I saw Wallace there, I was sure Alan was there. And I left. That's all." She went back to the chair by the table and sat. "You walked right into my house!" marveled Farvel; "--after all the years I've searched for you!" "Ha! ha!--Just my luck!" She crossed her feet and folded her arms. There was a pause. Wallace was plainly in misery, at times holding his breath, again almost blowing, like a man after a run. He shifted uneasily. The sweat stood out on his white temples, and he brushed the drops into his hair. Of a sudden, Farvel turned to him. "Why didn't you tell me it was Laura?" he demanded. "You saw her there--you came here--why didn't you ask me to come?" "Well," faltered Wallace, "I--I don't know why I didn't. I'm sorry. It was just--just----" His voice seemed to go from him. He swallowed. Now, Farvel's manner changed. His face darkened, and grew stern. "There's something here that I don't understand," he said, angrily. Clare sprang up. "Oh, drop it, will you?" she asked rudely; "--before all this crowd." Farvel turned on her fiercely. "No, I won't drop it! I want this thing cleared up!" And to Wallace again, "For ten years you know how I've searched. And in the beginning, you know better than anyone else in the whole world how I suffered. And yet today, when you found Laura, you failed to tell me--_me_, of _all_ persons!" His voice rose to a shout. "Why, it's monstrous!" "And I want this thing cleared up, too," put in Balcome. "Wallace, you're going to marry my daughter. Why did you lie to me about this young woman's name?" Mrs. Milo went to take her place beside her son. "Do you mean," she demanded, "that you're both trying to find my dear boy at fault?--to cover someone else's wrongdoing." She stared at Farvel defiantly. "Please, mother!" Wallace pushed her not too gently aside. Then he faced the other men, his features working with the effort of control. "Well, it--it was for--for Miss Crosby's sake," he explained. "I knew she didn't want to be found--I knew it because she was so scared when she saw me, and ran. And--and then Hattie; you know Hattie's never cared an awful lot for me. And I was afraid--I was afraid she might--she might wonder----" He choked. "_Hattie,_" repeated Balcome. A strange look came into Farvel's eyes. "What has Miss Balcome to do with it?" he asked. "Nothing! Nothing!"--it was Clare. She gave Wallace a warning glance. "I thought it might worry her," he added, weakly.