"My residence," he said. "I am afraid that it will have to remain shut up as it is, for the present. Henrietta's change of plan--or, I shouldn't say that, perhaps--her engagement knocks my scheme of things in the head. She is to be married in June, you know." "But, Fox," Mrs. Ladue exclaimed, "surely, you don't mean that you won't open the house at all!" She was sorry for him. Why did he have to miss the satisfaction of living in his own house? Such a house, too! He nodded. "I don't see any prospect of it," he answered, rather gloomily for him; "at least," he added, with a short laugh, "until I am married. There is really no reason for it, you know. There is likely to be room enough at this end of the establishment for some time." It was Margaret Savage he referred to, Sally supposed. At least, Henrietta, she remembered, had said--had intimated it. Suddenly, she hated the old house. "It's a shame," Mrs. Ladue said softly. "It's a perfect shame, Fox. If--if you want to live in it, there's no reason--" Fox shook his head. "It wouldn't be best or wise, dear Mrs. Ladue," he said gently. "I can wait." "Aren't you going to show it to us?" asked Mrs. Ladue then, with heightened color. "We should like to see the inside, shouldn't we, Sally?" But Sally did not have a chance to reply. "Not to-day," said Fox. "Sometime, soon, I hope, but not to-day." He said no more and Mrs. Ladue said nothing and Sally said nothing; and they went in again, by unanimous consent, and presently Mrs. Ladue and Sally and Patty drove away, although so early a departure was much against Patty's inclination. They would not have succeeded in getting her to go at all but that Fox took Doctor Beatty off to show him something, and Doctor Beatty thanked him, although he did not make it clear whether it was for wanting to show him the something or for taking him away. But Meriwether Beatty had shown a capacity for leaving Patty when he felt like it, so that I am forced to conclude that that had nothing to do with his thanks. When they got back to Mrs. Stump's they found a letter from Charlie waiting for them on the hall table. I may add that Patty found a letter from Charlie, also, but it was not like the one to his mother and Sally. It differed from theirs in several important particulars. Charlie wrote a letter home every week, with unfailing regularity. It was a perfunctory letter, filled with the unimportant happenings at college. It never gave any information about himself except on those rare occasions when he had something favorable to report, and it did not need to be anything exceptionally favorable either.