"There's--some," he managed to inform her. "Some--some news." "What is it?" "It's--it's----" "Never mind," she said soothingly. "Get your breath; I can wait. I hope nothing's wrong in your family, Noble." "No. Oh, no." "It isn't just my turning up unexpectedly that's upset you so, of course," she dared to say. "Naturally, I know better than to think such a thing as that." "Oh, Julia!" he said. "Oh, Julia!" "What is it, Noble?" "Noth-ing," he murmured, disjointing the word. "How odd you happened to be there at the station," she said, "just when my train came in! You're sure you weren't going away anywhere?" "No; oh, no." She was thoughtful, then laughed confidentially. "You're the only person in town that knows I'm home, Noble." "I'm glad," he said humbly. She laughed again. "I came all of a sudden--on an impulse. It's a little idiotic. I'll tell you all about it, Noble. You see, ten or twelve days ago I wrote the family a more or less indiscreet letter. That is, I told them something I wanted them to be discreet about, and, of course, when I got to thinking it over, I knew they wouldn't. You see, I wrote them something I wanted them to keep a secret, but the more I thought about it, the more I saw I'd better hurry back. Yesterday it got into my head that I'd better jump on the next train for home!" She paused, then added, "So I did! About ten or twelve days is as long as anybody has a right to expect the Atwater family connection to keep the deadliest kind of a secret, isn't it?" And as he did not respond, she explained, modestly, "Of course, it wasn't a very deadly secret; it was really about something of only the least importance." The jar of this understatement restored Noble's voice to a sudden and startling loudness. "'Only the least importance'!" he shouted. "With a man named Crum!" "What!" she cried "Crum!" Noble insisted. "That's exactly what it said his name was!" "_What_ said his name was?" "_The North End Daily Oriole!_" "What in heaven's name is that?" "It's the children's paper, Herbert's and Florence's: your own niece and nephew, Julia! You don't mean you deny it, do you, Julia?" She was in great confusion: "Do I deny what?" "That his name's Crum!" Noble said passionately. "That his name's Crum and that he's a widower and he's been divorced and's got nobody knows how many children!" Julia sought to collect herself. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "If you mean that I happened to meet a very charming man while I was away, and that his name happened to be Crum, I don't know why I should go to the trouble of denying it. But if Mr. Crum has had the experiences you say he has, it is certainly news to me! I think someone told me he was only twenty-six years old. He looked rather younger." "You 'think someone told' you!" Noble groaned. "Oh, Julia! And here it is, all down in black and white, in my pocket!"