"Certainly, my dear. We'll have a boy if you like. In a pinch, we can always change the gender at the last minute. Let's not give it another thought. I'll take it up with Rouquin the first time I'm in town. As for Swanson's sister's child--well, never mind. We sha'n't have it. He says its name is Ole at present but I suppose it could be called Richelieu if taken in time. Still that's neither here nor there. I've been thinking lately, my dear, that we ought to call our next boy Joseph--after his grand-uncle, don't you see. We owe that much to poor old Uncle Joe. Will you bear it in mind?" "We COULD call the next one Josephine," she said. He grinned. "Uncle Joe would turn over in his grave," said he. That evening Mr. Force telephoned to Seawood. "That you, Bingle?" came in rather muffled tones over the wire. "Yes, this is Mr. Bingle." "This is Force. We are sailing to-morrow for--" "I can't hear you. Stand a little closer to the 'phone, please." "I say we are sailing to-morrow for Europe. I'm standing close to it, Bingle. There's some one in the next booth. I can't yell, you know. I--" "Where are you?" "At the Plaza. I just wanted to tell you that I've fixed everything up with the detective agency. Not a word of that little matter will ever become public. Their lips have been sealed." Mr. Bingle's heart swelled. "Do you mean that the matter is--er--permanently closed? Are you going to let me keep her?" "Certainly NOT! What kind of a father do you think I am? Now I'll tell you what I want you to do. I want you to be particularly careful about that child while I'm away. Don't let anything happen to her. Take the best of care of her, Bingle. I shall hold you personally responsible. And see here, there's another point on which I want to be especially firm. I don't want her to be thrown with the other children any more than can be helped. I--What's that?" "Nothing. Go on." "Some of those kids of yours are not precisely what I would call thoroughbred. See what I mean? No reflection, of course, Bingle. I wouldn't say this if they were your own, understand, but--well, they're not, so that's all there is to it. I shall have to ask you to engage a special companion for Kathleen, and I have arranged with a Madame Dufresne to--" "See here, Force, I--" "--to call on you this week. She is an excellent woman, refined and a lady of very good family in France. She is a friend of Rouquin's, in the bank. He knew the family in Paris. I took the liberty of telling him that you wanted to engage a French LADY to act as companion to your eldest child. I trust you will see to it that Kathleen is not allowed to romp about with the rest of those--er--the other children. This Madame Dufresne will--What's that?" Mr. Bingle had recovered his breath. His voice was high and shrill with indignation.