The apparition vanished. Jimmy drew out his handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead. He felt weak and guilty. He felt as if he had just been accused of nameless crimes and had been unable to deny the charge. Such was the magic of Miss Trimble's eye--the left one, which looked directly at its object. Conjecture pauses baffled at the thought of the effect which her gaze might have created in the breasts of the sex she despised, had it been double instead of single-barrelled. But half of it had wasted itself on a spot some few feet to his right. Presently the door opened again, and Mr. Crocker appeared, looking like a benevolent priest. CHAPTER XIX BETWEEN FATHER AND SON "Well, Skinner, my man," said Jimmy, "how goes it?" Mr. Crocker looked about him cautiously. Then his priestly manner fell from him like a robe, and he bounded forward. "Jimmy!" he exclaimed, seizing his son's hand and shaking it violently. "Say, it's great seeing you again, Jim!" Jimmy drew himself up haughtily. "Skinner, my good menial, you forget yourself strangely! You will be getting fired if you mitt the handsome guest in this chummy fashion!" He slapped his father on the back. "Dad, this is great! How on earth do you come to be here? What's the idea? Why the buttling? When did you come over? Tell me all!" Mr. Crocker hoisted himself nimbly onto the writing-desk, and sat there, beaming, with dangling legs. "It was your letter that did it, Jimmy. Say, Jim, there wasn't any need for you to do a thing like that just for me." "Well, I thought you would have a better chance of being a peer without me around. By the way, dad, how did my step-mother take the Lord Percy episode?" A shadow fell upon Mr. Crocker's happy face. "I don't like to do much thinking about your step-mother," he said. "She was pretty sore about Percy. And she was pretty sore about your lighting out for America. But, gee! what she must be feeling like now that I've come over, I daren't let myself think." "You haven't explained that yet. Why did you come over?" "Well, I'd been feeling homesick--I always do over there in the baseball season--and then talking with Pett made it worse--" "Talking with Pett? Did you see him, then, when he was in London?" "See him? I let him in!" "How?" "Into the house, I mean. I had just gone to the front door to see what sort of a day it was--I wanted to know if there had been enough rain in the night to stop my having to watch that cricket game--and just as I got there the bell rang. I opened the door." "A revoltingly plebeian thing to do! I'm ashamed of you, dad! They won't stand for that sort of thing in the House of Lords!"