All the morning they worked eagerly together, finding personal conversation impossible because of the presence of the carpenter. At lunch time, however, Carey, having been most courteous and apologetic, seemed to feel his time had come. Or perhaps he appreciated his sister’s silence. At any rate, he remarked quite casually that he had been out for a job in Baltimore, and hadn’t got it, worse luck! Missed the man he went to see by half an hour, but had a dandy time. Cornelia took the news quietly, thoughtfully, and presently raised her eyes. “Carey, dear, next time you go wouldn’t you be good enough to tell us where you are going and how long you expect to be gone? You’ve given us all an extremely anxious time, you know.” She managed to make her voice quiet and matter-of-fact, without the least bit of fault-finding; for a black cloud hovered almost imperceptibly over the handsome young brows across the table, and she had no mind to spoil the pleasant atmosphere that had surrounded them all the morning. “The idea!” said Carey, excited at once. “Why should I do that? I’m not a baby, am I? I’m a _man_, ain’t I? Disabuse yourself at once of the notion that I’m in leading-strings. I guess I can go as far as I like, and stay as long as I like, can’t I?” “Yes, you can, of course,” soothed his sister. “But, if you really are a man, you’ve noticed how gray and worn father looks. How sick he looks! He’s been through a lot, you know; and he can’t help thinking that maybe something else dreadful is coming. He has to worry for himself and mother too, you know. Because just now everything is very critical on mother’s account. I know you wouldn’t want to worry mother, and you wouldn’t want to worry father, either, if you just stopped to think.” “Well, but how absurd! A trip down to Baltimore that any fella would take. You aren’t such a goose as to worry over that, are you?” “Of course it is a bit silly,” admitted the sister; “but I must confess I lay awake several hours every night myself. You remember you had just got done telling me what a wild driver that Brand Barlock is, and how he put ether in the mixture. And one can’t help knowing there are hundreds of terrible automobile accidents every day. They might happen even to a _man_, you know; and then—well we _love_ you, Carey, you know.” “Oh, gosh! Well, I didn’t know you were that sort of a goose. I know of course mother—but then she isn’t here.” “Well, when it comes down to it, Carey I guess we all care about as much as mother.” She smiled at him through a sudden mist of tears that all unexpectedly welled into her eyes. “And you know it was quite sudden, and well, if you had just thought to telephone, you know, to say you would be gone several days.” “Aw, gee! Well, I suppose I might have done that. I will next time. Sure, Nell, I’ll try to remember. It was kind of rank in me not to say anything, but I figured that, if I didn’t get it, no one would be the wiser.”