All at once the solution to the mystery dawned upon me. The rich, musical voice belonged to Grace Draper, the beautiful girl whom Dicky had seen first on a train on our memorable trip to Marvin. Why hadn't Dicky told me that she was at the studio? The question rankled in the back of my brain. That was not my main concern, however. What swept me with a sudden primitive emotion, which I know must be jealousy, was the picture of that beautiful face, that wonderful figure in daily close companionship with my husband. Suppose she should fall in love with Dicky! To my mind I did not see how any woman could help it. Would she have any scruples about endeavoring to win Dicky's love from me? My common sense told me that this was the veriest nonsense. But I could no more help my feelings than I could control the shape of my nose. The ring of the telephone bell put a temporary end to my speculations. I pulled myself together in order to talk calmly to Dicky, for I knew it must be he who was calling. "Madge, is this you? Whatever has happened?" "Nothing is the matter," I said quickly, "but you have your mother's trunk checks, and she is anxious about them." "By Jove!" Dicky's voice was full of consternation. "I forgot everything about those trunk checks until this minute. I should have attended to them yesterday, but"--he hesitated, then finished lamely--"I didn't have time." I felt my face flush as though Dicky could see me. The reason why he did not have time to see to his mother's trunks on the day of her arrival, touched a subject any allusion to which would always bring a flush to my face. I was still too shaken with the varying emotions I had experienced the day before to bear well any reference to them, no matter how casual. Fortunately, Dicky was too much taken up with his own remissness to notice my silence. "I'll go out this minute and attend to them," he said. "Try to keep the mater's mind diverted from them if you can. Better get her away on your sight-seeing trip as soon as possible." Having thus shifted his responsibilities to my shoulders, Dicky blithely hung up the receiver. I turned to his mother. "Well!" she demanded. "He is going out now to attend to the trunks," I said. "There! I knew he had forgotten them," she exclaimed, with a little malicious feminine triumph running through her tones. "When will they be here?" "Not before noon at the earliest," I repeated Dicky's words in as matter-of-fact way as possible. "Probably not until 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We might as well start on our trip. Katie is perfectly capable of attending to them." Then she said, "How soon will you be ready?" "I am afraid it will be half an hour before I can start," I said apologetically. "That will be all right," my mother-in-law returned good humoredly. She was evidently much pleased at the prospect of the trip.