"Elaine, see here. Why did you apply for that position in the first place?" "Why, I needed the money, Peggy." "You didn’t do it on the spur of the moment, did you? You thought about it, and made up your mind that it was the right thing to do?" "Why, ye-es--" Elaine hesitated, feeling a little suspicious that she was walking into a trap. "You’re the same Elaine to-night that you were yesterday, aren’t you? You haven’t been spoiled, by spending a day in Uncle John’s office. Is there any reason why anybody should like you less or respect you less?" "Of course not, Peggy. It’s only the way people feel about such things." Peggy did not mean to stop till she had spoken her mind. "You’re ready to give up doing something you’re sure is right and sensible because of what people think. You know they’re wrong. You know such prejudices are silly and mistaken and yet you haven’t got the courage to fight them." "I don’t know who would be brave enough for that," Elaine said dejectedly. "Everybody ought to be brave enough. Think of the people in the world who’ve conquered real obstacles, people like Helen Keller, for instance. It’s a shame for such a girl as you to give in to a lie, to let herself be beaten by something she despises. You’re in the right and you know it. Hold your head up and let people think what they please." Peggy’s exhortation broke off abruptly on the discovery that there was a fourth person in the room. A tall girl stood behind her, looking down upon her with a face oddly like Elaine’s, though something--not years alone--had given it a rather pathetic maturity. She was pale, and the shadows under her eyes made them seem unnaturally large. As she met Peggy’s startled gaze a little smile fluttered across her lips, and then, as if unaccustomed to those surroundings, was lost in instant gravity. "I’ve been listening to you, Peggy Raymond," she said, in a voice which Peggy instantly recognized as one she had heard before, and that over the telephone. "And I think the cap fits me." Peggy sprang to her feet. Even in her excitement she was on her guard against betraying the secret of Elaine’s confidence. Fortunately her confusion over Grace’s unexpected appearance and contribution to the conversation was sufficient for the exigencies of the case. No one could have guessed from her manner that she had a previous knowledge of Grace’s presence in the house. "Sit down, Peggy Raymond." The older girl touched Peggy’s shoulder lightly, and seated herself near by. A furtive glance told Peggy that Mrs. Marshall’s face was colorless, and that Elaine was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her eyes protruding, as if her sister had been a chance visitor from another planet. Apparently Grace was not impressed by the excitement due to her unheralded appearance. "I’m Grace Marshall," she said, addressing Peggy. "Elaine’s sister."