The first Miss Kezia knew of their arrival, was when she was swept aside in the hall by an advancing trio, making for the door. She asked questions. She received answers, breathless, wild, glad answers that left her with a dazed understanding that something very wonderful had happened, that they had received letters of marvellous import. Then they swept out of the door. They left Miss Kezia calling out that Molly’s gloves were odd; that Sheila Pat’s hat was on back to front; that Nell had left her painting pinafore on, and it showed beneath her coat. They laughed and waved back to her airily; they started, to her consternation, running. She would have been more concerned had she known where they were going. They made straight for the bank where Denis worked. They ran all the way; they pushed open the swing doors, they hurried in waving their letters above their heads. Mr. Tellbridge was there, giving instructions to a clerk. Both he and the clerk looked startled. Mr. Tellbridge also looked disapproving. "Good morning!" Nell cried out breathlessly. "Oh, where is Denis? Where is he, Mr. Tellbridge?" "Here I am! What’s up?" From round the partition he came. "Letters, Denis! They’re coming home! In about two weeks! They got the cablegram! He was just going to sell out! P.&O. boat! In a fortnight they’ll be here!" Mr. Tellbridge pushed his spectacles up on his brow, and eyed them with a mild surprise. He seemed to find the study of them and their joy bewildering. In the babel his somewhat pompous, but not unkindly, "Dear me, I cannot allow this!" passed unheard. At last Nell turned to him:— "Denis may come with us now, mayn’t he, Mr. Tellbridge? You see, he couldn’t do any work now, possibly." "Pennington will do my share, when he comes in," observed Denis, easily. Nell looked at the bank manager, gave a little laugh. "We’re being awfully rude," she said. "I will try to explain." She did try. She tried to speak soberly, plainly, but her words sang, jostled each other, grew picturesquely extravagant. Mr. Tellbridge’s mild disapproval was not proof against her eloquence. He professed himself delighted at the good news. He gave Denis a half-holiday, his benignity tempered by a drily expressed suggestion that the work would not suffer much from his absence. They went straight to Gowan Square, found Ted in, and dragged him off to lunch.