"He told the maid it did not matter. I saw him as he walked away and he
looked very much a man. He said he would come to-morrow if he did not
find you down town to-night. Don't you recognize him from the
description?"
"Not at all. Can't imagine who he is."
"Monty," she said, after a moment's painful reflection, "he--he
couldn't have been a--"
"I know what you mean. An officer sent up to attach my belongings or
something of the sort. No, dearest; I give you my word of honor I do
not owe a dollar in the world." Then he recalled his peculiar
indebtedness to Bragdon and Gardner. "Except one or two very small
personal obligations," he added, hastily. "Don't worry about it, dear,
we are out for a good time and we must make the most of it. First, we
drive through the Park, then we dine at Sherry's."
"But we must dress for that, dear," she cried. "And the chaperon?"
He turned very red when she spoke of dressing. "I'm ashamed to confess
it, Peggy, but I have no other clothes than these I'm wearing now.
Don't look so hurt, dear--I'm going to leave an order for new evening
clothes to-morrow--if I have the time. And about the chaperon. People
won't be talking before to-morrow and by that time--"
"No, Monty, Sherry's is out of the question. We can't go there," she
said, decisively.
"Oh, Peggy! That spoils everything," he cried, in deep disappointment.
"It isn't fair to me, Monty. Everybody would know us, and every tongue
would wag. They would say, 'There are Monty Brewster and Margaret Gray.
Spending his last few dollars on her.' You wouldn't have them think
that?"
He saw the justice in her protest. "A quiet little dinner in some out
of the way place would be joyous," she added, persuasively.
"You're right, Peggy, you're always right. You see, I'm so used to
spending money by the handful that I don't know how to do it any other
way. I believe I'll let you carry the pocketbook after to-morrow. Let
me think; I knew a nice little restaurant down town. We'll go there and
then to the theater. Dan DeMille and his wife are to be in my box and
we're all going up to Pettingill's studio afterward. I'm to give the
'Little Sons' a farewell supper. If my calculations don't go wrong,
that will be the end of the jaunt and we'll go home happy."
At eleven o'clock Pettingill's studio opened its doors to the "Little
Sons" and their guests, and the last "Dutch lunch" was soon under way.
Brewster had paid for it early in the evening and when he sat down at
the head of the table there was not a penny in his pockets. A year ago,
at the same hour, he and the "Little Sons" were having a birthday
feast. A million dollars came to him on that night. To-night he was
poorer by far than on the other occasion, but he expected a little gift
on the new anniversary.