When she followed him out, to open the door, Mr.Gallilee requested permission to wait a moment in the hall.

"If you will allow me, ma'am, I'll wipe my eyes before I go into the street." Arriving at the office without an appointment, he found the lawyer engaged.

A clerk presented to him a slip of paper, with a line written by Mr.Mool: "Is it anything of importance ?" Simple Mr.Gallilee wrote back: "Oh, dear, no; it's only me! I'll call again." Besides his critical judgment in the matter of champagne, this excellent man possessed another accomplishment--a beautiful handwriting.

Mr.Mool, discovering a crooked line and some ill-formed letters in the reply, drew his own conclusions.

He sent word to his old friend to wait.
In ten minutes more they were together, and the lawyer was informed of the events that had followed the visit of Benjulia to Fairfield Gardens, on the previous day.
For a while, the two men sat silently meditating--daunted by the prospect before them.