With a swift glance of conscious power towards the other guests she walked towards Mrs.Horncastle.

"Ah, here you are, dear," she said in a voice that could easily reach all ears, "and you've arrived only a little before me, after all.

And I've had such an AWFUL drive to the Divide! And only think! poor George telegraphed to me at Boomville not to worry, and his dispatch has only just come back here." And with a glance of complacency she laid Barker's gentle and forgiving dispatch before the astonished Mrs.Horncastle..