“That’s splendid!” said Sam. “I’m sailing on the ‘Atlantic’ myself. I’ll go down to the office and see if we can’t have a state-room together. But where is he going to live when he gets to England?” 

 “Where is he going to live? Why, at Windles, of course. Where else?” 

 “But I thought you were letting Windles for the summer?” 

 Mrs. Hignett stared. 

 “Letting Windles!” She spoke as one might address a lunatic. “What put that extraordinary idea into your head?” 

 “I thought father said something about your letting the place to some American.” 

 “Nothing of the kind!” 

 It seemed to Sam that his aunt spoke somewhat vehemently, even snappishly, in correcting what was a perfectly natural mistake. He could not know that the subject of letting Windles for the summer was one which had long since begun to infuriate Mrs. Hignett. People had certainly asked her to let Windles. In fact, people had pestered her. There was a rich, fat man, an American named Bennett, whom she had met just before sailing at her brother’s house in London. Invited down to Windles for the day, Mr. Bennett had fallen in love with the place, and had begged her to name her own price. Not content with this, he had pursued her with his pleadings by means of the wireless telegraph while she was on the ocean, and had not given up the struggle even when she reached New York. She had not been in America two days when there had arrived a Mr. Mortimer, bosom friend of Mr. Bennett, carrying on the matter where the other had left off. For a whole week Mr. Mortimer had tried to induce her to reconsider her decision, and had only stopped because he had had to leave for England himself, to join his friend. And even then the thing had gone on. Indeed, this very morning, among the letters on Mrs. Hignett’s table, the buff envelope of a cable from Mr. Bennett had peeped out, nearly spoiling her breakfast. No wonder, then, that Sam’s allusion to the affair had caused the authoress of “The Spreading Light” momentarily to lose her customary calm. 

 “Nothing will induce me ever to let Windles,” she said with finality, and rose significantly. Sam, perceiving that the audience was at an end—and glad of it—also got up. 

 “Well, I think I’ll be going down and seeing about that state-room,” he said. 

 “Certainly. I am a little busy just now, 

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