"You two met on the boat, of course, coming
in, I hope you didn't let her get lonesome, Gordon. Look after Sheba's
suitcases, Peter. You'll come to dinner to-night, Gordon--at seven."
"I'm in the kind hands of my countrywoman," laughed Gordon. "I'll
certainly be on hand."
"But what in the world are you doing here? You're the last man I'd have
expected to see."
"I'm in the service of the Government, and I've been sent in on
business."
"Well, I'm going to say something original, dear people," Mrs. Paget
replied. "It's a small world, isn't it?"
While he was dressing for dinner later in the day, Elliot recalled
early memories of the Pagets. He had known Diane ever since they had
been youngsters together at school. He remembered her as a restless,
wiry little thing, keen as a knife-blade. She had developed into a very
pretty girl, alive, ambitious, energetic, with a shrewd eye to the main
chance. Always popular socially, she had surprised everybody by refusing
the catch of the town to marry a young mining engineer without a penny.
Gordon was in college at the time, but during the next long vacation
he had fraternized a good deal with the Peter Pagets. The young
married people had been very much in love with each other, but not too
preoccupied to take the college boy into their happiness as a comrade.
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