Miss Sterling shook her head.

“He’s a widower!  You don’t s’pose—?” Miss Crilly giggled.

The other shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, anyway, there’ll be a row till she’s found!  Gracious!  I was so upset I couldn’t eat much breakfast!  I told Mis’ Albright finally—­I couldn’t keep it a minute longer.  Then I came up here.  You don’t s’pose she’s gone luny, do you?  She was so upset about goin’ to that weddin’!”

“No, it isn’t that!” decided Miss Sterling.  “Mrs. Dick is not the kind to go crazy.”

“Somebody’s comin’!” Miss Crilly darted to the closet and shut herself in.

Mrs. Albright and Mrs. Adlerfield appeared.

“I thought Miss Crilly was here.”  Mrs. Albright looked about in surprise.

Miss Sterling nodded significantly toward the closet.

Mrs. Albright opened the door, and laughed,

“Come into daylight, you silly!  Nobody’s going to eat you up!  They’ve found out!”

“They have?  How?”

“One of the maids saw Mrs. Dick go by the window, and she ran to see where she was going; but she didn’t dare tell at first.  Finally, she did, and they’re going to send out to Mr. Tenney’s.”

“My!  I’m glad I ain’t in Mis’ Dick’s shoes!” Miss Crilly emerged from the folds of Miss Sterling’s petticoats.  She brushed back her disordered hair and drew a long, laughing sigh.  “Isn’t it lovely they’ve found out!  I b’lieve I’d have been luny myself in a little while if they hadn’t!”

“Nonsense!” pooh-poohed Mrs. Albright.  “You couldn’t stay luny more’n half a twinkle!  You’d have to come out of it to laugh!”

“Sure, I would!” Miss Crilly agreed.  “My!  How do folks live that don’t laugh!”

“You are in no danger of dying from that disease,” returned Mrs. Albright.

“No, I guess I ain’t.  My mother used to say that she believed if I had to live with the Devil himself, I’d keep on laughing.”

The quartette settled down to calm, now that the danger was over, but the talk still ran on Mrs. Dick.

“She’s been married twice before, hasn’t she?” asked Miss Crilly.

“Before what?” chuckled Mrs. Albright.

“O-h!  Did I?  That’s one on me, sure!  Well, maybe it is ‘before’—­who knows!  What else could she be goin’ off at half-past five with the milkman for?  Might not be a bad thing either—­guess he’s all right.  ’Most anything ’d be better ‘n bein’ under Miss Sniffen and her crowd!”

“Where did Mrs. Dick live before she came here?  Did you know her?” Mrs. Albright inquired.

“I knew of her.”  Miss Crilly answered.  “She kep’ boarders over Kelly Avenue way.  She used to teach school years ago.  Her first husband died and all her children, then she took boarders and married one of ’em.—­this Mr. Dick.  He didn’t live long—­only long enough to run through what she’d saved up.  He drank.  She’s worked hard all her life, I guess.  I like Mis’ Dick!  She’s good company.”