They ate quite heartily, as doctors and lawyers are prone to
do when the opportunity presents itself. Immediately after dinner they
repaired to the study and closed the door. All evening there were
telephone conversations with New York and Washington, and frequent
visits to Mrs. Bingle's room by the doctor and Mr. Bingle.
At ten o'clock Mr. Bingle walked out upon the moon-lit lawn and gazed
about him in all directions, taking in the terraces, the park, the
gardens, and last of all the splendid facade of the great house
itself. Head gardener Edgecomb approached and to him Mr. Bingle said:
"It was a beautiful place--a beautiful place, indeed," and then
straightway returned to the house. Edgecomb, slack grammarian though
he was, made note of the fact that he spoke of the house in the past
tense, quite as if it were a thing that had ceased to exist.
The children had had their supper when Melissa came down from Mrs.
Bingle's room, whither she had been summoned in some haste at five
o'clock. She promptly announced that they were to skip off to bed at
once as their mother's head was that bad that she was not to be
disturbed by the slightest sound.
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