Was this some other adoption they were talking of? What he perceived was that whatever was happening was, in its progression, drawing him more intimately to Mrs. Markyn. She held him closer; there was tenderness and protection in her clasp. He enjoyed this, but continued to regard the men with suspicion.
He felt a sudden loss as she stood up, releasing him abruptly. Looking up, he saw her, white now as death, a light of excitement shining in her eyes, and her full lips set tight together. She looked, he thought, like someone to whom some startling memory had just occurred. She left him and went hurriedly to Beman and spoke to him in low tones, eagerly.
Peewee could catch only the words, "I have a letter—"
The old man, listening to her, frowned doubtfully. Peewee had, incomprehensibly, the feeling that she, in need of help, had turned to that violent, harsh but capable old man, as he himself had once done. What help? Jeffrey and Walter had gone closer to them to listen. Beman drew the police officer aside and spoke
