"I am Miss Longworth," she answered. "You want to see my uncle, I
suppose? They have made a mistake in showing you in here."

"Not at all," he answered, with an ingratiating smile. "I know that your
uncle is very busy, so I took the liberty of asking to see you. It is
such a simple matter I required, that it was not worth while
interrupting him. My name is Carr, and I am on the _World_. There was
just an ordinary question or two I was going to put to your uncle, but
you can answer them just as well if you will."

"You mean you are a reporter?" she asked.

"That's it," he assented. "Odd sort of life in a way, because it sends
us round seeking sometimes for the most trivial information. For
instance, your uncle had a dinner-party to-night, and I have stepped
round for a list of the guests."

"I do not see," she answered slowly, "what possible concern that can be
of your paper's."

He smiled indulgently.

"Ah, Miss Longworth!" he said, "you have just come from the country, I
believe. You do not understand the way we do things in New York. Your
uncle is a famous man, and the public who buy papers to-day are dead
keen upon knowing even the most trifling things that such men do. In
fact, I have been sent all the way up from down town simply to find out
that simple matter. Of course, I could have asked the servants, but we
always prefer to get our information from one of the family where
possible. Now, let me see. Mr. Weiss was here, of course?"