died yesterday week. I hope you'll excuse me, sir, for all this bad
news just when you come back from your holiday, and when it's
natural as you don't feel in very good spirits."

Will had much ado not to laugh. On his return from a holiday, Mrs.
Hopper always presumed him to be despondent in view of the
resumption of daily work. He was beginning to talk of Mrs. Allchin's
troubles, when at the outer door sounded a long nervous knock.

"Ha! That's Mr. Franks."

Mrs. Hopper ran to admit the visitor.





CHAPTER 2




"Warburton!" cried a high-pitched voice from the passage. "Have you
seen _The Art World_?"

And there rushed into the room a tall, auburn-headed young man of
five-and-twenty, his comely face glowing in excitement. With one
hand he grasped his friend's, in the other he held out a magazine.

"You haven't seen it! Look here! What d'you think of that, confound