“Don’t come back, either!” said, Sheridan, realistic in this impersonation.  “Keep off the premises!” he called savagely into the hall.  “This family’s through with you!”

“It is not!” Edith cried, breaking from her mother.  “You’ll see about that!  You’ll find out!  You’ll find out what’ll happen!  What’s he done?  I guess if I can stand it, it’s none of your business, is it?  What’s he done, I’d like to know?  You don’t know anything about it.  Don’t you s’pose he told me?  She was crazy about him soon as he began going there, and he flirted with her a little.  That’s everything he did, and it was before he met me!  After that he wouldn’t, and it wasn’t anything, anyway—­he never was serious a minute about it.  She wanted it to be serious, and she was bound she wouldn’t give him up.  He told her long ago he cared about me, but she kept persecuting him and—­”

“Yes,” said Sheridan, sternly; “that’s his side of it!  That’ll do!  He doesn’t come in this house again!”

“You look out!” Edith cried.

“Yes, I’ll look out!  I’d ‘a’ told you to-day he wasn’t to be allowed on the premises, but I had other things on my mind.  I had Abercrombie look up this young man privately, and he’s no ’count.  He’s no ’count on earth!  He’s no good!  He’s nothin’!  But it wouldn’t matter if he was George Washington, after what’s happened and what I’ve heard to-night!”

“But, papa,” Mrs. Sheridan began, “if Edie says it was all Sibyl’s fault, makin’ up to him, and he never encouraged her much, nor—­”

“’S enough!” he roared.  “He keeps off these premises!  And if any of you so much as ever speak his name to me again—­”

But Edith screamed, clapping her hands over her ears to shut out the sound of his voice, and ran up-stairs, sobbing loudly, followed by her mother.  However, Mrs. Sheridan descended a few minutes later and joined her husband in the library.  Bibbs, still sitting in his gold chair, saw her pass, roused himself from reverie, and strolled in after her.

“She locked her door,” said Mrs. Sheridan, shaking her head woefully.  “She wouldn’t even answer me.  They wasn’t a sound from her room.”

“Well,” said her husband, “she can settle her mind to it.  She never speaks to that fellow again, and if he tries to telephone her to-morrow—­Here!  You tell the help if he calls up to ring off and say it’s my orders.  No, you needn’t.  I’ll tell ’em myself.”

“Better not,” said Bibbs, gently.

His father glared at him.

“It’s no good,” said Bibbs.  “Mother, when you were in love with father—­”

“My goodness!” she cried.  “You ain’t a-goin’ to compare your father to that—­”

“Edith feels about him just what you did about father,” said Bibbs.  “And if your father had told you—­”

“I won’t listen to such silly talk!” she declared, angrily.