“I’m tremendously interested in the Works, you know,” the man rushed on, quite as if he found encouragement in her reply, “because I have so many friends who work there.  It’s to gratify my peace of mind, just to know that they have—­everything they need.  As I say, I happen to—­to have a sort of fund—­a little public fund, you might say—­for—­for purposes of the kind.  And the idea of outside cooeperation in such a matter is a perfectly sound one, as you doubtless know, a—­a sound, advanced socialistic idea.  It’s simply the community acknowledging some responsibility where it already claims the right to regulate ...”

At this point her stare seemed to penetrate him with a doubt, and he said, with the air of having skipped hastily and turned back: 

“I mustn’t detain you now to give the full argument, of course, but I assure you the idea is sound and—­mutually beneficial, as I believe.  Unfortunately,” he added, with a certain embarrassment, “I don’t know your father.”

“Tell me,” said Carlisle, feeling an excitement mounting within her, “how is it that you are always thinking up these plans for doing good to other people?”

Before Dr. Vivian could meet this poser, the front door opened with a bang, and a youngish man in a wet yellow raincoat came striding rapidly across the court toward them.  He was a powerfully built man with a blue-tinged chin, and wore the air of a person of authority.

“Meeting not begun yet?” he demanded, without salutation, apparently addressing Carlisle.  “Thought I was late.”

“Ah, Mr. Pond—­glad to see you,” said Vivian, stepping forward a little to meet the newcomer.  “They’ve just begun—­you’ll find an ovation waiting for you.”

“In your office?  Aren’t you going up, to lead the applause?”

The doctor bowed gravely.  “In my office.  I’ll join you directly.”

“I see,” said the man, nodding, having never checked his stride.

But all that he had seemed to see with his keen black eyes was the lovely girl posed on the last step of the ornamental stairway.  He almost brushed against her as he strode by.

The Pond person’s footsteps diminished up the long stairs.  A moment later a volley of hand-clapping, sounding very near, indicated his arrival in the meeting-room.  But his interruption and his irritating stare had accomplished no mollifying purpose down in the court.  But one end, indeed, could justify the proud Miss Heth in lingering in a public hall with the slanderer of herself and her family.

“Doesn’t it occur to you,” she said, hardly waiting for the intruder to get out of earshot, “that so much preaching about other people’s business seems rather—­odd, coming from you?”

Dr. Vivian now affected to look troubled.

“There was just that difficulty,” said he, slowly, “that you might think I was preaching.  I’m not, this time, really—­”

“Don’t you know perfectly well you only said that in a—­a horrid way to try to make me feel uncomfortable?”