At Barry’s first word she dropped her pole, her whole face grew radiant, and she came toward him holding out both her hands.

“Barry!” she said eagerly, her eyes trying to read his face, “how glad I am you’ve come!  We didn’t know how to reach you.  You’ve heard, of course—!  You’ve seen—?”

“The poor old mail?  Yes, I’m just from there,” he said soberly.  “Can we talk?”

“As long as you like,” she answered briskly.  And after some directions to the children, she led him to the little garden seat below the side porch, and they sat down.  “Barry, you look tired,” she said then.  “Do you know, I don’t know where you’ve been all these days, or what you went for?  Was it to San Francisco?”

“San Francisco, yes,” he assented, “I didn’t dream I’d be there so long.”  He rubbed his forehead with a weary hand.  “I’ll tell you all about it presently,” he said.  “I had a letter from my wife’s mother that worried me, and I started off at half-cock, I got worrying—­but of course I should have written you—­”

“Don’t bother about that now, if it distresses you,” she said quickly and sympathetically.  “Any time will do for that.  I—­I knew it was something serious,” she went on, relief in her voice, “or you wouldn’t have simply disappeared that way!  I—­I said so.  Barry, are you hungry?”

He tried to laugh at the maternal attitude that was never long absent in her, but the tears came into his eyes instead.  After all the strain and sleeplessness and despondency, it was too poignantly sweet to find her so simply cheering and trustful, in her gipsy dress, with the brightening sunlight and the sweet old garden about her.  Barry could have dropped on his knees to bury his face in her skirts, and feel the motherly hands on his hair, but instead he admitted honestly to hunger and fatigue.

Sidney vanished at once, and presently came back followed by her black cook, both carrying a breakfast that Barry was to enjoy at once under the rose vines.  Sidney poured his coffee, and sat contentedly nibbling toast while he fell upon the cold chicken and blackberries.

“Now,” said her heartening voice, “we’ll talk!  What is to be done first about the mail?”

“No insurance, you know,” he began at once.  “We never did carry any in the old days and I suppose that’s why I didn’t.  So that makes it a dead loss.  Worse than that—­for I wasn’t clear yet, you know.  The safe they carried out; so the books are all right, I suppose, although they say we had better not open it for a few days.  Then I can settle everything up as far as possible.  And after that—­well, I’ve been thinking that perhaps Barker, of the San Francisco telegram might give me a start of some sort—­” He rumpled his hair with a desperate gesture.  “The thing’s come on me like such a thunderbolt that I really haven’t thought it out!” he ended apologetically.

“The thing’s come on you like such a thunderbolt,” she echoed cheerfully, “that you aren’t taking it like yourself at all!  The question, is if we work like Trojans from now on, can we get an issue of the mail out tomorrow?”