"
"I am always glad to see my husband's friends," Josephine replied a
little stiffly. "As a matter of fact, however, I was surprised to see you
because I left word that I was at home to only one caller."
"Fortunate person!" Mr. Phipps declared with a sigh. "May I sit down?"
"Certainly," was the somewhat cold assent. "If you really have anything
to say to me, perhaps you had better let me know what it is at once."
Peter Phipps was a man whose life had been spent in facing and
overcoming difficulties, but as he took the chair to which Josephine
had somewhat ungraciously pointed, he was compelled to admit to himself
that he was confronted with a task which might well tax his astuteness
to the utmost. To begin with he made use of one of his favourite
weapons,--silence. He sat quite still, studying the situation, and in
those few moments Josephine found herself studying him. He was tall, over
six feet, with burly shoulders, a thickset body, and legs rather short
for his height. He was clean-shaven, his hair was a sandy grey, his
complexion florid, his eyes blue and piercing. His upper lip was long,
and his mouth, when closed, rather resembled some sort of a trap. He was
dressed with care, almost with distinction. But for his pronounced
American accent, he would probably have been taken for a Scandinavian.
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