"
"Anne has been telling a ripping story. I'll go and hear some more of
it, if you don't mind."
Mr. Patterson did mind. He was, though he did not confess it to himself,
jealous of Anne for whom his son was always so ready and eager to leave
him. He justified to himself his dislike of the child by recalling the
jewel episode.
Anne had not given him even the half-way explanation that Mademoiselle
Duroc had obtained. She was going to tell Miss Drayton--how she longed
to see that good friend and pour forth the story! But Mr. Patterson
asked no questions and it never occurred to her to offer him any
information. She had given him her precious packet and asked him to take
charge of it, according to Mademoiselle's suggestion. He had accepted
the charge reluctantly, as a matter of necessity. As soon as they passed
the custom-house in New York, he sealed the articles in an envelope
which he handed to Anne, saying curtly: "You had these before; take them
again."
Mr. Patterson, Pat, and Anne took the first south-bound train, and a few
hours later found them in Washington. Passing from the noble Union
Station, they took an Avenue car and whirled past Peace Monument,
between the shabby buildings on the right and the Botanical Gardens on
the left.
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