"Yes, I am Mrs. Sands," Beverley answered, as if against her will. "I don't--but perhaps someone has sent you with a message?"
"In a way, yes, that's it," said the man. "I had a message for you. I'm the man sent to meet you in Chicago, September 21st of last year."
There was a second of suspense for Clo, and then Beverley spoke quietly:
"Oh, I see! That's very interesting," she said. "I hope--the news is good?"
"It's a long message," the man answered. "I was told to let you have it in person. I thought you'd be goin' out sooner or later. If your husban' 'ad bin along, I'd have left a line, but----"
"Never mind what you would have done, please," Beverley cut him short. "The best thing I can think of now, is this" (she hurried on in a low tone, and Clo who had stepped aside, nearer to the car, did not catch the words), "Take a taxi, and follow my automobile. We're going into the Park. When you see us stop, you must stop too, at a distance.
"I shall get out and let the motor, with my friend in it, go on without me for a while. Then we can talk. Do you understand?"
He touched his hat and moved away, as if his errand were done.
"Drive slowly through the Park," Beverley instructed Robbins, and gently made Clo get into the car before her. "I'm so sorry to have kept you standing, dear," she said. "I hope you don't feel weak or 'tottery'?"
Clo did feel very weak, not from fatigue, but from excitement. She replied that she felt "grand." And Mrs. Sands forgot to say that she was glad.
The girl glanced at the older woman, and saw that she was staring straight ahead, with a withdrawn look in her eyes, which told that she saw nothing. Clo's heart beat fast. This drive was to have been a glorious experience. She had seen Central Park more than once, and had walked there, miserable in her loneliness. Now, though she looked out of the window, it was to let Beverley feel that she was not being stared at. The girl saw only a blur of colour, as if a kaleidoscope turned before her eyes.
"Dear child," she said, "I'm sure you understand that the man who was waiting for me brought a message I'm anxious to hear. And--I'm sure of another thing--that I can trust you!"
"I'd die any minute for you, sure I would!" she cried.