eived a message from Miss Brandon. She wanted to speak to me. Could I be, a

w Aunt Netty has organized an expedition to the lakes, and the day after we

going away yet, a

was an idea of Switzerland; or perhaps the Mozart festival at Munich, followed by a week at Ba

here people disappear so suddenly, and I wanted to see you so

fortnight. After that I was goi

come here

on my doctor. I a

I shall come

exultation in her voice. I asked wheth

er than ever. Mr. Rudd has

as a lo

t any longer,"

évil

nd all of it

her long pause

o Mabel Summe

had had a

e you li

d found her

she's older than I am. Poor Mabe

er the sympathy that

so brave; she

d she'd had grea

Tragedies. One th

her she had

were babies. But it wasn't that. She'll

whether we woul

s with. She doesn't often make new friends. She told m

es him?"

e's very fastidious, very ha

ne seemed to

lace, but that's because Mr.

ays had theorie

Mr. Rudd?"

minded her that she

funny? A week ago I would have rather died than admit this to you, but now I don't care. Of cours

t concl

hat I like the other

tupid

N

lever

N

t pe

know. Nic

le li

mer and Princess Koura

very clever, I

's not that

intelligence matt

natural,"

ecome religious if they're

hat I could, but it certain

, and said he had stayed with a French priest there. The priest had asked him why he didn't go to Mass. The Frenchman said he had no faith. The priest had said it was quite simple, he had only to pray to the Sainte Vierge for faith, Mon enfant, c'est bien simple: il faut demander la foi à la Sainte Vierge. He sa

nitski was obvi

to be like that, one m

ten happened to people. I had hea

the people who wa

od of the French priest

one could do

lt as she did ab

she said. "Perhaps it's like wishing to be musical whe

was in one frame of mind one couldn't imag

g in one frame of mind and not wishing ever to be in another, and

long Kranitski was goi

ow," she said,

is he

nk so. He's

or nothing," I said, g

of c

religious

me in the middle

r he had begun it. He said he was only planning it, but he had got an idea. He doesn't like Mabel Summer. He thinks she is laughing at him. She isn't really, but she sees through him. I don't mean he pretends to be anyt

lerances to myself out of policy. It was

d. "He says you are so acute,

was a goo

d you about

ad told me what

such a funny idea

what the

writing a book

e heroine?

udd admires her. He said she was like a Tanagra, a

s the hero

he said. "I expect h

the book

's about re

y all of us

es

nitski think t

people like a stage manager settling what actors must be cast for a particular play. He checks what one person tells him with what the others say. I have noticed it myself. He talked to me for hours about Mabel one day, and after he had discussed Princess Kouragin

ut one of the ch

ve

t import

e h

he her

e to inve

k you have left out the

't thi

n your

y attention to me at all. He doesn't talk

has made u

t it. He has made up his mind. He t

uld not be left out if he w

ed her looking radiant and felt that the lam

is over-with the ordinary happy, conventional ending-th

Miss Brandon's voice passed quite na

s Aunt

, "I've got a headache, and we've so many letters to write

f she was conferring an undese