She laughed. "Very well, then," said she, "what shall I call her?"
"Sylvia," I replied.
She opened her eyes. "Upon my word," she exclaimed, "this is progress!
How did you come to know that her name is Sylvia?"
"She told me," I answered. "But why do you think I want to ask you about
Sylvia?"
"I knew there was no other reason for your wishing to have a private
talk with me; but I must admit that I would not have felt warranted to
act upon my assumptions had you not announced yourself in this place as
a Lover in Check."
"But could not some one else have held me in check?" I asked.
"No, sir," said she. "I have heard of the manner in which you parted
from your late secretary."
This conversation was getting to be plainer than I desired it to be. I
was willing to declare my position, but I did not care to have it
declared for me. I was silent for a minute.
"I did not suppose," I then said, "that you were so well informed. You
think that I am a lover held in check by the circumstances surrounding
the lady you designated my late secretary?"
"I do."
"May I ask," I continued, with a little agitation, "if Sylvia considers
me in this light, and if she has--expressed any opinion on the subject?"
"Those are pretty questions," said the lady, fixing her dark eyes upon
me.
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