"
"Is Sylvia the cause of your going away?" she asked.
"Yes," I said; "is she the reason of your wishing to see me?"
"Most certainly," she answered; "when does your steamer start?"
"By ten o'clock," I said.
"Oh, bless me," she remarked, glancing at the clock, "you have quite
time enough to hear all I have to say, and then if you do not catch the
steamer it is your own fault. Sit down, I pray you."
Very reluctantly I took a seat, for at last the spirit of Walkirk had
infected me.
"Now," said she, "I will cut my story as short as possible, but you
really ought to hear it before you start. I made a visit to Arden, on
the day after you performed the grand transformation scene in your
brotherhood extravaganza. I should have been greatly amused by what was
told me of this prank, if I had not seen that it had caused so much
trouble. Sylvia was in a wretched way, and in an extremely bad temper.
Marcia was almost as miserable, for she was acting the part of an
extinguisher not only to Sylvia's hopes and aspirations, but to her own.
So far as I could see there was no way out of the doleful dumps in which
you seemed to have plunged yourself and all parties concerned, but I set
to work to try what I could do to straighten out matters; my principal
object being, I candidly admit, to enable Marcia Raynor to feel free to
give up her position of watch-dog, and go to her National College, on
which her soul is set.
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