e balusters--a sort of
bodilessness rising from vacancy.'

'Didn't she faint?' said Arthur.

'No, I was afraid she would, and then it would have been all over with
us; but I dragged her safe into the school-room, and there she was so
hysterical that I nearly relented.'

'Then was it all in play?' said Violet.

'In earnest,' said Arthur. 'It was the only way of getting quit of
mademoiselle.'

'That lady who used to talk metaphysics and sing!' said John. 'I
remember the lamentations at her not choosing to remain. Why was she
victimized?'

'There was no help for it,' said Theodora. 'She considered the book
of Genesis as a "sehr schone mythische Geschichte", and called the
Patriarchs the Hebrew Avatars.'

'Theodora! You don't mean it!' exclaimed John.

'I do, but I had my revenge, for, after the Turk's-head adventure, she
never slept without my Bible under her pillow. If by broad daylight she
would have renounced the Avatar theory, I really would have forgiven
her, for she was very good-natured, and she admired "the high Roman
fashion" so much, I was half afraid she might follow it herself if we
tormented her much more.'

'But why keep it to yourself! I can hardly believe it possible! Why play
these tricks instead of telling all?'

'I did tell Aunt Nesbit, but Miss Ohnglaube was always reading Jean Paul
with her and mamma; they were in raptures with her, and my aunt only
said I was too well instructed to be misled.'

'How old were you?'

'About fifteen.'

'It is beyond belief. Why could you not tell my father?' said John.

'I hardly saw him--I never spoke to him.'

'Was not I at home!'

'Yes, shut up in your room. I never thought of speaking to you. All I
could do was to be as restive as possible, and when she did not care for
that, there was nothing for it but playing on her German superstition.
So Arthur told her some awful stones about whipping blacks to death, and
declared West Indian families were very apt to be haunted; but that it
was a subject never to be mentioned to mamma nor my aunt.'

'And having paved the way, we treated her to the Turk's-head,' concluded
Arthur. 'I would do it again to hear her sigh and scream, and see
Theodora acting as coolly as if she was in daily intercourse with the
defunct nigger. If mademoiselle had not been frightened out of her
senses, her self-possession would have betrayed us.'

'I could not act fright,' said Theodora.

'And this was the best plan you could