wife as
he spoke.

Harold looked inquiringly at Mrs Devitt.

"It's so difficult to promise her anything till one has seen her," she
remarked.

"Then why not have her down?" asked Harold.

"Yes, why not?" echoed his brother.

"She can get here and back again in a day," added Harold, as his eyes
sought his review.

"Very well, then, I'll write and suggest Friday," said Mrs Devitt, not
too willingly taking up a pen.

"You can always wire and put her off, if you want to do anything else,"
remarked her sister.

"Won't you send her her fare?" asked Harold.

"Is that necessary?" queried Mrs Devitt.

"Isn't it usual?"

"I can give it to her when she comes," said Mrs Devitt, who hated
parting with money, although, when it was a question of entertaining
the elect of Melkbridge, she spent her substance lavishly.

Thus it came about that a letter was written to Miss Annie Mee,
Brandenburg College, Aynhoe Road, West Kensington Park, London, W.,
saying that Mrs Devitt would expect Miss Keeves, for an interview, by
the train that left Paddington for Melkbridge at ten on Friday next;
also, that she would defray her third-class travelling expenses.

CHAPTER TWO

MAVIS KEEVES

The following Friday morning, Mavis Keeves sprang from bed on waking.
It was late when she had gone to sleep the previous night, for she had
been kept up by the festivities pertaining to breaking-up day at
Brandenburg College, and the inevitable "talk over" the incidents of
the event with Miss Helen and Miss Annie Mee, which conversation had
been prolonged till nearly twelve o'clock; but the excitement of
travelling to the place of her birth, and the certainty of getting an
engagement in some capacity or another (Mavis had no doubt on this
point) were more than enough to curtail her slumbers. She had fallen
asleep laughing to herself at the many things which had appealed to her
sense of humour during the day, and it was the recollection of some of
these which made her smile directly she was awake. She tubbed and
dressed quickly, although she had some bother with her hair, which,
this morning, seemed intent on defying the efforts of her fingers.
Having dressed herself to her somewhat exigent satisfaction, she went
downstairs, passing the doors of those venerable virgins, the Misses
Helen and Annie Mee, as she descended to the ground-floor, on which was
the schoolroom. This was really two rooms, but the folding doors, which
had once divi