recounting the tale to her sister,
observed, 'She has such bad manners, but she doesn't mean it.'

'Perhaps she had to run to catch her train?' suggested Stella.

'Oh no, she hadn't; she always has ten minutes to wait. She generally
waits and tries to make me loiter and talk to her; but to-day she
didn't, and she never told me where she lives, though she knew that I
wanted to look out for her house to-morrow. I was just going to ask her
how far it was from Heather Road when off she went. I almost think she
must be ashamed of her home, and doesn't want me to know where it is,'
declared Vava.

'Then you had better not ask her again,' said Stella.

Whether this was true or not will be seen in the next chapter, when the
four young house-hunters went to look at No. 2 Heather Road.

CHAPTER XIII.

YOUNG HOUSE-HUNTERS.

It had become a custom that Vava should accompany her sister to the City
on Saturdays and sit in the housekeeper's room, and on these occasions
Mr. James would drop into Mrs. Ryan's room on some pretext or another,
and ask how she was getting on at school or how she liked London.

This morning she had her algebra to do, and was puzzling over a
difficult problem, for mathematics was not her strong point, when the
junior partner appeared, and seeing her occupation, exclaimed, 'Well,
Miss Vava, how are you? And how's the algebra getting on?'

'I'm quite well, thank you, Mr. Jones; but my algebra isn't. Miss
Courteney says I have not a mathematical brain, and I don't know how I
am to get one,' replied Vava.

'I shouldn't bother about a mathematical brain. I don't see what women
want with mathematics myself; but as for that problem, I'll show you how
to do it,' said the good-natured young man, sitting down beside her and
patiently explaining the difficulty.

'Thank you ever so much. I wish you taught me mathematics--by myself, I
mean. Miss Courteney is a very good teacher; but, you see, she has
thirty of us, so she can't explain each sum to each girl as you have
explained this to me. Besides, the others don't seem to want so much
explanation as I do,' cried Vava, delighted at understanding at last a
difficult rule.

'Is that so? I will teach you, if you like to bring your work to me, for
half-an-hour on Saturdays; I'm generally slack the first half-hour after
I have given your sister her letters,' he said.

'Oh I wish I could; but I don't know if Stella will let me, she's
so'----Vava stopped