was
nothing to be done.

That night, when the girls went to their room, Edith was spared the
necessity of opening the subject, for Cynthia began at once.

"What a perfectly hateful creature that Bronson is! I don't see how you
could go on the river with him, Edith. I think you got well paid for
it."

"I don't see why you dislike him so, Cynthia. You take such tremendous
prejudices. He is awfully handsome."

"Handsome! I don't admire that style. That
la-da-da-it-is-I-just-please-look-at-me kind doesn't go down with me."

Cynthia thrust her hands into imaginary pockets, leaned languidly
against the bedpost, and rolled her eyes.

"Er--Miss Franklin--carn't I persuade you to go out on the rivah?" she
said, with an exaggerated manner and accent, and a throaty voice.

Edith laughed. Cynthia was a capital mimic.

"I like a broad A, and, of course, I never would use anything else
myself, but his is broader than the Mississippi. It just shows it isn't
natural to him. To hear him talk about 'darmp grarss,' and he'd just
come from 'South_armp_ton.' He is a regular _sharm_ himself. I dare say
he was brought up to say 'ca'm' and 'pa'm' and 'hain't' and 'ain't.'"

"Cynthia, what a goose you are!"

"Well, I can't bear him, and neither can Neal. Jack doesn't like him
either."

"There, that is just it. You are so influenced by Neal and Jack. Tony
Bronson spoke very nicely of Neal, as if he were a true friend of his."

"Pooh! Much friend he!"

"Well, he did, Cynthia, and that is just what I want to talk over with
you. Neal must be in some terrible scrape."

"Has that Bronson been telling you about that?" cried Cynthia,
indignantly.

"Oh, then it is really true! I thought it must be."

"No, it isn't--at least, not what Bronson told you. I am just certain
that whatever he told you wasn't true," said Cynthia, who felt that she
had said more than she should. "I shouldn't think you would have
discussed Neal with him. Neal is one of our family."

"I didn't," said Edith, somewhat curtly, "though I don't exactly see why
you should speak of Neal Gordon as one of our family. I told Mr. Bronson
I preferred not to talk about him. But he spoke so nicely of Neal, and
said he wanted to help him, and he was afraid the faculty would write
about him, and he wanted to get him out of the scrape if he could."

"Oh, the hypocrite! But what is the scrape? Did he say?"

"No, I wouldn't let him. But it is absurd to call him a hypocrite,