When I reached Miss Laniston's house that lady was at breakfast, but she
did not keep me waiting long.

"Truly," she said, as she entered the drawing-room, "you are the most
expeditious person I ever knew. I knew that you would come to me, but I
did not suppose you would even start as soon as this."

"I had already started when I received your telegram," I said.

"To come here?"

"No, to sail for Europe."

"Well, well!" she exclaimed, "from this moment I shall respect my
instincts, a thing I never did before. When I woke this morning my first
thought was of the message I intended to send to you, and I intended to
attend to it immediately after breakfast; but my hitherto unappreciated
instincts hinted to me that no time should be lost, and I called my
maid, and dispatched the telegram immediately. Moral: Do all the good
you can before you get up in the morning. Why are you starting for
Europe?"

"I haven't time to tell you," I said, "in fact, I can only remain a few
minutes longer, or I shall lose the steamer. Please tell me your
business."

"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 Nation