ond part, though. I know her well. She
is a pretty but foolish young person who was in love with Stanley
ages before he became betrothed to me. Of course he did it to spite
Daffydowndilly, but I'm not a bit 'spited.' I feel as though I
ought to go to the girl in the case and tell her what I know about
him. But it's useless to think of doing so."

Arline devoted further space to affectionate inquiry regarding Grace's
troubles and ended with the naive announcement:

"The other day I met a perfectly delightful young man at a dinner
dance. He is as much interested in settlement work as I am, and is
as nice as Stanley Forde is horrid. To-morrow he and Father and I
are going to motor out to the fresh air home Father founded. He is
anxious to see what we have done. Isn't that sweet in him? I do
hope appearances aren't deceitful. I'll tell you more about him
after I have met him a few more times. It's not wise, you know, to
rush into friendships.

"With much love. You owe me two letters.

"Cautiously,

"DAFFYDOWNDILLY."

The last letter on the pile was from Emma Dean. Hastily running over the
first page, Grace laughed outright. "Listen to this, Elfreda," she
commanded, her eyes dancing.

"DEAREST AND BEST-LOVED GRACIOUS:

"Hark to the lamentations of a Dean from darkest Deanery, now
transported to the Grace-haunted region of Overton! When first I
set foot in this desolate waste, my primary impulse was to lift my
venerable voice in a piercing wail of anguish. Only my overwhelming
respect for the powers which sit sternly in Overton Hall, and a
well-founded fear that I might be bundled off the campus to some
fell institution for the demented, prompted me to refrain from
howling. But the desire to howl still lingers, and some fine day I
shall meander moodily to Hunter's Rock and there, upon its lonely
height, startle the murmuring river below with my frantic cries. I
shall stand well back from the edge of that perilous platform,
however, as I have no malicious desire to deprive Overton of the
best teacher in English Overton ever had, known to the
English-speaking world as Emily Elizabeth Dean, who has now become
a manageress (see Dean Vocabulary).

"Confidentially speaking, I should not have minded so much leaving
darkest Deanery for this Grace-less wild