d impressively:

"_She's here!_"

"She!" I repeated. "What she? Which? When? How?"

"Miss Phillips!" said Jack.

"Miss Phillips!" I cried. "Miss Phillips! Why, haven't you been
expecting her? Didn't she write, and tell you that she was coming, and
all that?"

"Yes; but then you know I had half an idea that something or other
would turn up to prevent her actual arrival. There's many a slip, you
know, 'tween cup and lip. How did I know that she was really coming? It
didn't seem at all probable that any thing so abominably embarrassing
should be added to all my other embarrassments."

"Probable? Why, my dear fellow, it seems to me the most probable thing
in the world. It's always so. Misfortunes never come single. Don't you
know that they always come in clusters? But come, tell me all about it.
In the first place, you've seen her, of course?"

"Oh, of course. I heard of her arrival yesterday morn, and went off at
once to call on her. Her reception of me was not very flattering. She
was, in fact, most confoundedly cool. But you know my way. I felt
awfully cut up, and insisted on knowing the reason of all this. Then it
all came out."

Jack paused.

"Well, what was it?"

"Why, confound it, it seems that she had been here two days, and had
been expecting me to come every moment. Now, I ask you, Macrorie, as a
friend, wasn't that rather hard on a fellow when he's trying to do the
very best he can, and is over head and ears in all kinds of
difficulties? You know," he continued, more earnestly, "the awful
bothers I've had the last few days. Why, man alive, I had only just got
her letter, and hadn't recovered from the shock of that. And now, while
I was still in a state of bewilderment at such unexpected news, here
she comes herself! And then she begins to pitch into me for not calling
on her before."

"It was rather hard, I must confess," said I, with my never-failing
sympathy; "and how did it all end?"

Jack heaved a heavy--a very heavy--sigh.

"Well," said he, "it ended all right--for the time. I declared that I
had not expected her until the following week; and, when she referred
to certain passages in her letter, I told her that I had misunderstood
her altogether, which was the solemn fact, for I swear, Macrorie, I
really didn't think, even if she did come, that she'd be here two or
three days after her letter came. Two or three days--why, hang it all,
she must have arrived here the very day I got her letter