‚ÄúI must go! What shall I tell Miss Smith! No, no‚ÅÝ‚Äîno carriage; I must walk.‚Äù Of course, however, she could not refuse to let him go at least halfway, ostensibly to tell her of the coming of her brother. He expressed again his disappointment at his sister‚Äôs absence.
Somewhat to Miss Taylor’s surprise Miss Smith said nothing until they were parting for the night, then she asked:
“Was Miss Cresswell at home?”
Mary reddened.
“She had been called suddenly to town.”
“Well, my dear, I wouldn’t do it again.”
The girl was angry.
‚ÄúI‚Äôm not a schoolgirl, but a grown woman, and capable of caring for myself. Moreover, in matter of propriety I do not think you have usually found my ideas too lax‚ÅÝ‚Äîrather the opposite.‚Äù
‚ÄúThere, there, dear; don‚Äôt be angry. Only I think if your brother knew‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äù
“He will know in a very few weeks; he is coming to visit the Cresswells.” And Miss Taylor sailed triumphantly up the stairs.
But John Taylor was not the man to wait weeks when a purpose could be accomplished in days or hours. No sooner was Harry Cresswell’s telegram at hand than he hastened back from Savannah, struck across country, and the week after his sister’s ride found him striding up the carriageway of the Cresswell home.
John Taylor had prospered since summer. The cotton manufacturers‚Äô combine was all but a fact; Mr. ¬ÝEasterly had discovered that his chief