"I thank you," he said, his eyes alight with pleasure, "you have used the right word!"
As Patty had spoken the first noncommittal word that came into her head, she was thankful it proved acceptable!
CHAPTER IV
PATTY STAYS LATE
"It is so delightful to have you one of us, Patricia," said Alla, waving her long arms about. "This place is a Cosmic Centre, you know, and now that you belong to us, you must be here much of the time."
"But I'm only in Lakewood for a fortnight," said Patty, smiling at her;
"I go back to New York soon."
"So do we. That is, we go in a few months. But we claim you. You shall return and visit us here, and we shall be much together in the city. Oh, we have adopted you, and now you are ours, isn't she, Sam?"
"Indeed, yes," returned Blaney, enthusiastically; "never was such a rare soul added to our circle. Priestess Patricia, our star soul!"
Patty was flattered at the attention she was receiving. She didn't quite understand what a star soul meant, but she knew she held an elevated position among these highly intellectual people, and it dazzled her.
"I have always had an ambition," she admitted, "for something bigger and better than my social butterfly life, and with you I hope to achieve it. But I am ignorant,—you must teach me."