Miss Prudence sat down, looking quite pale and awe-stricken. This proof overwhelmed her.
“I am almost afraid of it,” she gasped. “It does not seem right somehow, does it?”
“Oh, nonsense,” exclaimed Miss Augusta pettishly. “Not right? Of course it is. For my part I think it a most glorious and beneficent discovery, and not calculated to harm anyone.”
“Did she give much to Toutou? Do tell me all that happened. Was she nice?”
“Yes, she was very nice indeed, a well-bred, good-looking woman. The house was not much to look at, and the servant so untidy; but Mrs. Geldheraus told me she had only taken apartments there temporarily, as she is leaving almost immediately for the continent. Her boxes are packed.”
“Does she look young herself?”
“About twenty-three; but she assures me she is sixty-four. I could not believe it. She showed me her baptismal certificate. It was in German, so I could not make much out of it; but I saw the date eighteen hundred and thirty something quite plainly.”
“Good gracious!”
“She was ever so civil, and insisted on giving me tea, but she would make no reduction in her terms. She said she knew she was asking what would be a good deal of money for an ordinary cosmetic, but for an absolute return to youth it was ridiculously little. Many dying millionaires or monarchs would be willing to give all their possessions for even a few drops of it.”
“And then?”