"Now go to bed, Alicia," I urged her gently, "and don't bother your innocent little head about anything of that sort. Miss Bayard was probably joking, but—she won't do that again—when she knows how badly it made you feel."
She stirred as from a trance and slowly rose. "How is the school work going?" I asked her. "All right?"
"Yes, Mr. Byrd," she murmured, "except the Latin—I don't put in enough time on it, the teacher says, especially the Latin composition."
"Ah, we'll have to remedy that. You must come and let me help you. What are you reading in Latin?"
"Cæsar's Commentaries," she smiled, shamefacedly, like a troubled child that has been restored to happiness.
"Ah, then you must get it right. For what would happen, Alicia, if you were to face the world ignorant of how Cæsar conquered the Belgians! And if you should go out into life without an intimate knowledge of the equipment of Cæsar's light-armed infantry, of the habits of the Gauls and the right use of the catapult or the proper employment of the chariot, the consequences might be little short of ignominious! Better come to me and let me set you straight. I know you understand indirect discourse from the way you told me your story to-night. But the subjunctive, my dear—ah, the subjunctive must be closer to you than a brother and nearer than hands and feet!"
She laughed a merry, delicious peal of laughter and when she said good night I put my hand upon her soft silken hair and sent from the room a very radiant, happy little girl.
But now, as my thought wanders back to Gertrude's surprising démarche, uncontrollable indignation again possesses me. To think that it was she who had instigated the visit of that little inspectress, Miss Smith, weeks ago! It is unbelievable. Underhand methods in Gertrude are new to me.
I have called up Gertrude on the telephone. And in spite of the lateness of the hour she insisted in a somewhat wintry voice that I had better come up at once and see her, as she put it, settle it once for all. Je m'y rend. To settle it once for all is precisely what I desire.
My desire has been stormily satisfied. Though inwardly indignant, I returned to Gertrude with every intention of being very bland and very reasonable, hoping against hope to have the unlovely fact somehow cleared away. But Gertrude, it seems, had decided that the indignation properly belonged to her.