"And is that why you are going off to a honeymoon cottage with him?"
"Hardly. I am going because it will be the best sort of arrangement for me."
"Oh!"
"I will pay, you see," said Queed, "no more than I am paying here; for that matter, I have no doubt that I could beat him down to five dollars a week, if I cared to do so. In return I shall have decidedly greater comforts and conveniences, far greater quiet and independence, and complete freedom from interruptions and intrusions. The arrangement will be a big gain in several ways for me."
"And have you taken a great fancy to Professor Nicolovius, too?"
"Oh, no!—not at all. But that has very little to do with it. At least he has the great gift of silence."
Sharlee looked at his absorbed face closely. She thought that his head in profile was very fine, though certainly his nose was too prominent for beauty. But what she was wondering was whether the little Doctor had really changed so much after all.
"Well," said she, slowly, "I'm sorry you're going."
"Sorry—why? It would appear to me that under the tenets of your religion you ought to be glad. You ought to compliment me for going."
"I don't find anything in the tenets of my religion that requires you to go off and room-keep with Professor Nicolovius."