But Mr. Meadowcroft wouldn’t know one thing. He hadn’t had an inkling and wouldn’t have. No one would be more gratified, more sympathetic than he; and yet he could know nothing about it. He must not even know that they had a secret. And that secret must be kept from him for six months.
CHAPTER XXI
BY this time it had come to be generally if tacitly understood both in South Paulding and at the high school that Rose Harrow should have everything she wanted within the limits of possibility, and that everyone and everything should give way before her. Because of her one great deprivation, she must not be allowed to suffer any lesser one. And Rose being so gay and quick and bright and good-humored, such an attitude on the part of her parents and teachers as well as her friends and schoolmates was the more natural and to be expected. No one in either village had even thought of questioning the wisdom of such procedure with the exception of Humphrey Meadowcroft. He wasn’t sure that it was quite wholesome for the girl. It appeared to him as if they were rather overdoing it. But being conscious of slight prejudice on his own part towards Rose, he had never spoken of the matter to anyone, not even to Mr. Appleton, with whom he would naturally have discussed it.
Such being the situation, it was not strange that Rose’s closest friend, Betty Pogany, who thought of little else than Rose and Rose’s interests, who was, perhaps, in certain ways more concerned for her than even the girl’s mother, should have believed that Rose’s interests had right of way before anything else whatever. As a consequence of this, though ordinarily the most biddable and docile of maidens, when Betty was working in behalf of Rose she bore herself unconsciously as if she had royal prerogative of action. And now, when it was to her mind a question of the restoration of Rose’s sight, Betty was, unawares, ready to become an anarchist with regard to ordinary duties and claims.
School opened again on the Monday following the secret visit to Millville. Already Betty had made her plans for the first Wednesday visit to Dr. Vandegrift, and had in mind tentative plans for the remaining Wednesdays of the winter term. It being now absolutely imperative for Rose and herself to walk back and forth upon every possible occasion, they could not risk losing the privilege on any account—which meant that they must always be at home by four o’clock. That would add to the difficulty of the secret weekly visit to Millville. They could take the two o’clock train from Paulding, but there was no returning train that would help them. The treatment over, they would have to walk the four miles from Millville to South Paulding at top speed in order to get home at four.
School did not close until half-past two, but in the preceding term the last forty minutes of every day excepting Friday had been a study period for the freshmen. Betty took it for granted that the same schedule would prevail this term, and felt that it would be a simple manner to get away early on Wednesdays. Wherefore, she was greatly disappointed to learn that the class in Latin Composition, which the fourth-year pupils were to begin this term, was to meet once a week on Wednesdays at the last period. Betty sighed at the complication. She liked Latin, and she was very sorry to miss this course, which had only the one recitation. Mr. Meadowcroft would be disappointed, too,—but no, he mustn’t know. And after all what was Latin Composition, what was anything in the world in comparison with the restoration of Rose’s sight? Betty felt that she could cheerfully give up school itself for the six months if it were required.
On Wednesday morning at recess, she went to Mr. Appleton and asked if she and Rose might be excused at the close of the one o’clock recitation.
“Let me see. The last period is a study hour, is it not?” he asked kindly.
“Well, no, Mr. Appleton, it isn’t,” Betty returned, coloring, for she had been willing to let him infer that such was the fact. “But—this is very important. I want to take Rose somewhere.”
The school-master would not have excused any other pupils in those circumstances. But he had so much sympathy for Rose and such confidence in Betty, who was as remarkable, as nearly perfect, in her conduct as in her lessons, that he yielded at once. He had no doubt whatever that the occasion was important and concerned Rose’s welfare.