"There are your letters," she said in conclusion, putting the parcel into her hands, "and the only penance I shall at present impose upon you, is, that of reading them through from first to last, before you commit them to the flames."
We have but one more incident to record of this most eventful day, and that is an adventure of Miss Almira Crosby's in the pursuit of knowledge. Pursuant to the declaration she had made in the morning, she had been watching and peeping all day, but she had ascertained nothing beyond the fact that Mr. Hugo had called, and that he had gone away in company with several other persons; and that Delia and Emily were together in Mrs. Pomeroy's room.
At last an opportunity presented itself which was too good to be lost. Mrs. Pomeroy's dressing room opened upon a kind of upper piazza or balcony, which was accessible by a flight of steps from below. This door was seldom opened in winter, but as Almira was passing to and fro upon the walk, trying at least to catch a glimpse of some one passing the window, she suddenly perceived that the door was ajar. Her resolution was instantly formed. She slipped off her shoes, and putting them in her pocket, she stole softly up the stairs, and applied her ear the door.
All was still at first. There seemed to be no one in the dressing room, but he heard a murmur of voices beyond, and as her ear grew accustomed to the sound, she could easily distinguish the words. She heard Mrs. Pomeroy say, "Are you prepared—"
She listened eagerly for the remainder of the sentence, placing her head still closer to the door, when alas! A gush of wind came round the corner—the door slammed violently and suddenly, and poor Almira found herself a prisoner, held fast by the whole of one side of her long ringlets, which had been caught by the closing door so close to her head, that it was a marvel her ear had not shared the same fate.
Here was a dilemma! What was to be done? She could not open the door, which had no handle on the outside. Mrs. Pomeroy might come out of the bed-room and find her there at any moment, or some of the girls might come round the corner. There was but one way. Luckily she had a pair of scissors in her pocket; she drew them forth, and in another moment she was at liberty, but at the expense of one whole side of her ringlets, which she was obliged to leave hanging in the door. It was not till she had succeeded in escaping unseen to her room, and looked in the glass, that the whole extent of her misfortune burst upon her, and she saw that the other side must needs share the fate of its fellow. She burst into tears, but there was no remedy, and reluctantly she applied the scissors once more, laying each severed curl carefully and mournfully away.
"What in the world have you been doing to yourself, Almira?" exclaimed Annette, opening her eyes in amazement, as Almira came out of her room when the tea bell rang.
"I have cut off my hair," replied Almira, trying to put a good face upon the matter. "It was altogether too much trouble, and took too much of my time."
"But you need not have cut it so short," said Annette. "Why didn't you just brush it back plain. You look like a picked chicken."
"I made a mistake," replied Almira.