Meantime Mr. Rae was blandly assisting Miss Brodie out of her dilemma. “Not at all, Miss Brodie, not at all! But,” he continued, throwing his smile about the room, “I think, Doctor Dunn, we have reason to congratulate ourselves upon not only a pleasant but an extremely profitable evening—ah—as far as the matter in hand is concerned. I hope to have further speech with our young friend,” bowing to Mr. Martin and bringing his smile to bear upon that young gentleman.
“Oh, certainly,” began Martin with ready geniality, “whenever you—eh? What did you say, Sir? I didn't quite—”
But Mr. Rae was already bidding Mrs. Dunn goodnight, with a face of preternatural gravity.
“What the deuce!” said Martin, turning to his friend Dunn. “Does the old boy often go off at half-cock that way? He'll hurt himself some time, sure.”
“Isn't it awful?” said Dunn. “He's got me a few times that way, too. But I say, old boy, we're awfully grateful to you for coming.”
“I feel like a fool,” said Martin; “as if I'd been delivering a lecture.”
“Don't think it,” cried Miss Brodie, who had drawn near. “You've been perfectly lovely, and I am so glad to have got to know you better. For me, I am quite resolved to go to Canada.”
“But do you think they can really spare us all, Miss Brodie?” exclaimed “Lily” in an anxious voice. “For, of course, if you go we must.”
“No, 'Lily,' I'm quite sure they can't spare you. Just think, what could the Browning-Wagner circle do? Besides, what could we do with you when we were all working, for I can quite see that there is no use going to Canada unless you mean to work?”
“You've got it, Miss Brodie,” said Martin. “My lecture is not in vain. There is no use going to Canada unless you mean to work and to stay with the job till the cows come home.”