"Certainly not--if I am all the world. Are you also all the world? From what I gathered he did not make much of a confidante of you."
"Well, he wasn't forced to!" Suddenly Miss Strong made a wholly irrational, but not wholly unnatural, movement in the direction of Miss Wentworth's chair. She placed her hand upon that lady's shoulders. And she kissed her twice, first on the lips, then on the brow. And she exclaimed, "Never mind. I forgive you!"
Miss Wentworth was quite as demure as the occasion required. She surveyed her emotional friend with twinkling eyes.
"Thank you very much indeed, my dear."
Miss Strong moved restlessly about the room, passing, as it seemed, aimlessly from object to object.
"It is strange that he should have kept such news to himself! And not have said a word about it! And now not coming after all!" She turned to Mr. Franklyn. "I suppose that it is all quite true? That you have not been building up my hopes simply to dash them down again?"
"I have given you an accurate statement of the actual position of affairs when prices were made up for the day, as you may easily prove yourself by a reference to an evening paper."
With her hands Miss Strong pushed back her hair from her temples.
"After all he had lost in Eries----"
Mr. Franklyn interposed a question.