and on this occasion he determined not to depart from this
custom. It is true, she was very angry with him, but so far as he could
help it, he would not allow her anger to interfere with the preservation
of a life which he considered valuable.

When the old lady was told that the doctor had called and had asked for
her, she stamped her foot and vowed she would not see him. Then her
curiosity to know what brought him there triumphed over her resentment,
and she went down. Her reception of him was cold and severe, and she
answered his questions regarding her health as if he were a census-taker,
exhibiting not the slightest gratitude for his concern regarding her
physical well-being, nor the slightest hesitation in giving him
information which might enable him to further said well-being.

The doctor was as cool as was his patient; and, when he had finished his
professional remarks, informed her that the Bannisters were to go with
him to Barport. When Miss Panney heard this she sprang from her chair
with the air of an Indian of the Wild West bounding with uplifted
tomahawk upon a defenceless foe. The doctor involuntarily pushed back his
chair, but before he could make up his mind whether he ought to be
frightened or amused, Miss Panney sat down as promptly as she had risen,
and a grim smile appeared upon her face.

"How you do make me jump with your sudden announcements," she said. "I
am sure I am very glad that Dora is going away. She needed a change, and
sea air is better than anything else for her. How long will they stay?"

The slight trace of her old cordiality which showed itself in Miss
Panney's demeanor through the few remaining minutes of the interview
greatly pleased Dr. Tolbridge.

"She is a good old woman at heart," he said to himself, "and when she
gets into one of her bad tempers, the best way to bring her around is
to interest her in people she loves, and Dora Bannister is surely one
of those."

When the doctor had gone, Miss Panney gave herself up to a half minute of
unrestrained laughter, which greatly surprised old Mr. Witton, who
happened to be passing the parlor door. Then she sat down to write a
letter to Dora Bannister, which she intended that young lady to receive
soon after her arrival at Barport.

That afternoon the good La Fleur came to Cobhurst, her soul enlivened by
the determination to show what admirable meals could be prepared from the
most simple materials, and with the prospect of sp