d-night, Doc," and unobtrusively withdrew.

XVI

_Triumphal Return of Charles Gardiner West from the Old World; and
of how the Other World had wagged in his Absence._

Many pictured post-cards and an occasional brief note reminded Miss
Weyland during the summer that Charles Gardiner West was pursuing his
studies in the Old World with peregrinative zest. By the trail of
colored photographs she followed his triumphal march. Rome knew the
president-elect in early June; Naples, Florence, Milan, Venice in the
same period. He investigated, presumably, the public school systems of
Geneva and Berlin; the higher education drew him through the chateau
country of France; for three weeks the head-waiters of Paris (in the
pedagogical district) were familiar with the clink of his coin; and
August's first youth was gone before he was in London with the lake
region a tramped road behind him.

From the latter neighborhood (picture: Rydal Mount) he wrote Sharlee as
follows:

Sailing on the 21st, after the most glorious trip in history. Never
so full of energy and enthusiasm. Running over with the most
beautiful plans.

The exact nature of these plans the writer did not indicate, but
Sharlee's mother, who always got down to breakfast first and read all
the postals as they came, explained that the reference was evidently to
Blames College. West, however, did not sail on the 21st, even though
that date was some days behind his original intentions. The itinerary
with which he had set out had him home again, in fact, on August 15. For
in the stress and hurry of making ready for the journey, together with
a little preliminary rest which he felt his health required, he had to
let his advertising campaign and other schemes for the good of the
college go over until the fall. But collegiate methods obtaining in
London were too fascinating, apparently, to be dismissed with any
cursory glance. He sailed on the 25th, arrived home on the 3rd of
September, and on the 4th surprised Sharlee by dropping in upon her in
her office.

He was browned from his passage, appeared a little stouter, was very
well dressed and good to look at, and fairly exuded vitality and
pleasant humor. Sharlee was delighted and quite excited over seeing him
again, though it may be noted, as shedding a side-light upon her
character, that she did not greet him with "Hello, Stranger!" However,
her manner of salutation appeared perfectly sati