, making no more impression than her imaginary brush had made
when she painted the wonderful picture of "The Young Prophet."

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE PRESCRIPTION.

Paris was as pleasant to return to as it had been to leave. The change
and rest in the country had put new life in all of the marchioness's
guests, and they were ready to go back to their duties with renewed
interest and vigor.

They found on their arrival, however, interruptions to their work more
potent than plain spring fever:--Professor Edwin Green and Kent Brown
had reached Paris the day before, intending to surprise their friends,
and had been themselves both surprised and disappointed to find the
apartment in Rue Brea closed. Miss Josephine Williams had come to the
fore with information and kindly offers of tea and _brioche_. Professor
Green was thrown into the depths of despair when he learned that the
absent ones were visiting the d'Ochtes in Normandy, and Kent could not
conceal his misery when Jo let out that Pierce Kinsella was one of the
party.

That young woman, with a feminine instinct that belied her masculine
attire, understood the two men, and divining that they were both in love
and jealous, one of Philippe and the other of Pierce, exercised the
greatest tact and succeeded in sending them off to their hotel in a much
better frame of mind. She did a great deal of quiet talking about how
boyish Pierce Kinsella was, and what a pet to the whole community, being
years younger than any of the girls. As for Philippe she touched lightly
on his evident admiration for Elise O'Brien before her marriage and
hinted that he seemed equally pleased with Frances Andrews now that
Elise was off the carpet.

As the young men walked toward their student hotel on the Boulevarde
Mont Parnesse, they agreed that Jo Bill was a pretty nice sort. They had
been so impressed by the quality of her tea and _brioche_ and her kindly
tact in telling them exactly what they wanted to hear about their lady
loves and their feared rivals, that they had forgotten to notice her
trousers and her tousled red hair and spoke only of her honest mouth and
good teeth, friendly eyes and shapely feet.

Professor Green had been threatened with a nervous breakdown and
President Walker had at the eleventh hour been able to procure a
substitute. The wise President understood very well that there was a
cure to his nervous breakdown, but that it had to be taken on the other
side of t