e to receive one of
those glances.

Evelyn continued her little chatter. "Of course none of us girls ever
wondered about Professor Lane, because he was so old," she said. Then
she caught herself with an anxious glance at her sister. "But he was
very handsome, too," she added, "and I don't know why we shouldn't
have thought about him, and he wasn't so very old. I think Colorado
will cure him."

"I hope so," Maria said, absently. She had no more conception of what
was in Evelyn's mind with regard to herself and Professor Lane than
she had of the thought of an inhabitant of Mars. Ineffable distances
of surmise and imagination separated the two in the same room.

Evelyn continued: "Mr. Lee isn't married, anyway," she said. "Addie
said so. His mother keeps house for him. Wasn't that a dreadful thing
in the paper last night, sister?"

"What?" asked Maria.

"About that girl's getting another woman's husband to fall in love
with her, and get a divorce, and then marrying him. I don't see how
she could. I would rather die than marry a man who had been divorced.
I would think of the other wife all the time. Don't you think it was
dreadful, sister?"

"Why do you read such things?" asked Maria, and there was a hard ring
in her voice. It seemed to her that she was stretched on a very rack
of innocence and ignorance.

"It was all there was in the paper to read," replied Evelyn, "except
advertisements. There were pictures of the girl, and the wife, and
the man, and the two little children. Of course it was worse because
there were children, but it was dreadful anyway. I would never speak
to that girl again, not if she had been my dearest friend."

"You had better read a library book, if there is nothing better than
that to read in a paper," said Maria.

"There wasn't, except a prize-fight, and I don't care anything about
prize-fights, and I believe there were races, too, but I don't know
anything about races."

"I don't see that you know very much about marriage and divorce,"
Maria said, adjusting her collar.

"Are you angry with me, sister? Don't you want me to fasten your
collar?"

"No, I can fasten it myself, thank you, dear. No, I am not angry with
you, only I do wish you wouldn't read such stuff. Put the paper away,
and get a book instead."

"I will if you want me to, sister," replied Evelyn.

Chapter XXXI

The Monday when the fall term of the academy at Westbridge opened was
a very beautiful day. The a