d
towards him and fixed expectant eyes upon his face. His expression
disturbed her. Why did he read with that half-smile? She felt sure that
he felt they were "young ladies," "demoiselles," "jeunes filles." She
wanted to tell him she was nothing of the kind and take the book from
him and show him how to read. His eyes, soft and brown, were the eyes
of a child. She noticed that the lower portion of his flat white cheeks
looked broader than the upper without giving an effect of squareness of
jaw. Then the rhythm took her again and with the second "sur l'eau, si
beau," she saw a very blue lake and a little boat with lateen sails,
and during the third verse began to forget the lifeless voice. As the
murmured refrain came from the girls there was a slight movement
in Fraulein's sofa-corner. Miriam did not turn her eyes from Pastor
Lahmann's face to look at her, but half expected that at the end of the
next verse her low clear devout tones would be heard joining in. Part
way through the verse with a startling sweep of draperies against
the leather covering of the sofa, Fraulein stood up and towered
extraordinarily tall at Pastor Lahmann's right hand. Her eyes were wide.
Miriam thought she had never seen anyone look so pale. She was speaking
very quickly in German. Pastor Lahmann rose and faced her. Miriam had
just grasped the fact that she was taking the French master to task
for reading poetry to his pupils and heard Pastor Lahmann slowly and
politely enquire of her whether she or he were conducting the lesson
when the two voices broke out together. Fraulein's fiercely voluble
and the Herr Pastor's voluble and mocking and polite. The two voices
continued as he made his way, bowing gravely, down the far side of the
table to the saal doors. Here he turned for a moment and his face
shone black and white against the dark panelling. "Na, Kinder," crooned
Fraulein gently, when he had disappeared, "a walk--a walk in the
beautiful sunshine. Make ready quickly."

"My sainted uncle," laughed Bertha as they trooped down the basement
stairs. "Oh--my stars!"

"_Did_ you see her eyes?"

"Ja! Wuthend!"

"I wonder the poor little man wasn't burnt up."

"Hurry up, madshuns, we'll have a ripping walk. We'll see if we can go
Tiergartenstrasse."

"Does this sort of thing often happen?" asked Miriam, finding herself
bending over a boot-box at Gertrude's side.

Gertrude turned and winked at her. "Only sometimes."

"What an awful temper