Baltimore.

"Ve shan't be here for long; de concert occurs to-morrow night, und
ve shall go straight back home vhen ve are t'rough," was the way she
put it.

The Herr was attired in his customary black. He had maintained his
usual phlegmatic manner all through the journey, and apparently had
no intention of departing from it now. Having spent many years in New
York after his arrival in America, the city's fascination for the
average mortal seemed to make no appeal to him.

Once off the train, Jim began to search diligently in the crowd
for a familiar face. For a moment a blank look expressed his
disappointment. Then his features lighted up and he waved his hand at
a tall, spectacled gentleman who came eagerly forward to meet him.

"Jim, I am glad to see you," greeted this individual.

"And I to see you, Dr. Sterling."

A hearty hand-clasp followed.

"Why it _is_ Dr. Sterling!" cried Aunt Betty, adjusting her glasses
that she might better see him. "How good it seems to find you here in
New York. How did you leave things up the Hudson, and especially at
Deerhurst?"

"Same as of yore," he replied. "Hans and Griselda, faithful souls,
are keeping the place in spick and span condition." His face lighted
suddenly. "And here is Miss Dorothy, grown into a tall young lady
since last I saw her."

"Don't accuse me of being too tall, Dr. Sterling," said Dorothy, in a
tone of mild reproof. "That is getting to be a sore subject with me.
I have no intention of being either a toothpick or a beanstalk,
though if what my friends tell me is true, I am in a fair way to be
either, or both."

Dr. Sterling laughed.

"You mustn't mind a bit of a joke, you know. You are at an
age where nothing can stop your growth. Your height seems to you
exaggerated--that's all--and your friends merely perpetuate the
belief with the idea of teasing you."

"I'll take your word for that, doctor. And now, let me present my
music teacher, Herr Deichenberg, and Mrs. Deichenberg," Dorothy then
said.

The introductions were duly acknowledged, after which the party went
into the station, and thence to the street beyond.

"Where are you going to stop?" Dr. Sterling wanted to know, as he
turned an inquisitive glance on Aunt Betty.

"I've forgotten the name of the place," replied the mistress of
Bellvieu, "but Herr Deichenberg can enlighten you. He wired ahead for
the rooms."

"It iss de Arlington," the music master vouchsafed. "De proprietor
iss