stories, protects both
garden and house from the eyes of the passer-by; and, save for the sound
of singing, the place seems uninhabited most of the time.

On a misty morning in late November Katrine clapped the knocker of this
old house with fear in her heart, for her future hung on the word of the
great teacher who lived here, Josef, whose genius, generosity, and
brutal frankness were the talk of the musical world. A Brittany peasant
woman opened the door with no salutation whatever, for the huge
Brigitte, in her white _coiffe_ and blue flannel frock, spoke in awed
whispers only, when the master was at home.

"Mademoiselle Dulany?" she asked.

Katrine nodded an affirmative.

"The master is expecting you," Brigitte said, leading the way up a wide
oak staircase to the second floor, which had been made into one great
room. It was a bare place, with no draperies and little furniture. Two
grand pianos stood at one end near a small platform, like a model-stand.
There were photographs of some great singers on the walls, and a few
chairs huddled together.

In the corner at a desk a woman was writing from the dictation of a man
who stood gazing out of the window. He turned at Katrine's entrance. She
has seen his picture frequently, and knew on the instant that it was
Josef, the greatest teacher in Europe--in the world.

"You may go, Zelie," he said to the woman. "I shall not need you till
to-morrow." And the dismissal over, he came forward toward Katrine as
she stood by the entrance, uncertain what to do.

He was a man about fifty years of age, below the medium height, heavily
built, and dressed in black, with a waistcoat buttoned to the collar
like a priest's. His hair was iron-gray, his eyes brown, and the pupils
of them widened and contracted when he spoke. He had a clean-shaven
face of ivory paleness, a sensuous mouth and chin, and when he looked
at Katrine she understood his power, for it seemed to her as though he
could see backward to her past and forward to all of her future.

Being alone with her, he motioned her to a seat by the window, near
which he remained standing.

"I have been hearing that you have a voice. I have heard great things
concerning it. I hope they are true." His tone implied that he had small
belief that they were. "You have a serious drawback. You are too rich."
She started at this. "The management of your income, however, is given
to me, as I suppose you know. Will you be so good as to re