Kitty, confounded and demoralised, stammered out that she had forgotten. Deleah came to her rescue. Deleah, who knew well that her hour had come: "It is from Mr. Reginald Forcus," she said. She had received warnings on the subject of Reginald Forcus before. "And what has that gentleman to write to you of such immediate importance that it must cause an interruption to class?" Miss Chaplin with head in air demanded. And Deleah looking at the note in its envelope, said she did not know. "Open it, and see," Miss Chaplin naturally recommended. When Deleah hesitated to comply, the schoolmistress held out her hand, but Deleah, choosing to disregard that gesture, put the letter in her pocket. The elder lady threw her thin lips into a tight line across her narrow face. She really thought it immoral for a girl to receive a letter from a gentleman, she really felt that the high tone of her school was endangered by that flagrant breach of manners made by Deleah Day. She had to punish iniquity, she had to protect from the evil effects of pernicious example, the unsullied young under her care. When Deleah, that afternoon, came upon Reggie waiting for her at the corner of the street, a fatuous expression of joy at her approach on his silly, good-looking face, she had received her dismissal from the school. She was filled with anger towards him as the cause of that which was to her a calamity. "I have been given notice to go. _You_ have done that, Reggie," she greeted him. "Your silly letter this morning was the finish." "A rattling good thing too," the irreverent Reggie declared. "I'm jolly glad to hear it." "And what do you suppose I am to do now?" "That's what I came to tell you. It's just spiffin' for my plans, as you'll see, dear." "It's not at all 'spiffin'' for mine." "You. wait! You and I will get married, Deleah. We'll bring it off at once, do you see?" "Oh, no, Reggie!" "Oh, yes, Deleah. See if we won't! I'm not doing anything underhand. I've told Francis, straight. He's no fool. He knows when I mean a thing. And I'm my own master." "But you're not mine, Reggie." "You wait a bit. We'll fight all that out afterwards. What I've got to say to you this afternoon is this: I want to put you up on horseback." "Absurd!" "Wait! Only wait! Where do you think I've been this afternoon? I've been over to Runnydale, to look at old Candy's little brown mare. It's the one his girl has been riding. She's married, and gone away; and I've got the promise of it for you. No! Now do wait a bit. That little mare's as safe as a donkey; a child might ride her. All the same, I'm not going to put you up on her till you've had lessons; and I've been and seen about that too." "Reggie!"