That was the remorseless end and beginning to everything. "Your father said" meant days and weeks and years of drab colour. "Oh, let us go then," said Elsie. There was a drowning hopelessness in her voice, so great an emptiness that it was hard to believe she had merely used the words--"Let us go then." Her mother accepted the answer without the sigh which burned in her heart because it had no outlet. They proceeded to get ready to go out. Mrs. Leighton and Betty by this time were chatting easily enough at the Merediths’. Mrs. Leighton had the feeling of an inexperienced general after a very indefinite victory. "I do not possess the talent of inflicting myself gracefully on people," she said, "and the child is quite extraordinary. However, I liked the mother; she is a dear little woman." Miss Meredith was only partially interested. She arranged to walk home with them, and they set out in rather a slow manner. "I can quite believe the child would be different in other surroundings," said Mrs. Leighton. "What a fine-looking man!" The one remark ran into the other automatically. In later days it seemed prophetic that the two people should be mentioned in one breath. Mrs. Leighton was passing the station where arrivals from the train occurred. A cab was drawn up, and into this a sunburned, athletic-looking young man put some traps. Then he handed in Mrs. Clutterbuck and Elsie. Betty was greatly impressed. "It must be Mr. Symington," said she. "Well, for a timid lady, she has a very man-like cousin," exclaimed Mrs. Leighton. "I don’t wonder she was allowed that one visitor at least." Miss Meredith turned her head carefully to a more slanting angle, when she clearly saw the carriage drive past. "Do you know, Mrs. Leighton," she said quite nimbly and happily, "it seems very hard that she should not have all the visitors she wants. Dr. Merryweather is quite right. None of us have any public spirit. I think I shall call on her to-morrow." So Miss Meredith also called on Mrs. Clutterbuck. CHAPTER XII The Burglar That Miss Meredith should turn in a moment from being freezingly uninterested in the Professor’s wife, to being more friendly than any one else, seemed from one point of view very noble and distinguished, from another puzzling and peculiar. "It’s a little dis-disconcerting," said Elma at Miss Grace’s. "We were so pleased at first when Miss Meredith pointed out our talents to us. Now she is pointing out Mrs. Clutterbuck’s. And you know, last week, we didn’t think Mrs. Clutterbuck had any talents at all." "Ah--that is one of our little tragedies," said Miss Grace simply. "That we are obliged to outlive the extravagance of new friends."