The Argosy — page 291: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

273 A GREAT MYSTERY. E all went up from Oxford together, and reached the Paddington terminus in a shower of rain late in the afternoon. Miss Deveen’s carriage was walting: she got into it with Tod, and Helen and Anna Whitney. William Whitney and I followed ina cab with the luggage and umbrellas. We reached Miss Deveen’s house nearly as soon as the carriage did. Miss Cattledon, the companion, with her tall, thin figure, her pinched- in waist and her creaking stays, was ready to receive us. Miss Deveen held out her hand. “ How have you been, Jemima? ‘Taking care of yourself, I hope !” “‘ Quite well, thank you, Miss Deveen ; and very glad to see you at home again,” returned Cattledon. ‘This is my niece, Janet Carey.” A slight, small girl, with smooth brown hair and a quiet face that looked as if it had just come out of some wasting illness, was hiding herself behind. Miss Deveen said a few pleasant words of welcome, and took her hand. The girl looked as shy and frightened as though we had all been a pack of gorillas. ‘* Thank you, ma’am ; you are very kind,” she said in a great tremble ; and her voice, I noticed, was low and pleasant. I like nice voices whether in man or woman. ‘‘Tt wants but half an hour to dinner-time,” said Miss Deveen, un- tying the strings of her bonnet. ‘ Miss Cattledon, will you show these young friends of ours the rooms you have appropniated to them.” My room and Tod’s—two beds in it—was-on the second floor; Helen and Anna had the best company room below, near Miss, Deveen’s; Bill had a little one lower still, half way up the first flight of stairs. Miss Cattledon’s room, we found out, was next to ours, and her niece slept with her. Tod threw himself full length on his counterpane—tired out, he ‘said. Since the affair with old Brandon at Oxford, he seemed to have ‘been less like himself than he was like a dummy, for nobody got a word from him. ‘You'll be late, Tod,” I said when I was ready. ‘ Plenty of time, Johnny. I don’t suppose I shall keep their dinner waiting.” Miss Deveen stood at the door of the blue room when I went down : that pretty sitting-room, exclusively hers, that I remembered so well. She had on a purple silk gown, with studs of pale yellow topas in its white lace front; studs every whit as beautiful as the jemeralds made free with by Sophie Chalk. . in —_) VOL. XV. COMIC OCGOKS. CO