"She tried to make me promise not to look at any one except the matron beforeI was moved," went on Dorothy, "but I told her I must talk to you forhalf an hour. I promised on my honor not to keep you longer than that,and we haven't but twelve minutes left. Now won't you decide to go and seeMr. Blake?"

"0h, I don't know what to decide!" cried Morgan in despairing tones. "It'sso dreadful that Eleanor should have done it. That's all I can think of."

"But listen to me, Morgan," began Dorothy patiently. "Let me show you justhow matters stand. Frances can't go down to New York alone--you can seethat. She doesn't know the city, and she'd get lost or run over, and tento one come home without even remembering to see Mr. Blake. You can'tbelieve how absent-minded she is, till you've worked with her as I always have.Besides, she is too dreamy and imaginative to convince a man of Mr.Blake's type.

"And Bess Egerton mustn't go; Frances and I are agreed about that. She'stoo flighty. She'd be angry if Mr. Blake didn't yield his pointimmediately, and say something outrageous to him. Then she'd go offshopping and come back here in the best of spirits, declaring that therewas nothing to be done because Mr. Blake was 'such a silly' And I can'tgo."

"If you only could!" broke in Betty. "Then it would be all right. Isn'tthere any chance that you might be able to by the end of next month?"

Dorothy shook her head. "I couldn't get leave, on top of this two months'illness, without telling Miss Stuart exactly why I needed to go, and Idon't want to do that. Miss Raymond knows all about it and approves, andwe don't want to confide in any one else. Besides, I doubt if Mr. Blakewill wait so long."

"Well then, Dorothy, why not write to him?"

Dorothy shook her head again. "We tried that. We wrote one letter, andwhen his answer came we tried again, but eight pages was the least wecould get our arguments into. No, it's a case where talking it out is theonly thing to do. You could take him unawares and I'm sure you'd bringhim round."