“No,” said Mrs. Carling, “I didn’t say that exactly.  I—­”

“Didn’t you, really?” said Mary teasingly.  “One ought to be explicit in such cases, don’t you think?  Well, what did Julius say?  Was he very much concerned?” Mrs. Carling’s face colored faintly under her sister’s raillery, and she gave a little embarrassed laugh.

“Come, now,” said the girl relentlessly, “what did he say?”

“Well,” answered Mrs. Carling, “I must admit that he said ‘Pooh!’ for one thing, and that you were your own mistress, and, so far as he had seen, you were very well qualified to manage your own affairs.”

Her sister clapped her hands.  “Such discrimination have I not seen,” she exclaimed, “no, not in Israel!  What else did he say?” she demanded, with a dramatic gesture.  “Let us know the worst.”

Mrs. Carling laughed a little.  “I don’t remember,” she admitted, “that he said anything more on the subject.  He got into some perplexity about whether the steam should be off or on, and after that question was settled we went to bed.”  Mary laughed outright.

“So Julius doesn’t think I need watching,” she said.

“Mary,” protested her sister in a hurt tone, “you don’t think I ever did or could watch you?  I don’t want to pry into your secrets, dear,” and she looked up with tears in her eyes.  The girl dropped on her knees beside her sister and put her arms about her neck.

“You precious old lamb!” she cried, “I know you don’t.  You couldn’t pry into anybody’s secrets if you tried.  You couldn’t even try.  But I haven’t any, dear, and I’ll tell you every one of them, and, rather than see a tear in your dear eyes, I would tell John Lenox that I never wanted to see him again; and I don’t know what you have been thinking, but I haven’t thought so at all” (which last assertion made even Mrs. Carling laugh), “and I know that I have been teasing and horrid, and if you won’t put me in the closet I will be good and answer every question like a nice little girl.”  Whereupon she gave her sister a kiss and resumed her seat with an air of abject penitence which lasted for a minute.  Then she laughed again, though there was a watery gleam in her own eyes.  Mrs. Carling gave her a look of great love and admiration.

“I ought not to have brought up the subject,” she said, “knowing as I do how you feel about such discussions, but I love you so much that sometimes I can’t help—­”

“Alice,” exclaimed the girl, “please have the kindness to call me a selfish P—­I—­G.  It will relieve my feelings.”

“But I do not think you are,” said Mrs. Carling literally.

“But I am at times,” declared Mary, “and you deserve not only to have, but to be shown, all the love and confidence that I can give you.  It’s only this, that sometimes your solicitude makes you imagine things that do not exist, and you think I am withholding my confidence; and then, again, I am enough like other people that I don’t always know exactly what I do think.  Now, about this matter—­”