Page:Duer Miller--The charm school.djvu/34

 Bevans's letter was frankly portentous. It was not that Bevans's manner altered, though there may have been a slight change in the rhythm of his breathing, but somehow David knew at once that the letter contained something of supreme importance. So, being a good friend, he said nothing, but sat watching Bevans out of the corner of his eye as a dog watches his master to see if he is going to be taken for a walk.

Having read the letter twice, Bevans raised his eyes, shining with excitement, and said:

"Dave, I've inherited a school." "A school? An automobile school?"

"No, a girls' boarding-school." "A what?" said David, who had heard perfectly.

"You see before you," answered his friend, "the principal of the well-known fashionable school—the Bevans Boarding-school for Young Ladies."

"Well, next to inheriting the Sultan's harem, I can't think of anything pleasanter. Now let's have the facts." But almost all the available facts were already before him. Bevans had not even seen the announcement of his aunt-by-marriage's death in the papers a few weeks