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 accept only promising material—only girls that in my opinion may be made charming. Of course, as a matter of fact I shall take pretty much any one, just as my aunt did, but it will give them all a wonderful sense of having been specially selected, allowed in on their looks. We'll have a waiting-list as long as your arm."

"Hem!" said Mr. Johns. "One difficulty occurs to me. School-girls are notoriously silly creatures. Suppose they all took it into their heads to fall in love with you. You know your appearance—"

"Please don't let us speak of that," said Austin, turning his toes slightly inward, as was his habit in moments of embarrassment. "For as a matter of fact I am not a man who inspires affection."

"You surprise me," said Mr. Johns, quite politely.

"Thank you," returned the other, "and, anyway, I'm in love with another girl, and only interested in this whole scheme in the hope of getting enough money to marry her before she sees some one she likes better—so I really don't care what my pupils do—as long as the school succeeds. But even accepting your warning—suppose they did fall in love with me? All the better. We