Page:Duer Miller--The charm school.djvu/83

  the correspondence of any parent known to be due.

But almost at once he regretted his decision; it would have been wiser, he thought, to have remained remote, inaccessible even to parents; to have constituted himself that mysterious entity which no business should be without, which is vaguely referred to by poweriess subordinates as "he." Austin suddenly saw this so clearly that he leaped to his feet, meaning to run over to the school and notify Miss Curtis of his decision, but as he opened his own front door he was confronted by a parent.

She was a minute, pretty person, with pearl earrings, a dotted veil, and neat, fashionable clothes. She said, firmly:

"I want to see Mr. Bevans."

"I am he," said Austin. (He owed it to Mrs. Rolles that he did not say "him.")

The little lady looked at him and began to laugh. "Good gracious!" she said. "I'm awfully sorry, but I did take you for the footman—that's a compliment, you know, now that people go in for these wonderful footmen. Don't you think perhaps you missed your vocation?"

Austin saw immediately that he could not let any parent take this tone with him. "I