Page:Fidelia, (IA fidelia00balm).pdf/63

 Alice told quietly. That was only fair to Fidelia Netley to tell, though it visibly increased David's interest when Alice wanted so hard to stop it.

"That's hard luck. Then you're taking her in, of course."

"Yes; I think so."

"What class'll she be in? Ours?"

"Partly in ours. She was junior at Leland Stanford."

"Where's her home? I mean where's the bank that's bringing her up?"

"White Falls, Iowa."

"How'd she happen to shift here?"

"Why, she was out of school for a while; and she got so lonely she thought she'd come back. She thought she'd try it here for she wanted some of our music work along with college."

"Netley; is that her name?"

"Yes; Fidelia Netley."

"What?"

"Fidelia," Alice repeated the Christian name.

"New one on me; altogether she's a new one on me," Dave repeated, giving his conscious attention again to the drifts. He felt more disturbed over hurting Fidelia Netley by his quick, thoughtless remark. A girl brought up by an aunt who hated her and kept her living at schools, and then handed over to the guardianship of a bank, surely faced difficulties. He recalled how she had gazed at him under the light, how beautiful her face was and how well-developed was her figure.

The keeping in mind of the beauty of a girl's body