And no one knew what I was doing or
what was in my head, till last year when I told the oldest Miss Jennings
that I couldn't be a teacher--that I must leave school and go to New
York."
"What did she say?"
"She said I was crazy. So did they all. They got the minister to come
and argue with me, and he was dreadfully opposed to my wishes at first.
But after we'd talked a while, he came round to my way."
"How did you persuade him to that point of view?" Stephen catechized
her, wondering always.
"I hardly know. I just told him how I felt about everything. Oh, and I
danced."
"By Jove! What effect had that on him?"
"He clapped his hands and said it was a good dance, quite different from
what he expected. He didn't think it would do any one harm to see. And
he gave me a sort of lecture about how I ought to behave if I became a
dancer. It was easy to follow his advice, because none of the bad things
he feared might happen to me ever did."
"Your star protected you?"
"Of course. There was a little trouble about money at first, because I
hadn't any, but I had a few things--a watch that had been my mother's,
and her engagement ring (they were Saidee's, but she left them both for
me when she went away), and a queer kind of brooch Cassim ben Halim gave
me one day, out of a lovely mother-o'-pearl box he brought full of
jewels for Saidee, when they were engaged. See, I have the brooch on
now--for I wouldn't _sell_ the things.
Pages:
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87