"That is what Cousin Anne says," said Maud, "and when I am with
her, I think so too; and then something tiresome happens and I
meddle, I meddle! Jack says I like ruling lines, but that it is no
good, because people won't write on them."






X

WITH MAUD ALONE





They were suddenly interrupted by the inrush of the Vicar. "Maud,"
he said with immense zest, "I find old Mrs. Darby very ill--she had
a kind of faint while I was there. I have sent off Bob post haste
for Dr. Grierson." The Vicar was evidently in the highest spirits,
like a general on the eve of a great battle. "There isn't a moment
to be lost," he continued, his eye blazing with energy. "Howard, my
dear fellow, I fear our walk must be put off. I must go back at
once. There she lies, flat on her back, just where I laid her! I
believe," said the Vicar, "it's a touch of syncope. She is blue,
decidedly blue! I charged them to do nothing, but if I don't get
back, there's no knowing what they won't pour down her throat--
decoction of pennyroyal, I dare say; and if the woman coughs, she