recovered the nervous shock of seeing the dog killed. Carmina's head
sank on good Teresa's shoulder. She had fainted.

CHAPTER V.

"May I ask for a cup of tea, Miss Minerva?"

"Delighted, I'm sure, Mr. Le Frank."

"And was Mrs. Gallilee pleased with the Concert?"

"Charmed."

Mr. Le Frank shook his head. "I am afraid there was a drawback," he
suggested. "You forget the lady who fainted. So alarming to the
audience. So disagreeable to the artists."

"Take care, Mr. Le Frank! These new houses are flimsily built; they
might hear you upstairs. The fainting lady is upstairs. All the
elements of a romance are upstairs. Is your tea to your liking?"

In this playfully provocative manner, Miss Minerva (the governess)
trifled with the curiosity of Mr. Le Frank (the music-master), as the
proverbial cat trifles with the terror of the captive mouse. The man of
the bald head and the servile smile showed a polite interest in the
coming disclosure; he opened his deeply-sunk eyes, and lazily lifted
his delicate eyebrows.

He had called at Mrs. Gallilee's house, after the concert, to get a
little tea (with a large infusion of praise) in the schoolroom. A