TOLBRIDGE'S REPORT IS NOT ACCEPTED
A few days after Miss Bannister's call at Cobhurst, it was returned by
Ralph and Miriam, who drove to Thorbury with the brown mare and the gig.
To their disappointment, they found that the young lady was not at home,
and the communicative maid informed them that she had gone to the city to
help Mrs. Tolbridge to get a new cook.
They went home by the way of the Witton house, and there they found
Miss Panney at home. The old lady was very much interested in Miriam,
whom she had not before seen out of bed. She scrutinized the girl from
hat to boots.
"What do you want me to call you, my dear?" she asked. "Don't you
honestly think you are too young to be called Miss Haverley?"
"I think it would be very well if you were to call me Miriam," said the
other, who was of the opinion that Miss Panney was old enough to call any
woman by her Christian name.
The conversation was maintained almost entirely by the old lady and
Ralph, for Miriam was silent and very solemn. Once she broke in with a
question:--
"What kind of a person is Miss Bannister?" she asked.
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