28
A BOARDING - SCHOOL ROMANCE.
and crimped—and finally descended, quite a
charming bevy, with the “queen rose,” that
happened to be a Pansy, in their midst.
The school-room is illuminated; and the youthful-looking lecturers, bowing profoundly, advance to the platform usually occupied by Miss Drummond, and display quite a formidable show of apparatus. A becoming expression of gravity sits upon their faces; and after a short pause, Mr. Frederick Willmore takes the lead, and begins to handle his subject in a very interesting manner.
His hearers wonder that they ever thought chemistry dull; but when he mentions the astounding fact that “A man is, chemically speaking, forty-five pounds of carbon and nitrogen, diffused through five and a half pailfuls of water”—Miss Drummond glances triumphantly around, as though she would say, “Do you hear that? Is it a rational proceeding for a woman to break her heart for forty-five pounds of carbon and nitrogen, and five and a half pails of water?”
There were the usual experiments—the rapid pouring of one glass of liquid into another; powder thrown into flames, queer blue lights, sputterings and explosions; little shrieks from the audience, and queer shadows on their faces— Miss Drummond, in particular, assuming a pleasing aspect, not unlike the Witch of Endor; when suddenly there came total darkness, and a general consternation.
“Do not move, if you please,” said the lecturer’s voice with perfect coolness, “this will be of short duration, and is necessary to produce a particular effect.”
At the same moment, Pansy Berks felt something tightly pressed in her hand; and, shaking all over, she quickly transferred the paper to her pocket.
The lights reappeared by degrees, and with them a queer figure that frightened the timid ones nearly out of their wits. It was difficult to decide what it was composed of, but flame seemed to emanate from it; and seen at first, in total darkness, the effect was quite startling.
Miss Drummond graciously expressed herself pleased with the lecture; and even invited the gentlemen to favor them with a second one. At first they seemed unwilling; but after a little consultation between themselves, they promised a course of varied experiments for the next week, and left their audience in a state of pleasant excitement.
The girls were all raving about the younger Mr. Willmore, the one who didn’t speak, but helped with the experiments. He was certainly very handsome; and there was so much in his face, it was difficult to realize that he was only a boy of eighteen. A great, six-foot fellow, too, with shoulders that looked capable of bearing the world—and such a smile!
“How he did look at you, Pansy!” exclaimed her rattlebrain friend. “I can’t believe there’s a mite of a chance for any of us!”
Pansy stooped suddenly for something that she had not dropped; her complexion was undergoing: as many changes as the chemical lights. The girls thought her a little queer in the matter of the handsome strangers; and it began to be whispered about that she must be engaged.
The next day, Miss Drummond’s procession was out for a walk, and came close upon the lecturers; so close, in fact, that Miss Berks’ veil was blown in the face of one of them, who restored it to her own fair hands with a grateful bow, as though she had done him the greatest possible favor.
Miss Drummond tried to lecture the young lady for not managing her veil properly—she had not seen something suspiciously like a letter, that went with the veil; but it seemed so absurd a cause of complaint, that she made very little of it.
The second lecture came off at the appointed time, and was attended by another eclipse of kerosene. Again, Miss Berks felt a rustling, something slipped into her hand; and again, she put it away for future reference.
And one fine morning, not long after, Miss Pansy was not to be found—she had ‘folded her tent like the Arabs,” and glided in darkness away. Miss Drummond received a note in a masculine hand, which read as follows:
“Honored Madam—I have only taken what legally belonged to me; and at some future time Mrs. Clifford Willmore will make all necessary explanations.
Your obedient servant,
“C. WILLMORE.”
When Miss Drummond had read this over three times, she began to realize that an elopement had taken place, and that those dangerous-looking black eyes had justified all her fears.
Such a scene of excitement as followed this discovery! Scholars and servants were severely interrogated; but Miss Berks had taken no one into her confidence, and none could throw the least light upon her movements. There had been a halo of romance about her from the very first, but this last chapter quite reached the climax—if they only knew which of the two she had run away with!
In a very aristocratic suburb of a large city,
