“Haven’tItoldyou，“hesaid，“thatZoethandmeareyourguardians？Anddidn’tIsaywe’dgoneintothethingcarefulanddeliberate？Anddidn’tIpayyourfirstyear’sschoolin’yesterday？
Don’tthataloneshowwhatwethinkaboutthemoney。Bestill，Zoeth；that’senough。Well，Mary-’Gusta？“
Mary-’Gustaconsideredamomentlonger。Thensheroseand，crossingtheroom，gavethemeachakiss。
“I’llgo，“shesaid，simply。“I’llgobecauseIthinkyoumeanitandthatitwillpleaseyou。ForthatreasonandnootherI’llgo。“
CHAPTERXI
TheMissesCabot’sschoolwastoopenonthefifteenthofSeptemberand，onthemorningofthefourteenth，Mary-’Gustabadeherguardiansgood-byontheplatformoftheSouthHarnissrailwaystation。ShadrachhadintendedgoingtoBostonwithher，butshehadfirmlyinsistedongoingalone。
“Imustgetusedtobeingawayfromyouboth，“shesaid，“andyoumustgetusedtohavingmego。Itwillbebestforallofustosaygood-byhere。Itwon’tbeforVERYlong；I’llbehomeatChristmas，youknow。“
Thethreeweekspriortothefatefulfourteenthhadbeencrowdedwithactivities。TwicethegirlandCaptainShadrachhadjourneyedtoBoston，whereincompanywithMrs。Wyeth，whoseserviceshadbeenvolunteeredinacrispbutkindlynote，theyvisitedshopsandselectedandpurchased——thatis，thefemininemembersofthepartyselectedandtheCaptainpaidfor——asuitandwaistsandhatsandotherthingswhichitappearedwerenecessaryforthewardrobeofayoungladyatfinishingschool。Shadrachwouldhaveboughtlavishly，butMrs。Wyeth’scommonsenseguidedtheselectionsandMary-’Gustawasveryparticularastoprice。Shadrach，atthebeginning，madeafewsuggestionsconcerningcolorsandstyles，butthesuggestionsweredisregarded。TheCaptain’stasteincolorswasnotlimited；hefanciedalmostanyhue，provideditwasbrightenough。Hiswardwouldhavelookedlikeananimatedcrazyquiltifhehadhadhisway。
HegrumbledalittleastheyjourneyedbacktoSouthHarniss。
“Shemaybeallright，thatWyethwoman，“hesaid，“butshe’stooeverlastin’sober-sidedtosuitme。Takethathatyouandshebought；why，’twasasplain，andhadn’tnomorefussandfeathersthanaminister’swife’sbonnet。Youain’tanoldmaid；no，noraBostonfirst-familywidow，neither。Now，thehatIliked——theyellowandblueone——hadsomeget-up-and-git。IfyouworethatoutonTremontStreetfolkswouldturnaroundandlookatyou。“
Mary-’Gustalaughedandsqueezedhishand。“YousillyUncleShad，“
shesaid，“don’tyouknowthatisexactlywhatIdon’twantthemtodo？“
Shadrachturnedhisgazeinherdirection。Shewasattheendofthecarseatnexttothewindowandagainstthelightofthesettingsunherfaceandheadweresilhouettedindaintyprofile。TheCaptainsighed。
“Well，“hesaid，philosophically，“Idon’tknow’sweneedtoargue。
Ical’latethey’lllooksomeas’tis。“
Herpartinginstructionstoherunclesweremanyanddiversified。
ZoethmustbesureandchangetohisheavyflannelsonthefirstofOctober。Hemustnotforgetrubberswhenthegroundwasdamp，andanumbrellawhenitrained。IfhecaughtcoldtherewasthemedicineDoctorHarleyhadprescribed。Hemustnotsitupafterteno’clock；hemustnottrytoreadthepaperwithoutfirsthuntingforhisspectacles。Thesewereafewofhisorders。Shadrach’slistwasevenlonger。ItincludedgoingtochurcheveryotherSunday：
keepinghisSundayshoesblacked：notforgettingtochangehiscollareverymorning：togethishaircutatleastonceinsixweeks：nottoeatpiejustbeforegoingtobed，“becauseyouknowifyoudo，youalwayshavethenightmareandgroanandmoanandwakeupeveryonebutyourself“：nottosay“Jumpin’“or“Creepin’Judas“anyoftenerthanhecouldhelp：tobesureandnotcutpricesinthestorejustbecauseacustomeraskedhimtodoso——andgoodnessknowshowmuchmore。
AsforIsaiahChase，hislistwassolengthyandvariedthattheresponsibilityquiteoverwhelmedhim。
“Gosht’mighty！“exclaimedIsaiah，desperately。“I’llneverbeabletoliveuptoallthemsailin’ordersandIknowit。I’veputsomeof’emdownonapieceofpaper，butIain’tevengotthemstraight，andasforthemillionortwoothers——whew！I’mtodusteveryday，andsweepeveryotherday，andchangethetablecloth，andseethatthewashin’goeswhenitoughtto，andfeedthehorsethecat——no，no，feedthecatoats——Oh，consarnit！Feedthecatandthehorseandthehenstheirreg’larvittlesatreg’lartimesand——and——Oh，mysoul！Yes，andletalonemyownselfandallthat’slaidontome，I
mustkeepaneyeonCaptainShadandZoethandseethattheydowhat’sbeenlaidontoTHEM。Iswantoman！I’mahard-workin’，painstakin’fellerofmyage，butIain’tasyoungasIusedtobe，andI’mhumanandnotawalkin’steam-engyne。I’lldothebestI
can，but——butfirstthingyouknowI’llbedroveintoheavin’upmyjob。THENthiscraft’llbeonitsbeamends，Ibetyou！They’llappreciatemethen，whenit’stoolate。“
Thefarewellsattherailwaystationwerebrief。TheywereveryhardtosayandneitherthepartnersnorMary-’Gustacouldtrustthemselvestotalkmorethanwasnecessary。Thetraindrewupbesidetheplatform；thenitmovedon。Ahandwavedfromthecarwindow；ShadrachandZoethwavedinreturn。TherearcardisappearedaroundthecurvebySolomonHiggins’cranberryshanty。
Mr。Hamiltonsighedheavily。
“She’sgone，Shadrach，“hesaid。“Mary-’Gusta’sgone。“
Shadrachechoedthesigh。
“Yes，she’sgone，“heagreed。“Ifeelasifthebestpartofyouandmehadgonealongwithher。Well，t’otherpartshavegottogobacktothestoreandwaitoncustomers，Ipresumelikely。Heaveaheadandlet’sdoit。Ah，hum！Ical’latewe’doughttobethankfulwe’vegotworktodo，Zoeth。It’llhelptakeupourminds。
Therearegoin’tobelonesomedaysforyouandme，shipmate。“
TherewerelonelydaysforMary-’Gustaalso，thoseofthatfirstmonthatMrs。Wyeth’sandattheMissesCabot’sschool。Forthefirsttimeinherlifesherealizedwhatitmeanttobehomesick。
Butintheletterswhichshewrotetoherunclesnotatraceofthehomesicknesswaspermittedtoshowandlittlebylittleitskeenestpangsworeaway。She，too，wasthankfulforwork，forthestudywhichkeptherfromthinkingofotherthings。
TheMissesCabot——theirChristiannameswerePriscillaandHortense——
shefoundtobemiddle-agedmaidenladies，eminentlyprimandproper，andtheeducationalestablishmentoverwhichtheypresidedasortofProtestantnunneryruledaccordingtothepreceptsoftheCongregationalChurchandtheNewEnglandaristocracy。MissPriscillawastallandthinandherfavoriteauthorwasEmerson；shequotedEmersonextensivelyandwascertainthatrealliteraturediedwhenhedid。MissHortensewasyounger，plumper，andmoreromantic。
ShequotedLongfellowandoccasionallyOliverWendellHolmes，althoughsheadmittedsheconsideredthelatterrathertoofrivolousattimes。Bothsisterswerelearned，dignified，andstrictdisciplinarians。Also，intheeyesofbothamalepersonyoungerthanforty-fivewaslabeled“Danger——KeepAway。“Butonecreatureofthemasculinegendertaughtintheirschool；hewaswhite-hairedDoctorBarnes，professorofthedeadlanguages。ItwastheprevailingopinionamongthescholarsthatDoctorBarnes，whenathome，occupiedanapartmentintheGreekAntiquitysectionoftheArtMuseum，wherehesleptandatesurroundedbythestatuesandbustsofhiscontemporaries。
Asforthescholarsthemselves，therewereaboutfortyofthem，girls——oryoungladies：theMissesCabotinvariablyreferredtoandaddressedthemas“youngladies“——fromBostonandNewYorkandPhiladelphia，evenfromChicagoandasfarsouthasBaltimore。
Almostallwerethedaughtersofwell-to-doparents，almostallhadtheirhomesincities。Therewereveryfewwho，likeMary-’Gusta，hadlivedalltheirlivesinthecountry。Somewerepretty，somewerenot；someweregiddyandgiggly，somesolemnandstudious，someeitheraccordingtomood；somewereinclinedtobesnobbish，otherssimpleand“everyday。“Inshort，theschoolwaslikealmostanyschoolofitskind。
Mary-’Gustaenteredthisschooland，doingso，ceasedtobeMary-
’Gusta，becomingMissLathroptoherinstructorsandMarytoherintimatesamongthescholars。AndatMrs。Wyeth’sshewasMaryorMissLathroporMissMary，accordingtotheage，lengthofacquaintance，orstationofthepersonaddressingher。ButshealwaysthoughtofherselfasMary-’GustaandherletterswrittentoUncleShadorUncleZoethweresosigned。
Shefound，afterthehardworkofbeginning，thatshecouldkeepabreastofherclassinstudieswithoutundueexertion。Alsoshefoundthat，thesnobsexcepted，thegirlsattheMissesCabot’sschoolwereinclinedtobesociableandfriendly。Shemadenobidfortheirfriendship，beingaself-respectingyoungpersonwhosedislikeofimitationwasasstrongasever，but，perhapsbecauseshedidnotbidorimitatebutcontinuedtobesimplyandsincerelyherself，friendscametoher。Mostofthesefriendsreceivedmonthlyallowancesfargreaterthanhers，andmostofthemworemoreexpensivegownsandingreatervariety，butsheshowednoenvynorofferedapologies，andifshesometimeswished，beinghuman，thatherwardrobewasatriflemoreextensiveshekeptthatwishtoherself。
HerlikingforMrs。Wyethgrewintoarealaffection。Andtheprimandpracticalmatrongrewmoreandmorefondofher。Thegirlcametobeconsidered，andalmosttoconsiderherself，oneofthefamily。
The“family“consistedofMrs。Wyeth，Mary，MissPease，theother“payingguest，“andMaggie，themaid，andNora，thecook。MissPeasewasanelderlyspinsterwithoutnearrelatives，possessedofanincomeandaloveoftravelwhichshegratifiedbyoccasionalEuropeantrips。Sheandherclosestfriend，Mrs。Wyeth，disagreedonmanysubjects，buttheyunitedinthebeliefthatBostonwasasuburbofParadiseandthatWilliamElleryChanningwasthegreatestofreligiousleaders。Theyat-tendedtheArlingtonStreetUnitarianChurch，andMaryoftenaccompaniedthemthereforSundaymorningorafternoonservice。
TheconvictionoftheMissesCabotthatyouthfulmanhoodwasdangerousandtobeshunnedliketheplagueMarysoondiscoveredwasnotsharedbythemajorityoftheyoungladies。IfMissPriscillaandMissHortensehadhadtheirwayHarvardUniversityandtheInstituteofTechnologywouldhavebeenmovedforthwithtosomeremotespotliketheNorthPoleorSanFrancisco。Therewerealtogethertoomany“cousins“or“sonsofoldfamilyfriends“
callingattheschooltodelivermessagesfromparentsorguardiansorthesaidfriends。Thesemessengers，younggentlemenwithbuddingmustachesandfull-blownraiment，wererigidlyinspectedandtheirvisitscarefullychaperoned：butletterscameandweretreasuredandthecheerfulinanityoftheircontentsimparted，instrictsecrecy，tobosomfriendsoftherecipients。
Maryreceivednosuchletters。Nocousinsorfamilyfriendscalledtodelivermessagestoher。Nophotographsofyoungfellowsinletteredsweaterswerehiddenamongherbelongings。Herfriendsintheschoolthoughtthisstateofaffairsveryoddandtheysometimesaskedpointedquestions。
MissBarbaraHowe，whosehomewasinBrooklineandwhosefatherwastheseniorpartnerofanoldandwell-knownfirmofdowntownmerchants，wastheleadingquestioner。ShelikedMaryandthelatterlikedher。Barbarawasprettyandfullofspiritsand，althoughshewastheonlychild，andaratherspoiledone，inawealthyfamily，therewasnosnobbishnessinhermake-up。
“ButIcan’tsee，“shedeclared，“whatyouhavebeendoingallthetime。Wherehaveyoubeenkeepingyourself？Don’tyouknowANYBODY？“
Marysmiled。“Oh，yes，“shereplied，“Iknowagoodmanypeople。“
“YouknowwhatImean。Don’tyouknowanyofthefellowsatHarvard，orTech，orYale，oranywhere？Iknowdozens。Andyoumustknowsome。YouknowSamKeith；yousaidyoudid。“