Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: m " So the major has invited your Steele to visit him ? " said John Paul. " Do you realize what an effort that is to him ? I suppose he did it because everybody is so down on Mr. Steele. I am, myself, — confound him!—though I don't think him anything worse than a crank." Alan laughed and frowned. " You can't appreciate him, Paul, — that's what's the matter with you. But the invitation is odd. Your mother has an idea — But I fancy the very fact of the major's taking Bob into his house shows his confidence in the result of Sidney's training? " The doctor wanted to be contradicted, but his companion, after a moment's pause to guess the meaning of the unfinished sentence, nodded, and said, " Yes, exactly. Mortimer Lee would not hesitate to bring the most attractive man in the world into Sidney's presence (and I suppose you hardly call Steele that ?). She's safe; — more 's the pity for the girl." Alan looked at him with lazy annoyance. To have Paul assume so positively that Sidney's unnatural training would certainly spoil her life irritated him ; and yet it gave him a vague assurance, too. The thought of Robert's probable intimacy with the major's family had not been entirely pleasant to thedoctor ; indeed, the more he had reflected upon it, the less certain he became that such a visit would benefit the sick man. But all the while he was thoroughly aware of the fear which lay behind this thought, aud even amused by its pretense, so it did not prevent him from using his utmost influence to persuade his friend to go to the major's; though when, at last, after much urging, Robert consented, Alan took up his violin, and spent an hour, with knitted brows, picking out a difficult movement. He reflected now that there was no reason why John Paul's assurance that Sidney was saf... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.