"Does she know why you came to the city?"
"Not she. I told her I was coming to make arrangements for putting her to school at a convent, and I intend to do it, too."
Making no comment on this bit of maternal discipline, I again had recourse to my note-book.
"You are fixed in your desire not to have your daughter further interviewed?" I asked, presently.
"I am," she replied. "I don't think it would do any good, and she is not fit to endure any more excitement. I expect to find her sick in bed when I get home."
"Do you think your shot injured the man?"
"I _know_ it did," emphatically. "I aimed at his legs, intending to hit them, and I did it. He never gave such a screech as that from sheer fright; there was _pain_ in it. Amy must have helped him to the carriage."
"Is this escapade known among your neighbors?"
"No. I hushed it up at home, giving my girl and hired man a different story to believe. I could not get away by the morning train from Sharon, and so started the next evening. I left them all at home with Grace, and drove alone to Sharon, leaving my horse at the stable there."
"You certainly acted very wisely, although I regret the delay. Miss Holmes and her two cavaliers have now nearly four days the start of us. Did you notice the size of the man at the ladder?"
"Yes; he was not a large man, if anything a trifle below the medium height."
"You think, then, that Miss Holmes made a willful effort to deceive you, when she told you that the album verse was written by Professor Bartlett? By-the-by, _is_ there a Professor Asa Bartlett at Amora?"
"Yes, he is the Principal. If you could see him, you would never accuse him of having written a silly verse like that. I am sure Amy meant to deceive me, and I am sure that she posted Grace about it, in case I should ask her."
"No. One does not care to make one's own child tell an unnecessary lie. Grace would have stood by Amy, no doubt."
It was growing late in the afternoon. There was much to do, much to think over, and no time to lose. I was not yet prepared to give Mrs. Ballou the benefit of my opinion, as regarded her daughter's escapade, so I arranged for a meeting in the evening, promising to have my plans decided upon and ready to lay before her at that time.