"Carlyle says that 'there is no other
entirely fatal person.'"
Something in her tone gave him courage for another question. "Once for
all, Aunt Francesca, will you tell me where Rose is?"
"George Washington was a great man," Madame observed. "He never told a
lie. If he had promised not to tell anything, he never told it." Then
she added, with swift irrelevance, "this used to be a very pleasant time
of the year at Holly Springs."
A great light broke in upon Allison. "Aunt Francesca!" he cried. He put
his arms around her, lifted her from her chair, and nearly smothered her
in a bear-like embrace. "God bless you!"
"He has," murmured Madame, disengaging herself. "My foster son has been
a dunce, but his reason is now restored."
The two o'clock train to Holly Springs did not leave town until three,
so Allison waited for an hour in the station, fuming with impatience.
Both Colonel Kent and the Doctor had offered to accompany him,
individually or together, but he had brusquely put them aside.
"Don't worry," he said. "My name and address are in my pocket and also
inside my hat.
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