He knew that all
would go well so long as he left everything to her, and kept himself as
far as might be in the background.
Before dinner was announced there was the usual buzz of conversation,
chiefly occupied with salutations, good wishes for Sunday's weather, and
admiration for the extreme beauty of the Mayoress's three daughters, the
two elder of whom were already out; while the third, though only
thirteen, might have passed for a year or two older. Their mother was so
much engrossed with receiving her guests that it was not till they were
all at table that she was able to ask Hanky what he thought of the
statues, which she had heard that he and Professor Panky had been to see.
She was told how much interested he had been with them, and how unable he
had been to form any theory as to their date or object. He then added,
appealing to Panky, who was on the Mayoress's left hand, "but we had
rather a strange adventure on our way down, had we not, Panky? We got
lost, and were benighted in the forest. Happily we fell in with one of
the rangers who had lit a fire."
"Do I understand, then," said Yram, as I suppose we may as well call her,
"that you were out all last night? How tired you must be! But I hope
you had enough provisions with you?"
"Indeed we were out all night. We staid by the ranger's fire till
midnight, and then tried to find our way down, but we gave it up soon
after we had got out of the forest, and then waited under a large
chestnut tree till four or five this morning.
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