The transom over the door was closed, but
the window was open at the top to precisely the extent advocated by the
authorities, due consideration having been taken for the time of year
and the condition of the outer atmosphere.
The hour was one in the morning.
Childhood is a readily adaptable time of life, and William Bannister,
after a few days of blank astonishment, varied by open mutiny, had
accepted the change in his surroundings and daily existence with
admirable philosophy. His memory was not far-reaching, and, as time
went on and he began to accommodate himself to the new situation, he
had gradually forgotten the days at the studio, as, it is to be
supposed, he had forgotten the clouds of glory which he had trailed on
his entry into this world. If memories of past bear-hunts among the
canvases on the dusty floor ever came to him now, he never mentioned
it.
A child can weave romance into any condition of life in which fate
places him; and William Bannister had managed to interest himself in
his present existence with a considerable gusto. Scraps of conversation
between Mrs. Porter and Mamie, overheard and digested, had given him a
good working knowledge of the system of hygiene of which he was the
centre. He was vague as to details, but not vaguer than most people.
He knew that something called "sterilizing" was the beginning and end
of life, and that things known as germs were the Great Peril.
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