THE SILVER FOX 129 



idealizer, and such as he had no portion 

 beyond the opening of gates for her to 

 pass through. Major Bunbury's elder sister 

 must have faithfully fulfilled the mission 

 of elder sisters, or else his natural estimation 

 of himself was low. 



" No,'* replied Slaney, with her eyes on 

 the ground, " after all, I made up my mind 

 not to write." ! 



*' Your mind was made up the other way 

 when you talked about it after breakfast," 

 said Bunbury, looking down at her as she 

 flicked a fir-cone aside with her stick. " Do 

 you generally change it every few hours ? " 



" Emerson says that consistency is the 

 hobgoblin of small minds," replied Slaney, 

 with a little sententious air that Bunbury 

 found exasperatingly charming. 



**Does Emerson say that Uncle Charles 

 is a hobgoblin for small minds, and could 

 very well look after himself for another 

 week ? " There was a resentment in Major 

 Bunbury's voice that he did not try to 

 conceal. 



