tried to draw her into the conversation, he never lost the slightest chance she gave him of letting her drift into it by accident, and of saying the words to her, under those favourable circumstances, which a man with less tact and delicacy would have pointedly addressed to her the moment they occurred to him. Rather to my surprise, Miss Fairlie appeared to be sensible of his attentions without being moved by them. She was a little confused from time to time when he looked at her, or spoke to her;
desert island of solitary penal disgrace.
The door, when we got round to it, was ajar, and the school- master’s voice reached us plainly, as we both stopped for a minute under the porch.
“Now, boys,” said the voice, “mind what I tell you. If I hear another word spoken about ghosts in this school,