"Dear Mrs. Curtis, you are so generous," the young man said admiringly. "I have just learned that after the summer holiday is over you intend to send Miss Morton's protégé, Tania, to a boarding school. It is so kind in you."
Mrs. Curtis shook her head. "Oh, no," she answered, "it is very little to do. Really, I don't see what else could be done with the child. She is very queer and not attractive to me, but Madge is fond of her and, as I am very fond of Madge, I shall do what is best for the little girl."
"Ah," murmured Philip Holt vaguely, "but do you feel sure that a boarding school is the best place for the girl? She is so unruly, so untruthful! I fear that she would give you a great deal of trouble and responsibility unless she were placed under greater restraint. I have wondered for some time what should be done for the child. She has caused a lot of mischief among the children on the street in her tenement section. It seems to me that she ought to be sent to some kind of an institution where she would be more closely watched--an asylum or home for incorrigible children."
Mrs. Curtis looked worried and bit her lips. "That is rather hard on the child, isn't it? Still, I could not undertake to be responsible for Tania's good behavior at school. She seems very hard to control. I will watch her more closely, and, if she shows more signs of untruthfulness, I shall have to consider your suggestion. However, I will talk the matter over with Madge. I wish you would walk down to the houseboat for me and invite the girls to come up to the hotel for luncheon. I hope they are not off somewhere with Captain Jules. He seems to claim the greater share of their attention lately."
Philip Holt walked off, very well pleased with his interview. He had conveyed to Mrs. Curtis precisely the impression he had intended to convey.
Ever since his arrival at Cape May Philip Holt had wished to see little Tania alone. He had warned the child that she was not to behave as though she had ever seen him before, yet he was still afraid that she might make a confidante of Madge. He needed to make his threat to her more terrifying. He decided to find her and intimidate her so thoroughly that she would not dare betray her previous acquaintance with him.