The Professor's House
and began talking to me. She wasn’t pretty, but
her kind eyes and soft Southern voice took hold of
me at once. She wanted to know what I had in my
telescope, and why I was there, and where I came
from, and all about it. Nearly everyone else had
gone out to lunch—that seemed to be the one thing
they did regularly in Washington—and we had the
waiting-room to ourselves. I talked to her a good
deal. Her name was Virginia Ward. She was a
tiny little thing, but she had lovely eyes and such gentle ways. She seemed indignant that I had been put off so long after having come so far.
“Now you just let me fix it up for you,” she said at last. “Mr. Wagner is bothered by a great many foolish people who waste his time, and he is suspicious. The best way will be for you to invite him to lunch with you. I’ll arrange it. I keep a list of his appointments, and I know he is not engaged for luncheon to-morrow. I’ll tell him that he is to lunch with a nice boy who has come all the way from New Mexico to inform the Department about an important discovery. I’ll tell him to meet you at the Shoreham, at one. That’s expensive, but it would do no good to invite him to a cheap place. And, remember, you must ask him to order the luncheon. It will maybe cost you ten dollars, but it will get you somewhere.”
I felt grateful to the nice little thing,—she wasn’t older than I. I begged her wouldn’t she please
—228—
