The abruptness with which he put the question startled Madeline to
such a degree that she could not positively tell whether she had ever
heard that word before, much less could she recall its meaning, and so
she answered frankly, "I don't know."
A girl who did not know what logic was did not know much, in Guy's
estimation, but it would not do to stop here, and so he asked her next
how many cases there were in Latin!
Maddy felt the hot blood tingling to her very fingertips, the
examination had taken a course so widely different from her ideas of
what it would probably be. She had never looked inside a Latin
grammar, and again her truthful "I don't know, sir," fell on Guy's
ear, but this time there was a half despairing tone in the young voice
usually so hopeful.
"Perhaps, then, you can conjugate the verb _Amo,_" Guy said, his
manner indicating the doubt he was beginning to feel as to her
qualifications.
Maddy knew well what "conjugate" meant, but that verb _Amo_, what
could it mean? and had she ever heard it before? Mr. Remington was
waiting for her; she must say something, and with a gasp she began: "I
amo, thou amoest, he amoes. Plural: We amo, ye or you amo, they amo."
Guy looked at her aghast for a single moment, and then a comical smile
broke all over his face, telling poor Maddy plainer than words could
have done, that she had made a most ridiculous mistake.
"Oh, sir," she cried, her eyes wearing the look of the frightened
hare, "it is not right. I don't know what it means. Tell me, teach me.
What is it to amo?"
To most men it would not have seemed a very disagreeable task,
teaching young Madeline Clyde "to amo," as she termed it, and some
such idea flitted across Guy's mind, as he thought how pretty and
bright was the eager face upturned to his, the pure white forehead,
suffused with a faint flush, the cheeks a crimson hue, and the pale
lips parted slightly as Maddy appealed to him for the definition of
"amo."
"It is a Latin verb, and means 'to love'" Guy said, with an emphasis
on the last word, which would have made Maddy blush had she been less
anxious and frightened.
Thus far she had answered nothing correctly, and, feeling puzzled to
know how to proceed, Guy stepped into the adjoining room to consult
with the doctor, but he was gone. So returning again to Madeline, Guy
resumed the examination by asking her how "minus into minus could
produce plus."