I suppose you are dying to see Joyce and tell her your precious plot has succeeded . '' Willard did not appear to be at all impatient . He had relapsed into a brown study , during which he let Miss Sally lock up the house . Then he walked silently home with her . Miss Sally was silent too . Perhaps she was repenting her confidence -- or perhaps she was thinking of her false lover . There was a pathetic droop to her lips , and her black eyes were sad and dreamy . `` Miss Sally , '' said Willard at last , as they neared her house , `` had Stephen Merritt any sisters ? '' Miss Sally threw him a puzzled glance . `` He had one -- Jean Merritt -- whom I disliked and who disliked me , '' she said crisply . `` I do n't want to talk of her -- she was the only woman I ever hated . I never met any of the other members of his family -- his home was in a distant part of the state . '' Willard stayed with Joyce so brief a time that Miss Sally viewed his departure with suspicion . This was not very lover-like conduct . `` I dare say he 's like all the rest -- when his aim is attained the prize loses its value , '' reflected Miss Sally pessimistically . `` Poor Joyce -- poor child ! But there -- there is n't a single inharmonious thing in his house -- that is one comfort . I 'm so thankful I did n't let Willard buy those brocade chairs he wanted . They would have given Joyce the nightmare . '' Meanwhile , Willard rushed down to the biological station and from there drove furiously to the station to catch the evening express .
He did not return until three days later , when he appeared XXXXX Miss Sally 's , dusty and triumphant .
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