noon
He had a sort of sublime short-sightedness to everything that was not of the spirit . He had been convinced the night previous that Maria was beginning to regard him with favor , and being convinced of that made him insensible to any mere outward change in her . She looked to him , on the whole , prettier than usual because he seemed to see in her love for himself . When the noon intermission came he walked into her class-room , and invited Maria and Evelyn to go with him to a near-by restaurant and lunch . `` I would ask you to go home with me , '' he said , apologetically , to Maria , `` but mother has a cold . '' Maria turned pale . She wondered if he had possibly told his mother .