Secretly his presence pleased her immensely.  She had always hoped that some day he would take enough interest in her work to come to see it uninvited.  And she now felt that this had happened.  And she thanked Blizzard with sincerity for having waited.

“Mr. Blizzard and I,” she told her father, “are doing a bust.  And whatever anybody else thinks, we think it’s an affair of great importance.  Mr. Blizzard even gives me his time and his judgment for nothing.”

“Well,” Dr. Ferris smiled, “I am willing to give you the latter, on the same terms.  May I see what you’ve done?”

Barbara removed the cloths from the bust, and so life-like and tragic was the face which suddenly confronted him that Dr. Ferris, instead of stepping forward to examine it closely, stepped backward as if he had been struck.  And then: 

“My dear,” he said gravely, “the thing’s alive.”

He looked from the bust to his daughter, and felt as if he was meeting some very gifted and important person for the first time.  Barbara laughed for sheer pleasure.

“What do you think of it?”

“I will buy it as it stands,” said her father, “on your own terms.”

“If you think it’s good now,” said Blizzard quietly, “wait till it’s finished.”

“If I had done it,” said Dr. Ferris, “I wouldn’t dare touch it.”

“Yes, you would,” said Barbara, “if you knew that you could make it better.  It’s still a beginning.”

“When do you expect to finish?”

“I’m going to keep on working until I know that I’ve done the best I can.  We may be months on it.”

Blizzard smiled secretly, and Dr. Ferris managed to conceal his annoyance.

“I wish, my dear,” he said, “that I had taken you more seriously in the beginning.  But it is not too late to get some advantage by studying in Paris and Rome.”

“I don’t believe it’s ever too late for that,” said Barbara, “and of course I’ve always been crazy for the chance, but knowing how you felt—­”

“Say the word,” said her father, “and you shall go to-morrow.”

Blizzard’s face was like stone; he felt that his high hopes were on a more precarious footing than ever.  If she had the whim, Barbara would go abroad, far beyond the reach of even his long arms.

“You could finish your bust any time,” said Dr. Ferris persuasively.

But Barbara shook her head with complete decision.  “A bird in the hand,” she said, “is worth two in the bush.  And—­I hope I’m wrong—­but I have the conviction that this head is going to be the best thing I shall ever do.  I can look at it quite impersonally, because half the time it seems to model itself. I think it’s going to be good.  If it is good, it will be one of those lucky series of accidents that sometimes happen to undeserving but lucky people.”

Dr. Ferris sighed inwardly, but the expression of his face did not change.  “Do you mind if I stay?” he asked.  “I think it’s time I knew what you look like when you are at work, don’t you?”