home news until the of the clock in the hall warned the guests up stairs that dinner had been served sat down in great comfort amid the of the great louis dining room he liked this home atmosphere � his mother and father and his sisters � the old family friends so he smiled and was exceedingly genial announced that the were going to give a dance on tuesday and inquired whether he intended to go you know i don t dance he returned why should i go f don t dance won t dance you mean you re getting too lazy to move if robert is willing to dance occasionally i think you might robert s got it on me in lightness replied and politeness retorted be that as it may said don t try to stir up a fight observed robert after dinner they to the library and robert talked with his brother a little on business there were some coming up for he wanted to see what suggestions had to make was going to a party and the carriage was now announced so you are not coming she asked a trifle too tired said lightly make my excuses to mrs pace asked about you the other night called back from the door kind replied i m greatly obliged she s a nice girl put in his father who was standing near the open i only wish you would marry her and settle down you d have a good wife in her she s charming mrs what is this asked � a conspiracy you know i m not strong on the matrimonial business and i well know it replied his mother i wish you were changed the subject he really could not stand for this sort of thing any more he told himself and as he thought his mind wandered back to and her peculiar oh no no there was that appealed to him that was a type of womanhood worth while not not seeking not iso d l watched over and set like a man trap in the path of men but a sweet little girl � sweet as a flower who was with l � out anybody apparently to watch over her that night in his room he composed a letter which he dated a week later because he did not want to appear too and because he could not again leave for at least two weeks my dear � although it has been a week and i have said nothing i have not forgotten you � believe me was the impression i gave of myself very bad i will make it better from now on for i love you little girl � i really do there is a flower on my table which reminds me of you very much � white delicate beautiful your personality lingering with me is just that you are the essence of everything beautiful to me it � is in your power to flowers in my path if you will � but what i want to say here is that i shall be in on the i th and i shall expect to see you i arrive thursday night and i want you to meet me in the ladies parlor of the at noon friday will you you can lunch with me you see i respect your suggestion that i should not call i will not � on condition these are dangerous to good friendship write me that you will i throw myself on your generosity but i can t take no for an answer not now with a world of affection he sealed the letter and addressed it she s a remarkable girl in her way he ht she really is l chapter xxi the arrival of this letter coming after a week of silence and after she had had a chance to think moved deeply what did she want to do what ought she to do how did she truly feel about this man did she sincerely wish to answer his letter if she did so what should she say heretofore all her movements even the one in which she had sought to sacrifice herself for the sake of bass in had not seemed to involve any one but herself now there seemed to be others to consider � her family above all her child the little was now eighteen months of age she was an interesting child her large blue eyes and light hair giving promise of a which would closely that of her mother while her traits indicated a clear and intelligent mind mrs had become very fond of her had so gradually that his interest was not even yet clearly but he had a distinct feeling of toward her and this of her father s attitude had aroused in an ardent desire to so conduct herself that no pain should ever come to him again any new folly on her part would not only be base ingratitude to her father but i would tend to injure the prospects of her little one her life was a failure she fancied but s was a thing apart she must do nothing to spoil it she wondered whether it would not be better to write and explain everything she had told him that she did not wish to do wrong suppose she went on to inform him d l that she had a child and beg him to leave her in peace would he obey her she doubted it did she really want him to take her at her word the need of making this confession was a painful thing to it caused her to hesitate to start a letter in which she tried to explain and then to tear it up finally fate in the sudden home coming of her father who had been seriously injured by an accident at the glass works in where he worked it 