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had a twinkle in them didn t you say yourself that it could be done he inquired if i have made any mistake in my i shall charge the loss to you the critic reflected a minute i m not so certain it can t be done he said but that s quite different from money in it as you are doing a man wants pretty near a certainty before he puts up the you greedy fellow exclaimed will you never think of anything but gain i have to spend about so much money every year in a continual attempt to amuse myself and it might as well be this way as another i have a document signed and solemnly sealed by which i am to back him against the field in the interest of romantic and literature and in return he is to give me a third of the net profits of his writings i don t know that i have done so badly perhaps you may live to see pay us a handsome sum in mr looked oddly at his friend whose face was perfectly serious h what arc you going to begin with t he asked h f k f tf bit love of course it is the a b g as well as the x y z of the whole business what kind of love the best that can be got replied now laughing in spite of himself the very finest quality in the market oh we shall do this up brown i tell you what have you done so far asked you want to know it all eh responded mr i don t think i am justified in letting you too deeply into our secrets however you are too honorable to betray us and so here goes i hare instructed my that he must fall violently under the tender passion before next saturday night with a lady whom you have selected of course by no means he must catch his own mr played with his and this is tuesday he commented do you think he will succeed he must laughed it s like the case of the boy who was digging out the the minister s coming to dinner you might at least have got an introduction for him said not i there s nothing in our agreement that puts such a task on me besides there s no romance in an introduction he would write a story as as one of henry james if he started off like that mr nodded his head slowly a a black that would be something to avoid at all he assented and at this juncture to the surprise of both the parties to this conversation the young man of whom they were speaking entered the room i was telling mr of our agreement said mr as soon as the greetings were over how do you get along have you discovered your heroine yet mr answered with an air of timidity in the negative i don t quite know where to find one he said mr spread out his arms to their fullest capacity there are thirty millions of them in the united states alone he exclaimed out of that number you ought to find a few whom you can study what a pity that cannot write i would go out of that door and in ten minutes i would have a subject ready for the younger man raised his eyebrows slightly but that kind of a woman would be what you would want the kind that would let you talk to her on a mere street acquaintance mr leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs oh yes he said she would do for a beginning don t imagine that none of these easy going girls are worth the attention of a sometimes they are vastly more interesting than the bread and butter product of the drawing rooms it won t do in your profession to any sort of human being breathed a sigh as soft as his name you were right mr he said turning to that gentleman i do not know anything i have judged by appearances and i now see that truth cannot be learned in that way all the better broke in the progress is made by the man who has learned his you remember the hare and the i have read somewhere that the race is not always to the swift you must treat your fellow men and women as if you had just arrived on this earth from the planet you must dig through the of to the virgin soil beneath the great human passions are lust and though they take a thousand forms in many of which they have more polite names for instance the former when kept within polite boundaries is usually known as love as makes but a sorry theme for the romantic writer love is the subject that must principally claim your attention all the world loves a lover while the is despised even by those who beneath the power of his gold study the women my lad and when you know them thoroughly begin your great novel in earnest listened with attention and the men he asked the men was the quick reply are too transparent to require study it is the women with their ten million tricks to and us that afford the best field for your efforts a black mr who had never been known to take so much time from his work during business hours tried to begin his reading but without success when at his usual occupation he would not have been disturbed by the conversation of a room full of people so was he with what he had to do but on this occasion he was too much entertained with his companions to do anything but hear them through is there no such thing as unselfish love in a woman love

that sacrifices itself for its object asked with a trace of anxiety in his tone u m m possibly mr a female animal with young sometimes the possession of that sort of thing and women may have touches of it on occasions that will be a good point for you to remember when you are deeper in your however i ought not to fill your head with ideas of my own i think what we most desire in our friend he added turning to the critic is complete originality the young man shifted his feet nervously pardon me he said would it not be well to talk with people and learn their impressions then i can compare these with my own experiences when they come you would not send a blind man out on the street laughed you are ingenious when you should only be he replied you do not act at all like the young man from that i have in mind perhaps nevertheless you are not wholly wrong for even her feet my from that planet might have to ask his way to the nearest town supposing you had just reached the earth and had met me with a thousand questions what could i answer that would be of any use mr reflected a moment you could tell me your idea of a perfect woman he suggested well i will said glancing at mr the perfect woman is about nineteen years of age she is neither very light nor very dark her eyes are with a touch of gray in them she measures say five feet four inches in height and about twenty two inches around the waist she has a plump arm not too a leg a head set on her shoulders with enough neck to give it freedom and grace of movement but not sufficient to warrant comparison with a swan or even a goose her hands match her feet being not too slender nor too dainty her are medium but not she in the vicinity of a hundred and twenty five pounds and her hair there is but one color for a woman s hair is red the young man had taken out his note book and rapidly this list of attractions every woman cannot have hair remarked mr would you condemn one with all the other attributes on account of missing that i would decidedly was the reply when it is obtained so easily i think it only costs two dollars a black a bottle for the finest shade have you written it all down mr the young man ran over his notes i have it all but the hair he said of course i could not forget that very well and this hair must be long enough but not too long remember for everything spoils a woman it should hang about five inches below the waist when and be thick enough to make a noticeable there should be sufficient to hide her face and her lover s when he takes her in his arms mr started slightly then she should have a lover he remarked curiously undoubtedly else why the hair and the arms and the five feet four it is a woman s business to be loved and to make herself when you have found this woman if she has no lover you will be expected to in that capacity if she has one you must him as soon as possible and when you have fallen desperately in love with such a creature you will not have to come to me for further advice the young man surveyed the speaker with the utmost gravity have tf ever been in love he inquired never why r it was not necessary did not intend to write novels said with a laugh but come we have enough let us go with he took the containing miss s story and sauntered out paying no attention to the peculiar glances that his friend the critic threw at him as he was leaving chapter iv with mr the of miss with some difficulty not that the handwriting was particularly though it did not in the least resemble but as mr had intimated the sentences were so badly constructed and the so different from that prescribed by the usual authorities that he was continually obliged to go back over his tracks and hunt for nevertheless within an hour from the time when he sat down in his room at the house and opened the he had brought he had to confess himself deeply interested miss had conceived some entertaining characters and some very situations her people were her hero was strong if not always her heroine did and said things not common in real life and yet that were quite reasonable when her peculiar nature and were considered a black paused once in awhile to wonder how much of all this record was within the direct knowledge of the young which expressions conveyed her own ideas and which sentiments she would personally might be right as to the exceeding purity of most of the ladies who dealt in but in this especial case mr meant to make an investigation on his own account before he accepted as a universal rule the one his friend had laid down he did not go to sleep that night until he had finished his story had it been arranged by a competent hand he could have read it in four hours but as it was he consumed eight in the work with all its faults he liked it there was something about it and it had a theme that he did not remember had been treated exactly in the same way before though as he himself had said without much talent for composition had read a great many books it is no proof because a person cannot write that he would make a poor critic mr might almost have filled s place at

s he had written fugitive pieces in his time for the papers in reference to his travels which had been extensive and had even contributed occasional book to the magazines his connection with enabled him to keep in touch with what was going on in the literary world and the of new volumes which passed through that office were always at his disposal she s not a fool by any means he remarked to himself when he put down the last sheet of miss with e s work a fellow who understood his business might put that into such shape that it would be worth using i mean to find some one who can do it and suggest the idea to her when i get to that stage in this affair let me see who do i know that could undertake it he had begun to and was in the act of taking off his collar as he spoke his mind ran over a list of struggling literary men something seemed the matter with most of them there was but he would be too and would want to suggest alterations in the story itself which would never do there was whose last three books had been flat failures and for whom had positively refused to print anything more but had gone into the country for the summer and nobody knew his address then there was t received this thought like an inspiration he threw his on the and began at his to the imminent danger of getting them into hard knots that no one could why not the boy would do almost anything he suggested so great was his confidence that a road to literary could be out over that path would not undertake the work for the sake of pecuniary compensation but the thing could be presented to him in quite another light in miss s story there were living breathing men and women in his own there were beautifully drawn he a black could be made to see that the study of the young lady s method was worth his while and then mr s shoes lay on the floor in the disorder of a bachelor who had never in his life taken pains to put anything in the place where it really belonged he took out the of his shirt pulled that garment over his head and then sat for some minutes wrapped in active thought they must be introduced to each other he exclaimed at last between them they have every for success apart they are like the separated wheels of a watch there is with a style so sweetly subtle a grace so perfect every line a and with it all not a sign of human emotion there is full of plot and daring and breathing characters and bold and no more able to write good english than an i have both these interesting persons on my hands and i must combine them for their mutual good i wonder what will say when i my plan perhaps i had best not tell him he actually came near threatening to day to send a line to miss warning her against me he wouldn t have done it though has a bark that is worse than his bite by a great deal yes i ll bring these young folks together i ll take them as does the and press them gently but firmly into one and then sha n t we get a combination and won t mr himself when the product of their joint endeavor comes to him for a reading with the finished and his night robes but it was a long time before he felt like slumber he could think of nothing but his scheme as he it over in his mind it took many new forms at first was to be asked to the story that miss had offered and afterwards there must be an entirely new novel conceived together and worked out slowly using the best of what was brightest in both of them the last mr had before he into contained two novels worked out at the same time was all right if he could only get a glimpse of into his work miss would have no trouble if her ideas could find a garb that suited them there would be a way to make them of service to each other and the time to cross a bridge is always when you come to it so thought as he fell asleep in the morning he laughed to think of the description he had given to in his way of the perfect woman it was a faithful list of miss s charms so far as they were apparent to him had noted them down with great and would be to notice how fully the met the ideal he now had in mind it only remained for the to say something to miss that would suggest to her whenever they were made acquainted it must be plain to the reader that mr s principal intention in this whole matter was to dispose of the which idleness brings to its most a black he had a fair fortune accumulated by a father who had denied himself every luxury to it drifting to new york he had found the vicinity of the house very agreeable arid his companions with the exception of mr were of about as light views of life as himself the critic was one of those strange exceptions with which most of us come in contact where persons of entirely opposite tastes and inclinations become attached friends breakfast was served so late to mr that he had not finished that when the young made his appearance himself on the side of the table that faced his friend mr responded to the latter s inquiries in regard to his health by saying that he was quite well indeed he looked it his eye

was bright his cheek rosy his attire showed just enough of a quality to be attractive there was an air about him such as is often associated with an artist of the pencil and brush never better in health he said but very anxious to begin something definite in the way of work mr smiled his most smile what did i tell you to do first he asked to fall in love which you have not yet done the young man shook his head good heavens and you have lost more than a week i with colored more than ever isn t there something else that i could begin on he asked humbly i don t know of anything love is the of the you d best go straight aren t there any eligible young women at your lodging house the younger man thought a moment no only the mr his coffee with a wise expression it may come to that he said putting down the cup but we ll hope not we will hope not what s the matter with central park there are five hundred nice girls there every afternoon but i don t know them said desperately and i have been there yesterday one of them looked at me and smiled i walked toward her and she her speed when i came within a few feet she almost stopped then i could think of nothing to say to her and i walked on looking in ths other direction several in the vicinity turned their heads to note the couple at the table from which a laugh that could be heard all over the room came why didn t you say good morning yes and she might have said good morning and then it would be my turn and what could i have done mr folded up his and laid it by his plate you coward he replied you could a black have done a thousand things you could have remarked that the day was fair or that you wondered if it would rain and you could have asked her to stroll over to a and take a little refreshment once opposite to her the rest would have come fast enough the took out a handkerchief and wiped the perspiration from his forehead it all seemed very easy the way described it but he was sure it would be very different in practice how could he know he demanded that the young lady would go to the with him she might have declined and then he would have been in a worse position than ever declined echoed declined a lunch declined ice cream declined champagne well you are ignorant of the sex my dear boy it is evident that shall have to introduce you to the leading lady of your company and if you will be patient for a very few days i hope to be able to do so rousing himself with a show of genuine interest inquired for further particulars listen replied the other i expect to morrow evening to spend a few hours in the company of one of the most charming members of her sex she like you has an ambition to become a successful writer like you also she some of the prime qualities that are needed for that end it happens however that the things wanting are entirely different in each of your cases that you will if you choose be able to and perfect each other with e i shall tell her that i know a young man of literary taste who will give her advice on the points in which she is deficient with such an opening you will be at once on easy street and if you cannot fall in love within forty eight hours i shall regard you as a case too hopeless to merit further attention at my hands the young man s cheek glowed with pleasure that is more like it he said when do you think i shall be able to meet this young lady within a week or two at the latest i must sound her before i trust you with her for she is nearly as much a stranger to me so far as to you of course there is no objection quite the contrary to your falling in love elsewhere in the meantime if opportunity serves at this moment mr called his companion s attention to a rather gentleman who had just entered the breakfast room and was stopping near the door to hold a brief conversation with some one he had met there you see that fellow he remarked wait a minute and i will get him over here if you ever want to put a real character into one of your stories you will only need to take his photograph in actual life he is as dull as a rusty meat axe but for literary purposes he would be a catching the eye of the person of whom he was speaking mr to him to come to his part of the room and as he approached arranged a chair for him m mr i want to present a young friend of a black mine to you said rising mr mr mr went through the usual ceremony announcing that he was most happy etc in the style that a million other men follow every day then he took the chair that was offered him and gave an order for his breakfast to a waiter are you a new mr he asked when this important matter was disposed of mr is staying here for the present explained mr he is a by profession and i tell him there is no better place to study the than this vicinity the young man s color deepened he doubted if it was right to introduce the subject in exactly these terms mr next question did not from his uneasiness excuse me i am not altogether

up in current literature and i must ask what mr has written mr helped his young friend out of this as well as he could he has written nothing as yet at least nothing that has been printed he said he is wise i think in laying a deep foundation for his instead of rushing into print with the first thoughts that enter his head as so many do to their own subsequent regret and the distress of their readers i want him to meet men and women who have known what life is by their own experiences you ought to be worth something to a bright writer you have had many an adventure in your day th mr shrugged his in my day yes he assented enough to fill the and and leave enough for and the american news company but that is nothing but history now my day is over and it will never return he paused and ran his right hand across his in the vicinity of the waist band though he knew perfectly what mr referred to wanted him to express it in his own words to you wouldn t think continued mr after a pause which seemed filled with strange emotions that my figure was once the admiration of every lady who saw it that they used to stop and gaze at me with eyes of positive envy and now look at this he indicated his again and shook his head it is simply he continued as neither of the others thought best to interrupt him when i was twenty four i had a reputation that was as wide as the continent when i walked down you would have supposed a procession was passing the crowds gathered in such numbers if it was mentioned that i would spend a week at or the hotels had not a room to spare while i remained the next year i married and as one of the fashion journals put it two thousand women went into mourning for a i myself entirely to my wife and to business i made some money and kept out of the public eye then my wife died and i retired from the firm with which i had been connected the next twelve months dragged terribly i did not know what to do finally i decided that there was but one course open to me i must resume again the position i had as a leader of fashion mr bowed as if to say that this was a very natural and conclusion precisely as if he had not heard the story told in the same way a dozen times before he was watching s interested expression and had difficulty in an inclination to laugh aloud i sought out the best tailor in the city continued mr i went to the most fashionable hair i spent considerable time in selecting hats and gloves when all was ready i took a stroll as i had done in the old days from street down fifth avenue and to union square i met a few acquaintances who stared at me slightly but did not act in the least impressed the women merely glanced up and glanced away again what was the matter i went home and took a long survey of myself in the mirror a glass that showed me from crown to toe my costume was perfect there was not a in my face this was several years ago remember there was not a gray hair in my head then there are a few now admit what is it y i asked myself a hundred times as i stood there out the cursed problem mr tie was all right my shirt front of the latest cut my watch chain with straight from s my ah i saw it all in a moment who did not see it even yet wore such an astonished expression that mr had to stuff his into his mouth to prevent an explosion it was this devilish said mr that portion of his frame as if he had a special grudge against it and would be glad if he could hit it hard enough to bring it to a sense of its my figure had gone to the devil it was not as large as it is now but it was large enough to cook my my waist had increased so gradually that i had never noticed it i got a and took its measure forty two inches sir the was up with a heart as young as ever with a face as good and a purse able to supply all reasonable demands i was knocked out of the race on the first round by this that no ingenuity could hope to conceal mr could wait no longer his musical laugh rang out over the room let this be a warning to you he said to wear it is no joke was the ind comment of mr as he proceeded to add to his by devouring the hearty breakfast that the waiter had just brought him i am left like a sailor on the sea of life the only occupation that could have entertained me is gone it is no time to enter business again i couldn t have selected a wiser one to leave it i don t want to marry once was enough of that the only women i can attract are v a black those inclined females that any other man could have as well as i what is the result my life is ruined i take no pleasure in anything i eat walk about go to a play sleep a pig could do as much and a pig would not have these memories to haunt him these recollections of a time so different that i am almost driven wild felt a sincere pity for the unfortunate gentleman and did not see the slightest element of humor in his melancholy

you said the negro in his pleasant and strong tones let me take your hat and stick now sir this way t miss came tn a few the parlor where was left and greeted him most cordially there is a sitting room on the next floor she said where we shall not be disturbed i have given orders to admit no one saying that we shall want the evening entirely to ourselves repeated the visitor is that the name of the remarkable individual who received me just now yes said miss rather coldly though i do not know why you call him remarkable he is so tall so grand so entirely overpowering explained mr one would think he might be the son of an african king i never saw a black man that gave me such an impression of force and power elevated her eyebrows a little as it annoyed at these expressions she answered still rigidly that she had noticed nothing unusual about kiss she did not believe she had looked closely enough at his face to be able to identify him in a court he would make a fine character for a novel said mr as they walked together up the broad staircase i could almost write one myself around such a personality the young lady looked disgusted a negro servant she exclaimed what kind of a novel could you write with such a central figure perhaps i should not put him in the centre laughed determined to win her good nature every story needs lights and shades you can t deny that he would cast a magnificent shadow the humor of this observation struck miss and she joined mildly in her companion s mirth then she remarked that the central figure of a novel the main in it to her mind should be a being who could be given the attributes of beauty and grace the minor characters were of less account and would come into existence almost of their own accord and now before we do anything more she said i want you to tell me about that excessively handsome young man that i saw with you yesterday in square was delighted at this introduction of his young friend he began a most flattering account of describing him as a genuine among men both in talent and goodness he drew heavily on his imagination as he proceeded a black j feeling that he was in for it and might as well do his best at once and he could see the cheek of the young listener taking on a new and more color as he went farther and farther into his sub if i have to my novel the one mr rejected i shall draw my hero after that model she cried when he paused for breath i never saw a man who came so near my ideal but you would have to alter your hero s character in that case he said i have read your and your description does not with my young friend at all miss you don t mean to claim do you she replied that physical beauty and moral goodness always go hand in hand they should he answered in a tone that was meant to be impressive ah that is another question do they that is all the needs to know did you ever read s there are the two sisters one as pure as can be the other quite the opposite and the beauty belongs to the one i know takes a different view in grey but he is wrong i am sure that the worst man or woman in the world reckoning by what are called the amiable vices might be the most lovely to look upon the most delightful to associate with eve found the serpent attractive remember where did she learn all these things looked studying miss at her with increasing astonishment amiable vices he liked the perhaps you are right he assented as if slowly convinced if you wish to be acquainted with mr i will bring him here with pleasure my only fear is that he will not interest you he seems almost too perfect for earth think of a young man who knows nothing of women who says he has no idea what it is to be in love who does not understand why the ladies who pass down fifth avenue turn their heads to look at him he like yourself is a but his characters are beautiful images that lack life he marble figures and attempts to palm them off as flesh and blood he really thinks they are because he has never known the difference if you could take him miss and teach him what love really is the young lady blushed more than before she stammered in a strictly literary way he explained but he added thinking he was getting upon the edge of a we must not forget the object of my visit he took the parcel containing her that he had obtained from mr and began to the string he soon had it in a hard knot and miss to his rescue her young hands touched his and made his heart beat faster there she said when the knot had given way to their joint it is all right now but before we begin on this tell me a little more about mr what has he written where was it a tis published i will send to morrow morning and buy a copy her enthusiasm was agreeable under the circumstances but the truth had to be explained to her what he has written i will let you see one of these days he replied as for he ran upon the same rock that you did that of mr the beautiful eyes opened wider so he rejected his work too and yet you say that it was well done exquisitely s lines are as as his face and figure

his people are dead that is all the trouble scented the difficulty under which he labors in a moment go and fall in love he said to him and you will write a story at which the world will marvel miss arranged one of her locks of red that had fallen down and hasn t he taken the advice she inquired in a low voice not yet smiled the other he says like a very child that he cannot find any one to love i walked up the avenue with him to day and afterwards rode in the park there were hundreds of the prettiest creatures all looking their eyes out at him and he hadn t the courage to return one glance not one ah miss it will be genuine love with if any the one finds in the fashionable world will never answer for him the young lady breathed a gentle sigh as her studying mi thoughts dwelt on the handsome figure she had seen in front of the house you may bring him here yes i should be glad to have you she said slowly but i must ask one favor do not tell him what i said so about his being my ideal let me talk with him on fair terms it may be as you suggest that we shall be of advantage to each other when can you arrange it almost any day smiled i will let you know by mail or otherwise and now this story of yours he added thinking it a shrewd plan to divert her attention from the other matter while it was still warm in her mind though i have read it through and think i understand it fairly well i am all the more anxious to hear it from your lips you will put into the text new i have no doubt that have escaped my observation miss flushed pleasantly and inquired with a show of anxiety whether mr had found its construction as bad as his friend mr had intimated to be perfectly honest it might be improved he replied but the is there miss that necessary thing for a good novel an interest that will hold the reader in spite of himself i with in his essential point i am sure that a good writer of english with a taste for fiction could make all the necessary alterations without in the least from the value of the story for instance i believe if mr would fc jl black take hold of it i could to get you a this winter and do you think he would she cried i think so the was so delighted with this announcement that she conquered the slight wound to pride it would be herself still who had drawn the picture who had put the into it all that the other would have to do might be described as she took up the first sheet of her writing and turned up an oil lamp that stood upon the table at her elbow the better to see the lines are you ready she asked quite ready smiled mr in a voice that trembled a little and yet not to the listener miss began to read her manuscript the opening chapter introduced the heroine and two gentlemen either one of whom might be the hero as the book is now so well known it is needless to transfer its features to these pages presently the paused and seemed to wait for her guest s criticism that is one chapter she said yes i remember and the second one is where begins to disclose a very little of his true nature shall we not have that now as you like i thought perhaps you would give me advice as we proceeded some fault finding here and there a suggestion of alterations he shook his head not yet he answered up to this point i see nothing that requires condemnation miss m nor praise perhaps she said in a low tone that might be true also he replied the first chapter of a novel is only the laying of the cloth and the placing of a few dishes the that form the meal are still in the kitchen she smiled at the but even the laying of the cloth is important she said your cloth is laid most admirably he answered and now we will have the which in this case i believe contains a certain quantity of and red at this she laughed the more and glanced through a few of the sheets in her hands before she spoke again did you form any opinion about about me from this story she asked did you in brief think it had taken a bold girl to write it he hesitated a moment yes he said at last a bold girl a daring girl a brave girl not one however whose own conduct would necessarily be like that of the woman she has she was so pleased that she put down the and leaned toward him with both hands clasped together you are very very kind she said no merely truthful he replied with your permission i want to retain that last quality in all my conversations with you when you ask me a a black question i wish to be perfectly free to answer ac to my honest convictions it is what i especially desire she said brightening no one able to judge has heard anything of this story except your friend mr i know it is bold sometimes i think it is brazen i can cot that there are excellent people who would say it never should have been written to my mind the moral i have drawn more than the of my speech you can tell better than i where i have the proper bounds if there be such places you are of course a man of the world the protesting expression on the

face of her companion arrested her at this point that depends on what you mean by a man of the world it is a common expression and has many before i plead guilty to it i want to know just how much you intend by it miss put down the page she had taken up and a puzzled look crossed her pretty face you make it hard for me to explain myself she said i suppose i meant now be as honest as you asked me to be he interrupted well then i suppose you are a like like other men but there are many kinds of other men the young lady tried several times to make clearer and then asked with a very pathetic that she might be permitted to proceed with her reading as the hour was growing later it was not a very important point any way she said i cannot entirely agree with you replied if you are to be a writer of fiction you should not consider any time wasted which you in reference to your fellow creatures it is from them that you must draw your inspiration it is their figures you must put correctly or on your canvas don t understand me as to you my dear miss i only wish as long as you have referred to me to know of what am accused to this miss answered with many pauses that she had not intended to accuse her visitor of anything and once more with evident distress she begged to be permitted to drop the matter and return to her reading very well he assented thinking he had annoyed her as much as was advisable for the present as they say in bodies we will lay the question on the table from which it can be taken at some more fitting time i am as anxious as you can be to get into chapter ii she read this chapter to the end and paused a few seconds to see if he had any comments to make but he shook his head without breaking silence and she went on with the story he pursued the same plan till the end of the fifth chapter it is interesting exciting and true he remarked referring to the closing scene and i cannot help feeling arise in my brain the question that mr put when he read it how could a young a black innocent girl like you that situation with such absolute fidelity he had come to the point with a vengeance but to miss his manner was far more agreeable than if he had approached it by or in an way she had anticipated something of the sort and had tried to prepare herself to meet it does not nature teach us some things she asked speaking though her color heightened in spite of her efforts given a certain condition an intelligent mind can results he shook his head in mild with her is an expert and he this as a regular rule at least you should have heard him argue it with either throw yourself into a love affair he said or never try to one excuse me miss you bade me be frank she assented with a grave nod of her head you may have been in love i do not ask you whether you have or not but you cannot have known personally of the sort of love that you have depicted in these pages i call it little less than miraculous that you should draw the scene so accurately she colored again this time partly with pleasure for she was very susceptible to compliments perhaps your statement may explain to you she said what i meant a few minutes ago by calling you a man of the world you studying miss recognize at a glance what i had to from my imagination s face changed as he realized how he had been caught he had meant to pretend to this girl that he was more than usually ignorant of the side of life don t think too badly of me because i happen to know what is clear to every man he said to every one she answered to your friend mr ah he is an exception to all rules and yet says he can never write a successful book till he is more with life than he is at present she looked troubled with life she echoed with sin do you mean with the ordinary things that men know and most of them at some time experience her bright eyes were temporarily clouded what a pity she exclaimed yes he said for it was his humor to agree with it is a pity there was a pause of a minute and then she asked if she had read enough for one evening he answered that as it was now past ten o clock it would not be easy to get much farther and that he would come again whenever she chose to set the time you do not say much about my work she said anxiously as he prepared to go silence is approval he responded i can talk t a black s it over with you better when you have reached the end i have things to say and i shall not hesitate to say them then when is it most convenient to you to come she inquired any time he answered i don t do much that is really useful but wait till you see he will for the you find in me she repeated the word as if to test its sound you are your father s only child are you not he asked thoughtfully no i have a sister a little younger than i and has she a literary turn also not in the least arose and miss accompanied him to the front door the tall negro came to open the but miss told

him with the same quality of dislike n her tone which had noticed before that he ne d not wait he is really a magnificent piece of humanity said when the man had disappeared i never saw anything quite like him you admire then said the young lady almost i like representatives of every race he answered as if not noticing her there are interesting specimens in all i number among my acquaintances several a a jews and innumerable if that fellow how women stars i was not in your employ i would engage him to morrow merely as a study miss took the hand he held out to her and set the next meeting for saturday evening then she said if you want perhaps papa would oblige you i certainly would do all i could to persuade him chapter vi how the women the next day with he wanted to talk with his friend about the young author and listened with interest to the story he had to relate and nodded approval when it appeared that had behaved admirably thus far in relation to miss do you know anything about mr he asked when the other had reached a period nothing well neither did i a week ago but i have taken pains to inform myself he is a highly respectable elderly party who in wool he married a very beautiful lady who has now been dead eight or ten years and he lives altogether in the society of his two daughters if you succeed in getting s book on the you will earn his everlasting a black gratitude they say he is not literary enough himself to be a judge of its merits and if she has fifty copies to present to the family friends it will probably be all he will ask mr uttered a low whistle i don t know what the family friends will say of it he replied but i call it pretty warm stuff if the list many they will hardly thank the girl for sending such a into their houses said the world is getting used to that sort of thing and they won t mind it a bit besides they will be so lost in admiration of their cousin s name on the cover that they will think of nothing else what did you make out of her is she as innocent as i predicted poured out a glass of bass ale and it slowly quite he said as he put it down on the table and she s no either he went on to tell of the trap he had fallen into i m dying with impatience to get her and together they d make an couple mr inquired what he was waiting for oh i want to do the thing right said i want to learn her as thoroughly as i can before i bring him upon the stage it will take three or four evenings more to hear the rest of her novel and another to discuss it i shall get around to him in about a fortnight at the rate things are going he will keep what do you suppose he is doing now how the women stake writing poetry he sent a piece a few days ago to the century and they accepted it he will be gray when it appears said the critic it takes a long time for anything to see the light in that publication but in this case an exception will be made said they have assured him that it will come out in their very next issue he will be so proud to see his name in print that i expect to find difficulty in holding him back a poet who appears in the century has certainly stepped a little higher on the ladder the critic agreed to this and remarked that such a man as should give his whole attention to poetry wait cried give him time see him after he has fallen head over ears in love with charming there is something in him i feel sure and between that dear girl and myself we will bring it out by the way there is a character i want you to meet he added as mr came into the room you have never had the pleasure i think though you have heard me speak of him mr had his attention attracted by a waiter who was sent for the purpose and came with great to occupy a seat with mr and his friend we were talking of a new york merchant just now said when the were over and it occurs to me that you who know almost everybody may have some knowledge of him he is in the wool business i hear and i think you once told me you had done something in that way his name is and he lives at do i know anything about him echoed mr i should say so he was my partner for seven years and i still have a little stake left in the concern on which i am drawing interest mr showed his astonishment at this statement what a very small world it was after all then after his friend not to mention that he had ever discussed the matter with him he went into the particulars of miss s book and of his having called at the house for the purpose of passing judgment upon it i didn t know that was in your line replied well it was this way answered mr s decision didn t exactly suit the young lady as it was not very favorable mine will be quite to her taste as i view her abilities in a more favorable light now tell us all about the family as the only one of them i have met is miss why this is a regular find old man you should have told me a week ago

that you possessed all this information that i have been aching to get hold of thus mr entered upon his story from which it appeared that he knew the root and branch and had dined with them of times what sort of a chap is the asked a very well kept man of with a bow great deal of what is called breeding in his manner and a face like the portrait of a french cut out of a century frame he doesn t look like a business man at all and between ourselves he s not much of a one all the money he ever made saving my apparent was when i was in the concern i ve heard he s got a big on his residence and is going down hill generally too bad nice fellow sorry for him such is life asked if would do him a and particular favor if it would not cause him much trouble and on being answered in the affirmative said he would esteem it a great honor if he could be introduced to mr by that gentleman s former business associate i suppose i shall run across him at some evening he said and get one of those that are the most things in the world i don t want that to happen and the best way to use an elegant phrase is to take the bull by the horns or in this case the sheep by the tail will you make an accidental call on him to morrow afternoon and let me be of the party mr responded that he would be delighted and this matter being settled all parties could give more direct attention to their lunch than they had been doing for the preceding ten minutes you must have heard of my friend in the days when he was a figure on the streets of this town said presently returning to what he knew was the favorite subject of that personage a you ve lived here for twenty years and of course the name of is familiar to you mr looked a good of complete for some seconds and then a gleam as of sudden recollection shot across his face certainly certainly he said mr was what is known as a lady if i am not mistaken you got married did you not mr some ten or eleven years ago the party addressed acknowledged the practical of the date why it comes back as plain as day said the critic a the had a page about you including your portrait and some verses by a well known poet it said your marriage had cast a gloom over island and some of the up river mr gloomily nodded to show that the statement was true then he touched his most portion with a significant look i m a now he said and nothing but this this stands in my way as shakespeare says tis not as deep as a well nor as wide as a church door but the ladies never look at me now and all on account of this d d flesh which hangs like a around my neck s critic the peculiar character of the used remarked politely that he thought no lady of sense would put great stress on such an insignificant matter insignificant echoed i ll bet it s boat thb stake i fifty inches around come and it s not the ladies of sense i m after quite the contrary one of s laughs followed this statement which caused an expression of mild injury to settle over the countenance of mr you re getting on toward forty and you ought to quit said confound the women i let them go that s well enough to talk about replied how would you like to follow your own advice t uttered an exclamation i i have precious little to do with them i assure you for a man of my correct habits i have the worst name of any one i know everybody things about me and they can prove nothing we ll ask about that sneered by the way that wouldn t be a bad place to take young to when you get to him in earnest i met the young fellow on the avenue last night and walked around with him for a couple of hours he s a darling cried both the other gentlemen in one breath to be sure how the women stared at him i couldn t blame them his waist isn t over thirty and he s as handsome as as i was at his age i told him he could have all the loveliness in new york at his feet if he liked smiled significantly at what did he reply to that he asked a black oh he had an ideal in his head and none of those we saw quite came up to it for i did get him to raise his eyes and look at the prettiest ones i drew out of him slowly that he would have nothing to do with a girl unless she had red hair that mr uttered a laugh so hearty that it attracted the attention of everybody in the room mr paused to inquire the cause of this outbreak but assured him that something entirely out of the present discussion had just occurred to him which was to blame for his a girl must have hair repeated mr accepting the explanation or he would not consider her he ruled out all the striking and saying that he liked only those of a medium shade we came across one that answered these descriptions an exquisite little creature who looked as if she would swallow him could she get the chance and then there came out another idea he would not think of this fairy because she was so short i want a woman five feet four inches tall he said as

if the article could be made to order in case the size did not happen to be in stock then would you believe it he found a girl embracing every attribute he had mentioned her hair was just the right shade her height must have hit the mark exactly her complexion was medium but no she was too heavy she would weigh a hundred and forty five he said quite twenty pounds too much if we had found a girl that filled all his description he would have invented something new to bar her out of the race bow ib mr remarked that he was not so sure of s he believed the right would yet be discovered and that a case of the most intense affection would then develop in fact he added i have the identical creature in mind it is clear to us to myself and mr here that will never write a thrilling romance till he has fallen wildly passionately in love mr smiled slightly and then again shall you have him marry also he inquired why not r because it will finish him that s why the romance in a modern marriage lasts six weeks at the end of that time he will be useless for literary purposes or anything else mr shook his head in opposition to this rash statement my theory is said he that a should know everything to write of love he should have been in love to tell of marriage he should have had a wife a real one no mere imitation to talk of he should become a father how can he know his subjects otherwise the stout man smiled significantly and if he wishes to write of murder he must kill some one and if he wants to the sensations of a robber he must take a pistol and ask people to stand on the highway now you are becoming absurd said ss a black no more than you said you go too far and you will find it out let your fall in love that will do him good but don t let him marry or you will lose him mark my word let him contemplate matrimony at a distance let him reflect on the glory of seeing his children about his knees so far so good but when you have him with a wife of the present era when you have kept him up nights for a month with a baby that screams his literary capacity will be gone make no mistake mr half convinced and much surprised to hear such wisdom from this unexpected source made an effort to maintain his ground nearly all the modern are married he remarked yes and nice stuff they write don t they silly stories in every line they are the most on the shores of human life they start without exception from false premises their is wrong their compass their reckoning ridiculous from beginning to end where did you ever see a bit of real life that resembled these do lovers usually fall on their knees when they propose is the modern girl an idiot knowing less of the facts of nature than an is the conversation between men and women filled exclusively with you would think so from reading these books and why they are written by married people most of them people who don t dare step over the line of the commonplace any more than a woman how the women stake f would dare order her to put pockets in her gown looked at mr who nodded a partial approval of these statements mr himself with more interest to his and the other two gentlemen remarking that time pressed bade him good by for the day i see you agree with him that i shouldn t marry said with a rising there is certainly point in what he says replied mr but confound it with the boy s disposition it will be a delicate business retorted i don t know as i can carry him to the point of passionate love for pretty miss and then shut off the steam when it suits me this matter was discussed for the next ten minutes as the friends walked along toward the office of i think you are foolish to delay so long introducing him to her said finally i don t see that you are making any progress whatever ah but i am replied i am making both of them more and more anxious for the meeting walks the street impatient and i have no doubt her name in his dreams talks about her ideal of manly beauty when they get together failure will be impossible mr laughed at the idea that was impatient to meet any girl and ventured to that the young man would have to be put in irons to get him to the residence of the when the time came or at least to keep him there just the point i am working on replied under ordinary circumstances i would have to his wrists to mine but i am making such a strong impression on his imagination that he is crazy to go and once she gets him under influence i tell you she is no ordinary girl she certainly does not write like one smiled the critic either in her subject or her english you may make something of him i rather think you will but not of her her ideas are wild and her a little too pronounced even for the present age she has truth on her side you admit said yes to a remarkable degree well that ought to be something if estimate of the modern liar is correct will help her to style give her his own if necessary i am going to land both of these fish if only to spite you you tossed them away with that fine contempt of yours and you will weep

hot tears for it before you die at the door of s they met the two members of that firm who paused to say a word to mr they were anxious for a new book to bring out as soon as possible and were with him that nothing worth seemed to present you strain matters if necessary said mr m i we can t keep up on i hope you made no mistake in that book of mrs i hear it is selling well mr s face was as ever immovable before his what fire and he inquired the authorities seized the entire edition this morning mr looked at mr with a startled expression in that case i am glad we escaped it he said we shouldn t like that sort of an affair of course mr who knew both the gentlemen well inquired what they thought of mrs s production i have never sen it said mr nor i said mr the partners disappeared into the counting room where they had an interview with a who had offered to do their work at one tenth of a cent a hundred copies less than the concern with which they were then dealing said good by to and went off to find with whom he had engaged to take later in the day a ride through the park how soon am i to see your sighed the young man as they were making the grand round of that famous drive within a week i hope are you getting uneasy i am getting was the gloomy reply and i want to begin work well it will soon pass now to morrow evening a i am to hear another of her novel two more after that will finish it i should say and the next thing will be you but have you seen no one else in all this time that you care for the young man looked at the clouds that hung low on the horizon no he answered and you think you are ready for a passionate affection if the right person is found i will try he said simply mr roused himself and touched his horse with the whip try he echoed you will not have to try she will carry you off your feet at the first go i have found you a superb woman that you must love all i want to feel sure of is that you can control yourself enough to behave in a reasonable manner looked up she belongs to an eminently respectable family explained her father is a gentleman of the most honorable type she has a young sister who slow at all times had at last begun to comprehend you surely don t think he began ah that is the question a must learn so very much a who is to the you are to do where should he stop what experience should he refuse provided it may be in his work a responsibility that is no light one will rest on me my dear boy when i have a dinner at introduced you to this family and left you to your own devices s eyes opened wider at these mysterious suggestions but he did not like to make any more inquiries changed the conversation calling attention to the women they met who turned their handsome heads to look at the young man as their almost touched his what an awfully wide you are cutting was s exclamation as the throng increased chapter vii a dinner at true to his appointment met mr on the following afternoon and set out with him for s office though engaged as has been already stated in the wool trade mr did not have on the premises to which these repaired a very large of that product his were in another part of the city and all the wool that was visible to his customers was arranged in lots that would easily have gone into a barrel mr notwithstanding the description that had given of his ex partner was not prepared to see such an exceedingly fine specimen of humanity as the one introduced to him black the word gentleman was written in large characters on his broad forehead and in every word he spoke it certainly was not often said to himself that one encountered that sort of man in business i have already heard something of you sir said mr but with the dignity that was a part of his nature no more to be discarded than his eyes that is if you are the same gentleman that has kindly offered to assist my daughter in arranging a story she has written mr admitted the of the supposition but any special credit for what he had done he explained briefly how he was drawn into the case the visit lasted upwards of an hour during which the conversation wandered from literature to business and politics and all sorts of things mr could not tell from mr s manner of alluding to his daughter s work whether he had a very high idea of its value or not indeed there was very little to be learned from this grave gentleman that was not expressed in the language he used he was inclined thought to for when there was a lull in the conversation it was always one of the others who had to start it going the thing that might be counted a substantial gain out of the whole affair was an invitation to dinner for the following wednesday in which mr was included and mr also before the wednesday set for the formal dinner at the mr had heard the whole of miss s novel read by the lips of that charming woman there was certainly something very at strong in it in spite of its faults it would be a very good story when dr had put it into a little better english the

meeting between and was most interesting to the one who had been the means of bringing them together the girl put out her hand with a straightforward motion of welcome and it was accepted with something resembling timidity by the young man who did not even raise his eyes to hers the talk that followed was nearly all her own s part in it being largely replies to her statements and suggestions when miss was presented to both the gentlemen for the first time mr she very well she drew their attention for a few moments from her sister but soon into the more insignificant place which she seemed to prefer she was not as large in any way as and did not seem likely to become so her hair was of a soft shade of light brown and her eyes a decided blue in the presence of her sister she did not expect to shine and was evidently relieved when she could go into a corner and talk over times long past with mr came in rather late but still before the hour announced for dinner he had his habitual look of quiet elegance but withal an expression of care about his face that attributed to the business troubles of which had spoken the manner of the daughters toward him was marked by the watchful eyes of the chief looked up and said papa this it mr rom a black leaf of whom we have spoken and then when the greetings that followed were exchanged went on talking with those about her as if there had been no interruption on the other hand crept softly to her father s side and putting an arm around his neck kissed him when she thought no one observed her you arc tired papa she whispered no no he said brightening i am very well it was at the table that mr had his first conversation with and the two men got along nicely together himself who saw everything noticed that the negro in the service in the dining room lingered more about miss s chair than any other and took extra pains to see that her wants were anticipated in spite of this however mr frequently asked his younger daughter to have more of certain dishes as if his mind was constantly turned in that direction how long do you think it will require to do the work you have so generously undertaken asked mr of when the was reached it is impossible to say stammered the young man some weeks at least so i supposed said mr that being the case i wish to tender you the hospitality of my home it would be a great deal of trouble for you to come every day from the city and i know we could make you comfortable here a dinner at was about to decline the offer with thanks when mr spoke to him in a low tone take it by all means he said it s a chance in a lifetime you know nothing of family life don t dream of refusing the delay allowed miss to add her request to that of her father and fearing to let his answer mr boldly spoke for him it is a good idea he said he will have his baggage brought up to morrow there s nothing like being on the ground when there s work to be done and with the general permission i am going to run out pretty often myself to see how things progress the bright off hand way of the last speaker seemed to please mr for he heartily this suggestion when the table was mr asked if he might be excused for a few minutes while he wrote a couple of important letters and requested to show the guests through the grounds where they could smoke their cigars till he returned accordingly and accompanied their new guide out of doors and across an extensive lawn to an at the further end where a handsome prospect of the unfolded itself as was wishing for some way of getting rid of temporarily that gentleman an acquaintance in the adjacent road and went off to speak to him are you in love yet you dog asked as soon as he and his young friend were alone what a black you re not don t let an hour pass then you are the best of all is never put off till to morrow what you can do to day m how can i do this to day was the response how you help it you mean there she was at the table hair grey eyes lovely waist everything love could fall in love with that girl marry her get a divorce and commit suicide within forty eight hours even had to smile at this extravagant statement do you want me to do all of those things he asked only the first one at present if you can t do that give up all ideas of being a and secure a place in some factory or counting room everything is ready for you you are here nothing can come in your way oh don t me said he would do his best and the next day he came to prepared to spend a month or longer chapter viii holding her hand for the first three days gave most of his time to reading the that miss had written he could not say that he liked it exactly but that was not necessary to fill in the time he consented to let the girl read his own story that had rejected though he did this with having a dread that she would think it when she had finished it however her delight was unbounded it is lovely she exclaimed in response to his inquiring eyes i cannot see why they refused it i haven t been so interested in a story in years

when he had read her story through he began to it departing as little as possible from the original as soon as he had a chapter finished he would give it to her for comparison and criticism if she chose to make any she proved however a most charming critic her shafts falling mainly upon herself for she declared that her novel seemed unworthy of its elegant new dress she conceived a shyness toward this quiet youth and blushed when the striking situations and bold language of her came into the conversation it was so different from his own work it is too bold i am it it tha laid repeatedly i ought to begin again mr plot has too too a black much freedom too little people will say a very strange girl must have written it and he would tell her that he did not think so that the strength of her ideas was very great and that the public would find excuses enough for anything that interested and entertained it he even added that he wished he possessed her knowledge her insight into life her to tread on any ground that her subject made desirable between them they were doing very good work without doubt mr took some of the completed chapters to who returned them with a smile that spoke volumes would take the story when it was ready if the subsequent pages kept up to the mark of the first ones don t forget your own book said in a note he enclosed for mr was not backward in accepting the cordial invitation he had had to join the at dinner whenever he could make it convenient besides this he called frequently at the wool office and himself into mr s good graces in many ways within a fortnight he knew all there was to be known about wool in which he seemed to have conceived a great interest in his talks with he spoke on this subject referring to the foreign and domestic like one who had made the matter a life study what a queer thing trade is he exclaimed on one of these occasions here we find a man who ought to adorn an or a seat in and yet is obliged to guide his entire existence by the holding hand price of such a dull thing as the hair on a sheep s back he a certain political ticket on account of the attitude of the party on wool he off mutton and tongues he casts his lot with the sheep at church i don t know but he would feel a genuine pleasure in having wool pulled over his eyes and still i am convinced that he never ought to been in the wool business at all and that what a drop is right in his impression that it will eventually swamp him asked how mr got into the trade in the first place well as i understand it was looking for a partner mrs had some cash and her husband wanted to put it into a good thing from a financial they did well while they were together when pulled out they had a clear apiece confound him has his yet hasn t he s proud as the devil and didn t tell me this by any means it would break him up completely to have to go into really i wish i could do something for him looked up why i ve got a fair amount of money explained and perhaps a lift over these hard times might be the making of him i m not particularly a but i like this fellow wonderfully well for such a new acquaintance i shall give him a delicate hint in a day or two and if i can fix things without too much risk we have to protect ourselves you know i am willing to do so this struck as rather odd he had thought about mr in that way whether he was rich or poor had never entered his head he began to wonder if he was very wealthy he certainly lived well and had no visible occupation of the sort the call it is an interesting family though pursued in his rambling way i wish i could get into it as you did you rascal and observe it at shorter range even the servants are worth studying look at that who can say that the african race is inferior when it produces such i can hardly take my eyes off the black when he is present how he passes the soup as if it were some heavenly made by the gods themselves and sent to earth by their favorite messenger with what grace he opens the carriage door with what majesty he to his seat by the driver i wonder if he has a sister she would be worth a journey to see i have met such women on their native soil slender full square shouldered with of water on their heads and silver what a cursed thing is our american prejudice against color no other people carries it to such an extent in the latin quarter the west india are prime with the pretty m the young man could not help a slight shiver at this information he did not in the least agree with the sentiments his friend was advancing but neither did be think it wise to contradict him mt then there is the little one miss continued suddenly into that topic so quiet so self as if she would not for the world attract one glance that might be claimed by her elder sister who is perfectly willing to be a of attention a nice girl sweet as a fresh plucked lily there must be treasures hidden under all that still waters run deep the silent swine the milk i think i ought to investigate the child if you are to have that of

beauty known as what prevents me from securing a slight hold in the affections of the junior shook his head in a way that might have meant almost anything he never could tell how much in earnest his friend was when he took up a vein like this neither could he imagine little in the of an for such a very wise man as not only much her senior but a thousand times her superior in knowledge and acquaintance with things that people talk about keep your eye on her she will be worth watching said with one of his laughs at the sober face before him she is worth almost as much to a rising author as the negro not quite but nearly then there is the is there anything in him no he will be of no service to you and that brings us back to our superb with whom you must now be wildly shook his head again no not yet he said but what do you do all the time how can you f a black sit by the side of a pretty girl and kiss her cheeks and put your arm around her and yet keep from falling in love the younger man gasped at each of these suggestions like one who has stepped into icy water and feels it gradually creeping upward i have done none of those things he faltered none of them then i shall not let you stay here cried what does the girl expect that we are going to make her reputation in the literary world and get nothing for ourselves i never heard such she refuses to give you the least opportunity does she the more and more confused grew the other at these expressions you don t understand you are quite in error he she she has refused me nothing because because i have asked nothing mr uttered a groan but this will not do my dear fellow he said how can you accomplish anything unless you make a beginning the story that she has written will not advance you one step on the path you profess such anxiety to tread that is only an excuse a make believe a pretence under which you have been given quarters in this house and allowed every chance in creation to learn your lesson are you afraid of her or what is the matter does she you with her beauty tell me where your difficulty lies but could hardly answer these apparently simple questions he said he feared the trouble holding her hand might be in the formality of the situation how could mr expect he asked that a spontaneous case of love making would develop from such a condition of things stuff cried with a if you and she were members of a theatrical company and were cast as a pair of lovers you wouldn t find so many you would go ahead and repeat the lines of your part wouldn t you all you want is to do the same now but what are the lines of my part inquired the other take her hand once in yours and they will come to you retorted so much that regretted the severity of his tone and hastened to turn the conversation to something more agreeable he made up his mind however to have a talk with miss and at the first opportunity he did so it was on an afternoon when he knew was in the city and he came to the point at once after his own fashion how are you and my young friend getting along he asked her oh as well as possible she responded i am learning to like him more and more i really shall be sorry when his task is done mr shrugged his shoulders there s a bit of selfishness in your words miss he said have you forgotten that he is not here to be useful to you alone that you agreed to do what you could for him t as well i black the girl cast down her pretty eyes in confusion i am sure i have tried to be agreeable she replied gently that is not enough replied gravely what he needs is something some one to stir his blood to awaken his fancy i told you in the first place that you ought to make him fall in love with you for literary reasons he must feel a sensation stronger than mere friendship for a woman before he can write such a story as will bring him fame miss did not grow more comfortable under this suggestion she remarked after a long wait that she did not see how the end sought was to be accomplished love she said was not a mere expression it was a deep actual two people playing at love with each other might afterwards find that that they were with fire i have heard she continued her fair cheeks growing crimson that there are women then she paused and could go no further but he understood there are women thousands of them he admitted who would willingly do what i ask if it is necessary he must go to them she wanted to say that she hoped it would not come to that she wanted to convey to her companion the horror she felt for what she supposed his words implied but she could not it was so much easier to write of things than to talk of them to a man like him do you call it quite fair he asked to claim all and give nothing he does not require much could you not let him take your hand and and possibly touch your lips with his miss rose to her feet with a fierce gesture sir she exclaimed very well replied mr shortly turning away the girl resumed her seat with rapidly rising and falling bosom she was in a the

suggestion she had heard would have sounded from any other lips like a insult coming from this man the seemed to have vanished felt somewhat discouraged after his latest talk with he wanted to make a start to do something no matter how little toward the object he fully believed was to be attained that evening while walking with miss for it was their frequent habit to go out of doors he found himself unconsciously taking her hand that hand for which he had until now felt a genuine fright and she after all her resolutions never to permit anything of the sort gave it to him as they strolled together along an want so much to make a name he was saying fervently i have tried and tried to begin such a book as mr wants but i cannot won t you help me dear miss won t you show me what i lack i know you can if you will they tell me i have had no experiences and that i must have not a real affair you know but an of what it is like i have tried to say things to you and a black have been in fear that you would not like them and have held my peace but now i can wait no longer in his spoke at last with and even went so far as to attempt to put one of his arms around the waist of the fair creature by his side on her part miss was nearly overcome by surprise in one instant the timid young gentleman had changed into the of a most ardent but in the next he became again his natural self with the added confusion from his excited and state let me take you home he said when he saw that she could find no words even to him let me take you home and to morrow i will go away go away she did not like that idea her book was not yet finished for one thing and besides he was a nice young fellow and had meant no there is no reason why you should go she stammered i forgive you i am sure do you cried grasping her hand again in his joy you are kindness itself to say so i must appear very stupid here he half put his arm around her again checking himself with difficulty from the movement and dull and wanting in manners but you are the only young lady i have ever known on terms of the least intimacy miss replied that she did not mind what had occurred and hoped he would forget it she added holding her hand that she would do anything she could for him and had the most earnest wish that they should be friends at the gate they paused and in some way their eyes were looking into each other the girl laughed a relief to feelings that had been for the past ten minutes somewhat well you have made a beginning she said for she wanted to drive the sober expression from his clouded face a beginning he echoed yes she said you have held my hand he you said you would forgive me he murmured with all my heart she responded putting the hand in his again he felt a thrill go through him but it was a pleasant sensation i came very near putting my arm around you said he looking away from her do you forgive that too she took the hand away and struck him on the cheek with the palm of it then before he what she intended she ran brightly up the steps of the house and vanished a black chapter ix my darling it was s full intention to say something about this adventure to his in the art of love mr but somehow he was not able to summon the requisite courage he had a delicate sense that such a thing ought not to be repeated where it might by any possibility bring a laugh and about this time the s attention began to be attracted toward the younger sister who had till then almost entirely escaped his observation he noticed particularly the ceaseless devotion that the black servant of the family exhibited toward her she might have been a goddess and he a a queen and he her slave moved about the girl like her very shadow ready to anticipate her slightest wants while seemed to take this excess of attention as a matter of course constantly showed her dislike for the servant i don t see how you can endure to have him touch you she said to he knows better than to lay his hands on me i have told papa often that i want him discharged and he ought to consider my wishes a little to this answered that the boy as she persisted in calling the giant meant well and was certainly intelligent her father did not like to change mt servants for it took him a long time to get used t new ones so tossed her head returned to her with mr and things went on as usual began to take an interest in she did not run away from him and he discovered much to his surprise that she was worth talking to she was not exactly the child he had supposed and she had the full value of her eighteen years in her pretty head he got into the habit of taking short with her on evenings when was occupied with and when as often happened mr was away with in the city there was a nook at the far end of the lawn in which the pair found retreat before he realized it had developed a genuine liking for these and was pleased when the evenings came that brought mr to dinner was to a degree if surface indications counted for anything the

words that flowed from her red lips were as as the pretty attitudes she assumed or the exceedingly plain but very becoming dresses that she wore after she once got used to she treated him quite as if she had been five years his senior are you a rich man she asked him on one of those early autumn evenings that they passed together her manner was as simple as if she had said that it looked rain and his answer was hardly let a black no i have not much property but i intend to earn more by and by did you think because i seem so idle that i was a no she answered a shade of disappointment in her face i only wanted in case you had plenty of money to get you to lend me some he stared at her through the half light her features were turned in a direction that did not reveal them very well what did she want of money how much do you need he inquired wondering if it was within his power to oblige her oh too much i am afraid and i cannot answer any questions because the object i have is a secret i don t think my plan very for it might be years and years before i could pay it back you won t mind my speaking of it will you curiosity grew stronger and as politely as possible he renewed his question as to how much the girl needed to carry out her plan i don t know exactly she said thoughtfully perhaps a thousand dollars a year for five or six years it might take less it is a great deal he admitted does your father know what you contemplate the girl changed color at once oh no i should not like to have him either he would say it was very foolish and yet i am sure it would not be the money would do much ever so much the young man thought hard for a few moments a desire to see a brighter light flash into those my darling young eyes possessed him he seriously the idea of handing her his as he would have given her a pound of if she had wanted it i might give you part he said after a pa e perhaps your thousand for the first year or two she looked him full in the face and put both her hands in his you are too good she exclaimed with but you cannot afford so large a gift no i would only take it if you had a very large sum and could not possibly miss it i asked carelessly i should not have done so i was selfish to think of such a thing i want to speak to you about something also said after a strained pause i have noticed of late that your father has some trouble on his mind she started suddenly ah was all she said and i have wondered if there was anything i could do to to aid him to relieve him because i would like it very much if i could on account she looked up i have been so much a member of your family in a certain way that a grief like this appeals strongly to me he said she slightly as she repeated his words a grief well distress annoyance whatever it may be a black called if there is anything i can do i shall be more than happy the girl sat for some moments with her eyes on the ground he troubled she said finally i am glad to talk with you for i cannot get him to tell me anything he is greatly troubled and i am worried beyond expression i can t understand it he has always confided in me so thoroughly but now he shakes his head and says it is nothing trying to look brighter even when the tears are almost ready to fall what can it be mr he has no companions outside of his office and this house he sits by himself and isn t a bit like he used to be and every day i think he grows worse asked if had talked much with her sister about it no she said with a i don t believe has noticed anything she is so occupied with her literary matters there was a sarcastic touch upon the word that did not escape the listener she has no time for such things i hope you won t think i mean to her added the young girl with a blush i know you care a great deal for my sister and she stopped in the midst of the sentence leaving it unfinished and thought how interesting this girl had become u let me confide in you he said in his tone i do not care a great deal nor even a very little for your sister you see he went on in response to the startled look that greeted him i my v am to be a to be successful in writing fiction i have been told that i ought to be in love just once myself and i came here and tried very hard to fall in love with miss and i simply cannot s fresh young laugh rang out on the air of the evening poor man she cried with mock pity and hasn t she tried to help you no she hasn t and as soon as i get the work done i have commenced for her i am going away the child she was scarcely more than that grew but the shadows of the evening hid the fact from her companion you ought not to go she said slowly and rather faintly until you have made another trial oh it is useless he replied is it that you cannot love or that you cannot love

any one he hesitated puzzled himself at the question i never did love any one any woman he confessed and perhaps i never shall but your sister seems peculiarly hard to love yet she is a very handsome girl and equipped with a mind of unusual acknowledged this description of her sister s charms she remarked that it was strange that such a combination did not suffice to accomplish the desired result there are people who do find her entertaining she added mr is one of them a black oh said he finds everything entertaining it is nothing worth remarking she is the exact description of his ideal in feminine face and form he once gave me the list of the of a perfect woman and your sister has them all the younger miss had her own opinions about this matter she the innocent man at her side had not quite the interest that mr took in her family i will make a proposition she said with a light laugh when they had talked longer upon the subject i am afraid it won t seem worth much to you and perhaps you can do better but why can t you stay here and if won t do make love tow darkness is responsible for many things in the light could not have uttered those words even in jest there when the sun had set and the stars were not yet on duty she found the courage to make that suggestion you are very kind he stammered when he grasped her meaning but i do not think it will answer i am afraid love cannot be pushed to any point without its own a that is probably the case with real love replied the girl but an imitation that would serve your purpose might be in the way i have indicated for instance you could take my hand in yours like this and i could lean toward you in this way and then if you had sufficient courage da t my darling p before he dreamed of doing it it was done he had kissed her on her tempting lips placed within an inch of his own you are too good a scholar she rising to her feet in some confusion i did not give you leave to do that i beg your pardon most humbly he answered with intense may i assure you that the act was wholly involuntary and that i am very sorry for it she turned and surveyed him in the shadow are you sorry she repeated yes why because i have made you angry do i seem angry at least i have injured your feelings her face was close to his again well i forgive you there let us make up she raised herself on the tips of her toes and kissed him twice all the blood in this young man s body seemed to rush to his head and then back with violence to his heart he stammered but she sprang away as he tried to embrace her and standing two yards off cried that he did not know what love was and that no one could ever teach him taking up the challenge he started toward her she ran away he in pursuit she had gone but a few steps when she tripped over an a black object in the path and went down in trying to stop himself fell by her side he cried are you injured she did not answer in the darkness he saw her lying there so still that he was frightened he caught her passionately in his arms and knew no better way to bring her to than to rain kisses on her cheeks as might be expected this only served to her which was not a very genuine one if the truth must be told and it was some seconds before she opened her eyes and caught him as one might say in the act how dare you she demanded shrinking away from him my darling he answered his voice tremulous i thought you were dead and i knew for the first time how dearly how truly i loved you she laughed not very heartily she had hurt herself truly in her fall and her feminine nerves were you are doing nicely she said for a one could ask nothing better and now if you will help to rise i think it would be more proper no he spoke with force and passion you must not think i am trifling i love you yes i love you worship you i do not see she remarked in spite of him that she must assume a standing position how you differ in your expressions from the lovers i have read of in novels it is quite time that we re my darling r turned to the house to morrow if you like i will give you another lesson was a picture of utter despair his new sensations almost overwhelmed him in one second the dead in his body had leaped into the fullest life the touch of that young maiden s lips had him he could not bear to leave her with those mocking words but at that moment a voice was heard in the direction of the residence miss miss it was who had returned from a drive with mr they could see him dimly coming across the lawn with the girl s cloak in his hand with one quick grasp of the fingers that hung close to hers said good night to her companion and started in the direction of the servant if she intended as seemed probable to pretend she was out alone did not mean to share in that deception and he followed close behind her here i am called ah you have my coat it was very kind of you has papa come home i am coming in i did not think how late it

mortals he cried there is nothing that could prevent my the clergyman and securing the prize i desire mr h m and in the meanwhile what would become of your great novel this question brought a sober pause to the young i could write it after my wedding he answered finally could you you could write nothing at all then nothing that any one would pay a cent to read i have told you from the start that what you want is a grand passion something to stir your soul to its depths you are on the verge of that experience already you have had a glimpse of what it will be like for the first time the touch of a woman s fingers has driven sleep from your eyelids no you didn t tell me you laid awake all night but i saw it by looking at you you can shut yourself up in your room now and over the dear face the lovely mouth the soft voice of your beloved in another week if this keeps on you can write like a combination of george after she met and before her marriage a month later might over your productions for you will be on the of bliss oh so many many maids a slight laugh at his own excess of description issued from the lips of mr but the countenance of his companion was as firm as a rock you are right said gravely already i see the vast difference between this sensation of love and the thing i imagined it to be when i wrote those silly pages that did so well to reject but i am torn between two desires i want to write my novel until yesterday i thought no wish could be so great and i also want my wife he breathed the word with a simple reverence that affected even the heart of his i shall never rest easy until i find her wholly mine to love honor and cherish while god gives me breath the hand of the elder man dropped heavily on the table by his side good he exclaimed very good you could not have said it better there is an opportunity before you to accomplish both of these things i only wish to impress upon you the fact that they must come in the order i have indicated or one of them will never come at all write your story while the fever of passion is on you the dead calm of married life would only bring the sort of novel that the shelves are already piled with to the public and a in the hands of the doubted the full of these conclusions he thought with that dear girl by his side he could write with all the of a sweetheart for his affection was to have no boundary no limit no end but he had a high opinion of the a black abilities of mr and he had no idea of ing the conclusions of that wise guide do you think she will accept me he asked wistfully returning to the main question it came so sudden and there was very little said and it was late and then came after her and she went into the house everything was left in a state of uncertainty did nothing show whether you were indifferent to her was the that followed usually i believe something the sweet word hope to the waiting one and what do you say about that he came to call your and took her away from you without reserve the young man repeated what had happened seemed deeply interested but whatever his thoughts he did not express them at the time and that reminds me of another thing said have you noticed anything strange about mr yes said mr i have noticed i wondered if you had done the same have you discovered what the trouble is no and doesn t know either indeed she is much distressed about it remember this is a secret between us for perhaps i had no right to talk of their affairs he is in a state of great depression and as he it so regular in his habits i can t imagine what to lay it to you are so shrewd couldn t you find out oh many maid mr rose and took a few paces up and down the room you are the fellow to do that not i he said presently yes hear me out you are in a sense a member of his family and would have a natural right to allude to the state of his health then if you were to put in a word about miss why you might kill several birds with one stone looked much puzzled i thought he said that you wanted me to the matter of my marriage as long as possible your marriage yes but not the they may require a dozen with the ld gentleman the first time he will probably laugh you out of the room as a silly young the second he will say that he has nothing against you personally but that his baby is too to think of such things for ten years yet the third he will begin to see the situation in its right light and after that it will be only a matter of detail all these things will be of the greatest value to you in the novel you are going to write and you must not on your life miss a single one of them drop into the wool shop catch his royal there and for the first thing express solicitude for his health unless he is on his guard more than is likely you ought to catch some slight straw to show what him then follow it up with a word or two about miss and you will have spent a good afternoon even if he

the things about you i doubt if he would like to have you take me from him especially now when his heart is heavy and he so much on my love and care no you are in too great haste his impatience grew to boiling heat as he listened how could she find so many reasons and he was obliged to confess such sensible ones to bring against him there is one thing you can do he said with an a black attitude of deep you can tell me if you love me she tossed her head with a feminine movement that was wholly charming yes i could tell you that but it would be a very improper thing under the circumstances provided i was able to give you the answer you seem to wish if i did care for you would i like to say so in definite words when anything further might turn out to be impossible a girl would not wish to have a man that she was never to marry going about with the recollection that she said i love you then you can say nothing at all he asked sadly shall i be uncertain whether at the end of my term in i am to be raised to a state of bliss or dashed into the she a delicious little laugh you are getting she answered there are ten thousand better women than i but i don t want them pleaded the young man did you ever read the lines of oh so many many many maids and yet my heart undone what to me are all or any i have lost my one replied that the sentiment was very sweet and added that when a lover could quote admirable poetry with accuracy there was hope for him do what he would could not make her see that everything in his future life depended on one little word from her she persisted that he was by the violence of his first oh so many many maids affection and that if he would only let a month or two pass he would discover that his pulse would fall off a number of beats to the minute and is that what you want he asked reproach fully would you like to have me come back two months later and tell you my love had ceased yes if it was the truth how much better than to learn it after my vows had been pledged and i was bound to you for the rest of my days he rose and went with quick steps to her side catching up her hand and covering it with kisses she did her best to stop him whispering with a glance toward the door that they might be interrupted at any minute by whom he retorted stung at her coldness your sister has gone up stairs and there is no one else in the house might come in she said in a low tone he has no way of knowing that i do not wish to be interrupted he grew angry at the mention of that name but the warning had its effect and he sat down nearer to her than before his heart beating rapidly i hate the fellow he exclaimed bitterly it is a good thing i am going away or i should strike him some day for his insolence at the vehemence of her companion has he been insolent to you she murmured to me he would not dare what me is the way he speaks to the rest of you he came with your cloak that night acting as if he was your master instead of your servant i have heard a black him speak to mr in a way that made me want to kick him why does your father bear it why do you has some mysterious hold on his situation the girl heard him patiently though the roses did not come at once to her white cheek i am afraid she said when he had finished his that you despise him for his color it is a prejudice that seems to me and to my father and perhaps in the anxiety to make forget that god gave him a darker skin than ours we may have gone to the other extreme and treated him with too great consideration but i think you the case her gentle words smote upon the ears that heard them and in a moment was affected by the most lively without attempting to excuse himself he begged her pardon which she readily granted when do you leave us she asked to morrow morning but you will call occasionally if i may his tone was so sad that assured him he ought to have no doubt of that i understand she added that you have probably helped to a reputation that she above everything and she ought not to prove entirely ungrateful we have enjoyed your stay here and shall be most sorry to have you go i should be glad to think you would honor us with your company to dinner not less often than once each week oh bo maids for the first time a ray of light came into his face oh may i he cried then i shall not be shut off entirely from seeing you no indeed she answered father likes you and mr too well you will bring him of course once a week at least if it were twice it wouldn t do any harm and if it were three times his face was now one bright beam of light he cried i believe you do not hate me after all i hope you never thought i did she responded why is it that a man can see no middle ground between positive dislike and marriage i expect to like a good many men in the course of my life but i can only marry

a very few of them he was obliged to laugh at this and to say that she would only marry one if he had his way before they had finished with this subject was in a state of high good nature though he had little apparently upon which to base the rise in his spirits can t i say something just a hint if no more to your father he asked getting down again to business pretty she answered he wouldn t give you much encouragement i fear the young man caught eagerly at the word you fear he echoed god bless you bearing in mind what she had previously said about the unlocked doors he did not attempt to suit a black the action to the phrase but his happy face spoke volumes you had best say very little to father at present said he is most unhappy i wish i knew what troubled him he exclaimed i wish so too if you could aid him she answered earnestly who knows but i may he asked with a smile that she hoped would prove prophetic chapter xi pays attention took rooms at his old lodgings in the city and set in earnest about the work of beginning his great novel he had with mr at which he detailed the slight thread of plot which he already had in mind by the critic s shrewd suggestions it was decided that he should at the beginning a youth much like himself who was to fall in love with an pure maiden the outline of their respective characters were to be with care and sundry obstacles to their union were to be developed as the story warned his young friend not to write too fast and to content himself for the present with the phase of love with which he had become familiar attention later on he said when your hero finds that this girl is not all his bright fancy painted her when it is proved beyond a doubt that she has played him false that she has another lover turned pale but that will never be he interrupted it will of course in the story corrected she will lead him a race that will make him an enemy to the entire sex if she is used for all the dramatic effect possible people expect to find purity in the earlier chapters of a story as they do in small children with the progress of the action they look for something more exciting to sketch a who remains one would only be to repeat the failure you made in your other effort the one you brought to me the day i met you first it is not the glory of heaven that to our churches but the dramatic quality of hell a sermon without a large of the devil in i t would be much worse than a of hamlet the prince put your heroine in the clouds if you will at the beginning the higher she goes the greater will be her fall and the greater consequently your triumph the young shivered as he listened to these expressions how could he build a heroine on the of and conceive the possibility that she would ever allow her white robes to touch the earth he might have constructed such a plot with as the central figure though that would be by no means easy but impossible i he asked the critic if it would not do to send a black the hero of the tale to while leaving his sweetheart to the close no said decidedly a man s fall is not much of a fall any way you put it the public is not interested in such matters it demands a female sacrifice like some of the ancient gods and it will not be appeased with less i expect you to be new and original in your treatment of the theme but the subject itself is as old as fiction you have too little imagination as i have told you before you must cultivate that talent having conceived your imagine her placed under temptations she cannot resist surround her with an from which she cannot break place her in situations that leave her no escape shook his head i am afraid i never shall be able to do it he said don t talk of failure at this stage of the game all you have to do is to introduce upon the scene a thoroughly man of good address who is fertile in you will find your model for that among a dozen of your acquaintances why take and hold him in your mind till you are with him what did mr mean that mr would actually do these dreadful things would in his own person the outrage of winning a pure girl to shame it seemed childish to ask such a question and yet such a meaning could easily be taken from what the critic had said no no all fee could have meant was that mr might serve pays as a figure on which to lay these sins that he could be carried in the writer s mind as a uses a stuffed frame to hang garments on while in the pro of manufacture then here is added with a laugh you ought to find some place for a fellow like him if for the comic parts of your novel and there must be a little humor in a book that is to suit the mass a for a magazine said recently with much truth who would hit popular taste must aim low think could furnish the cheap fun for an ordinary novel without too great a wear on the writer go ahead my boy write a half dozen chapters n your own way and then get to take you to a few places where your mind will be turned to opposite scenes it takes all sorts of

to suit the modern so wrote slowly patiently with devotion to his art until he had completed five chapters of his story and read it and went into declaring it the best foundation he had ever seen for a most romance he has wrought his people up to such a height said the critic to mr that the will be simply tremendous how simply how his sentences flow if he can handle the necessary wickedness that must follow the sale of uncle tom s cabin or thou shalt not will be without the least doubt but the question still is can he there s no such question was the response he must that s the way to put it confound it he a black shall and the next thing for him to do is to take a few visits with me to the regions where he can get such slight to his literary system as will enable him to take up the vein he must work during this time did not forget the invitation he had received to dine with the it did him good to see although he could not now get her for a moment to himself he sighed to her over the table and across the parlor after the party had retired to that part of the house and she answered mm with little bright smiles that acted like an on his hurt spirit he had never found the courage to beard her father in his den of wool and was not even sure that the affair had reached a stage where anything could be gained by taking such a step what he wanted was a word of assurance from that she would wait for him till he had made a name in literature or proved his ability in some definite manner there was no indication that any one else was in the way everything pointed to a contrary probability but there is nothing so desolate as the heart of a lover whose fair one is just beyond his reach mr accompanied on most of these visits and knew very well what was going on none of the glances exchanged between the young people were so much their exclusive property as they believed had possessed eyes in the back and sides of his head he could have seen little more than he did while appearing to devote his entire attention to mr and principally the h former he found time to watch and and even the negro he noticed that the servant was no less devoted than formerly to the youngest member of the household he saw him around her at the table like a protecting spirit letting her want for nothing that could procure and he noticed that seemed as of this as she had always been she accepted these extraordinary attentions quite as if were some acting with a set of concealed springs a in which there was nothing of human life or intelligence mr was the same gentlemanly host as of with the same dark cloud hanging over him whatever might be its cause courteous by nature to an exceptional degree he could not assume a he did not feel there was some terrible weight bearing him down some awful of which he was unable to rid himself the only person who did not notice it was and the one it troubled most was on whose sweet young face the share she had in her parent s had already begun to leave its impressions s novel was soon placed in mr s hands completed the original theme was but in its new garb of perfect english no one would have recognized the rejected work the combination of the girl s strength of mind and the man s elegance of was successful the critic its acceptance without a word of and even consented on his a black suggestion to forego the against loss which they had of late demanded from all authors whose names were unknown to the reading public i have fixed it for you he said when that gentleman next made his appearance at the no deposit or and ten per cent of the price for so take a train to your s house and tell her the news mr did not seem to wholly relish the announcement in the first place he remarked you have no business to speak of miss as my and in the second you will pay her more than ten per cent or you won t get the book to print at this mr after the manner of all and their agents proceeded to show to mr that it was perfectly impossible to pay another cent more than the figure he had named and before he had finished he agreed to see the firm and get the amount raised considerably provided the should exceed five thousand copies in short mr secured a very respectable contract for a new author and one that was sure to please miss if she was in the least degree reasonable i wish you would hurry up remarked when this matter was disposed of when will you take him down into the depths and let him see that side of life i have arranged a journey for to morrow night said we shall go to s and make an evening of it unless things are different there from usual he will lay the foundation at s for all the wickedness he needs to put into hia story the critic nodded approval he will probably have a jew in it then a yes said and a negro a tall negro who has a white man for his slave chapter xii dining at s on the following day when presented himself at the house he found mr awaiting him in a state of great good nature go home and make yourself ready for a into the infernal regions he said merrily i am going to take

you to a place where the devil his and show you a set of women as different from those you have lately met as chalk is from be here at nine o clock this evening prepared for the descent a vision of passages crossed the mind of the listener and he thought of tall boots and a how shall i dress roughly i suppose he inquired certainly not put on your swallow tail and white tie vice in days wears its best a black garments you cannot tell a from a clergyman by his attire dress exactly as if you were going to the party on fifth avenue the only addition to your toilet will be a revolver if you happen to have one handy if you do not i have several and will lend you one if he expected to the young man he was in error merely nodded and said he would take one of the weapons owned by mr we shall not use them there are a thousand chances to one said new york is like you remember what the resident said to the you may be a long time without a we p n in these parts but when you do you ll want it d d sudden when returned the hands of his watch indicated the time at which he had been asked to make his appearance but mr did not take him immediately to the point of destination instead he walked over to a variety theatre that was then in operation on twenty third street and after spending a short time in the guided the young man into the here the ladies of the were in the habit of going when off the stage for the sake of entertaining the with their light and frivolous conversation and them if possible to invest in champagne at five dollars the bottle was it appeared not unknown to the throng that filled this place for his name was spoken by several of both sexes as soon as he entered he nodded coolly to those who addressed him and took drama at s a seat at a table with his companion with a shake of his head he the offers of two or three of the to share the table and ordered a bottle of with the evident intention of drinking it alone with his friend slowly the sparkling he was in a whisper to drink but one glass as it was necessary that he should keep a perfectly clear head remarked in an that he had only ordered the wine as an excuse for remaining a few minutes i call this the slaughter house he added in a voice still lower girls are brought here to be murdered not to have their throats cut he explained but to be killed just as surely if more slowly i have seen them come here for the first time with good health shining out of their rosy cheeks delighted at the unwonted excitement and the amount of attention the of the place bestowed i have watched them growing steadily paler having recourse to the eyes getting the voice growing the temper becoming more and then other fresh faces came in their stead there are killed on an average twenty girls a year here i should say killed to satisfy the of men as are killed in but not so the looked into the faces that were nearest to him and thought he could discern the various of which his friend spoke the new the older the ones whose turn to give way to others would soon come all of them were drinking i most had on the stage dresses they had just worn or were about to wear in the performance some had finished their parts and were enveloped in street clothes ready to take their departure with the first male who asked them and they were drinking drinking either in little or in feverish as they would at a later day when the five dollar wine would be replaced by five cent beer or perhaps the of a on the mr soon came into the wine room and joined the pair at mr s table he called for a straight pushing the champagne aside with an impatient movement i won t punish my stomach with such stuff even if it has gone back on me he exclaimed that will knock out any man who drinks it between meals mr assented to this proposition and to show full belief in it filled his own glass again and tossed its contents down his throat what brings you here he asked those creatures replied with a motion of his hand toward the members of the they re all that s left me now they don t mind the size of my waist my hold on them is as strong as ever but you ought not to be here he broke in turning to it will be years before you get to this stage i hope mr hastened to explain is merely observing said he he came at my request we are going next to s at s mr grew interested so so you intend to show him s tonight yes isn t it a good idea the stout man shrugged his shoulders as if he had nothing to say on that point the movement was essentially a one and might have meant anything perhaps you would like to go with us said what do you intend to do there tell mr all the secrets mr stared at the speaker won t let you he answered grimly won t he he ll have to why what s the odds the boy won t give him away and if he should his voice sank to a whisper mr then proceeded to explain to his young friend that s was a peculiar affair even for it had on two streets into one door went the

most respectable of people intent on getting an good dinner which was always to be had there cooked in the french style and served at that end of the house there were several dining rooms that would hold forty or fifty guests and several others made to accommodate family parties of six to twelve if a couple happened to stray in and inquire for a room to themselves the head waiter informed them that it was against the rule of the house to serve a private dinner to lest than four people it was evident that the establishment was co a black t on the most moral principles and in a way to prevent the possibility of scandal for though a great many couples undoubtedly take dinners in private rooms with the utmost propriety it must be admitted that such a course is open to suspicion and might be used as a basis for unpleasant mr who kept this hotel took great pride in saying that nothing in all new york bore a better name and no amount of would have induced one of his on that side of the house to vary the rules laid down but on the other side of the building at the entrance on the other street ah that different if only the most respectable customers entered the first door it was almost equally true that none but those who lacked that quality used the second mr sometimes remarked with glee at twelve o clock at night that he would give a hundred dollar bill for an honest man or woman in any of the rooms up stairs the had instructions to size up all comers with care and to admit no accidental parties who might apply for entrance under a as to the character of the place we are all full sorry to say was the established there is a very good just around the corner on th street and in this manner the shrewd got all the custom he wanted while preserving the natural atmosphere in each part of his the meals served in these two places were prepared by one and served from one kitchen dining at s thus the virtuous and vicious were supplied with exactly the same dishes but on what may be called the good side nothing stronger that were found on the bill of fare on the wicked side every know to the modern was to be had for the asking then again the doors ol the good side were closed at eleven o clock while it was often daylight before the last patron of the sinful side into his carriage after a little more talk mr seemed satisfied and consented to join the party mr was of the presence of the and met them at the door was of a decidedly cast of countenance slightly gray not very tall and quite round shouldered he put out a hand toward when that young gentleman was named as a matter of introduction but put it down again when mr said was out of date had seen in the eye of his friend to touch the fingers of the hebrew and with his usual quickness had solved the difficulty the party entered a private office at the left of the entrance where mr inquired what he should order for them to drink you will order nothing at present said in a contemptuous way that excited the astonishment of mr when i wish for anything i will ring who is there in the house the manager of the establishment bowed humbly and proceeded to run over the list of his customers there is major waters and his wife together i exclaimed the a black oh no the major has the little that he has brought for the last month his wife has mr of the planet then but mr interrupted him again you ll let them run into each other some day and there ll be a nice time never fear that the boys understand thoroughly he comes earlier and stays later than she besides we never let anybody meet on the stairs the cry out you must go back it is bad luck if any of them seem in danger of running into each other they are as safe from discovery here as if they were in places a mile apart some one descended the stairs at this moment and to the door and opened it half an inch to peer at them you know i have no object in saying these things said except to save your precious from trouble who is that going out some new people it is the third time they have been here well asked impatiently who are they held up both his hands as if to beg a moment to answer they come from i don t know their names i think neither is married i have a curiosity about things explained to his friends that i cannot account for you remember how used to talk about aunt jane and uncle well i have the same way of studying the men that wander in here of an evening with other people s wives and daughters at s there is so little really entertaining in this confounded world that i seize upon anything promising a change with tells me all the secrets of his queer and they prove wonderfully interesting sometimes you see he added addressing himself particularly to not a couple comes this place that would like to have it known bowed and how does mr know them he inquired they surely do not register or if they do their names must be mr laughed he has ways of finding out said he there are little birds that fly in at the window and tell him i should not think he would wish to know commented especially when it is evident they would not like to have him laughed again let me explain then

the girl gently it is an outrage responded the black having stolen our ancestors and brought them here from their native country the americans hate us for the injury they have done in france they tell me it is not so oh if i could gain an education and become what god meant to make me a man he paused as if the thought was too great to be conceived in its and then said abruptly where can you get this money s suspicions were now keenly aroused and he dreaded lest she should bring his name into the conversation your father would not give it to you without an explanation pursued the negro and you have no fortune of your own i will get it let that suffice interrupted the girl i can give you a year for two years at least and i hope for two or three more if you will go to paris and put yourself under instruction can a black you hesitate to accept a proposal of that kind i thought you would seize it with as said this she arose and started slowly toward the house walked by her side talking in a tone so low that nothing more was intelligible to the she little suspected was so near but suddenly the girl stopped and heard her cry with startling distinctness how dare you the voice that uttered these words was filled with rage and the girl s attitude as could see for he had risen hastily to his feet was one of intense excitement then she added if you ever speak of that again they will be tl e last words i will e r exchange with you my offer is still open yoa ran have the money if you wish it but never another syllable like this understand me never miss passed on toward the house alone the negro stood where she had left him his head bowed on his breast as if completely by the rebuke s heart beat rapidly what gave this fellow such power over these people how could he say things to call out such an exclamation as that of s and yet hold her promise to pay him a large sum of money instead of getting the prompt discharge he and this was what the girl wanted to do with the she had asked him to lend her should he still give it to her yes if it would rid the country of that insolent who from whatever cause a question of color occupied a position that must be growing to those who had to bear with him what had said that made her turn as if insulted and speak with a vehemence so foreign to her nature would have enjoyed following the negro and giving him a severe though was twenty pounds heavier and considerably taller than he the had not the least doubt of his ability to master him he believed the courage of an african would give way when confronted by one of the superior race and at any rate righteous indignation would count for something in so just a contest there were no traces of excitement on s pretty face as she welcomed the guests of the family arrived at about the same time as coming directly from the station and mr arrived a little later looked her best which is saying no less than that she was a beauty and told her politely that she ought to sit for a painting when the dinner was served took charge as usual watched him with an interest he had never felt before and nodded assent when whispered behind his good material for a novel in that fellow eh the opportunity for a word alone with came earlier than expected in fact she herself proposed it while passing out of the dining room she said she had something particular to tell him it is about that money you were so kind as to say i could have she explained when they were far down the lawn and out of hearing of the others a black i want it very much and very soon it it will be all right i hope and and not cause you any inconvenience i will bring it or send it to morrow he replied instantly but i still wonder what you intend to do with it she smiled a good act i assure you she replied something of which you would certainly approve if you knew all the circumstances you are very kind and if it was darker here i should be almost tempted to kiss you he replied that it was growing darker rapidly and that the requisite shadow could be obtained if they stayed out long enough but she said she could remain but a few moments and turned in the direction of the house but he cried and then paused you you know there is something of very great importance that i want to talk about i get so little chance and i want so much to tell you things i have been trying to go to your father s office and i can t find courage i didn t know you were thinking of buying wool she said i want one little lamb to be my own he answered to love and cherish all my life long am i never to have it she before the earnestness of his sad face you are a dear boy she said and i love you there t don t say anything more to me to night i have made a foolish confession for which may a question of yet repent we must go ia they will be looking for us she looked at his countenance and saw that it was radiant i can endure anything now he said you love me can it be true i will go in with you and i will wait but not too long

my sweetheart do not make me wait too long repent your confession indeed if you do it will be from no fault of mine f as he said these things they were gradually the where the negro was taking in the chairs i have something pleasant to tell you whispered you don t like well he is going away soon assumed surprise has your father discharged him he asked no he to leave of his own accord he believes himself fitted for better work hush he may hear you as they passed the servant said it was her invariable custom and she spoke with the greatest courtesy but in this case the negro did not raise his eyes nor turn his head toward her nor make the slightest sign to show that he heard it was too much for and he stopped did you hear miss address you he demanded sharply looked up with a curious mixture of amusement contempt and hate in his dark fact i did ht answered a black why did you not answer because i did not choose threw herself in front of just in time to prevent s receiving a blow oh stop she exclaimed i beg you i the noise and the sound of raised voices brought mr and his other daughter with to the door mr took in the situation at a glance and his troubled face grew more distressed mr he said speaking as if the words choked him i am surprised that you should hold an like this in my daughter s presence did not know what to do or say s pleading eyes decided him much against his judgment to drop the matter where it was to his pride though it might be he escorted his sweetheart into the parlor where the entire party followed in a most uncomfortable state of mind how can you permit that negro to insult your guests demanded as soon as the door was closed it is beyond belief if he is master of this house it is time the rest of us left it i am certain mr did not act without great provocation before mr could answer had spoken it is over now and there is nothing to be said is going away in a few days and that will end your trouble the father turned such an incredulous look toward his daughter that it was evident he had heard nothing of this a question of going he echoed faintly going yes said he told me to day he is going to some country where his color will not be counted a had difficulty in maintaining the silence with which he had determined to himself but did not wish him to speak and her will was law well am glad of that exclaimed in a country where they consider such people their equals he will not meet the pity and consideration he has so abused here still i do think father that you ought to to mr for the way in which you have addressed him this freed the young man s tongue by no means he said very likely i was wrong to say anything you were not wrong retorted you were entirely right you would have been justified in the fellow as he deserved it is others who are wrong if he were not going i would never stay to see what i have witnessed in the last six months mr seemed to have lost all ambition for his elder daughter s cutting words evidently hurt but he would not reply mr came to the rescue by introducing a new topic of conversation that of a european tenor that was soon expected to new york went to the piano and played softly talking in whispers to who leaned over her shoulder a but she made no allusion to and he did his best to forget him what do you make of that asked mr when he was in a railway car on the way back to the city with his young friend a glorious chance for a to find the reason that black is allowed such latitude but was not listening he was thinking of a sweet voice that had said you are a dear boy and i love you chapter xiv let us have a mr had become quite intimate with mr so much so that he called at his office every few days took walks with him on business errands went with him to lunch to the annoyance of who did not like to eat alone and sometimes took the train home with him at night on evenings when was not of the party everybody in the family liked even who had conceived a veritable hatred for brightened at the entrance of mr either at the house or office the negro seeming to alternate between the two places very much as he pleased liked him because he was so as she expressed it a man with whom one could talk without feeling it necessary to pick each step liked him because her father did and because did and because he treated her witli marked politeness that had apparently no double meaning and they all got confidential with him which was exactly what lie wanted them to do only the one he most wanted to give him confidence gave aim the least this was mr himself try as he might could not discover what clouded the brow of the wool merchant what made him act like a person who fears each knock at the door each sound of a human voice in the of his office he could find no reason for mr s attitude toward whose manners were as removed as possible from those supposed to belong to a personal servant there must be a cause of no ordinary character when this polished gentleman permitted a negro to insult him and his daughter in a way to excite comment

i like him so well that if he continues to talk to to father as i heard the day i will throw him into the a black i can t stand by and see him insult old longer the girl looked at him with sad eyes i thought i had succeeded in that kind of talk she said mr used to speak very violently of but he has listened to reason of late let me beg you to see nothing and hear nothing if you are the friend of this family you have given us reason to believe she extended her hand as if to ask a promise him but he affected not to see it when does he intend to go he demanded before the ist of april i will give him till that date he answered but not an hour beyond he will sail out of this country for some port or other or there will be a collision you must not you shall not defend him he added as she was about to speak i know the harm he is doing and it must have an end turning from her suddenly he went out of doors far down the road he stopped to look around pressing his hand to his forehead like one who would make sure he is awake and not the victim of some fearful dream the mon chapter xv the green eyed monster before the first of april came sailed during the winter he had taken lessons in french of a city teacher until he believed he could get along after a fashion with that language he announced to that he would go on the third of march then he changed it to the tenth and again to the each time when the date approached he seemed to have a of purpose a dread of actually plunging into the tide that set toward foreign shores the girl had with him on each of these occasions at which what passed was known only to themselves and each time when she had reached her own room she threw herself on her bed and wept bitterly but at last on the twenty fourth he went with his overcoat on his arm his and umbrella in his hands he said good by to the little party that gathered at the door he had been treated with great consideration in that home perhaps he realized this to some extent as he was about to turn his back upon it certain it is that he could not hide the choking in his throat as he said the words of farewell who stood there with the rest thought he saw a strange look in those black as they dwelt a moment on the younger daughter but it passed so quickly he could not be sure t a black mr was there and had responded when a servant went to inform her that was going that she was very glad did she wish to go down by no means she hoped she was not such a fool who watched everybody saw an unmistakable relief in the countenance of mr when the tall form of his late servant disappeared at the gate i hope you will do well had been the last words of the merchant and had added so do we all i am sure had not spoken he had stood a little apart from the others his mind filled with varying emotions it was he who had furnished the money to carry out this plan and if it made one hour of s life happier he would be content within an hour it was evident that a cloud had been lifted from the entire household everybody felt brighter and better eyed mr with surprise and had half a mind to go to his office the next day and tell him how dearly he loved his daughter it was the first time anything like a smile had been upon that face since he had known its devoted his attention as usual to he did not talk to her about knowing how distasteful was the subject he discussed her novel of which she never seemed to tire and asked her about another which she had begun to map out she told him she was sure she could do better the next time and spoke of the assistance mr would furnish if needed quite as if that was the green eyed a matter already arranged between her and the young wondered if knew the extent of the attachment that had grown up between and her sister she seemed to feel sure that he would be at hand when wanted could it be that she believed he would ultimately become her brother in law the negro s guess had almost been blotted out of his mind there had been absolutely nothing in his observation to confirm it a day or two after the departure of mr had a conversation with in which he dwelt with more stress than she could account for on a special theme he was talking of walter and and he her earnestly to treat both gentlemen with the greatest consideration the girl detected something strange in his voice and she stole apprehensive glances at him hoping to read the cause in his eyes why papa i never see mr she said it is weeks and weeks since he came here as for mr we all treat him nicely i am sure and are glad to have him come yes he admitted you use him quite right my child i am not complaining only if you could show him particular attention something more than the ordinary he paused trying to finish what he wished to say there may be a time when he will be of great value to me and i want him to feel you observe things so cleverly do you think cares for him looked up astonished a black

dawned on him that she meant what she said he appealed to her to take it back he could not bear the thought of giving her up or even of waiting much longer for the of his hopes he spoke in the most passionate tone and his whole being seemed wrought up by his earnestness the a black girl was constantly thinking however that this was the same way he had addressed and that there was no trust to be placed in him calm yourself she said when he grew violent i have tried to be honest with you i have thought of this matter a great deal you will admit that it is of some importance to me to you he echoed yes and to me i do not care whether i live or die if i am to lose you she wanted to ask him if he had told the same thing but she could not without making an explanation she did not like to give there are others was all she said others who will make you happier and be better fitted for you in your career as a writer he never thought her allusion had reference to any particular person and he answered that there was no one there never could be any one for him but her he had never loved before he never should love again and she listened thinking what a capacity for falsehood and tragic acting he had developed after two hours of this most disagreeable scene left the house moody and it would have taken little at that moment to make him throw himself into the bosom of the or send a bullet through his brain on the way to the station he met mr who could not help asking what was the matter oh it s all up he answered a she has refused me and i am going to the devil as quick as i can the green eyed what are you talking about exclaimed the other staring at him you don t mean that s just what i mean i went there to tell her of my good luck and to say i was going to ask her father s consent and she met me as cold as an and said she had decided not to marry so i m going back to town without a single reason left for living mr stood silent and for a few seconds then a bright idea came into his head look here mr said he i know this can be arranged and i m going to see that it s done my god the same thing happens in half the love affairs the universe over give me a few days to it out co home and go to work and i ll fix this i promise you it took some time to persuade to follow this advice but he yielded at last pleaded his warm friendship begged the young man to do what he asked if only to please him and finally succeeded a few minutes later had secured an audience with too shrewd to risk the danger of plunging directly into the subject lie had in mind mr talked on almost everything else it happened that was away which enabled him to devote his attention to the younger sister without appearing to seek her but only half listening to what he said was pondering the strange revelation her sister had made and thinking at each moment that a declaration of love might be she remembered her father s to treat a m a e this man with particular courtesy and was in a what to do in case he came to the point but to her surprise instead of pressing his own suit mr began to support in a mild manner the cause of mr i met leaving here he said in a sober tone and he was in a dreadful state you didn t say anything cross to him i hope with these words there seemed to come to a new revelation of the true character of this man loving her himself he was yet loyal to his friend who he believed had a prior claim as this thought took root it raised and its object until admiration became to all other feelings why should i be cross to him she asked the point there are no relations between us that would justify me in acting as his or mr shook his head he loves you he said you cannot afford my child to trifle with a heart as noble as his the expression my child touched the girl deeply it had a sound mingled with a tinge of personal affection i hope you do not think i would trifle with the feelings of any person she said still i cannot marry every man who may happen to ask me you know so much about this matter that i feel justified in saying this and i earnestly beg that you will ask no more but this mr said gently he could not ht said further that was one of hit dearest friends and that he could not without emotion see him in such distress as he had recently witnessed you don t know how fond i am of that boy he added i would do anything in my power to make him happy he loves you he will make you a good husband you must give me some message that will console him he could not get it try as he might and he said with a forced smile that he should renew the attack at an early date for the cause was a righteous one that he could not give over he took her arm and strolled up and down the in such a way that any visitor might have taken them to be lovers if not already married she liked him better and better the touch of

might say wool has been in a bad way had the bill before it if higher protection was put on the stocks in the american market would rise if the rate was lowered they would fall i took the right side i bought an immense quantity of the bill passed to day and the president signed it wool went up and i am richer by two hundred and fifty thousand dollars than i was yesterday for answer the girl kissed him affectionately and for a few moments neither of them spoke i don t wonder you say i can t understand business said presently it would puzzle most feminine brains i think to know how a man could purchase quantities of wool when he had nothing to buy with a black the father drew himself suddenly away from her and gazed in a sort of alarm into her wide opened eyes that is a secret he said hoarsely it is one of the things business men do not talk about when stocks are rising it is easy to buy a great deal if one only has something to give him a start and you had something asked trying to utter the words that she thought would please him best yes yes he answered hurriedly i had something and to morrow i shall free myself of and of of all my troubles i shall pay the on the house and we can have anything we want ah what a relief it is what a relief he panted like a man who had run a race with wolves and had just time to close the door before they caught him may i tell asked the girl she has worried about the house fearing it would be sold he shook his head as if the subject was disagreeable she will find it out he said there is no need of haste and at any rate i don t want you to give her any particulars i don t want her to know how successful i have been you can say that i have made money enough to free the home don t tell any more than that to any one it it is not a public matter i was so full of happiness that i had to tell you but no one else is to know promised though she asked almost i v had if the extended to mr he was such a friend of the family she said he would be very much gratified she had reached thus far in her innocent suggestion when she happened to glance at her father s face he was pale his body was limp and his chin sunken to his breast father she exclaimed and then seized with a nameless fear was about to summon other help when he opened his eyes slowly and touched her hand with his you are ill shall i call the servants she asked anxiously he intimated that she should not and presently rallied enough to say he was better and required nothing what were we speaking of he asked in a strained voice we were talking of your grand fortune and i asked if i might not tell mr he stopped her with a movement and another crossed his face you will make no exception he whispered none whatever my affairs will interest no one else if you are you must know nothing nothing he added nothing whatever mr s recovery was almost as quick as his attack although he did not resume the gaiety of manner with which he had opened the subject after dinner he talked with declaring over and over that she had been on short allowance long enough a black and asserting that she must be positively in a state of want she answered that she needed very little and then suddenly herself of something and grew sober do you feel rich enough to let me exercise a little generosity for others she inquired he replied with alacrity that she could do exactly as she pleased with whatever sum he gave her and that the amount should be for her to name you don t know how big it will be she replied timidly i ll risk that out with it he said smiling supposing she said slowly that i should ask for a thousand dollars you would get it he laughed in fact i was going to propose that you accept several thousand and have it put in the bank in your name so you would be quite an independent young woman you must have your own and get used to keeping accounts i will bring you a of deposit for three thousand dollars and each six months afterwards i will put a thousand more to your credit out of which you can take your pin money it seemed too good to be true and the girl s face brightened until it shone with a light that the father thought the most beautiful on earth now she could return the thousand dollars she had borrowed of mr a sum that had given her much uneasiness since she broke off her intimate relations with the young more than this she would have on hand to send the future that han tt l ve had such luck t would need to keep him abroad it was such a strange and delightful thing to see smiles on her father s face that she did not want anything to disturb them she was quite as happy as mr now that this cloud had been lifted from her mind the next day was a bright one for the wool merchant by noon he had sent for and astonished that gentleman by handing him a check in full for the entire amount of his in answer to a question he merely said he had been on the right side of the market mr also settled with his and went home at

night happy that his head would again lie under a roof actually as well as in name his own notes which he had given came back to him soon after and he burned them with a glee that was almost burned them after looking at their faces and backs after the burned them with his office door locked using the flame of a gas jet for the purpose the ashes lay on the floor when a knock was heard and s voice answered to the question mr lost color at the familiar sound but he courage i ve come to congratulate you said warmly they say you have made a of money out of the rise in wool who says so asked mr everybody don t tell me it s not true i ve done pretty well was the reply and i m going out of business too it seems a good time to quit m a black mr made a suitable answer to this statement and the two men talked together for some time after awhile the conversation took a wider turn where s your young friend asked mr to whom the matter did not seem to have occurred before i don t believe i have seen him at for a month no he doesn t come replied growing darker if you wish a particular reason you will have to ask it of your daughter mr looked as if he did not understand he became very fond of her explained and for some reason he does not know what she has evinced a sudden dislike to him mr looked still more astonished is a strange girl he ventured to remark but i supposed i was almost sure her affections were engaged elsewhere and really i thought he knew it mr stared now for it was evident his companion was far from the right road he was also interested to hear that miss had anything like a love affair in mind for he had supposed such a thing quite impossible i was not speaking of miss but of miss he said the wool merchant rose from his chair in the extremity of his astonishment you meant that that mr was in love with he said and that she seemed to his attachment i did and also that a few weeks ago she asked i ve such luck him to cease his visits giving no explanation of the cause of her altered he is a most excellent young gentleman continued and one for whom i entertain a sincere affection her conduct is a great blow to him especially as he does not know what he has done to deserve it i trust the will not be permanent as they are eminently suited to each other the face of mr was a study as he heard this explanation if he was an honorable man why did he not come to me he asked he was constantly seeking miss s permission to do so replied which she never seemed quite willing to give him she is too young to think of marriage mused mr after a long pause he is willing to wait but her present attitude giving him no hope whatever has thrown him into the deepest from this mr proceeded to tell mr all he knew about he said the young man was at present engaged on literary work that promised to yield him good returns he had a small fortune of his own beside everything that could be thought of in his favor was dilated upon to the fullest extent i don t believe i can spare my baby said mr kindly for any man you plead with much force mr for your friend how is it have never married are you blind to the charms of the sex a black aj ni for an instant was at loss how to reply on the contrary he said at last i appreciate them fully i have had my heart s affair too but he paused a long time she loved another and there was but one woman for me perhaps this leads me to all the more with my unfortunate young friend mr said he would have a talk with and learn what he could without bringing in the name of his we fathers are always the last to see these things he added it would be terrible to give her up but i want her to be happy chapter xvii a in the house lay wide awake a few nights later at when the clock struck two she was thinking of her second novel now nearly ready for mr s hand there was a in the plot that she could best in the silence as she lay there she heard a slight noise as of some one moving about at first she paid little attention to it but later she grew curious for she had never known the least motion in that house after its occupants were once she thought of each of them in succession and decided that the matter ought to be a in the house had no fear if there was a present she wanted to know she arose therefore and slipped on a dress and slippers guided only by the uncertain light that came in at the windows she across the hall and in the direction in which she had heard the noise she soon it as being on the lower floor where there were no and a thrill of excitement passed over her she crept as silently as possible down the back stairs and toward the sound which she was now sure was in the library what was the sound it was the rustling of papers it might be made by a mouse but was not even afraid of she was afraid of nothing so far as she knew if there was a robber there he would certainly run when discovered at the worst she

alone otherwise it will be of no use and she answered that she understood she followed some paces behind and closed the door after him pushing a bolt that she did not remember had ever been used before then she turned to encounter her sister but had disappeared a black chapter black and white when reached her own room again she felt assured that no one but herself and knew what had occurred this was something had her father awakened she did not know what might have followed she had seen him too often pale and in the presence of his enemy not to entertain the greatest that he had slept through this terrible experience at any cost it must be kept from him she would beg pray entreat to seal her lips and in the morning she would go to the address had given her and obtain his proofs of her father s guilt removing the frightful nightmare that had so long hung over that dear head would surrender his documents he had made a promise to do so and she had faith that she could make him keep his word she knew the negro had a liking for her that was very strong she had made it possible for him to become a man by giving him the money that took him to france why had he returned so suddenly what new fancy had caused him to give up his studies and the sea to enter her doors at night to plunder still further secrets from her father s private desk there were a thousand reasons for fear but the devoted daughter only thought of saving the one black and white she loved at all risks she would dare anything in his behalf and this father of hers that she had from was a he had made himself liable to a term of imprisonment in the common jail he was a criminal for whom the law would stretch out its hand as soon as his guilt was revealed his previous high standing in the community could not save him nor the love of his children nor his new fortune won by such means as this nothing could make his liberty secure but the of the witness to his fault the negro who had carefully possessed himself of certain facts with which to ruin his benefactor what did want surely he had no revenge to gratify as against her or her father they had treated him with the greatest consideration only once that day on the lawn had spoken to him in a sharp tone and then the provocation was very great since then she had raised the money that was to make a man of him what did he require now an increased bribe to keep him away well she would get it for him she would spend one two three thousand dollars if necessary to purchase his silence if it needed more she could borrow of of mr yes mr was the friend to whom she would turn in this emergency he had lost nothing apparently by the use of his name the notes on which his had been were all paid when she met she would ascertain his price and then the rest would be easy a slack her father need not even know the danger to which he had been exposed in the morning she went to s room early in order to have a conversation with her undisturbed was sleeping soundly and was awakened with some difficulty i ve only been unconscious a little she said in explanation i thought i never should sleep again oh what a disgrace my father a liable to go to prison with common to wear the of a it seems as if my degradation could go no lower with surprise at the attitude of her sister answered that the thing to be thought of now was how to save mr from the consequences of his errors you re a strange girl was s reply you don t think of me at all won t it be nice to have people point after me in the street and say there goes one of the girls whose father is in sing sing i never thought i should come to this there s no knowing how far it will follow me i doubt if any man will marry me when the facts are known thoroughly disgusted with her sister s selfishness cried out that the facts must not be they must be covered up and kept from the world and that she was going to bring this about she reminded of the evident suffering their father had undergone for the past two years changed from a light hearted man into the easily alarmed mood they had known so well black k if he deserved punishment god knows he has had enough she added and there is another thing you and i ought not to forget whatever he did was in the hope of saving this home and enough to live on for us during the last week he has had an improvement in business he has paid all of those people whose claims distressed him you have seen how much brighter it has made him now when he had a fair prospect of a few happy days comes this terrible danger surely you and i will use our utmost to shield him from harm even if he were the worst of he is still our father but did not seem at all convinced she could only see that her reputation had been put in and that a dreadful fear would constantly hang over her on account of it it is your fault as much as his too she exclaimed angrily you both made as much of that negro as if he were a prince in disguise i ve told you a hundred times that he ought to be discharged i hope

you ll admit i was right at last there was little use in reminding her sister that had shown himself the possessor of some information that mr before either he or began to cultivate his good will for she knew it well enough what did say was more to the point have you always hated him she asked what did he mean last night by his reference to a time when you taught him en dis a black sprang up in bed with flashing eyes he is a lying scoundrel she cried vehemently i never did anything of the kind and i do not see how you can stand there and repeat such a the strange thing about it replied quietly is that you did not dispute him but then you did not know a third person was present when i meet him this morning i shall ask for further particulars sprang from the bed and threw herself at her sister s feet would you drive me mad she exclaimed i am distracted already with the troubles of this house and now you wish to hear the lying inventions of one you know to be a and a robber don t mention my name to him i entreat you he is capable of any you can t intend to listen to tales about your sister from such a low base thing having at her feet was pleased to a little very well she said i will not let him tell me anything about you but i want you to promise in return that you will do all you can to protect father from the slightest knowledge of what happened last night i am afraid it would kill him so far he believes us ignorant of his troubles if i can make an arrangement to send back to france he will remain so be sure you do not arouse his suspicions in any way and we may come out all right yet the promise was made and as nothing could be black and white gained by the conversation withdrew in the lower hall she met her father and his bright smile proved to her that he was still in ignorance that any new cloud had crossed his sky did not appear at breakfast for which neither of the others were sorry it enabled mr to talk over some of his plans with his younger daughter among them was a possible trip abroad for he said he felt the need of a long rest after his troubled business career the last suggestion opened a new hope for if worse came to worst and there was no other way to escape the jail flight in a european steamer could be resorted to it would mean for life as far as he was concerned but that would be a thousand times better than a lingering death inside of stone walls he could raise a large sum of ready money and they would want for nothing would not wish to go with them probably she would stay and marry how the thought choked marry mr unless indeed the young did what she had the thought of himself with a name the bright happy love she had given him came back to the child like a wave of agony making an excuse that she had to do took the train to the city with her father and parted from him at a point where the and street cars separated then she took a cab and drove to the address given her it was not the finest quarter in the city ana she jl black would have hesitated at any other time before taking such a risk as going there alone at present she thought of nothing but the object of her visit inquiry at the door brought the information that the lady was expected and that she was to go upstairs and wait the woman who let her in was a pleasant faced and several young children of varying shades were playing on the stairs she had to ascend mounted to the room which proved to be a small parlor with an behind the curtains of which was a bed as the weather was quite warm the girl went to the front windows and opened them in order to admit the fresh air then she sat down and waited impatiently there was a scent in the room which she associated with the race a subtle that she found decidedly unpleasant it gave her an uneasiness and she mentally remarked that she would be glad when the ordeal was over her nerves were already beginning to suffer after the lapse of fifteen minutes entered he had the look of one who had passed a sleepless night and despite the blackness of his complexion his cheeks seemed pale good morning said rising good morning he replied and then there was a brief space of silence each waiting for the other lam here you see said the girl finally with ft black and white attempt at a smile and now will you give me the things i came for as i cannot stay long the negro tried to look at her tried many times but failed his eyes shifted uneasily to all the other objects in the room resting on none of them more than a second at a time you wonder he said after another pause why i returned to america why i came to your house last night i thought i could tell you this morning and i have been trying to prepare myself to do so but i cannot you blame me a great deal that is evident in every line of your face but you do not know what i have suffered were your father to go to jail for the term the law he would not endure the agony that has been mine he looked every word he spoke and more i am sorry

truly sorry for you she replied but why could you not leave all your troubles when you went to france and begin an entirely new life you found it true what i told you i am sure about the lack of prejudice account of he nodded and cleared his throat before he spoke again oh yes but it is not the prejudice there that me it is the prejudice here it is the barrier my color brings between me and the only being whose regard i the girl s cheeks grew than ever but she affected not to understand and once more to the errand that had brought her thither you promised me the documents with which my a black poor father has been tortured she said reproachfully let us not talk of other things until you have given them to me the negro drew from a pocket of his coat a tied with a ribbon they are all there he said every scrap every of proof everything that could bring the breath of suspicion upon your father s honesty all there in that little envelope she reached for it but instead of giving it to her caught her hand and before she dreamed what he intended pressed a kiss upon it the next moment the girl with a look of outraged womanhood was rubbing the spot with her handkerchief as if he had covered it with poison you brute she exclaimed you you she could not find the word she wanted nothing in the language she spoke seemed detestable enough to fill the measure of her wrong you see he answered bitterly because i am black i cannot touch the hand of a woman that is white you have claimed to be without the hatred of the african so among americans you have talked about the almighty making of one blood all the nations of the earth and yet you are like the rest a s bite could not have aroused deeper disgust in you than my lips and all because the sun shone more on my ancestors than it did on yours was divided between her horror of the act he had committed and her anxiety to do something to free her father from his danger she suppressed black white the hateful that rose to her tongue and once more entreated the negro to give her the packet he held in his possession you can do nothing with it but injure a man who has been kind to you she pleaded and if you use the information you have and afterwards repent it will be too late to remedy your error give it to me and return to france with the proud consciousness that you are worthy the position you wish to occupy shook his head with decision that would be very well if i ever could be con a man by the one for whose opinion i care most but while i am to her a creature something below the a mere crawling whose touch is i will act like the thing she thinks me to day i possess the power to make a high born gentleman dance whenever i pull the string you ask me to give up this power and in return you offer nothing one would suppose remarked struggling with herself in this that the ability to inflict pain was one a true nature would delight to surrender my father has done no harm to you the negro bent toward her and spoke with vehemence but his daughter has she has made my life wretched whatever position i may attain will be worthless to me without the love i had hoped might be mine love r cried the girl love a black love and marriage he replied in france we could live without the hateful prejudices that prevail in america i have natural ability enough you have told me so a thousand times and i could make myself worthy of you as my wife rose and interrupted him fiercely cease she exclaimed there is a limit to what i can endure if you mean to make any promise of that kind a to my father s freedom from persecution we may as well end this conversation now as later he would rather rot in prison than have his child sacrifice herself in such a manner she started toward the door and he did not interrupt her passage as she half expected he would do but he spoke again all this because i am black he said because you are a cruel heartless wretch she answered her eyes flashing because you have abused the of a generous family because you have tortured a kind old man and a loving daughter if you were as white as any person on earth i would not marry you worse than all outward semblance is a dark and vile mind do what you like i defy you the door opened and closed behind her han heard her retreating footsteps grow fainter on the stairs and then there was silence i might have known it he said aloud i did know it but i kept hoping against hope she would wed a dog sooner than me nothing is left but to make her repent her will out bring that father of hers to the dust if only to revenge the long list of injuries his race has inflicted on mine chapter xix play out your when left the house where she had the interview with she walked for some minutes along the street her mind was in a state of great excitement she realized that she had defied a man who could inflict the deepest injury on the father she dearly loved how she could have done otherwise was not at all clear but the terror which hung over her was none the less keen the proposal of the negro to marry her filled her with a nameless dread that

trembling if you accomplish what you say have no fear but i shall keep my word there was an element of pride and truth in the way she spoke that struck the strongly the smile on his face grew yet deeper i am placed in a peculiar situation he said after a slight pause your sister has ally no doubt matters in a way that may be embarrassing for us both when i have removed the troubles that stand in your way i will talk this over with you looked up quickly what could he mean i beg you to explain she stammered if there has been any mistake no time can be better to set it right than now the man with the lace of the window curtain he had no intention of his duty and yet he did not find it agreeable as he proceeded your sister told me he said finally that you loved me she was wrong i knew all the time she a black was wrong you have just offered to give yourself to me in marriage in exchange for the efforts that i am to make on your father s behalf but i would not marry a woman who did not love me who only became mine from gratitude no i could not accept you under such circumstances the young girl glanced at him timidly i wish you knew how much i liked you she said i never knew a man i respected more that is most gratifying he answered for i hold your good opinion very highly you must think i speak in for i have said that i demand payment for my services and yet that i would not accept the greatest gift it is in your power to bestow upon me let me wait no longer in my explanation when i have put your father out of all danger from this and i can easily do it never fear you must do justice to she shivered at the name as if the east wind blew upon her he is not a true man she replied in a whisper he has all claim to my consideration why do you say that i am afraid there is another misunderstanding here my child then he drew out of her slowly at first the revelations that had made and he disposed of the charges one by one until there was nothing left of them could you would you only go with me to his rooms he added and see him lying there wan and pale at the present hopeless for out the future you would change your mind he has never in his life loved but one woman and that one is yourself i will not undertake to say why you have been told differently though i could guess loves you miss and you love him when i have made good my promise i shall ask you to come to my friend s side and bring him back to health with the sunshine of your presence was more than half convinced for the strong affection she had had for the young man plead for him in every drop of her blood is he so very ill she asked he has not left his room for a week was the answer nothing his friends can say will move him he is in such a state of mind that he even refuses to have me with him me until very lately his friend but if i tell him you have there is no medicine on earth will have such an instant effect the girl thought for some moments without speaking it is my father first of course she said at last but while you are arranging matters concerning him i do not sec any reason to keep me from helping a sick boy i yes i will go with you now he looked the gratitude he could not speak and fearful that in her mood she might change her mind he accompanied her without delay to the street and procured a cab in which they were driven rapidly to s lodgings on the way with that loved form so near him had a black a constant struggle she might be his if he would forget duty and he loved her god how he loved her he could marry her and perhaps after a fashion make her happy the perspiration stood on his forehead as he dwelt on the bliss that he had resolutely cast aside s landlady came to the door in person and informed the that her guest was in about the same condition as he had been for some days he was not ill in bed but he did not leave his room when she sent up his meals he received them mechanically and they were often untouched when the domestic went for the dishes he wrote several hours a day though he was undoubtedly feeble did he have any visitors only one mr who was with him at the present moment should she go up and announce them very well if it was not necessary mr could show the lady into the adjoining room which was empty until he had announced her presence in the house to his friend whispered to when he left her at s door that he would come for her as soon as possible he did not enter the sick boy s chamber at once for something in the conversation that came to his ears arrested his steps at the threshold mr s voice was heard and s ears caught the sound of his own name you should let me send to mr said i am sure he can explain everything you hav written all you ought for the present h out s s would take you to ride and bring the color to those white cheeks of yours but he cannot bring me the girl i love responded with

truth from your vicinity mr remarked in response to these a took ing suggestions that he could tell much better what his friend was about if he would drop mr hesitated he saw no way but to trust this man with the facts and yet he dreaded the possibility that he might prove obstinate by the way lie said as if to change the subject temporarily have you been out to see lately mr shook his head you ought to said he s improved g thousand per cent in the last few weeks his financial luck has made a new man of him i m glad of that responded the other and i m glad too that i ve got my money out of his firm for i had a strong suspicion at one time that he waa running pretty close to the wall mr nodded to show that he believed this statement and then grew sober sometimes when men get into a tight place he said they do queer things supposing i should tell you that mr had and notes in a way he was not to do the stout man opened his eyes wider that would be a piece of news he answered but if he did he s made it all right by this time of course and nobody is the mr drew himself up in his chair as if indignant do you think that is enough he demanded raising his voice by supposing i tell you my name was one of those he with a black the other did not seem much if the paper is all in i wouldn t make a fuss about it if i were you he replied is a good fellow he has gone out of business and i hope he ll never go in again take my advice if you have learned anything to his and keep it to yourself could hardly control himself do you think i intend to let him my name on his notes and and not put him under arrest he cried when the proofs are beyond question mr bowed and said he meant that exactly he further remarked that he was astonished that his friend had any other idea in his mind the family was one in which he had been received and he ought to do everything possible to prevent harm to any of its members as he proceeded in this vein mr grew so earnest that he did not notice the broad smile of happiness that was creeping over the face of his companion and was not prepared to find a pair of manly arms clasped around his neck you you was trying to say you dear kind sensible fellow you ve made me the happiest man on earth of course wouldn t trouble but i was afraid you would he used your name as well as mine the rascal everything is paid up and all the trouble now is that a miserable has got hold of some of the paper and wants to him and what i called you here to day for is to get you to agree with me to like a stuck pig s acknowledge every scrap of that paper as being our own the sudden change was more than mr could bear for a moment he sat to use a common expression like a stuck pig staring at you remember the that worked for explained mr he got hold of some of these notes and in s office and is coming to look us up to day for the purpose of having his employer arrested a nice game eh but we will foil him won t we we ll show him a trick worth several of his he s probably gone to the house and he ll hang round till he finds me i ll send word that i am to be home this afternoon at five you will be there with me we ll tackle him together when he tells us that he has some paper in his possession we ll act astonished and enraged we ll ask him to show it to us and when we ve got it all in our hands we ll say the are our own and kick him down stairs are you with me is it a go old boy the agreement was made without more mr began to see the humorous element in the affair and actually came nearer laughing than he had done since the day he discovered that the of his waist placed him out of the list of eligible when everything was settled mr excused himself for a few moments while he to s door and knocked came to open it and when she saw who the visitor was she blushed a black come in she said i am sure both of us are glad to see you s eyes met those of his friend with a strange expression he knew now that all his suspicions were that had proved himself noble and true but the apologies that he owed could not be made in the presence of a third person and he made no reference to them his changed appearance was enough however for the reconciliation with the girl of his heart was perfect and the happiness that shone from their faces repaid their good friend for his sacrifice i think i ought to take miss to her train now said after the exchange of a few ordinary remarks she can come to see you to morrow again and before many days we will have matters arranged with so that can go out to in his proper capacity oh you need not little woman the love you two have for each other does both of you credit returning to mr for the sake of allowing the young couple a few minutes for their good dismissed that gentleman with the understanding that not later than half past

four he would join him in his room at the house soon after he escorted miss to her station and before he left the building sent a to her father asking him to come to the city and meet him at his hotel at four that afternoon everything worked to a charm mr ar t the time and went promptly to like a stock pig mr s apartments a brief explanation of what was about to occur threw the wool merchant into a state of extreme agitation but he was assured that the last of danger to himself would be removed before he left the house he was asked to step into an inner room of the the door of which was to be left and to make no move unless he was called mr came at his appointed hour and soon after delighted to find both gentlemen accidentally as he supposed the negro began without delay to explain the cause of his visit he stated the manner in which he had discovered the and said he thought it only his duty to let the facts be known messrs and exchanged glances of surprise as the proceeded how long is it since you first knew of this matter asked mr when came to a pause something like eighteen months and you allowed this to go on all that time without saying a word said the i am surprised when i remember that for a long time you saw me almost daily that is true was the quiet response i could not easily bring myself to disgrace one whose bread i was eating but that does not matter now i have here a number of notes on which mr has both of your names the law will hold him just as strongly as if i had exposed him at the time he exhibited a of papers and a black passed them to the two gentlemen the band spread the documents on the centre table and went over them carefully with mr separating those which bore their several names a close perusal of all the notes followed and finally mr looked up and asked if there were any more no those are all said i believe there are thirty six of them mr consulted in a low tone with mr they seemed puzzled over something if these are really all the notes you have said there has been a great mistake on your part these are genuine in every case where are the papers of which you spoke the negro stared with all his might at the speaker genuine he repeated undoubtedly as far as my name is concerned i have lent my credit to mr for a long time that is equally true of myself spoke up slowly i wrote every one of these and i am willing to swear to them s eyes flashed with baffled rage he had been these men had to save his late employer from his they had lied deliberately and he was powerless against their combined although he knew the of all they said you will be as glad as we to learn the truth said in a softly voice it would have grieved you to know that your kind employer like a stuck pig had made himself to the criminal law your only object in this matter was to ease your conscience and do justice there is nothing now to prevent your returning at your earliest convenience to france the negro rose and took up his hat this is nice he growled but i want to tell you that you are not through with me yet mr rose also i trust he said that you are not going to be i certainly would not be guilty of to you but let me assure you of one thing if you ever hereafter annoy in the slightest degree my friend mr or any member of his family you will wish heartily that you had never been born we can spare you now mr with the last words waved his hand toward the door and without further reply than a glare from his now blood shot eyes the african strode from the apartment i want you to take a ride in the park with me for an hour or go and then we will return here for dinner said mr to mr he did this to allow mr to leave the house without knowing he was there and also to avoid a meeting that he felt would be too full of gratitude to suit his temperament just then a black aim chapter xxi want to understand had been so busy on her second novel that she had hardly noticed the prolonged absence of from her father s house her first story was selling fairly well and she had received a goodly number of in which it was alluded to with more or less favor not the least welcome of the things her mail brought was a check bearing the of that evidence which all authors admire that her efforts had not been wholly in vain she had put a great deal of hard work into her new novel and felt that when mr added his polish to the plot she had woven it would make a success far greater than the other thought she understood the young man perfectly to her mind he was merely awaiting the moment when she was ready to name the day for their marriage to be sure he had not asked her to wed him but his actions were not to be misunderstood she would accept him for business reasons and the romance could come later together they would constitute a strong in fiction while she was wrapped up in her writing it was quite as well that he remained at a respectful distance between her second and her third story she would have time to arrange the ceremony want to when

made his next appearance at dinner in the house at miss smiled on him pleasantly she remarked that he lacked color and he replied that he had been suffering from a slight illness then she spoke of her new story revealing the plot to a limited extent and said it would be ready for him in about two weeks the astonished young man saw that she considered his services entirely at her disposal without question whenever she saw fit to call upon them he talked it over with you know stammered the girl that thought you were in love with her that would account for everything wouldn t it but where did she ever get that idea he exclaimed desperately she says you tried to put your arm around her just to practice just to learn what love was like i told you how ignorant i was the same as did her said she would show me but it didn t amount to anything it was only when i asked you that i began to understand do you remember how you stood on your toes and kissed me the girl bade him be quiet and not get too but he would not it taught me all i needed to know in one instant he persisted ah sweetheart how much happiness and suffering i have had on your account he stooped and kissed her tenderly as he spoke a black and after this it will be happiness only she whispered another kiss answered this what can i do if she asks me to the whole of another novel asked with a groan i think you might find time to oblige her said but you ought to explain things you ought not to let her your position any longer he said that this was true and that he would act upon the suggestion he had her father s consent and nothing could stand in the way of his marriage to before the year ended it was not right of course to go on with the of being engaged to both the sisters but i wish i could escape doing that writing he added i hate fiction any way i have been at work on one of my own that i fear i never shall finish there is much sadness in novels and i like joy so much better i believe i shall abandon the whole field this she would not listen to she said her husband that was to be must become a famous writer for she wanted to be very proud of him and mr came in to the room and having the question put to him decided it in the same manner as he was sure to do when he learned that his younger daughter held that opinion the retired merchant bore the appearance of a man from whose shoulders the severe burden of a great weight had fallen the tiger that had crouched so long in his path ready at any moment to spring had been beyond the profound humiliation of knowing that his sin was exposed to the gaze of two of his intimate friends he had no cause for present grief both of them had proved friends indeed and nothing was to be feared from any quarter had disappeared immediately after the interview at the house and it was supposed had gone back to france there was to be no about the wedding after all now that the young couple felt perfectly sure of each other they were more willing than they had been to wait the freedom that an understood engagement brings to americans was theirs if had only known the true condition of affairs and was content with them they would have been perfectly satisfied an old story tells how a certain colony of came to the unanimous conclusion that a bell should be hung around the neck of a cat for which they had a well defined fear and it also relates that none of the were willing to undertake the task of placing the warning signal in the desired position and wished heartily that could be told the exact condition of their hopes and expectations but neither had the courage to inform her many of their long conversations referred to this matter and one day when they had discussed it as usual hit upon a bright idea you don t suppose do you that mr would tell for us he has done so many nice things he might do one more wore a thoughtful expression he re a black how much had already done for him realized it more fully than did but he said the matter was worth thinking of he wanted very much to have it settled would would you ask him he stammered he would do anything for you yes she responded softly i will ask him but we had best be together i do not want to the matter unless you are there in a few days the opportunity came mr heard the voice he loved best explaining the situation we want to understand said if she if she still likes herself there may be an unpleasant scene and you will see how difficult it is for either of us to tell her but you who have done so many for us could convey the information to her without the we should feel will you dear mr and said he would and that it would be a pleasure to him and a bright light the faces of the young people as another stone was rolled out of the pathway their feet were to tread mr did not know how to approach his subject except by a more or less direct route one day he was talking with miss about her new novel and she spoke of mr in connection with its to the required i don t know as will find time to help you out he replied he

is so busy just now with miss she did not seem to comprehend him in the least oh he is merely filling in the time as a matter m we want to understand of amusement she answered when i am ready he will be he looked at her earnestly is it fair to speak of love making as a matter of amusement miss love making is he then for his novel with also she inquired i am afraid he will get views of love in that quarter she is such a child that she can have little knowledge of the subject she had evidently no suspicion of the truth and he determined to become more explicit perhaps that is exactly what he wishes said he the virgin heart of a young girl certainly affords tempting ground for the of a for the first time she showed a slightly startled face i trust you do not mean that mr is deceiving my sister with pretended affection she said i did not think him that kind of man if he is making love to her as you call it surely she understands that it is only for the purposes of his novel mr drew a long breath is it possible he asked that you do not know him better than even to hint that suspicion is honor he would not lead any woman to believe him her lover unless he truly felt the sentiments he expressed miss looked much relieved j am glad to hear you say so she replied a black was plunged into a new he had evidently made no progress whatever thus far no he continued slowly he has not deceived miss his love for her is as true as steel i understand their engagement is to be announced in a few days if he had known the pain that these words would bring to their if he had foreseen the anguish that was on that brow and in those eyes friend as he was of the young couple who had set him to this errand he would have shrunk from it made no verbal reply chased each other over her white face she seemed stricken dumb her hands lifted to her forehead trembled visibly and mr sat there uncertain what to do as silent as herself gradually the force of the storm passed and miss staggered faintly to her feet mr offered to support her with his arms but she refused his aid with a motion that was unmistakable she was making every effort to conceal her agitation and she dared not trust herself with words after taking a weak step or two and finding that she could not walk she rested herself upon the arm of a large chair and signed to him to leave her much but knowing no other course he bowed profoundly and obeyed the signal the next morning he received the following letter at his hotel mr a sir if you are in any respect a gentleman which i may be excused for doubting you will not to understand allude in the presence of any one to the exhibition i made to day had i had the least preparation i could have controlled myself you took me at a complete disadvantage and you saw the result i leave to morrow for a new home never again shall i live under the roof of those who have betrayed me do not think i shall to grief because of my sister s conduct she is welcome to her victory no answer to this is expected yours m a f luckily had escaped from without meeting either or and he obeyed as strictly as possible the he received from the elder sister all he would say was that he had informed her of the engagement and that she had made no reply when he was told a day or two later that had left the house he merely remarked that he was not much surprised as she was a girl of strong will and usually did about as she pleased mr at first much distressed over his daughter s action grew reconciled when he thought of it more at length he sent a liberal allowance to her which she did not return and made arrangements by which she could draw the same sum at her convenience at a bank in the city a black chapter xxii where was the wedding was arranged to occur in the month of october and the preparations so dear to the hearts of all young women were pushed with there were to be no beyond the ones necessary and the company to visit the was limited to a dozen of the family s most intimate friends when the evening came was on hand wearing an extra large waistcoat and a countenance such as would have best a funeral came his keen eye alert several chapters in the great novel that was writing based on the experiences of the next few weeks but wrote a note at the last minute that a business engagement that could not be postponed had called him to a distant point and sending a magnificent ornament in large pearls for the bride to whom he wished with her husband all health and happiness mr had had many arguments with mr in opposition to the early date set for the wedding he had shown that according to the best models the hero of s novel which was practically the young man himself ought to pass through some very scenes yet before his wedded happiness began he feared an anti climax and was apprehensive tiiat the wonderful romance would lie where was untouched for long months while honey from the lips of his beloved and he acted as if these things were entirely at the disposal of mr as if the young couple were mere whose actions he could control you could put it off if you liked said

you could introduce other elements that would be the making of the novel and you ought to do it they should not marry before next spring at the earliest you run the risk of everything good god cried you talk like a fool i would have postponed it forever if i could and you know it but she loves him and there is nothing to be gained by delay confound you and your old novel with the happiness of two human beings at stake you talk about a piece of fiction as if it was worth more than a life straightened himself up in his chair it is worth a hundred times more he answered boldly a novel such as s ought to be would give pleasure to millions but i see you are bound to have your way the only hope left is that there will be trouble enough after marriage to the story to the end a milk and water existence for them would make all the work already done on this manuscript mere wasted time turned from his friend in disgust could the man talk nothing think nothing but shop but did not come to the wedding he knew the final strain would be more than he could bear it was one thing to sacrifice the woman he jl black loved and quite another to see her given into the arms of the rival he had encouraged one may do the noblest things at a respectful distance and find himself physically unable to view them at greater of course was almost too happy to breathe but even the happiest of lovers somehow manage to a of to keep life in them though they have no knowledge of the process by which this is accomplished he had seen several of his productions in type some in the leading magazines and he had a permanent position now on the staff of a great when the month he had allowed himself as necessary for a wedding journey was ended he would settle down to work and he knew no reason why he might not make a success in his chosen field and there was always he would never again be separated from who that has loved and been loved can doubt the perfect content of this young man the face at was that of mr who failed in his best attempts to appear cheerful he was not sorry that his daughter was to be married he would not have put a single obstacle in her way but she was going from him and the very very dear relations they had so long sustained would never be exactly the same again it was the destiny of a woman to to her husband he found no fault with the law of nature but he had clung to so that he could not welcome very sincerely the hour that was to take her away was the marriage was to be early in the evening everything was ready even to the trunks filled with and other dresses the night was to be passed at the imperial hotel in the city and the journey proper to be begun some time on the following day on the most momentous morning of her life announced that she had an errand to do in the city and would return shortly after o clock as she was so thoroughly her own mistress nobody thought of questioning her more particularly but twelve o clock came and one o clock and three and five and she neither was seen at nor was any message received from her by the latter hour mr was in a state of excitement the entire house was in an uproar the servants were one by one to see if perchance any of them could guess the young lady s destination word was sent by to various places in the city asking information but none was received she had left the house to go to new york and nothing could be learned of her from that moment as mr was not expected until some time later mr went at last to the city and sought the young man at his rooms he found him in the company of dressed for the ceremony and impatient for the arrival of the hour when he should start for his bride s abode it may be conceived that the news mr brought was not the for him you you have not seen came the stain a black question as the father paused on the threshold of s room to day why certainly not was the answer i was just about to start for your house mr sank upon a sofa just inside the door something has happened he groaned ah my boy something has happened to my child looked at mr who in turn looked at mr she went away morning on an errand the father slowly saying she would return at noon and that is the last we have seen of her oh it seems as if i should go mad it seemed as if would go mad too he looked like one of sense as he stood there without uttering a word perhaps she has returned since you left home suggested mr on the spur of the instant don t lose heart yet let me send to a office and have them inquire you have a in your house have you not mr the father bowed in reply he was too crushed to say anything unnecessary touching a button mr soon had a messenger for the information desired and in the meantime he tried by suggesting possibilities to soothe the two men you shouldn t get so he protested there are a hundred slight accidents that might be responsible for miss s delay perhaps she has met with an insignificant accident and the word where was si i she has sent to her father has gone astray as happens

wedding last night at the miss disappeared yesterday morning and has not been seen since if mr had been pale before his face was like a dead man s now with many expressions of incredulity he listened to the explanations that followed he declared that the occurrence was past belief and that he could see no way to account for it clearly something had happened that the girl could not prevent she would never have herself of her own accord she loved the man who was to be her husband and if she had wished to her marriage she could have easily arranged it i can think of nothing but a fit of temporary insanity he added with a sigh and poor fellow how does he take it completely broken up i suppose when he heard the attitude that mr had assumed mr seemed little by little mr revealed to him the answers that the young man had made to mr finally a black ring to the charge that he mr had with the bride s face grew more and more rigid as he listened but the anger that the had anticipated did not show there he is crazy was the mild reply i will go and see him at once and his assistance in the thorough search that must be undertaken come leave your work for an hour and go with me remembering his promise to return in the morning with the latest tidings mr put on his hat and coat and entered the cab which his friend summoned he felt that he was about to witness another chapter that would make most dramatic reading in that great novel you had best let me go in first he whispered when they stood at s door he is in an frame of mind i fear for answer brushed the speaker aside and preceded him into the chamber without the formality of a knock lay before them in his easy chair bearing evidence in his attire that he had not during the night he greeted his visitors with nothing more han a look of inquiry i only heard of your terrible disaster a few moments ago said mr i learn that miss had not been heard from up to nine o clock this morning we must bring all our energies to bear on this matter her father is unable to help us much for all we know she may be in the most awful danger rouse yourself and let us consult what is best to do aw awful was written on the quiet face that looked up at him from the why don t you tell us what you have done with her v sa lips slowly mr trembled with suppressed emotion this is no time for he replied or i might answer that in a different way we must find this girl before we go to the police let us consider all the possibilities for they will us with questions did any one think he asked suddenly turning to of sending word to her sister mr replied that they had done so a servant had been early in the evening to s residence and had returned with the answer that she had heard nothing of miss and did not wish to she had previously sent a sarcastic reply to an invitation to attend the wedding and she never came to comfort her father in his distress exclaimed mr what a daughter they could get nothing out of he answered a dozen times that it would be much easier for mr to send home or to write to her father that she was in his keeping than to attempt th difficult task of deceiving the police who would have enough to him then you will do nothing to help us demanded his patience becoming exhausted though he kept his temper very in that case we must a black lose no more time ah i thought you worthy of that creature but now he checked himself before finishing the sentence and went out into the hall i think i had best go to and consult with mr he said to in a low tone there is a possibility that his daughter has returned since you came away what an awful list of horrible thoughts crowd on one if you can help me any i will send you word later when mr was gone mr opened the door and looked again into s room the young man had not changed his position in the least he has started for he said what do you think of his explanation in regard to his absence last night i think i know it is a lie was the quick reply you really believe she went away to meet him and that he has passed the last twenty four hours with her undoubtedly the critic waited a minute do you think they are married he asked closed his eyes as a terrible pain shot across them he wondered dimly why this fellow should delight in uttering things that must cause suffering whether to say more but thinking that he had left the right idea in the young man s mind for the purpose he had in view he softly withdrew from the chamber and left the s when looked up again some minutes later he was alone mr s hand was grasped feebly by the owner of when he came into the presence of the gentleman though completely exhausted mr had not been able to sleep he listened wearily while his suggested possibilities to account for his daughter s absence but could not agree that any of them were probable when the idea was of communicating with the police he shrank from that course but finally admitted that it must be adopted if all else failed in answer to a hundred questions he could only say that he had no idea of anything that could make her

absence voluntary she loved her chosen husband said the old man when she hears what i have to tell her she will hold a different opinion then said the latter expression she must either be the victim of an accident a fit cl or h could not bear to finish the sentence but the bowed in acquiescence lunch was served and mr sat down to it trying by his example to persuade mr to take a few neither of them had any appetite and the attempt was a dismal failure i leave everything to you said the host as mr prepared to take his departure you are the truest friend i ever had and whatever you decide i will but i have an awful sinking at the heart a feeling that i shall never see my child a black alive do you believe in i have felt for weeks that some misfortune hung over me before mr could reply a servant entered with a message that had just been received tearing it open hastily mr uttered a cry and handed it to his companion i am alive and look for me to morrow a of tears drowned the exclamations of joy that the father began to utter alive he exclaimed and will be home tomorrow ah mr hope is not lost after all but why why does she leave me in my loneliness another night is there any way in which you can explain this mystery mr confessed his inability to do so he tried however to show the father the bright side of the affair and bade him rest tranquil in the certainty that only a few hours separated him from the child he adored when came home she would explain everything to his satisfaction in the meantime he ought to indulge in for what he had learned rather than in regrets go to bed and get a good rest he added i will make a journey to the telegraph office in the city and see if it is possible to trace this message if i learn anything i will ring you upon the at once and remember if you do not hear from me there is a proverb that no news is good news has promised to come home to morrow this awful night is something definite an hour ago we were plunged in despair now we have a certainty that should us up to the highest hope catching at this view of the case mr consented to seek rest and mr took the next train to the city engaging a carriage he bade the driver take him with all speed to mr s residence notwithstanding the harsh manner in which he had been treated by his late friend he wanted to be the first to inform him that had been heard from he was naturally under the upon his own honor and felt that the in his hand would at least remove that suspicion i couldn t help coming again he said when he was in the presence of the i know despite the cruel manner you have assumed that you still love and will be glad to hear that she is safe from harm here is a that her father has just received stating that she is well and will be at home to morrow his face glowed with pleasure as he held out the but darkened again when declined to take it in his hand the young man had not moved apparently from the chair in which he had been seen three hours before and his expression of countenance was unchanged does she say where she passed the night and with whom he inquired no but she says she is well and will return is not that a great deal when we have feared some accident perhaps a fatal one the uttered a laugh a black my god why do you treat me like this exclaimed mr excitedly i have been your friend in everything as true to you as man could be if i had done the thing of which you accuse me why should i come to you at all i could have taken my bride and gone to the other end of the earth we need not have adopted these contemptible measures but although i did care for this girl more than i ever cared or ever shall care for another i knew it was you she loved and i did all i could to aid you in your suit have you forgotten how i brought her here as you lay in that very chair and removed the that had grown up between you as god hears me i have no idea what caused her absence last night i am going now to the telegraph office to trace if possible the message and find where she is at present for i want to relieve her father s mind still more seemed partially convinced by this outburst he left his chair and began slowly to arrange his attire before the mirror if you are sincere he said i will accompany you i will also do my best to discover the of this young woman you must remain with me till she is found if we do not see her before tomorrow morning we will walk into her presence at together do you agree to this with all my heart was the joyous reply in ten minutes they entered the carriage at the door and were driven to the station from which the had been sent this ends it then chapter xxiv this ends it then there was nothing to be learned at the as near as could be remembered a boy had brought the message paid for it and vanished only one discovery amounted to anything the original was produced and proved to be in s handwriting to this and he knew the characters too well to be mistaken it was not advisable

in mr s opinion to go to the police after the receipt of this word from the missing girl it would only add to the of the family in case the press got hold of the news but he did think it wise to go to see and find a man named whose reputation as a was great he could rely on the absolute silence of both of them the ride to s was consequently made next and by good fortune happened to be in he listened gravely to the situation as it was by mr but expressed his opinion that nothing would be gained by doing anything before the next day that is genuine he said it follows that unless she is detained forcibly she will be at home to morrow the writing in this message is not like that of a person under threats like one compelled to send a false statement your best way is to wait till she comes home providing it is not later than she and hear her story perhaps it a black will explain the mystery if she to do thi i will undertake to it to the bottom if you wish mr took no part in this discussion he was becoming convinced that was innocent of any in this affair but he was still to talk much where shall we go now he asked when they came out of the to the house said i believe with that we can do nothing to night very well to the house they would go but they had not been in s room five minutes when a boy came up with a message from mr stating that was safe at let us return without delay said we should not lose a moment in removing this terrible cloud come we can catch the six o clock train if we hasten mechanically the younger man followed his companion through the hall down the and into a carriage at the door forty minutes later they alighted from the train at and were soon in the familiar parlor at mr s a servant who had admitted them stated that miss had been home about two hours but that she was now lying down he would inquire whether she would receive the visitors what seemed an interminable time followed before the appearance of mr and his daughter when at last they came in together leaning on each this ends it then other they were two as forlorn objects as one can imagine the sight of his sweetheart s woe face smote like a blow he regretted to the bottom of his heart the cruel things he had thought and said of her he exclaimed stepping forward my he could get no further for mr with a majestic motion of his hand waved him back the ence of the intended bridegroom was evidently not agreeable to the old gentleman sit down said mr in a voice addressing himself wholly to i to you that my daughter had returned for i knew you would be anxious he bore with special stress on the word you i i did not know that you intended to bring any other person the allusion to was so direct that he could not help attempting some kind of a reply who could be more anxious than i he asked in a tone that was very sweet and tender in vivid contrast the old man thought to his manner of the preceding evening no one has a greater interest to learn where she has been these long desolate hours mr abandoned his intention not to recognize the fact that was present and turned upon him with a fierce glare in his sunken eyes what right have you to ask questions he demanded pressing the trembling form of his daughter to his own you were the first to doubt her even her innocence this lamb that would have given her a black life for you only yesterday she has returned to and henceforth she is mine you could not have her though you came on your knees you wish to know where she has been well you never will she will not tell you it is her own affair i am speaking for her when i say that we desire no more of your visits to this house we are through with you thank god it would be hard to tell which of the two men who listened to this was the more surprised mr felt his heart sink as well as did clung to her father without raising her eyes and there was nothing to indicate that she disputed his all was over between her and nothing could bring them together again and she did not mean to the cause of her remaining away a day and a night that day and night that been expected to and succeed her marriage rose slowly he bent his eyes earnestly on the father and daughter and his voice was firm when one is dismissed there is nothing for him but to go i regret sincerely what i said last night when the horror of this came suddenly upon me i love you and i know by what you have told me so often that you love me are the foolish of a distracted man to separate us forever conceive the agony i was in when at the very moment i was to start for my wedding i heard that my bride could not be found if i had not adored you passionately would i have been on the verge of madness saying and doing things without reason and excuse i am ordered to leave you my sweetheart and if you do not bid me stay i can only obey the but i love you more at this moment than ever all i ask to know is why you made this flight if your answer is satisfactory there will be nothing

his rooms well i hear the missing one is found he said as the came in yes she is with her father but the peculiar thing is that she her lips absolutely about her absence she not only refuses to speak now but that her refusal is final mr hesitated what card to play when does the marriage take place he asked finally with me never i have been thrown over unless she had explained i could not have married her any way could i the critic said he did not know it would certainly have been awkward and what is your theory he added do you still lay anything to no i am completely but never mind it is over stretched himself and yawned do you know i almost doubt if i have really been in love at all i feel a queer sense of relief at being out of it though there is a dull pain too that isn t exactly comfortable i told coming in that she should have married him upon my soul i wish she would she s an awful nice little thing and he has a heart that is genuine enough for her well it s odd anyway astonishment was written on the face of the other gentleman as he heard these statements you hare at least gained one point he said im a black you have done the best part of the greatest novel that ever was written sit down as soon as you can and finish it and we shall see your name so high up on the temple of fame that no contemporary of this generation can reach it so high the letters will be i fear responded with a laugh where do you think i can get the supper in new york i am positively starved i don t believe i ve eaten a thing since yesterday if you can help me any to clear the board let us go together this invitation was accepted and began making a more particular toilet taking great pains with the set of his and spending at least ten minutes extra on his hair when he had finished himself he never had allowed a to touch his face you won t lose any time on the novel will you asked anxiously while these preparations were in progress you must take hold of it while the events are fresh in your mind all right i ll begin again to morrow morning and stick to the work till it s done where shall we go to supper i ll tell you s the critic could not conceal his surprise at the that had taken place so suddenly in the young man s conduct he stared at him with a look that approached consternation you want to go there he exclaimed unable to control himself you wish to dine with some pretty girl eh t start violently an no no not yet he answered we can get a supper room without that i wish to be among men as mean as myself i want to dine in a house full of people who would cut a woman s throat or break her heart and sleep soundly when they had done it i chapter xxv an secret the did not stay much longer at crushed by their misfortunes neither cared to remain near the scenes that had made them so unhappy nor where they would be likely to meet faces which kept alive their grief the father knew no more than at first concerning the strange conduct of his daughter she had told him nothing and he had not asked her a single question it was enough for him that she was bowed with a great trouble his only thought was to her distress in every possible way he was old how old he had not realized until that week when she changed from a happy laughing girl standing at the threshold of a marriage she longed for to a sombre shadow that walked silently by his side he was the one who under ordinary circumstances should have received the care and the but everything was altered now he guided and directed the younger feet even though his own were faltering and slow a b where they had gone no one seemed to know received one brief note from mr thanking him again in touching phrase for his many and saying that wished to add her most earnest wish for his happiness the letter said they were going away for some time but no more he went one day to hoping to learn something from the servants and found the home entirely deserted a neighbor told him a real estate agent near by had the keys but that the place was neither for sale nor to rent the agent when found could add nothing to his stock of information mr had merely mentioned that he was going on a journey and asked to have a man sleep at the house during his absence as a precaution against robbery mr saw two or three times but the were so unsatisfactory that he felt them not worth repeating the told him as he had told that he did not believe he had ever really loved and was actually relieved now that the strain was ended no persuasion could turn him from this statement which he made rather in explanation of his present course than as a of it had persuaded him that a love affair was necessary to develop his talents as a writer before he knew what he was about such an affair had been upon him he had felt its pleasures and pains to the and now it was ended all that was left as a result was a pile of which the critic pronounced wonderful it was as if he had been in a trance or secret henceforth he would confine his writings to or to poetic

talking with a man who held these views was not inspiring to put it mildly and reluctantly gave up all hopes of making a happy woman through this source he had dreamed of the mystery that surrounded her and placing the young couple again in the position which by some horrible had been so changed in the short space of one day though he still loved with all the warmth of his nature had no thought of trying to win her for himself she had given the of her innocent heart to and he did not believe she was one to change her affections to another so soon as this what had happened what had happened he thought it over day by day and night by night among the things he did before leaving new york for ke felt that a journey was necessary for him was to seek out he found the elder sister to every suggestion of love for her family she believed herself injured by them and would have nothing more to do with either as to the strange affair regarding she declared she had no theory she did not think it sufficiently interesting even to try to one her time was given to writing and she had found another assistant that quite filled s place the firm of scratch had accepted her latest novel as she did not care to have anything more to do with mr a black when she mentioned the name of mr looked at her intently and saw that she uttered it with the utmost calmness she had hardened her fancied had made her a different woman she was cynical before but now she was bitter ha would not have believed that such an alteration could have taken place in so short a time what is your new book about he asked trying to be polite crime she answered briefly it with the lowest of the low it suits the mood i am in i am writing of things so terrible that they will hardly be to get at my facts i have to go into the most quarters and associate with the but i am going to make a hit that has not been in recent years p he smiled sadly had the same expectation he said and yet he tells me that he is doing nothing on that wonderful tale over which i have heard so often he has reached a point where lie can go no farther and unless he himself all he has done is merely wasted time closed her eyes till they resembled those of a cat at keep watch for mine she said it will be all i claim for it during the winter mr was in as spring approached he returned to the east and visited a well known resort in north where by one of those curious that happen to he found himself placed at table aw secret exactly opposite to mr the ordinary and explanations followed and then mr alluded to a more interesting subject i think i can surprise you he remarked by something that i learned the other day mr and miss are living within five miles of here it was certainly news and entirely unexpected at that those people might be in for all had known and indeed he had supposed they were on the other side of the ocean he listened with interest while went on to say that they had hired an old plantation house and grounds and were living a strictly secluded life the had seen them in one of his drives through the country and had talked a few minutes with mr but and he said it with a touch of he had not been invited to visit them nor had any apology been made for the neglect by george i thought it rather tough he added considering the way you and i got him out of that s but you must remember what he has since endured replied mildly and there s been no explanation of any sort not the slightest i d give half i m worth if i could get a clue it me all the time a life like that girl s ruined simply ruined in hours and nobody able to tell why it s enough to drive a man frantic mr did not drive immediately to which he learned was the name of the estate that mr but he enclosed his card in a hotel e a black and sent it there by mail without a word of comment if they thought it best to see him h would be glad to go otherwise he would not intrude on their privacy several days after were slow in the south an answer came it briefly requested that mr and mr if the latter were still in town would come to lunch on the following wednesday slightly at the apparent difference made between him and but ended by going with his friend to mr did not look any worse than when had last seen him indeed if anything he had improved in appearance time helps most to put on a better face and though the marks of what he had passed through would not be likely to leave his countenance the utter had in a measure when came into the parlor she also wore a mien not quite so crushed as when she left the room at with her words of farewell whatever her trouble was it had not left her without something to live for her youth was doing its work and it seemed to the anxious eyes of the that time would restore her nearly if not quite to her former radiance in the presence of mr neither father nor daughter cared to discuss the past they talked of the plantation on which they resided of the pleasant drives in the vicinity and of matters connected with the world in general

of which they had learned through the newspapers but after the lunch was finished found himself alone with wan ah through the extensive oak forest that gave the place its name how long shall you stay here he asked her as a the other questions he wanted to follow it i don t know she replied we shall probably go north during the warm weather perhaps to the white mountains he suggested that it must be rather at not for us she said quickly we are all in all to each other and require no thickly settled community to satisfy us he said after a pause there are things i must say to you and i hope with all my heart you will find a way to answer them in the first place do you believe me really truly your friend she placed her hand in his for answer the action meant more than any form of words then tell me tell me as freely as if i were your brother your priest why you stayed from home that night she withdrew the hand he held to place it with the other over her eyes it is impossible she responded with a gasp i told you that i never could explain and i never can he looked sorely disappointed i know no person on earth not even my father she proceeded giving him back the clasp she had loosened that i would tell it to sooner than you i have not given him the least hint i know it leaves you to think a thousand things and i can only throw a black myself on your mercy i can only ask you to re member all you knew of me before that day and decide whether a girl can change her whole mental and moral attitude in a moment he drew her arm through his and breathed a sigh on her forehead not for one second have i doubted your truth he replied believe that through everything but i hoped for an explanation for something that might assist me to punish the guilty ones for such there must have been the face that she turned toward him was full of terror why do you say that she exclaimed because no no she cried interrupting him i do not want to hear you we must not talk on the subject j there is nothing to be told nothing to be guessed this must be alluded to no more between us it must end here and now thoroughly disappointed he could do no more than in the decision and he indicated as much by a profound bow then she changed the conversation by an abrupt allusion to when he told her as he thought it wisest to do how well the young man had borne his loss she said she was very thankful she had feared that he would suffer when he came to his senses and it was a mercy that this reflection had been spared her he spoke of her sister and of the call he had made upon her however the disagreeable features of her remarks said she had as secret written twice and received no reply it was evident that the separation in the family was final toward evening the visitors drove back to their hotel discussing the strange events that had occurred did not close his eyes that night the love he had tried to suppress broke forth in all its original he could not sleep with the object of his adoration five miles away so lonely and so desolate the next day mr went away and the next after this a new visitor carried from the north on coming out upon the to smoke mr found there the surprise was mutual dying of was glad even to meet the they talked for hours and afterward went to ride together it appeared that had come south to get material for an article in the interest of the magazine on which he was employed one night a week later came into s room and asked if he would like to take a moonlight with him glad of any means to vary the awful monotony accepted and the horses were soon mounted noticed that the route was in the direction of but as he supposed knew nothing of the presence of the there and as the family were doubtless at this time he made no attempt to induce him to take an opposite course it was a sad pleasure to pass within so a distance of the roof that sheltered the one he loved best on they rode until they were a black within a mile of and then drew his animal down to a walk a little further he turned sharply into a by path and alighted what s all this asked with astonishment chapter xxvi i played and i lost did not immediately reply he busied himself by tying his horse to a tree taking particular pains to make the knot good and strong he apparently wanted a little time to think what form of words to use i want you to see something that will interest you he said finally in the lowest tone that could well be heard if you will follow my example and accompany me some distance further i think you will be paid for your trouble mr was pale he felt certain that this strange visit had been and that some revelation regarding the family was about to be made the dread of an unknown possibility for which he had no preparation affecting the girl for whom he had so deep a love him i have a right to ask you to explain he responded if your statement is satisfactory i will accompany you gladly i do not se the need of any in the matter l plates ut x the younger man drew a long breath and looked at the ground

for some moments then he spoke again there are subjects he said that one does not like to discuss there are names that one to pronounce if you will tie your horse and go with me your eyes and ears will make questions unnecessary a momentary suspicion flashed through the mind of the other a suspicion that he was being to this lonely spot from a sinister motive thai his safety no good but it was immediately dismissed and after another second of delay slipped from his saddle and followed the example of his companion lead on he said without waiting for a second invitation began to penetrate the wood he found a after going a short distance and crept along it slowly taking evident pains not to make unnecessary noise they were going in the direction of and in less than ten minutes the chimneys of that residence could be seen in front of them a little further and stopped placing himself in the attitude of an attentive listener the silence was profound a slight chill the atmosphere but neither of the felt cold on the contrary perspiration covered the bodies of both of them went very slowly along the path till he came near a fence and then from it drew himself quietly into a thick to follow here the a black leader sank to the ground with a motion which that the journey was temporarily at least at an end and the second member of the party followed his example half an hour passed with nothing to indicate the reason for these most peculiar actions half an hour that was interminable to mr torn with a thousand fears as to what it might all at last however a faint sound broke the stillness some one was approaching touched the shoulder of his companion to indicate the necessity of absolute silence hardly ten feet away there passed a tall form walking with a quick stride as of one who has no suspicion that he is watched by eyes as the man s face became visible in the moonlight it was well that had a pressure of warning on his companion s shoulder it was almost impossible for the latter to restrain an exclamation that would have ruined everything it was the face of the negro turned his eyes toward what could this strange visit of s to that vicinity did he intend ta murder the master of the house and the daughter what was he doing there at an hour not much short of midnight the terrors of previous gave way to yet more horrible ones but the mute appeal that he shot at his companion produced no answer except a resolute rt i played i lost of the head an absolute against the least sound or movement reached the fence and without any attempt at concealment climbed over it into the where were situated the house and of the estate he acted like one who knows his ground and has no occasion to pick his way he went however but a little farther in the direction of the residence in a place where the shadow of a hid him from the possible view of any one looking from the windows he waited in an attitude of expectation the difficulty of himself grew stronger and stronger for he wanted to end this terrible doubt to spring over that fence this fellow by the throat and demand what business he had on those premises at that hour realized all that was passing in his mind and kept his hand still on his shoulder at the same time warning him by signs that the least movement would ruin everything it seemed to when he thought it over afterward that he had never endured such pain he knew beyond reasonable doubt that was awaiting some one by appointment who could it be that was the question that might have answered in a whisper but that he preferred for some mysterious reason his friend should discover in the natural course of events and that course was horribly slow everything has an end and the dread of the changed to another feeling as he saw distinctly one of the outer doors of the residence open s a black and s form come out without glancing to the right or the left she walked in the direction where the negro was waiting for an instant overcome by his apprehensions closed both his eyes in despair the voice of was at last heard in his ear a whisper nearly him not to betray his presence whatever the provocation when opened his eyes again he saw that stood in an attitude of respect when the girl approached he bowed without offering any more intimate courtesy had the look of one who has made up her mind to endure an unpleasant interview and desires to end it as quickly as possible well she said in a low tone i am going to morrow he replied in a voice that shook with emotion yes and as i told you i want to say good by once more breathed a trifle easier he could not what fears had crowded upon him they were in their but some of them had already flown you are as cold as ever continued the voice of the negro in a that was meant to be do you think i could be anything else was the quick reply as if forced from lips that had meant to remain silent has your conduct been such as to make me like or respect you th negro s eyes fell before her indignant gaze i and i lost no he answered humbly i expect nothing i ask nothing i can see my mistakes now and yet it would have been no different had i played the part of an angel toward you the entire question with you was settled in advance by the fact that my skin

was black the pressure on s shoulder grew heavier from time to time as his companion realized his temptation to break from his covert if it had been as white as any man s who ever lived replied boldly your conduct would have earned the contempt of a self respecting person a an a against the peace of mind of an old man and a young girl who never you i wonder you can talk of other reasons when you created so many by your wicked acts shrugged his shoulders it is true nevertheless he replied i am a negro in a moment of insanity i dreamed i was a man i dreamed i might gain for my wife a woman whose ancestors had been born in a more than my own to gain that end i took the only course that seemed open i possessed myself of an influence that would make her father fear me well i played and i lost and then like other players and even white ones i was desperate you were to be married to another a man hated life had lost its only charm i could not bear that you should be his bride my torture was intense i asked but for death a black these revelations so novel to at least one of the listeners smote him with terrific force you asked for more said the girl hoarsely you asked for my death as well as your own and you wanted me to die in such a situation that all the world would say i had perished willingly with you could anything more cowardly be conceived was anything more ever devised it was the morning of my wedding day my father was waiting for me at home my promised husband was preparing for the my friends were invited to the ceremony what were all these to you with cunning you sent me a letter in another person s handwriting saying that if i would come to a certain address and pay fifty dollars several notes given by my father would be returned to me you knew i would respond you knew i would tell no one where i was going as i did not expect to be detained more than an hour and there was apparently the strongest reasons for secrecy and when i was completely in your you gave me the alternative of marrying you or of taking the poison you had so carefully prepared oh how could you how you when you professed to like me there was a low in s throat that he could not suppress fearful that it might be heard in that dead silence shook his companion slightly mingled with his other emotions there now came to a wonder at the apparent coolness of the when one is willing to die for his love it should i and i lost not be questioned said the negro i could not have you in life i wanted you in death i wanted the world which had despised me to think a beautiful woman had preferred to die with me rather than marry a man she did not wish to wed but why should we recall that dreadful day and night you won the victory you with your superior over the african as your race has always over mine i demanded love or death you me from both and the next day i permitted you to depart and saw vanish with you the last hope of happiness i shall ever feel the rich voice of the speaker broke completely at the close but the girl who heard him seemed to feel no sympathy for his distress always yourself she exclaimed do you ever think of the life you left to me a life hardly more kind than the murder you contemplated before you opened the that you had meant for my tomb you made me swear never to reveal where i had passed those hours never no matter what the provocation was i to utter one word to you in the tragedy that had ruined two you were the one to be protected the one to suffer had it not been for the sacrifice to my reputation in being found there with you dead no explanation being possible from my closed lips i would have accepted the alternative and swallowed the poison rather than live to bear what i do to day closed his eyes again his was swimming a black and you are sure asked the negro after a pause that you have not that promise you can still swear that you have never even by a hint given the least cause of suspicion against me never said the girl i consider my oath binding notwithstanding the manner in which it was obtained you may live in what peace your conscience allows you free at least from that fear the negro evidently believed her for he heaved a sigh of relief l well good by he said good by she replied and you are not to come again remember there is nothing to be gained from another meeting between us if if you want money i can send it to you he lifted his head rather proudly at the last suggestion i do not want any he said i am not low enough for that i took the sum from you to go to france because i hoped in my that i could make myself something that you would not despise if i had wanted money i could have got thousands out of your father and i could still notwithstanding the pretence of those men that they wrote the i saw him no i mean to give you back what i had from you if ever i can compose my mind enough to go to work and earn it i have no ambition i stay in my mother s cabin day after day unable to make the least

effort perhaps i can do something in time the negro took a step away and then turned as if unable to go so abruptly l played and i lost good by he said again good by answered i want to tell you now i think of it where i got that i gave you it was lent to me by the man you hated so mr did not seem to care for this information he did not lend it for any good will to me he replied i have heard by the way that he did not mind losing you this man for whom you a heart that your very i believe some day i ll take a shot at him the girl shuddered it would be like you she said if no one was looking and he did not know of your presence i don t believe with all your claims there is a manly trait in you the tall form drew itself up and the arms were folded firmly take care said the red lips sharply and the ivory white teeth gleamed oh i am not afraid replied my maid is watching us from behind the blinds of my room i told her my own story about why i was to meet you but should harm happen to me the alarm bell would ring out startled visibly at this information glanced in the direction indicated and then began to take his departure in earnest all right he said as he mounted the fence keep your word and i ll keep mine but if you play any tricks remember that s a game for two a black the men could not arise without startling who would undoubtedly have uttered a loud scream had they suddenly appeared before her vision they saw her stand there for at least ten minutes before she went into the house when she was out of t crawled into a safer place and rose to his feet i am going to follow that cur he muttered be his teeth to morrow is soon enough was the calm reply of his friend i know where he lives chapter absolutely most men who are by nature surprise friends on occasions by exhibiting great calmness who had often been thrown into the greatest heat by far less important than the one just seemed a picture of repose as he walked through the wood with his friend in the direction of the horses they had how did you discover they were going to have this meeting asked nervously i am all at sea i have been on his track ever since the day i was to have been married was the reply i didn t intend to leave a mystery like that i discovered that the were living here and that absolutely s originated a few miles further on i found that miss was still a little afraid of him that he was using an influence over her which was to say the least strange before i got at the truth i had some queer you may believe mr stared at his companion but how did you learn all this he demanded oh said with a slight laugh i ve been in this neighborhood for two months they haven t met once but i heard every word they said little by little i gained the truth of the matter and to night as it was perhaps the last time they would be together i wanted you to understand it perfectly frowned at the thoughts that crept in upon his brain excuse me for saying that you don t appear to mind it much he muttered if you have heard many conversations like the one to which i just listened and could go away without expressing the thoughts you ought to feel you are made up differently from me that may be so too smiled the other but are changed i once was a man in love now i am simply a writer of romance the elder man shivered could one be actually in love with a girl like that and then recover from it v he asked half to himself i don t think i ever was very much in love was the quick reply but never mind that let us talk of you spoke of going after him a black what would you have done had you carried out that intention had not thought of the matter in this form he had wanted to punish the negro for his crimes against the woman he so dearly loved against the old man for whom he had such a warm affection how he would have accomplished this he had not decided the first thing was to follow and tax the wretch with his subsequent events would have depended on the way met the accusation certainly the temper of the would have been warm and his conduct might have been severe i don t know he said i should have told him for one thing that he would have to reckon with something more than a weak girl or a poor old man if he annoyed that family again in case he had been impertinent i cannot say what i might have been tempted to do all the more reason for yourself replied as they reached the horses that you did not follow him he has promised to keep away from the and i think they have seen the last of him what is done can t be undone ugly as it is now he continued into his saddle your course is reasonably plain you must visit miss soon let her know that the extent of her misfortune is in your possession and after a reasonable time ask her to marry you who had also mounted his horse came near falling from the back of the animal at this very abrupt suggestion that is just what you should do continued without

allowing him to speak you are desperately in love likes you very well and it would take but little effort on your part to induce even a warmer sentiment her father thinks you one of the angels that came down to earth and forgot to return to heaven she ought not to go through life alone her only trouble is the suspicion that rests on her name a suspicion she considers herself bound in honor to do nothing to lift show her that you know how innocent she is and you will bring a new light to her eyes a new smile to her lips but asked catching at the straw how can i tell her how can i explain the source of my information laughed by the novel method of using the truth or at least a part of it he said tell her you were out riding and saw and followed him you needn t count me into it why you ve got to let her know or else i have it s a thing she would almost give her life to have revealed without her aid go like a man and take that heavy weight off her young soul finally consented he would not discuss the question of whether he would afterwards speak of the hope that lay nearest his heart but he would go to her as suggested and relieve her of the strain that had worn so deeply he would go the very next day the it was accomplished the better the more he thought of it the more de a black lighted he grew that he could carry such tidings he could make happier that was enough for him at present if he could make himself happy at a future date but there was time enough for that he sat upright in his saddle and as his horse bounded over the ground why was it not already day that he might turn the beast in the opposite direction the hours would be very long before the sun rose and he could start on his joyful errand the sombre hue of his countenance disappeared before the contentment that began to fill his breast he slept well notwithstanding the fact that he expected to lie awake all night when he retired in the morning on going down to breakfast he found that had left still earlier leaving word that he had started on a quest for game did not mind he had enough before him for one day he was going to see and he had that to tell which would the load she had so long felt compelled to carry he waited until after nine o clock feeling that some regard must be paid to les even on such an important occasion as this when he was in the saddle he rode as slowly as he could bring himself to do to make his arrival still later at last he reached the gate of and when he had summoned the porter he sent him for mr stating that he had happened to ride in that direction and wanted merely to make a short call it was but a few minutes before the servant re absolutely turned and the hospitable master of the premises came with him mr for using so much ceremony remarking that although he was living in a retired way there was always one friend he was glad to see giving up the horse accompanied his host to the house where the latter said he would send at once for a minute i want a little talk with you first alone mr looked up curiously he believed he knew what his visitor was about to say he had long suspected the feelings which entertained for he knew also that his daughter would consent to wed no man no matter who while there hung over her fair fame the terrible mystery of her wedding night i want to tell you pursued before his host could interrupt that i have made a great discovery one of the utmost moment to your family i know what happened on that day so sad to all of us and listen to me mr i know that your child is absolutely in the matter the listener s face grew very white he understood imperfectly but it seemed to him that a tale he could not bear to hear was about to be forced upon him mr he said earnestly i hope you will not continue this subject i do not know what occurred i do not wish to know i have consulted my daughter s sentiments entirely she prefers to have the veil and i respect her wish a black the visitor could hardly contain himself for impatience that has been true hitherto he replied but miss herself will be more than delighted when she knows i am aware of the entire facts which she has been prevented by a promise extracted from her from revealing call her let me tell her that i know everything and how i know it and you will fee the happiest girl in america mr shook his head doubtfully he was much afraid of doing something to injure s feelings he could not believe she wanted to have ihe trouble that had crushed her up by any one persisted however and his arguments it last won the day you do not think i would come here with any tidings i did not believe agreeable he said you know i care too much for for both of you to do that when miss was summoned which she was at last and mr gently let drop a hint of what he had to tell the girl was hardly less agitated than her father had been instead however as the visitor expected of on her natural protector during the expected recital she whispered to mr who rose and let her lead him out of the room

presently she returned and took a chair opposite to mr her face was so pathetic her attitude so that he quite forgot what he had come to tell and leaning toward took hands in his he said a i i and he could go no further yes i know she answered in a low voice but there is a reason why i cannot listen to you i have told you that before i ought not even to say as much as this i should not even remain in the room while you explain the least thing he choked down the rising in his throat and hastened lest she should follow literally the sentiment she had and leave him to himself this has all been true until now he said you were under a promise an oath but last night i heard all that passed between you and your and there is no longer any need for mystery between us she gasped as if her breath was going you you heard everything i was within forty feet of you are you sorry that the awful cloud is blown away that your perfect innocence is proved without a of your word for the girl was crying slowly without crying with both her hands tightly clasped over her eyes did not need it not i continued the man earnestly i knew you had done nothing of your free will that the whole world might not know but i knew too that you would be pleased to have your innocence established and i was glad for another reason i love you i have loved you a very long time your sister was right in that had you not shown such a marked preference for my friend i a black have done my best to win you months and months ago while you felt that you were an object of suspicion i knew you would not consent to be my wife now that obstacle is gone i want you the hands were withdrawn from the tear stained face a handkerchief was hastily passed over it and turned half away from the speaker you will not refuse my love he murmured bending again toward her you will promise one of her hands strayed toward him and was clasped joyfully in his own but in relation to that other matter said some moments later when the sweet tokens of love had been given and taken i must be as silent as before i have listened to you but i have not replied you can understand the reason never speak of it to me again if you do not wish to inflict pain it is something i cannot discuss i may tell your father though he whispered it would be best not he is content now no i beg you say nothing to any one and he promised like the lover he was and sealed it with another kiss on her pure mouth i may tell him of of our love he asked oh yes we will tell him of that together a chapter a when left the hotel that morning he carried a fishing rod a rifle a and other of the in his earlier years before he ever came to the city he had been accounted something of an expert with these implements since being in this country where there was so much to tempt a he had made a number of similar excursions although it was some distance to the locality where he intended to go the young man did not take a conveyance of any kind he walked briskly over the road breathing the pure air of that early hour and whistling in a low tone to himself as he went along among the other things he carried was a light lunch for he did not care to break his fast so early in the day h had besides a contrivance for making coffee and for the fish he expected to catch even if his lasted till night his physical needs were well provided for one would not have imagined to see his free and easy swing over the road that he had anything of greater moment on his mind than to watch for some stray rabbit or a possible deer track not less than six miles from his starting point he came to a small lake to reach which he had followed a narrow path that led through the wood on the a black shore was a primitive or rather which he had purchased on another occasion from a native for an insignificant price into this boat the stepped and after safely his traps took up the and used it when he had reached the centre of the lake he sat down prepared his fishing tackle and began to angle for the of the water below with the patience of a true sat quietly for two hours during which time he had drawn out but few specimens the long walk had however given him the appetite he needed and he now pulled his frail craft toward the shore with the intention of lighting a fire and preparing a meal but even when he had nearly reached land he saw flying beneath his feet and immediately after heard a dull sound which showed what had caused the trouble a stray bullet from some careless hunter had penetrated his the hole was large enough to render the boat useless for the water began to come in rapidly with two more stout movements of the forced his craft against the shore and sprang upon dry land then he quietly picked up the things he had brought with him and walked a little away from the scene these fellows are getting altogether too careless he muttered as he his damp a little more and that thing would have been tearing in me some dead wood together he soon had a fire started and the cooking of his

breakfast was a wolf begun he went about the work whistling again in that low key he had used when on the way from his hotel and stopping now and then as the noise of a or some wild of the smaller kind came to his ears he the coffee that was boiling furiously and the caught fish that sent out an no meal served at the the imperial or the could equal this primitive for him finally all was ready helping himself to a large of the delicious food and pouring out a huge tin cup of the coffee sat down as if to take his ease while but instead of touching the he had been at such pains to prepare the next thing he did was to fall prone on the ground and at the same instant a second bullet past him and buried itself with a tearing of bark and wood in the tree just behind him if had laid down with suddenness he rose with no less speed as he sprang to his feet he picked up his rifle he made a dozen steps forward and then bringing the weapon to his shoulder cried to some one in front of him halt or i fire a human form that had been creeping away on its hands and knees now stood upright it was perhaps thirty yards from the speaker and when it faced him he saw that the countenance was black don t come any nearer and don t go any farther off said the gravely you are at a con a black distance i can shoot you best where you stand the negro looked considerably he seemed doubtful whether to break and run or stay and try to face it out i can t help an accident he said at last when the other remained covering him with the rifle no was the answer an accident is liable to happen to any one they say but two accidents of the same kind on the same day accidents that might either of them have been fatal if you were not such an awfully bad are too many when get ready to fire there will be no accident the negro was plainly uneasy he cast his eyes on the ground and you have dropped your gun said that was right it would have your flight and its only was used you would have had no time to i know that gun very well i have heard it many times in the last six weeks i knew the sound of it to day when you fired the first time a rifle has a voice like a man did you know that i knew it was your gun and that you were at the end of it with that information in my possession of course you couldn t catch me twice i pretended to watch my cooking but in reality i watched nothing but you there is no need that you should say anything you could not tell me much if you tried the speaker examined his rifle carefully still keeping the turned toward the person he was a wolf addressing the latter did not seem to grow less uneasy i spent some time last evening continued presently in listening to a little conversation you had with a certain young lady living a mile or so this spot that surprises you does it i thought it might i learned how you had ruined her peace of mind how you had contrived to make her appear the opposite of she really was now you have tried twice within the last hour to murder me for this i could have forgiven you what you did to that young woman is however a more serious matter i don t think anything less than pulling this will that he placed the rifle to his shoulder again as he spoke and glanced along the sight the negro half turned as if of a mind to attempt an escape and then the of such a move sank on his knees and raised his hands if you have anything to say be quick said the hard voice of the man who held the rifle then out his story he told how he had been led step by step to hope that he might rise above his station until the wild idea entered his brain that he could even make love and marry him he pleaded the disappointments he had suffered the terrible of feeling he had undergone the broken life he had been obliged to take up he did not want to be killed if allowed to go he would swear by all that was good never to cross the path of the or or any of their friends again when bit en a black brought no verbal response he grew louder in his tone feeling that something must be done to move the deaf ears to which he addressed his petition if i allowed you to leave here you would try to shoot me the next time you had a chance said the i should merely be giving my life in exchange for yours which i do not consider a good bargain no i swear it before god came the trembling words in reply i cannot trust you a slight sound attracted the attention of as he uttered the latter words it was the sound that oars make when dipped in water with a quick glance to one side he beheld a in which were seated and and they were coming directly toward him here are some of the others you have wronged he said pointing i will wait to see if their opinions agree with mine saw him first as was handling the oars and she called her companion s attention to him called his name come here was s reply i have winged a black duck and i cannot leave a few more

movements of the oars brought the boat to the shore and the surprise of its occupants can be imagined when they saw the that awaited them was still on the earth and the attitude of plainly showed the cause of the negro s terror a wolf what has he done was the first question and it was s voice that asked it let him tell replied tell the lady what you did with a courage born of his knowledge of the young lady s kind heart now turned his attention toward her he begged her to plead with his to give him one more chance for his life and his promises to cease with all of their affairs if this was granted as he spoke crept nearer to s side and when he paused for a moment to gain breath she laid her fair hand on the rifle you would not kill a fellow creature r f she said gently a fellow creature he retorted no but a wolf a snake a yes she shook her head slowly while mr looked on uncertain what to do or say he wanted more than anything else in his life to lay hands upon the cause of all her woes you have not told me yet what he has done she said he shall tell you replied sharply stand up and answer truly the questions i am about to to you the crouching figure to his feet the negro was weak from fear did you try twice this morning to murder me yes replied the shaking voice but i was insane with my troubles i did not realize what i was doing i a black s slight hand still on the barrel of the was bearing it steadily to the ground once she said to you told me you loved me have you regard enough left to grant me a favor he shook his head there are he said that are crimes it is one s duty to in the interest of the human race but even as he spoke she was having her way her slight strength had taken the weapon from him then with the face of a angel she turned toward the negro and uttered very softly one word go glancing at the others to see if he might safely follow this direction disappeared in the thick woods behind him he walked with an unsteady step there was a strange lightness in his brain some distance away he found the boat in which he had come and entered it pushing from the shore with a feeble touch on his he set out for his home the who found his body a week later could not decide whether he had perished by accident or by deliberate intention the boat was not but it was partially filled with water indicating either that he had tried to sink the craft or bad leaned too heavily to one side in something like thk greatest novel a stupor when his gun was discovered on the shore new speculations were set in motion those who knew him recalled that he had been moody for a long time in fact ever since he came from the north they remembered him as a young fellow four or five years previous not very different from his mates and they had stared in wonder when he returned with fine clothes and money in his pocket the dislike between him and his old acquaintances was mutual they could not understand him and what an inferior mind does not comprehend it always views with suspicion a grave was made near the border of the lake and the single word was written on the board that marked the spot but later some envious hand beneath it he wanted to be a gentleman chapter the greatest novel and were married in june there was no need of waiting longer it was a case of true love by suffering and devotion the bright eyes and ruddy cheeks of the bride to her renewed health and spirits the news of s death it brought a tear to her eyes had removed the only shadow that stretched across her pathway s a black did not come to the wedding to which he was the only invited guest he wrote that an important mission from his magazine made it impossible to accept the invitation but he sent a handsome present and a letter to him in the warmest manner for some time had been urging the to hasten the wonderful story that was to make his fortune and give a new to the house of they had consulted together a hundred times and the thirty chapters already finished seemed to leave but a few weeks steady work to be accomplished shortly after the wedding went to s rooms one evening and begged him to lose no further time what is there to wait for now he asked all the dramatic incidents have occurred you only need to wind up with a glory of showing virtue triumphant and vice buried under a north come my dear boy when may i expect to see the work completed did not answer for some seconds there is a part of this story that you do not comprehend he said finally a chapter is yet to be written at which you have not guessed indeed exclaimed the listener yes nodded the other so far the character that is supposed to represent myself appears that of a heartless cold wretch do you think i shall be satisfied to leave it that way the critic stared at the speaker in astonishment the greatest novel i i do not understand he replied i thought not said well this story to be truthful must do justice to the one who is supposed to its author and in the first place to avoid all let me tell you there has never been a moment since i first loved

the is country over he wrote again sending fifty dollars to his friend and urging him to waste no time in getting here it was a mighty generous thing of him when you remember that it was about a fifth of all he owned and he needed it to develop his farm about as bad as he could but he sent it and john came and after looking around a little he picked out the claim next to s and with his help put up a on it according to the government and began to break ground one piece of land was just as good as the other for offered to even with him if he thought there was any choice that s the way they started well nothing seemed to go right with john he and exchanged works for a spell but had enough to buy a yoke of oxen and a and john had to hire his done john always said it wasn t a fair race and he got discouraged before he reached the quarter post he couldn t see anything except that had got ahead and that he couldn t catch him it s been the same from that day to this has kept always having something laid by and never going into debt while john has been a little to the wrong side of the all the time it s seemed to work on his feelings he everything of his to s let him have a crop this year bigger than he ever had before and he will look across the fence and tell you s is bigger tell him he s got a hundred and sixty acres of the best land in he ll answer that it s for all it s worth and that s got twelve hundred and forty without a cent of on it and that isn t the greatest ground of grievance that he s got against either the mr looked much interested and inquired with elevated eyebrows what else there was to annoy this peculiar and unhappy man it was a woman that finished whatever of common sense he had left in him said the colonel dropping his voice instinctively though there was no person other than himself and his guest within hearing after he had worked away at his land for a year or two there moved into the neighborhood a widow with a handsome daughter the widow was of spanish descent several generations back and her daughter inherited the rich dark beauty of that race the young men were all wild over her but the mother was proud as she was poor and declared that none of those who to the young lady s hand were good enough to be considered eligible among those who tried to win her was john if ever he was sincere in anything it was in his love and admiration for that girl he forgot his work everything on his place for an entire season so up was he in this creature whose mother had sent men flying with ten times his brains and a hundred times his possessions at last the spoke to him with forbidding him to come to the house the daughter obeyed every word of her mother s without question he had a stormy scene with both of them they were so alarmed that they sent or the mother did for an officer john was hardly less than a era man that day but he went away quietly at last and it seemed for awhile as if he had got over his then came the crowning blow within a year it was announced at tne was to ma r ry j bow thb began is that was hard luck commented mr somebody told it to john in the post office and he staggered as if he had been at the he there was fear that mischief would be done but nothing happened he went back to his and was only to outward appearance a little surly than he used to be soon after s john brought home a wife from another he never ceased to speak to when they but the conversations were never very long on s he hasn t forgiven him and he won t but i guess that s all it ll ever amount to some people at first advise j to be careful and to carry a pistol he only laughed at them more than twenty ye rs passed now and things have gone on just he same here s his house the horses were brought to a walk as t e gentlemen passed the handsome mansion and grounds of the man in it is not the habit of the ordinary western farmer to a great deal of attention to the merely ornamental and mr place was decidedly unique in respect among those about it the house ly designed and surrounded by broad stood upon rising ground five hundred feet from the highway and was reached by a winding bordered with the spacious on each side were well kept and were dotted with shrubs and trees that added much to their loveliness fine buildings used as the family stable carriage house etc were visible beyond but those intended for the working and tools as well as for the cattle were some distance away shaded from the street by an artificial grove and reached by a w road running from another avenue there was ft and even several fountains besides other evidences of and taste exciting the envy of many of the neighbors who could not see as they expressed it why an farmer need put on the style of a fifth avenue new far away stretched the fields of this prosperous man the evidences of careful cultivation being fully apparent on every side clearly nothing was wasted on this large estate the fences were in perfect order and built of materials likely to last

for many years where a piece of land was low a carefully constructed ditch had been dug where it was so situated that it was in danger of suffering from pipes had been laid land was so cheap in when these improvements were first introduced that many of fellow farmers sneered at them but he went on his own way paying no attention to their he was obliged to keep a large force of men and carried out these improvements in seasons when they had plenty of time on their hands he certainly had the satisfaction of the best kept farm in the state and one that produced more on the average per acre than any other and if this were not enough his comfortable bank account had long ago proved that there was something worth considering in methods that placed one in advance of those who him starting the horses into an easy trot the travellers soon came opposite the farm of john no information other than that afforded by the eye was needed to tell where the line of mr land ended and that of his neighbor began on the it ton place no attempt whatever had been made at and hardly any at even ordinary care for appearances there was the common with carts etc were scattered about the yards exposed to the weather a pile of and a rusty axe added to the general evidence of a cow on what might be called by courtesy the front lawn occasionally varying her meal by breaking the branches from a young apple tree that had planted in one of his moments of extraordinary enterprise he wouldn t fix that yard if you were to pay him for it said colonel he likes to brood on the hard luck he has had in comparison with and he has done it so long that he really takes delight in making the contrast between the places as great as he can there s only one thing that comforts him and that s his son the boy is a fine young fellow about twenty now and is nearly through college but it isn t altogether because john has a son that makes him happy it s a good deal more because hasn t s got a girl seventeen years old just the age of my they ve been companions ever since they were babies but the desire of his life has been for a boy john knows this and i think it s the only thing that keeps him from dying of he s said to me many a time would give that mill of his and half his land for a boy like mine but he can t have one f rich as he is i have one thing that no money of his can buy him if you are here next month you ll see and you ll find bim very different from bis father queer how little the seems to count in the human race sometimes a big black dog at the mouth of an growled savagely at the and seemed that he could not break his chain and get at them in order to revenge the words in reference to his master a hen with three chickens scratched vigorously at what might at some previous time have been a flower bed the cow in her efforts to the branches of the apple tree stepped upon its slender trunk and crushed it to the earth a servant girl came out of the house and seeing what the animal had done took up a clothes pole and her causing the creature to run toward the barn the milk streaming from her as she did so any one who would do that to a new cow ought to be exclaimed colonel impatiently i should think young would find his home little to his liking if he is the sort of lad you describe ventured mr so he does but he and his father understand one another is to be a lawyer he will have nothing to do with the farm his father would not let him dictate any more than he would me about anything here if made the mistake of opposing him in such matters there would be a break right away they had passed the boundaries and were approaching the house where the family resided a section dignified by the name of the village had he heard at what kind of woman is mrs asked the oh she died years ago perhaps if she had lived things would not be so bad the village of had a hundred houses in it colonel owned one of the prettiest of these and it was soon reached there come the girls now said the colonel brightly as he glanced down the road toward the high school chapter ii where had he heard that tune colonel had not in the least the jealousy of john for in the talk which he had with mr it would have been difficult for any one to do that were his statements ever so extravagant the steady of wealth by his rival while he could not even hold his own had laid the foundation of s hatred and the marriage of to the handsome filled to the brim the cup of his hatred there was no immediate outbreak between the neighbors for took care that there should be none but grew less amiable each year being wholly unable to conceal the bitterness that was in him this is not the county as the reader readily a r at the time of s marriage john tried hard t make himself believe that he did not care he said to himself that this girl with her extravagant no tions would ruin her husband by the luxuries which her tastes would demand she would not long be satisfied with the humble cottage to which he took her or willing to

ride in the old fashioned wagon which had answered for him but this did not give him much comfort for the wish to wed this girl had been the strongest passion of his life and he could not live it down try as he might and it did not add to his serenity when he discovered as time went by that his even in this respect did not turn out at all according to his expectations it is true that the new wife did no work in the kitchen and that one of the first things which did after his marriage was to purchase a carriage for her to which he a pair of his young that she might have as good a team to drive as any lady in the county it is true that he hired another servant and seemed to be always bringing home something new in the way of fancy things as john contemptuously called all articles of house or personal notwithstanding this however there were no signs that was approaching his credit was still as good as ever though he seldom had occasion to test it and his purse was long enough before the year had expired to take in and add to his quarter section another of the same size which it and which the owner wished to sell that he might return to the east and take possession of a fortune left him by a relative perhaps his success may have been partly where hat he heard that tune f w due to the fact that while john sat in his house and over the progress of his neighbor was up directing his planning to save in his methods and getting every thing out of his property that it could be made to produce a cold wave came unexpectedly and john found six of his frozen to death outside of the the door had been left off its hinges and the little animals had wandered out into the lighter atmosphere when the gale blew down the bar three promising were caught in a storm because he had not ordered his men to drive them in upon the sure signs of its approach his farming tools in the outer air as have those of many a western farmer since the first tore open the golden heart of that vast territory he lived from hand to mouth always a little in always paying the for accommodation which prevailed then in his section and while john was doing this went to the opposite extreme i hope you re not taking wheat in to sell now said he to one winter morning as he met him on the road driving a load of filled bags toward the nearest market why it s gone up five cents within a week and it will be twenty cents higher before two months take it back man and put it back into your again it s like throw ing it away to sell it at the present price john knew as well as that in all probability grain would be higher soon but he had a reason strong enough to keep him from accepting the well meant advice he bad a note coming due the the day which must be paid and the wheat was the only available thing he had to pay it with it him to think of standing there with his free advice a man with plenty of cash on hand and bursting but he deemed it the part of wisdom to conceal his feelings so he muttered something about on ly taking in a little that he had promised in advance and that no one could ever tell for certain just how the wheat market would go and drove on that evening he stopped to tell with malicious satisfaction that when he got to the market he had found wheat falling in price and the that it would be down to sixty cents before it was any higher let it fall said pleasantly it s got to rise again as sure as you are living these men can the price all they like but they can t go on lowering it forever i shall keep mine till it s ninety cents and perhaps a dollar one farmer can t buck these big replied john they might make us keep our grain a year well then i ll keep mine a year that will tie up a good deal of capital said john he wondered how long could stand that sort of thing i can borrow if necessary said the other but i have an idea better than that and if this against us goes on much longer i shall carry it into effect john did not like to ask what this plan was and he did not think from the tone which used that be meant to reveal the secret so be only said where had hb heard that f that he must be going and started his horses along the road poor fellow exclaimed as he saw him disappearing i fear he will never learn to manage his affairs on business principles sold his wheat the next june at the dollar he had set as his limit but he had been doing a good deal of thinking in the meantime he did not like to be in danger of having to take the price which some combination might there was a little stream which ran through the new purchase which he had made and one day was astonished to see men at work building a dam and making a around a natural depression as if to create a curiosity led him to go over and see what was being done and when he arrived told him frankly that he was going to have a mill there we have been going on long enough he said selling our wheat and bringing our flour and from a distance

i have sent for the necessary machinery and a miller and shall be grinding wheat within three months when the farmers can get their grain ground so near at home they will feel less necessity of selling it to those eastern at any price they choose to pay could not help his face showing a shade of pale green you are doing this for the benefit of the of course said he not for your own advantage at all by no means laughed i am doing it just as i am the rest of my business in the hope to make money but it will benefit the neighborhood fi the for all that and i am glad to have it i wonder nobody thought of it before every man hasn t got a stream on his land growled john no that s true it s queer how things turn out when i bought this quarter section of darling we both thought this brook a disadvantage as it took up so much of the surface especially in the spring when it is apt to run over now it seems likely to become worth more than i gave for the whole farm i have another idea too i am going to run some pipes across the fields and the in dry times there s lots of things i can do with that bit of water he added with a smile john went home and gave himself up to his sour reflections when his wife came to call him to dinner he refused to eat he felt that luck was against him and that all he could ever do to combat it would never place him on terms of equality with he was as well off as smith robinson and jones to the south of him or and brown to the west but he could compare nothing except with so long as s than his there was nothing in life for him nothing yes there was had no boy as yet though that would probably be the next thing the farmer came out of his retirement at the sound of his baby son crying in the arms of his mother for no music was to him like that cry no harp no no in the hands of a player could have given such pleasure to his ears as the wail of the little fellow who bore his name and was to keep alive his generation he saw the mill and noted that the line had he heard that tune f of which came to it with sometimes choked the narrow road he saw a second set of stones arrive while a heavier a taller dam and a greater succeeded to the first he saw the foundations of a mansion laid on the rising ground above the little cottage to which had taken his bride he saw the stately proportions rise till the and the bay windows and the looked down on his own humble roof as if in derision of so poor a neighbor people had come to allude to as a prosperous man when was four years old the neighbors met one day riding with his wife and young child shrank at the contrast which their presented but the had hardly met and passed when he looked at the handsome boy on the seat beside him and thought of the baby girl that mrs had carried in her lap she would give more to have a boy like that he muttered than for all he will make out of his farm and mill in the next he had a strange satisfaction in taking the little by the hand and strolling past the house of at some time of day when he would be likely to meet him as open hearted as john was the opposite never hesitated to express his regret that no son had made his ad vent in his and he always praised the lad with which his neighbor had been blessed a splendid boy he used to say we have a dear little girl john that we love with all our hear j but both my wife and myself feel it strongly that we have had no boy it does not seem right to complain when god has given us so much to t the thankful for but if we only had a son we could ask for nothing more always walked back to his home with a lighter heart after these there was one thing in which his possessions exceeded those of as time went by and no other child the household john grew confident that the would never be removed and this reflection kept him from utter despondency when was eight years of age and five john went to see a doctor of the town who was the attendant at both his own house and that of his neighbor mrs had been for some days and he asked the physician to call and see her that evening then something turned the conversation towards the it s a pity about mrs said the doctor would give anything for a son but it will never be she will never have another child there are reasons which make it impossible and he went off into a learned on the troubles of women never doubting that john would experience the same sympathy in the case that he himself felt went out into the air and found that he could walk more erect would never be the father of a boy whatever happened his poorer neighbor would always have this advantage he knew in the depths of his heart that it was contemptible to let this sentiment take such root there but it had spread itself so long that there was no way to kill it now never a boy in the mansion never never never all the way had he that tune ome he repeated those words to himself and he

he took no pride in the victory he had won over him it was natural that saw rather more of than he did of as she was the nearest neighbor that he had he knew in an indefinite way that there was something of ill feeling on the part of his father toward hers but it did not interfere with his friendship for the little girl whom he regarded in a sort of paternal fashion being when he first began to escort her to school so much the elder he was always welcomed cordially at the mansion both of s parents seeming to entertain a great fondness for him and encouraging his visits in every possible way colonel also gave him invitations to come to his house considering him the sort of boy that one could and age even when one had a young daughter who was the apple of his eye while was not less fond of boyish sports than others of his age or took a less prominent part in the games of his own sex he found plenty of time to be with and his father had no notion of asking him to assist about the farm he had early concluded that the boy should adopt some other means of getting a more in accordance with what is usually called the life of a gentleman the boy s studies came easy to him and the rest of his time w s practically at his own disposal the girls were nearly always together either at one house or the other and few days passed either in school or time that did not see a good deal of them was of a much more sensitive and shrinking disposition than her girl friend hardly knew the feeling of fear while it required very little to set the nerves of into a tremor was retiring if the were out in the wood and came to a small stream which they wanted to cross would boldly walk the narrow log that it or spring lightly from one of the stepping stones to the other on the contrary would seek up and down its banks for some more favorable crossing for a long time the offer of to carry her over accepting it at last only when no other way presented itself and then with many doubts of the result when they were safely on the opposite side she would laugh at her foolish ness declaring that she would never be afraid again and the next time she would go through the same fright and hesitation the once a snake came across their path an thing and fainted was so much startled at this that he allowed the creature to get away though he had grasped a piece of wood with the intention of destroying it when he saw the limp body of sink upon the he was more alarmed even than who ran to the nearest water and brought her straw hat full to throw into the face of the unconscious one when recovered her senses she begged to be taken home and took her in his arms and carried her for a long distance lamented that the snake had not been killed as she wanted to show it to her father but declared that she should die at the mere sight of it and it was some months before she could be induced to go again into the forest or pastures where such things are likely to be girls of entirely different natures often make the strongest of friends and never thought of for what seemed to her except in the most gentle way saw the difference in their natures and treated them accordingly he liked one as far as he ever thought about it just as well as he did the other both of them liked him and when absent he often furnished the subject for their conversations when he at the high school and went away to college both of them found for the first time how great a place he had occupied in their lives they were only fourteen then and neither had ever dreamed of what is called love was the dearest friend that either of them had outside of their own families and they missed him severely it was a happy day when each ran to tell the other that she had received the first letter from him for he had written to both by exactly the same mail on the second day after his arrival at the university they met about half way between their out of breath and with smiles their faces i ve got a letter cried holding np the envelope in evidence so but mine s from ge so themselves down under the nearest shade tree the girls read their aloud to each other hardly able to wait in their eagerness till the words could be there could be no secrets between them least of all over this matter in which they had a common joy he told of his room and his room mate a young man named of what they had given him for breakfast dinner and supper at the of the personal appearance of the various professors with whom he came in contact he said that he missed the faces at of his father of the villagers and not least of all of the little friends whom he had known so long and intimately sentences beginning you can tell when you meet her and don t forget to say to from me having read and the and commented upon them to their hearts content the girls separated to go to their own rooms and speedy answers quite as fit to be read to all the world as the ones he had sent to them colonel smiled when came into the parlor to read s letter to him and said he was the glad that the boy was so pleasantly

situated mr made a similar observation when handed him what had sent to her for his perusal they thought to themselves that nothing could be better for a young man in college than the true friendship of such girls who had been sisters to him for so long the mothers were equally well satisfied and encouraged a of the correspondence they liked and approved of him in every way it would encourage a taste for writing in their daughters and so be of benefit to all concerned told his father in a letter sent in the same mail with these that he had written to the girls and john pondered over the matter a good while uncertain what to do he had rather not have had it so and yet he could give no reason even to his own mind for this feeling the result of his was that he would say nothing about it he realized that it might be something like making a mountain out of a to forbid his son to continue the letters he believed that the new connections would make at the university would be likely to crowd these to one side in short order that they would in fact take care of themselves if left alone he was gratified as he frequently had had occasion to be with the which made confide everything to him and he feared to a policy which might make him liable to resort to double dealing it was not easy for mr to spare the money necessary to give his son this higher education but if it had taken his last penny if it had compelled him to live on bread and water to accomplish it he and was determined that should be a gentleman all the pride he had went into this account the ill luck that he expected that he almost seemed to follow all of his farming operations he had poorer crops than his fellow though his land was naturally as good as any he always sold his grain at the price and paid interest on notes he had no hope of ever getting himself free from these obligations but if could be made a gentleman could be raised above the heads of the by education and profession that would for all the rest he had never intimated to his son that money was so scarce with him the boy had not the least idea that the sum needed to pay the first quarter of his college expenses was borrowed of a by a on what live stock and machinery was already from similar process on which interest was to be paid at the rate of four per cent a month he went into college with all the bright hopes of youth provided with a of pocket money for his needs and with only one instruction from his father to live as well as the rest the first time he came home to spend the short christmas it was hard to tell which of the three families laid the most claim to him he had to accept invitations to dinner at both the and and at each of them and were included in the list of those who sat around the board john was invited also but as the for his presence came together he felt obliged to refuse both of them he would have liked well enough to dine with colonel family but he had no idea f stepping inside the stately the g home of he could not go to one and decline the other without unpleasant notice and so he made an excuse to both of lack of and previous engagements was dry for accounts of his life in college though he declared that he had told everything in his frequent letters to and his room mate figured in all his experiences and was described as such a chap that colonel and mr both gave him a cordial invitation to bring his friend with him the next time he came this reminded him that he had a photograph of in his pocket which he produced and passed around the table the girls were agreed in praise of his appearance and hoped they should soon have the pleasure of seeing him he s awful nice said and i shall be glad to bring him if he will come i should think he might in the summer his folks live in and they are immensely rich chapter iv the girl with the ankles when the summer arrived did not come home immediately from college he went with young to the country place of the latter s family on the borders of lake both the father and mother of were dead and thb with thb the which had belonged to them and were now coming to him were presided over by a maiden aunt for the present but it was not long before the reached where was speedily introduced to the young girls of whom he had heard his friend speak and about whom he had formed so many opinions knowing that they were still under sixteen it had seemed to very odd that should find it worth his while to devote so many hours in the month in writing to them before he had been in a week however he learned to take an entirely different view he admitted to himself that these girls were not at all like the ordinary of their age and that he had never seen two such charming creatures as they turned out to be was not long in deciding that it was who interested him most but try as he might he could not discover that there was any difference between them in s favor if he walked with one of them to day in the excursions about the town and vicinity that the entire party began to make the other one was his companion tomorrow stranger if possible

than this was the fact that neither of the girls evinced any preference to be by s side so long as he made one of the they used with great consideration but he was wise enough to comprehend that this was on account of his position he was s friend and that entitled him to their regard he could not help wishing that one of them at least would care a little more for him on his own account but perhaps that would come later if he was and his time though only thb eighteen he had a sentimental side and had made a strong impression upon him he liked too very much indeed and she treated him with a frankness which pleased him he believed grew the least bit more reserved in his presence but it might have been due to her instinctive knowledge that he had her most in his thoughts he did not wonder that liked both of these girls but he was surprised when he insisted that he could discern absolutely no difference in the state of his feelings toward them now come said to him one day there must be a difference perhaps a very slight one but still enough for you to tell which you like best there isn t said with apparent honesty i have known them from and they are exactly alike to me but aren t they nice though i wouldn t bring every fellow i know here and introduce them to him the four were together almost constantly during what was left of the they took rides into the country went for pond lilies in the wooded lake that mr owned about a mile from his residence strolled among the and sat or singing on the of the or for hours when the young men were back in college plucked up courage to write to he said nothing to of his intention and there was nothing in the letter except to the delightful time he had had in and his hope to come there again when another summer should arrive time passed and no answer came the curl with the ankles ill one evening looked up from a letter he was to say that sent word that she had received his friend s note and wished him to thank him for his trouble this convinced anew that he was on a very different footing in that young lady s mind from and that if he was ever to improve it he must do so in some other way than by beginning an correspondence just for amusement and to make a test he thought he would try the effect of a letter on the result was no more flattering to his vanity all he received was a request to similar to that contained in the note from with time he was again in and now he determined to leave no stone to make an impression upon miss he found her taller and than ever and quite as cordial to him as she had been the previous year there was an feeling however which he could not help that he constituted a sort of fifth wheel to the coach and that the girls would have been much better satisfied to have had to themselves he intimated as much to one day when they were alone but his friend laughed at what he called his nonsense and said four in a party made it much for all concerned they like you both of them he added i know they think it very pleasant to have you here you must not be so cliff did miss did either of them say anything about me they don t say special things said it isn t their style they never for instance have said they like to have me here but i think they do just the same oh you exclaimed of course they want you it wouldn t take a to see that and they want you too was the prompt reply don t get any idea in your head that they don t about every day the young men were invited to dinner or supper at one of the girls houses and generally they accepted the parents on both sides learned to like very much and everything was done to make him enjoy his stay he tried to cultivate colonel especially with a view to the future for he really got serious sometimes in his thoughts about his father had been connected with the railroad interest and it turned out that the colonel had met him somewhere in other days all this was very well but it did not prevent him feeling a as he saw the free and easy manners of and the bright light that came into s blue eyes as she listened to the most ordinary thing he happened to say the summer passed away and s position was very little if any improved he did not wish to make what is called love to but he could not see why she should prefer to share in her small part of to accepting the entire attention of another which she knew well he was convinced that he would be only too glad to give her when he was back at college again he noticed that letters in the of both girls came more frequently if anything than before there could be nothing secret in them or would not have left them as he did unlocked in his drawer where his room the girl with thb u k mate could have them at his leisure had he been so disposed had no sister and up to the time he had met he had thought anything in the nature of close friendship with one of the fair sex about the last thing he should be likely to desire now his feelings bordered on the envious had taken a great fancy of late to

think she never looked better i am growing very proud of her she how much do you suppose a hundred and ten i weigh nearly a hundred myself was his composure you would be heavier to carry over than you used he smiled still i think i could manage it i am very strong since i have taken the here did you know said that and i are going to a in the autumn no m but we are papa thinks it would be nice and the with thb ankles mr says may go if i do of course one of us couldn t go anywhere without the other we finish the year at the academy in june and in september i think we shall go to what do you think of it was thoughtful for a few minutes i am going to to study law in an office he said and i know of a young ladies there that would be just the thing for you if you decide to go to one why not take that school then we could all be near together turned to her father with an eager countenance the joy of which was not lost on the observant that would be splendid she exclaimed that would be splendid echoed colonel it was clear that s opinion went far with both of them but had seen enough at to know that it went quite as far with mr and colonel took a survey of the walls of the room during the brief pauses in the conversation you have quite a collection of pictures here he remarked to and the young man knew by the tone he used that he did not approve of them realized instinctively that there was something not quite pleasing to him in what he spoke of and consequently did not carry her gaze to the objects under discussion there was only a second for to make up his mind what to do but it was enough most of them are mine sir he said some are very finely executed responded the colonel knowing that there had been an objectionable quality in the tone which he had first used and wishing to the unpleasant effect these two he pointed to those of the figures are fit for any parlor in the land do you think so asked calmly those are cliff s colonel got out of it as best he could he asked where he had purchased them and said he should certainly stop at that shop and leave an order for a pair to be sent to his residence after a little longer the visitors went away you were very kind said warmly when he was alone again with his friend how about the pictures i could not have done less he didn t like them though i could feel that confound them i have a notion to put them all in the stove did not answer broke the silence presently you remember the girl with the ankles yes was she was too to form a reply chapter v we have made a vow was twenty one when he came back to with his in his hand and exhibited to we have made a vow his father with much pride the evidence that ne was a bachelor of arts with hardly less satisfaction he took out his at the of the and the colonel was pleased to find that he had not merely the sea of knowledge but had gone down into the roots of things and laid the foundation for a future that would be of genuine use to him and now you are going to study law he said what induced you to do that i thought it an honorable profession replied and one that would be likely to bring a fair share of reward for the labor expended you can make it an honorable one as far as you are concerned but the majority of lawyers are of course you will be different laughed the colonel and you will make a bee line for the bench i have hardly thought of that said with a blush i expect to have a hard time at the beginning but i mean to work my way came into the room as they were talking for a wonder was not with her but she already had her bonnet on and was going to mr house as soon as was ready they had both been invited there to tea what do you think of this young man s idea of being a lawyer asked her father placing an arm around and drawing her to him i think he ought to make a good one she said the object of the inquiry the father with one of the dainty hands which he had taken in his own do you think he would have influence with a b the jury he asked if women ever get the right to vote as some of them are trying to and you ar drawn on a jury and is counsel in a case d you think he will affect you by his argument the girl laughed at the humor of the widely conceit i hope the time will never come when women vote in she answered and i m sure it would be perfectly dreadful to have to sit on a jury as for s plea i hope i should be influenced by it if it was on the side of right and justice colonel laughed aloud i see you do not understand the law business said he it matters little to a lawyer where the right and justice of a case is he is there to win a verdict for his and that is all he cares about but interposed speaking for myself sir i should not take a case unless i believed it in the interest of right then the colonel laughed again you would easily

convince yourself of that when a good was placed in your hand but i am keeping you from your engagement and we shall have to dismiss the matter for the present he rose as if to leave them but did not let him go with one hand still clasped in his she stood with him before the young man you would not take the part of the wrong against the right merely because you were paid for it would you pet exclaimed her father you must not take me too seriously would be as honorable as is possible for one of the profession te be i have net the slightest doubt w we have a vow if she took the young man s sleeve in her clasp and spoke with feeling never the part of the wrong against the right never the side of the strong against the weak tell him that you would never do that no matter what the you do not understand said the colonel still trying to make a joke out of the matter that the right and the weak have little with which to pay to lawyers if is to go into this thing with the notion of making a living he will have to do as the others do she clasped the sleeve that she held and refused to consider the matter a light one tell him she is right he answered moved by her earnestness there must be an honorable way of earning a at the bar that way i shall endeavor to follow of course you will said colonel heartily the idea of your taking my little joke so seriously come you must be going or you will keep mr table waiting as they walked along the road toward the farmer s said you must forgive me i could not bear that any one should intimate even in jest that you could ever do a thing if there is no other way to practice law i hope you will adopt some other profession while there is yet time he assured her of the of his intentions and long before they reached their destination they had changed the subject for one more agreeable was watching on th and ran to thb meet them she threw both arms about s neck as though she had not seen her for a month though it was scarcely two hours since they had parted and gave her hand warmly to the girls were at this period eighteen years of age and the promise of their earlier days had been amply fulfilled the one reminded you of a lily the other of a blush rose maturity was still the taller and the of outline and fuller of chest had a dark beauty and warm was a trifle more dignified and stately but without the suspicion of in the unpleasant sense in which the word is often used the question daily as it had for the past five years and could never come to a decision which was the on one point the entire village was agreed however and that was that two finer girls could not be found in the county or state neither of them had an enemy and surely neither of them deserved one naturally enough mr began to talk of s future prospects when the party were seated at the table and the subject of the law as a profession was soon again under discussion i wish you were ready to begin practice now he said for i could give you enough to occupy your time for awhile this matter of my mill power is causing me some trouble the people up stream complain because the water upon their land at some seasons of the year the whole of them have joined in a suit against me and i shall have to defend it it would have made a good beginning for a young attorney to get hold of a case like this and i sorry both for your sake and nay we have made a vow own that you have not already been admitted to bar looked pleased at the compliment implied but could not help asking the question which was uppermost in her mind who has the right of the matter mr the farmer looked at his with some surprise why i of course he answered then why do these men seek to annoy you they would like to get a few thousand dollars out of me if they could that s all you see when i decided that i started my mill i bought up the rights of the on this stream clear up to its source for a long distance through the it hasn t much and when i fill the it sometimes makes the water flow over the land for a good distance back that was to be expected as anybody could have told them but did anybody tell them pursued the mr grew slightly uneasy i don t know as anybody did didn t i m sure men are supposed to know some things when i bought their rights they knew it was for the purpose of securing the water for my mill and that i should have to build my accordingly if there is double the water i need at certain seasons it is very natural to expect that it will would not be from her inquiries and this water the land very likely but what did i pay for i handed over two thousand dollars to those fellows and for what i didn t take a foot of their away the from them they can water their cattle in the brook and wash their there and carry water to their houses to use as well as they ever could i paid for the privilege of using the water for a mill and to keep any one else from above me and i say it s a shame

for them to band together and hire a lawyer to compel me to pay for the same thing twice mrs and listened with interest and it was evident that their sympathies were with the speaker a i don t know much about law said and she was so taken up with the subject at issue that she quite neglected her meal but a case of this kind seems to me one of simple right either you have the privilege of stopping up this brook so that it will run upon the premises of your neighbors or you have not if you have they are very wrong to cause you expense and they will lose their case when it comes to the court if you have not you ought to pay them whatever is just mr was astonished to hear this logic from the young brain and he did not the reason that had made all at once so profound a student of h might have been angry had these same remarks come from another source but was to him almost like another daughter and he wanted to justify himself in her eyes for the course he had taken if these fellows had come to me in fair way and said that they thought i was exceeding my right in letting the water i should feel very different about it but the first thing i heard f the case was a note from lawyer of des hate made a tow ft a man i despise telling me that unless i paid a certain sum in so many days he should enter suit no one likes to be and i told him to go ahead and sue i can spend as much money as they can and i think they will find it out before they are through with me nodded no doubt you can mr would it not be better to find out who is in the right and let that govern the decision now instead of after a great deal of money has been wasted by both of you in her cheeks shone with an color for she knew that what she was saying might of impertinence you would not give the lawyers any chance to live at all he said smiling for the first time imagine yourself in that business and i came to you in this case what would you do i would tell you just what i have and then i would charge you a good round sum for my advice everybody at the table laughed now and harmony which had apparently been threatened for a few moments was fully restored mr said seriously that he did not know but he should carry out the plan suggested as it certainly had elements of good sense in it though the parties to the suit had exasperated him somewhat by their method of summary when you get to he said you had better offer a position as partner in your concern i shall be only too glad to do that said the the young man relieved that the dispute had had sc happy an ending you will have to take me too then put in with a smile and i are never to be separated we have made a vow to live all our lives haven t we dear laughed at that and said he should certainly take them both and mrs who was not much of a interrupted to suggest that the party were the supper which was something she could not permit they then devoted their attention to the and the remarks that were made took on a lighter tone until a very pleasant evening had been passed when the hour arrived for separation reminded that he had promised her mother to see her to her door thereupon declared that it would be too bad for him to return alone as he must pass her house on his way to his own and ran to get her hat to accompany them thanked her warmly for the thought and the went up the road together i have had a splendid evening said when she reached her door i hope your father didn t think me for saying so much about the but i got more interested in the matter than i could give any reason for i wish you would put in a word too i cannot bear to think of neighbors going to law when there is any way to prevent it oh papa will do as he likes said and i don t know as i quite agree with you in this case they have been very and he paid them what everybody said was too much in the first place i hate to see men trying to get money out of another just because he has been successful it would serve them right not to give them a penny and a lawyer that papa has seen tells him they can never get anything if they fight till looked worried i don t pretend to know anything about it she answered but if it were my case i would settle it the simplest way well good night the girls embraced each other and s hand was extended to with her usual you ll be over in the morning of course called yes and i want you here in the afternoon you know all right and strolled back toward their homes with no greater evidence of affection than when the party numbered three what do you think of that mill matter she asked him suddenly leaving another subject to come back to this one there are two sides to it he answered vaguely but which is the best do you entirely agree with he had unquestionably done so when she was speaking to mr it seemed to him then that there was no other way that ought to be thought of now that s tone implied a

of opinion he had grave doubts ought any one to allow themselves to be imposed upon asked not giving him time to speak is it the duty of a man who knows he is in the right to pay out a sum of money for the benefit ft of others just to avoid standing up in a court and defending himself against them not in that view of the matter certainly he answered then he added i am sure your father will consider the case from all sides and do what he thinks just grew as earnest as had done it is not exactly that she said he has paid them once and a good round sum too for what was no loss to them whatever now they have gone to work and him for much more it was no doings of his they have entered on it of their own accord it seems to me that he ought in the interest of others who may be imposed upon in that way at other times to teach them that this sort of thing does not pay those who engage in it admitted that there was something in that he wondered at the same time what answer he would have been able to make had both the girl been present do you imagine i would any right that belonged to me because some one tried to rob me of it she asked looking at him with the air of a young princess never neither i believe will my father when he comes to think it over they were at her gate and it occurred to him for the first time what a figure she had become her handsome head was beautifully set upon a neck of surpassing loveliness and her round bosom gave her a pose at once and commanding he had not dreamed in all his life of offering her a more warm salute than a pressure of the hand but into his brain there came the swift thought that were to be gathered cm both ripe lips never yet touched by lover the half moon poured its light through the trees upon them neither spoke for some moments but she knew that his eyes had seen something never revealed before and her heart gave a throb quite new to its maiden i shall see you to morrow she said breaking the stillness from very necessity yes sometime i have promised to devote a little of each day to reading law so as to put myself ahead when i get to but i will come over afterward they exchanged good nights and he walked the few steps that took him to his door with the strangest feelings he had ever had his head was hot and there was a commotion in all his he only exchanged a word with his father who had sat up to wait for him he wanted to get to bis own room where he could be alone chapter vi why you love them both thought a good deal over the that had made in reference to the claims and convinced himself that she had a good deal of right on her side he was not naturally and would much rather exchange pleasant words with any person than cross ones there were only a dozen parties or so to the suit which had been brought against him and he con the to send some one to them to ascertain what sum would satisfy each in case he should decide to settle the matter it was not wise for him to go because they would then have a chance to quote his offers should fail some must do the work and he naturally thought of one of the lawyers of the village but he knew both of these legal very well and he had not the greatest confidence in them of one he doubted the ability and he had fears of the other s integrity it suddenly occurred to him to ask the young man was in the ways of business to be sure but it was a very simple thing he would have to do a little tact a over of any that had been developed and an appeal to their common sense was all that was needed and could do this as well as an older and more experienced person besides it would be a good thing for him as a to the profession he was about to adopt yes he would offer him the work was a little startled when the proposition was made to him he feared that it was beyond his powers to undertake the reconciliation of elements already so far divided he knew enough of human nature to see that the task was a very different one at the present stage from what it would have been before ill feeling had become so large an he would have to meet men who not only felt themselves entitled to for the actual they had sustained but who had been injured in their pride by words that naturally follow strained relations they had doubtless had together in their state and had ed them both t to do everything in their power to defeat their opponent he said to mr while he was flattered by being selected for this undertaking he feared he could not enter upon it with sufficient confidence he thought some older and more experienced person would be better to engage mr replied that he was willing to run all the risks himself and that he would not hold him at all responsible in the event of failure you can see these men at least said he and report to me the mood they are in it may be that i shall be compelled to go to law after all but before anything more is done in that line i want to give them a chance to get out of it

what said the other evening made a great impression upon me i have never wronged any person and i do not wish to begin i would rather suffer a small loss than inflict one as she says if i owe them anything or even if they honestly believe i do it will make me feel better to pay it than to hates and you are going to be a lawyer and you will have plenty of similar cases in your time here is a good one to begin on i shall pay you what you think right for your trouble and it will be worth a good deal to you as a bit of experience beside answered promptly that he should not think of accepting compensation in any event he wanted a day or two at any rate to think it over and to this mr agreed during the days that followed saw and frequently and with both of them the conversation drifted more than once to the question of the claimed by the on the as the girls knew that they could not agree in their opinions upon this subject it was never brought up when they were together but when he was alone with either it always seemed to come to the surface he mentioned to in confidence the first time he met her that mr had invited him to undertake the task of arranging the trouble and she heard the tidings with the utmost delight i am so glad she exclaimed you will arrange everything i am sure and these old friends will not be converted into mortal enemies let me congratulate you that your first essay in legal work is in so good a cause i have not promised to undertake it yet he answered taken by the praise which she upon him i am a little doubtful whether some one else would not have a better chance of success she looked disappointed but not discouraged go about it with a determination to succeed and that will be half the battle she replied how much pleasanter will be your task to offer these people an olive branch than if you had to send them a challenge to war if you decline this opportunity girl as i am i think i shall go to mr and myself he left her he was almost positive that he should accept the offer there seemed but one view of his duty he imagined the men meeting his with a friendly spirit and small sums as the that would satisfy them his confidence rose to a great height and had he why you them met the mill owner at that moment he would have embraced his proposition without another word but an hour later he met i wonder if father has decided what to do about those men who are him she said he will make the mistake of his life if he gives them a sou let him once get the reputation of being so easily imposed upon and he will be the prey of all the in the state there are times when charity of this sort for a of is and the attorney they have engaged too a man without a of decency in his dealings they ought to be ashamed every one of them the fabric that had been by the arguments of tumbled to the earth in a heap i must tell you something said he uneasily your father has asked me to go to these men and attempt a settlement with them but you are not going she answered anxiously if i do not he will send some one else that does not excuse you she replied with spirit if you show him as you are able to do how foolish such a proceeding would be you can change his mind i think it your duty to do that before he puts himself in the hands of this crowd who would take him by the throat like a pack of why do say something to him he asked nervously you would have more influence than any one else not in a matter of business father thinks a great deal of me and would do anything i asked where i myself was concerned but in such a case as this he would pay no more attention to my opinion than if i were an infant in arms i am in his eye the only a girl but you you are a man what you say he will take at its true value try him and if you cannot him from this course at least be able to remind him afterwards that you advised against it he wished with all his heart that he could say to her then and there that he would do as she wished but what could he tell who had understood he was sure when they parted that he would give advice quite the opposite and even undertake the mission in person i shall have to think about it was all he was able to say whenever he met one of them or the other their conflicting arguments on this subject almost distracted him he was not used to having any matter so in his brain he could decide anything he had ever had to consider up to this time with the quickness of a flash it was the high esteem in which he held them both that confused his mind he could not bear to offend either and the merits of the case were quite hidden in the affection with which he regarded the fair if he had cared one more for one than the other that would have while each of them held the same place in his heart there was nothing to do but continue in uncertainty when a week had passed mr became for his answer telling him that it would seem a simple matter to say yes

of the girls made any response they wanted him to decide for himself and each was confident that he would see the right as she saw it if he only gave it thought enough they did not fancy having a new element brought in whichever way an might decide it would be against one of them and neither liked to risk that on his way back from the village met who had just finished his visit to the mill and as they passed the gate the girls came down to the road having them from their perch on the they exchanged greetings with in a quiet way wanted to talk longer with thinking that if he could get her to surrender a little of her position his task would be easier and he proposed a walk through the woods the girls assented and found himself where he most wanted to be by the side of miss it was a delightful afternoon the warmth of july was tempered by a breeze and the sun examining the house was shaded by masses of white clouds which dispersed the of its rays the paths through the wood led through pleasant and across little bridges built since the days when had carried in his arms over the mr was the owner of this piece of ground and though he had left it open to the common use of the people of he had expended considerable money in it there was quite a large lake in the interior where he had built a boat landing a bath house with a dozen most of which were free to any one who desired to use them and other that increased the value of the water as a means of scattered through the wood were a number of built in the most rustic fashion and by heavy masses of vines a cottage arranged for the of himself and family during any part of the heated season was the most elaborate structure there and this was surrounded by an of a half acre or so shut in by a high board fence to seclusion this summer house which the family had occupied a good deal during the first two or three years after it was erected was now used only for an occasional night when the took a specially high range purposely so as not to keep within too easy sound of the voices of his friend and and courteously responded to all of the which he thought it the part of good breeding to utter presently however he into the subject that most interested him has been telling me about the dispute the ah she replied waiting for him to proceed it is a curious case he went on his only difficulty is his dislike to come to any decision that will be disagreeable either to you or miss she waited a moment and then said that he must for all that come to some decision sooner or later yes so i have told him and i have said further that i wholly agree with you miss in the view that you have taken he had a notion that she would show gratification perhaps him with thanks and he was ready to any credit for merely what he thought right but to his surprise she did nothing of the kind if she was pleased there was nothing in her countenance to indicate it he fancied that he could on the contrary detect dissatisfaction with the information he had given her and he began to wonder if he had committed an error he asked me my opinion pursued groping blindly in the direction where he supposed there might be light and as a friend i could not refuse to give it to him now could i he asked thinking she ought to say something to guide him before he had gone much farther certainly not he asked me what should do in a case like this which he i said i should try to effect a settlement outside of the and if that failed i should of course go to a jury and leave it with them but i should try the plan first i hope you do not think i was wrong in giving that advice by no means examining the summer house he thought that she showed an extraordinary lack of enthusiasm notwithstanding her apparent agreement with him in the course he had pursued and he determined to see if he could not say something to arouse her from the into which she had fallen i cannot say that i succeeded in making s duty clear to him he said he was still uncertain what he should do when we finished our talk but i gave him another suggestion which may assist him when he has thought about it sufficiently i told him that where one wanted to please two people the only way was to try and please the one he liked best he was alarmed at his own when he had uttered the words but she did not give any sign of any particular stress to them was with some rods in advance and knew hat for this moment at least his friend was under the spell of her fascination what do you think of my proposition he asked as she did not reply i can see but one way to decide anything responded and that is by the guidance of one s conscience i think will decide that way and whichever course he takes i shall be satisfied he could see that the couple in advance had paused and were waiting for them and he quick his steps you have never been into the summer house i believe said to has the keys with her and we will inspect the place if you wish j the said he should like it very much and party proceeded to the main gate of tie which was

fastened by a a little rusty from exposure to the weather she tried to turn the key but it stuck in the lock and took the task upon himself with better results once inside the grounds he expressed his admiration for everything in no terms there was nothing very elaborate or expensive either in the summer house or its but he had not expected so much comfort and taste as was everywhere displayed it was a perfect of a place arranged under the personal of mrs and bore a certain resemblance to the southern type of similar which she had known in her childhood there was everywhere an air of refreshing coolness and thought he had never seen a place more inviting to rest and comfort during the season for which it was designed the house was quite extensive having not less than twelve rooms and the kitchen was placed in the smallest building at a little distance in which were also quarters for servants it is delightful he exclaimed why is it that you have not already put it to use this year mamma is not as well as she used to be explained and we have not occupied it much for several seasons i must send mary down and have it put in order we generally have a few here some time in the summer and father and i have usually slept here some of the warmest nights i tell you what cliff said this would be just the place for us to come and study in while examining the summer b mr family is not using it i am going to inquire what price he will ask j laughed at the word price you need not go to father for that she said i will give you the key as soon as the house is in order and you can come here all you like if we happen to want it for a day or two i can let you know and the expense put in not contented for long unless he could make some allusion to the subject on his mind can from the bill when he has arranged terms with the on the mill stream looked annoyed and turned to examine one of the windows where there was a pane of broken glass for which they could not account saw that he had put his foot in it but he did not know how to it let me tell you all my idea of the way to arrange this thing said he and the girls assumed an air of attention i will propose to mr to go with and talk with these men sound them as the saying is it will do no harm for us to go and see them in a sort of way and report how we find things if they are i should say settle if they are bound to fight then the blame will be on them looked at the girls to see what reply they had to make to this proposal which commended itself to him for two reasons it seemed to show a way to solve the difficulty by a little to each side and it gave him a companion on his errand which he very much wanted to have the ther of the girls spoke for a moment and then it was who broke silence i think she said addressing her remark to that we had best leave further discussion of this affair to the gentlemen you have a strong opinion as to which way is right i have one equally strong i am willing to allow them to go on so far as i might have any influence by any further argument of mine assented to the proposition you know what i think she said to as well as if i were to repeat it a thousand times i shall be glad to adopt s idea and drop the matter from our conversations hereafter thought they had dropped him along with their for he did not seem to enter into their considerations at all his vanity was hurt for he was accustomed to a good deal of deference in the society which he met at home being a young gentleman of family and fortune whom most people of his circle thought it worth while to cultivate looked from one of the girls to the other with the feeling of a man deserted on a lonely island by those whom he has esteemed his friends and who sees them pulling at the oars which take their boats further and further from him he saw no way to escape however and tried to think that the new aspect of affairs had its advantages he changed to s side as the party strolled homeward leaving to from a notion of propriety but none of them managed to get into a very mood before parting i ve got to rely on you now old boy said a trip up e aid when they were in their room at his father s if you desert me i am ruined i shall not desert you replied but we must go about this thing without another days delay we must have a talk with mr early in the morning and start off before noon to this seemed like hurrying matters but his friend was inexorable if it s to be done let s get it out of the way said he time enough has been wasted already will be much disappointed mused and gratified replied his friend watching him narrowly and i wanted so much to please both that has been proved impossible now you must choose as i told you yesterday looked up oddly how do you know i want to choose that way p he inquired chapter viii a trip up the river led off in the conversation with mr the next morning he led off also in securing a horse

and wagon with which to make the trip up stream for it was necessary to follow a country road which led to most of the farmers houses and it seemed useless to make so much of a journey o foot was when he found that the the die was actually cast and could think of nothing but the objections that had raised he would have given anything in reason to have got out of the whole matter with credit and wished heartily that mr had never thought of his name in connection with his tangled affairs his companion on the other hand had concluded that there might be something of credit to himself in a settlement of the case although had with such coolness his announcement of his intention to join in it he knew that he was doing what she wanted done every hour that passed found him with a greater affection for the fair girl than the preceding he saw that his progress in her good graces must be very slow but he was willing to wait at present her whole heart appeared to be fixed on that young gentleman s however seemed to to be inclined a little stronger toward and this gave him hope he had chosen on the day preceding for his walk to the woods and he had for her on the homeward walk more apparently from motives of policy than from an inclination to abandon his partner he talked of nothing this morning but the disagreeable effect this errand would have on was quite encouraged at the prospects take them all in all as he and rode out of agreed readily to let do most of the talking and the young man himself with distinction at the first house they called at the owner was a man named who had suffered the largest injury if there was any from the overflowing of the and brook he seemed to a trip up the river be a good natured fellow and readily consented to leave his work and go over the ground with his it s all dry enough now he said as they reached the vicinity of the alleged but you ought to have seen it in april i couldn t put in a there for a month after i had the rest of the farm finished all that big piece that is covered with late crops was as wet as a the banks of the brook are low in spots all along its course and the rise raises the deuce how long have you had the place asked i took it up the same year he did the he referred evidently to mr did it never before he built his dam well leaning heavily on one leg i wouldn t want to say never not every year as it does now i ll be bound it has each year since then has it t yes sir every one and i ve got proof of it excuse me mr said but why did you not seek sooner mr shifted his weight to the other leg the fact is he answered that i wanted to be and not trouble any one if i could help it i spoke to everybody in seemed privileged to call mr by his first name and we had some talk about it but time has gone on and it has kept doing me harm and he has made a good deal of money out of the mill and i think he ought to make it right that is about all there is to it tor ton walked around a little trying to assume an air of wisdom do you think there is less profit in the crop you have there on that piece than in the grain beyond it he ventured well i don t know as there is it takes a good deal more work to raise it than it does corn or wheat but it brings more in the fall that ain t the thing though i contend that no man has a right to run water over my land without he pays me for the privilege it ain t for to say that i must raise this crop or that crop pretended to side with the farmer in his last statement thinking that this was the best policy and inquired off hand how much he thought would make him square i don t know exactly said mr i only want what s right a he paid you something for the privilege of using the brook didn t he he gave me two hundred dollars for a writing that i would never use it myself for power or do any thing to its waters except take water for my cattle and the house if it wasn t for that writing i could put up a mill as well as he and i don t know as it would hurt his power if i did his idea was i suppose that he didn t want any other mill in the valley and he came along when i was short of money and bought me out at his own price just as everybody else does in the way of business commented now mr you are an honest and a sensible man and you think mr owes you something i wish you would tell me how much your claim is as i would like to have a trip up the river him settle these matters in a friendly way with his old neighbors if i can mr shifted his weight again i ve put in a claim for a thousand he said you might just as easily have made it ten replied the question is what amount would you you don t want if i understand you correctly anything but what is right how much cash in your hand between now and the first day of august would satisfy you to

execute a quit claim mr put his hands as far down into his breeches pockets as they would go you see mr i believe you didn t tell me your name mr you see mr we have made an agreement we farmers along the brook not to settle unless we can all settle together we put our names to a paper that lawyer drew up i m willing and i ve always been willing to do the fair thing could have settled with me almost any way if he had talked right when i first went to him he kept say ing that he had paid me once and that he didn t think i ought to ask any more and i got tired of it but now i shall have to abide by the sense of the others if he s got any proposal to make we ll get together and hear it and i won t be the off horse neither here was an unexpected obstacle had hoped to arrange matters with the one by one and now he met a much more formidable opposition the farmers were to be by a lawyer and no doubt a shrewd one who would urge the them to get every dollar they could squeeze out of the mill owner mr doesn t admit that he owes you anything he said but for the sake of good feeling and old acquaintance he is willing to make an allowance for the fact that you hold a contrary view he has no proposition to make but if he could get reasonable or half reasonable figures from you all he would prefer to draw his for a small amount rather than have you spend your money at law i am going to see the others and talk it over with them and i hope you will get together and conclude that it is better to come to some agreement in a friendly spirit than to put a lot of your money into the pocket of an mr a piece of earth from his coat you re going to make the same mistake that did he replied if you go up the road telling the farmers that he don t claim to owe them anything you might as well stay at home they know that he does owe them something and their lawyer that he ll get it out of him if they go to a jury i am only giving you all a chance to avoid taking that risk said pleasantly a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush you know well you go and talk with them and when you come back stop here and tell me what they say said and may i tell them that you will agree to whatever the majority decide yes i ain t no but you ll find them fellows howling now i tell you they re mad clean through and that s the truth a trip up the walked slowly back to their with who had not uttered a word and mr accompanied them we shall try to settle this thing but perhaps it will please these men better if they hear the decision from a court said as he reached the wagon p responded mr when they were on their way again asked what he thought of the progress they were making it s a little like that of a said i didn t think the trip would amount to anything it will give me a chance though to say to that we tried but miss will think if the verdict goes badly against her father that it is partly due to our interference i know it said sadly isn t it unfortunate v nothing that he could say no form in which he could put the could turn from his closely balanced fondness for the two girls and heaved a sigh of regret it is indeed unfortunate he assented to hide his feelings the only thing in all our lives that ever came between us exclaimed we have gone on as smoothly as that confounded down there ever since we were little bits of things till now he spoke in such a depressed tone that was moved to remark that there was nothing very vital in it all there had been no quarrel either between the young ladies themselves or between either of them and thb quarrel t echoed starting at the word quarrel why cliff i can feel each of their hearts the slightest regret that either of them experiences cuts me like a knife our nerves are i read their thoughts before they utter them there can be no quarrel between us that does not end in death the prepared plate of the is not so sensitive to the light as the smallest of my brain is to the least of theirs grew very sober and as i told you it must come to an end he said but how cried wildly i think we are really one and not three as we appear to others we were born in parts but we have grown together a blow to one of us hurts all let me as an tell you one thing said i have watched you while both miss and miss feel a great interest in this matter it does not affect them anything like the way it does you you do not know was the instant reply they do not confide in you as i do could you read their minds as i can could you feel the depression which they experience sent with double force back to your own heart you would know that my agitation is not one bit greater than theirs it is not this thing in itself that troubles me so but the dread it gives me of the future i did not know until you opened my eyes how dear they were to

mind that he would offer assistance to the first time he met him knew well that his affairs were in a very precarious state but so they had been for years but that is a serious thin ill and yet he had always managed to escape at the last moment he had more than once seen the interest day approach until its shadow cast a black cloud over his heart and yet something had always happened to save him before the fatal blow was delivered the year previous three days after the company had given him notice that they should push their rights a stranger giving the name of had called to ask if he would like to execute a second at the ordinary rate of interest a thing unknown in that latitude and the money thus obtained had to put off his for another year now both the interest on the first and second were coming due and the principal of the latter as well he had hoped to save something toward payment but with s college expenses and some losses in various directions his plans had gone wrong he had less than four hundred dollars on hand with a thousand due on the principal and half as much as interest and with everything he owned from his farm down to the smallest animal or tool upon it to their full value he had no idea from what source relief could come but he had a blind confidence that it would come from somewhere and in this blind confidence he rested when he entered into the suit against and threatened to cut off the mill water as soon as his crops were out of the ground of course john had no idea that the stranger named was really the representative of mr and the money which he advanced on the precarious security of a second came from solid bank account of his prosperous neighbor ton perhaps if he had known it his pride would have been too strong to allow of its acceptance even though it was the only thing that could save him from total financial ruin the gave a power of sale as did all at that date in within a short time of any in the payment of interest or principal with this document in the village bank waited for the day when it would be available he had never wanted to make john trouble and had lent the money with the feeling that it was pretty much the same thing as throwing it away but the sinister expressions in reference to the mill stream had proved too much for his good nature he was considerable surprised therefore to receive word from the agent one day in august that the note covering the second had been paid in full with interest and that the amount was awaiting his order was more than surprised he was annoyed he wondered who beside himself had been reckless enough to advance money on that sort of security he went and told what he had learned as soon as he could find her it leaves me entirely at his mercy he said he will do what he threatened now there is no doubt about it simply from she exclaimed how can any man have such a disposition well it us of the other question at least he will have to bear all the moral responsibility and much it will trouble him he answered grimly there is one thing left that i could per but that u a do i could see the agent of the company which has the other and tain if they wish to sell it were it not for my course would be plain enough mr happened to see mr shortly afterward and in response to the question whether the company had any which they wished to dispose of received the reply that it was against the policy of the company to sell they had an implied contract with their customers that only the usual proceedings would be taken as long as the interest is kept up he said we let the principal stand when there is a we sell at according to law we never do anything t supposing said mr that you had a who should flood his land to spite a neighbor and thus reduce its producing and selling value i can t imagine such a case was the reply but i do not think we should do anything about it so long as the interest was paid we are not fond of interfering in minor matters with our there seemed to be no outlet in this direction and returned home with a greater puzzle than ever on his mind colonel who had known that the was really the property of was troubled over the part he felt obliged to play in the affair principally because it compelled him to enter into a sort of deception of his old friend like adam he had not wanted to know from what source his assistance came and had engaged an out to the business the first time he the met he had a mortal fear that fee would allude to the case and dreaded lest he should ask him if he knew who this man was who had taken up the the colonel did not mean to reveal his own part in the transaction and neither did he like to tell even a white lie to conceal it but to his great relief never alluded to the matter in any way things went on quietly until one day early in september when some one in the village asked him if he had heard that was that the mill would shut down before the next snow came finding that this statement had really been made by colonel thought it his duty to have a talk with him he had not meant that his kindness to one neighbor should

gratitude t she said there is no way in which you could have earned it better let me tell you first the name of the who held the note which i it was the girl was so lost in wonder that she dropped her arms to her side do you mean that he would have taken s house from over his head to prevent mr s destruction of the mill power yes it was a case where he would have thought it right it is a very unhappy affair and it is likely to put me into a most unpleasant situation should mr attempt to carry out his plan there is but one person in the world who could stop him and that person is myself the colonel waited a moment to collect his thoughts and then proceeded if the river is allowed to upon mr s land it will inevitably injure it seriously for farming for a long time thus it will lessen the value of the security of the which i hold i could undoubtedly procure an from the court which would prevent him carrying out his but to do this i should have to show him that a thing that i am the real owner of the it would not be strictly honest for my agent to go to the court and say that it was his property at stake there would be to that could only be signed by the real person interested if i obtain this i can save the power to mr mill but at the same time i shall doubtless the enmity of mr and that may make a between us that will result in trouble for and you now you see my child why i came home to day with a cloud on my face did see it and she sat a long time in silence thinking the matter over in the case of the farmers who wanted she had concluded at once that right was right and that no question of ought to be allowed to enter into the discussion now that she found that s happiness which meant in a peculiar degree her own was involved she wanted a little time for consideration i will go and talk to mr she said at last he need not know that you have told me of your visit to him and certainly i shall say nothing about the secret you have committed to me but he has always liked me from the earliest time i can remember and never meets me in the street without stopping for a man of his reserved habits means a good deal i will go and talk with him about the brook and perhaps i shall have a better effect than an older and wiser head is at with mr so he will not be in the way colonel did not exactly like this plan but he saw no real reason why he should refuse to bis consent to it the ton at this moment discerned a familiar figure coming up the walk there is she cried in a low tone of delight how i wish i could confide this to her it is the only secret i ever had that she could not share but she must not share this one he answered decidedly i have told you with the understanding that you will confide in no one came upon the where they were sitting and in their invariable fashion the girls embraced each other warmly i had a letter from this morning said and so did i cried then they both laughed heartily colonel rose and himself walked into his library and shut the door ought not to keep on writing so often to he mused but after all there is plenty of time plenty of time chapter xl ik the upper berth was still away on his visit to when set out on her errand of to his father it was a lovely morning late in august and than the morning was as she tripped along happy in her youth happy in the thought of her good intentions serene with the serenity of one who has no real ache of j f upper bt l heart or of mind every whom she met addressed her with a cheery good morning for there was no man woman or child in all that ever failed to give this welcome to one who always received it with a pleased nod and smile in return her father might have more of this world s goods than had some of theirs but neither he nor she ever showed that they considered this a matter to stand between them and courtesy to their neighbors of whatever grade surly as was john with the world in general he also relaxed when he saw her bright face and he gave her what he now gave to few his hand good morning miss it was not a very long sentence but she knew that she was welcome and this was as much as she had hoped for i see you have begun your she said thinking this as good a way to begin as any you have had a good crop this year if i am any judge very fair it was all he said but from him it was ing i heard from a few days ago he tells me that he will be home again in another week yes he s coming and then said we shall all be off together don t you think it will make quite a in when we all three go at once and i whatever he thought about it he did not express in words but at the mention of s name his brow darkened a little the you know what friends we have all been since we were little children pursued and it will be very pleasant for us to finish our education so

near together as we shall be at we are so glad over it that i fear we do not realize how unhappy it will make our parents especially s and mine for has been off already a good deal and you must have got somewhat used to it i hope nothing will ever happen that will separate us for we should not know what to do without each other he knew now what had brought her there and it did not please him but he liked too well to wish to injure her feelings and so he waited she went back to the crops again remarking that the corn was looking finely but she did not make much progress in the direction she sought at last mr brought the matter to a crisis let us come to the point miss you did not come here to talk to me about the corn she looked up rather alarmed to have the fact so plainly stated you came here to talk about an affair that two business men now i like you like you better than any girl in but i can t talk about that matter with any one but she protested when you think of and i do not think of and he retorted with least sign of anger i hope i shall never have to couple those names in my thoughts they are names that cannot be joined in that or any other way they have been friends as children but it is time even that ended my son will not con the berth an acquaintance with his father s enemy after he understands the situation which i shall make him do the next time he comes home grew pale at the force of his language uttered with a vehemence quite foreign to his usual nature as she had known it you would not separate them she gasped you would not forbid him to see her i would i will he answered he is nearly twenty two the fancy of the boy must give way to the common sense of the man i have hesitated to speak to him about it believing that he would learn wisdom of his own accord and believing beside that he had fixed his affections elsewhere but he stopped for the girl showed extreme agitation and the word elsewhere came faintly from her lips like an echo of his own she had feared for the moment she knew not what it sounded as if had another love of whom she had never heard you understand me miss said i have seen the friendship of you three and i have believed i still believe that it is not toward that s dearest thoughts have turned if i have been mistaken he added hastily as she to interrupt him i shall take action at once if i am right nothing that he could do would make me happier was powerfully affected by these expressions the more so as she was totally unprepared for them it was extremely grateful to find that this hard man entertained such kindly feelings toward herself and that he thought her worthy of the son thb whom he loved with the only warm spot in his being but a sense of to overpowered these sentiments and she hastened to reply i think you are in error mr if you forbid him to see you will give all of us great grief for it will a bond that has become than you can imagine you say that you like me for my sake then if for no other reason give up this plan and allow things to go on as they are going if it will influence you any she added with a blush i am confident that you need have no fear so far as she paused too much overcome with confusion to finish the sentence i knew i was not wrong he said in a low voice it is not necessary that some things should be spoken to have them understood but it is safer both for him and you that a stop should be put to their intimacy a feeling of guilt came over her that she should seem to share in such a thought as this oh no she cried not for it is not safer for me i do not need the protection neither does he sir and think of the it would seem as if you believed there was danger and that would set everybody to talking let things be as they are from your own it is the best way and i are like sisters she and are no closer i am certain of it so long as you force me to say so and that brings me to what i came here for yes it is about the water in the that i want to speak about let it flow on it is for my own sake i ask it and if the you really care anything for me you will do as i request her earnestness was so great that it affected him even while he was forming a reply you do not know never mind what your have been the greater they are the nobler will be your victory if you pass them by dear mr i shall never forget the happiness you will give me by this simple favor we are all going to together will call upon me often and if and he are forbidden to speak how unpleasant it will be for me wait till our year in school is ended if you can do no more promise me she urged with all her powers of persuasion promise me that you will wait a year john would have laughed the idea to scorn an hour before that any slip of a girl could have had this influence over him but he found his giving way before her pleading if it

works harm to you mind for i can see how it may do so don t blame me he said i will be plain i want you and to spend your lives together is a girl of great strength of mind and you will need to be careful that she does not use her powers to you it is useless to sneer at such a possibility such things have been done and they may be again if i make you a promise you must make me another do not be to give him no cause to doubt the real state of your mind toward him many a lover has been chilled by pretended coolness you are both young but you are old enough to know your minds do not be too anxious to wait until s he is settled in his profession if he speaks encourage him and all will be well but even when i con sent to your request that i shall do nothing to separate him from her i fear i fear caught both his hands in hers you need fear nothing of course you won t tell about my coming here or that you have said any of these things to me we are very young indeed i feel i am hardly more than a child things alone that is all there is to do you have made me happier than you can imagine with that she ran away afraid to stay for anything more and went home to tell her father that she had secured at least a temporary delay in the threatened she did not tell him what else she had learned for she could hardly bear to think of it herself loving as she had done for so long knowing as she had known for the past year that there was something more than ordinary affection between them she had never till now put it into definite form even to her own heart mr had unlocked the secret chamber and enabled her to gaze upon the hidden treasures that she had hardly dared till then to call by their right name very sweet indeed was the sight but the soul felt something akin to fright at the revelation and thus it has ever been since romance began to be written and no doubt long centuries to that day came back when it lacked but a fortnight of the day on which he was to depart for his law office and the girls were to go with him to their his father faithful to his promise to said nothing to him whatever about lit neither did he utter any further threats against though he did not withdraw his name from the list of parties to the mill stream suit that case was originally set down for trial in november but mr attorney had had it postponed till spring in order that the jury might be able to see the full extent of the things remained in though it might be merely the calm that the storm the silence that is a of the earthquake repented the promise he had made when he heard one morning that several heavy loads drawn by oxen had been taken in the night time and lodged in an addition which had recently built to his mill it seemed to him like a defiance this preparation to the capacity of a concern which he had the power to stop at his pleasure at first he questioned the honor of in the matter fearing that she had informed mr of the agreement which he had made but he had too much confidence in her to hold this opinion for long it was more like a decided challenge on the part of the mill owner for him to do his worst john had no doubt that the mysterious loads contained another set of mill stones and the necessary machinery for putting them in operation he was very angry at first but he grew calmer on reflection the larger s the larger would be his loss when the power was destroyed he could afford to wait and when the year was ended not even the sweet voice of should persuade him from his revenge both mr and colonel with their wives had visited making the journey i thb tow company to inspect the rooms which their daughters were to occupy and to talk personally with the principal of the they had left word that was to have as free access to the girls as though he were a brother each of the fathers in language strikingly similar committed his daughter to the care of the young man who was to see her to her journey s end and act as a sort of guardian to her while there i know of no one else to whom i would said colonel with feeling you have long seemed to me almost like a son and i am glad you and she are to be so near each other visit her often and make her first separation from her parents as easy to her as you can you and seem more like brother and sister than anything else was the way mr put it i shall feel quite easy to know that she is where she can call upon you in case of necessity it is the first time she has ever been from her mother and me but she will not mind it so much when you are where you can see her every few days thanked both of them for their confidence and made some remarks to the effect that he hoped their faith in him was deserved to this they each responded that they had no doubt of that and the party set off the girls kissed their parents repeatedly and promised to write very often the station was crowded in their honor and the good that rent the air as the train

i he cried shaking his clenched hand at him you can our lands and spoil our crops and when we come to a jury they will decide in your favor you have money that s your hold how much did you pay to get that verdict eh if had reflected a moment he would have let this observation pass for the of a disappointed man but the stung him to the quick he himself on the of his ct mr honor and had the expenditure of a single cent been sufficient to him the verdict he would have the proposal to use it in any unfair of justice go along you old fool he retorted angrily if you were not too full of to know what you are saying i would have you put under arrest and made to eat those words had been drinking there was no doubt of that but he had a gray head and some of the audience cried shame there was little feeling in favor there and a crowd of that sort is not apt to be in its judgments oh you ve got money you can do anything trying hard to control himself walked nearer to his carriage the driver of which was becoming uneasy seeing him retreating several of the took up the refrain in more or less loud tones but all of them distinct enough to reach his ears as he heard them his rage was kindled anew and he turned about yes i have got money honestly earned as any money ever was and i don t propose to have a set of thieves and cheat me out of it either i can buy up every man in this crowd and have a balance left in the bank afterwards if any of you are dissatisfied with the verdict come to me tomorrow and i ll take every acre and building you own and give you the cash for it if you have anything to sell come to me like square men and say so but don t come like chicken thieves and try to get what doesn t belong to you the effect of this extraordinary speech was t the silence the party till he could get into his carriage and drive away when the smothered flame broke forth again all that could be said against was brought out and the disappointed and their exhausted in abuse of this tyrant who had grown rich beyond their power to understand and consequently faster than he had any honest right to do grew white about the lips when launched his epithet at them but when they turned to him for an explanation of his threat he only repeated it he is using my water to run his mill with and when i get ready to stop him i shall it was the only consolation they could obtain and unsatisfactory as it was they tried to find comfort in it some thought lawyer ought to be compelled to part of the money he had got out of them the sum having something over a thousand dollars but others that lawyers were not in the habit of doing business that way before they got through being in a vicious temper with everything and everybody they fell to quarrelling among themselves and several blows were exchanged after which the party broke up in confusion within the next month three of the becoming disgusted with life in that vicinity availed themselves of mr proposition sold him their estates and moved away and soon happiness was restored to his heart and household by the coming home of his daughter for the long summer a year had done much for her beauty had rapidly as she approached her twentieth m oo you love my bon birthday until it seemed at times fairly dazzling her dark eyes had never been so bright her brown hair so or her olive skin so perfect in its purity of blood she was a little taller a little a little more mature but still hardly more than a large child who had no notion of assuming the station of full womanhood as she alighted from the train and flew to meet her father and mother kissing each with the passionate of her disposition the villagers who saw the sight found a murmur of admiration passing from one end of the crowd to the other isn t she perfectly lovely remarked one young to his sweetheart too much affected by the apparition to think what a very thing it was to say to her but the crowd took up the expression and passed it along perfectly y was repeated over and over again had seen her parents from the window and hastily waving her hand to them had rushed to the door and left the car step almost before the train came to a stand one or two other passengers alighted and then came as miss came into view the doubt of as to which was the more lovely of the twain received its usual strain all eyes turned from to her friend and the expressions of admiration broke out afresh beautiful as a lily with a complexion such as wealthy would gladly spend a fortune to imitate with eyes fair hair the motion of a swan and the smile of an angel had her moment of adoration too there was a minute f consultation among the party and then a hasty oar separation the closed carriages of the and the families with their hired drivers the only ones in town drove away with their burdens and an open sent by a farm boy took to his father s john received his son with few words his was so well known that any thing else would have aroused surprise he questioned briefly as to whether he was satisfied with the year he had spent at asked about one or two minor matters and then into

silence i shall spend most of my here said is there any way in which i can help you his father was astonished at the question he had never asked his son for the slightest assistance upon the farm knowing his for agricultural pursuits and he could not understand what put this idea into his head but he contented himself with a simple negative after eating his supper strolled over to mr house where both the girls were awaiting him as they had agreed to do before they parted at the train there was one thing that mr wanted more than anything else now and that was to see and have another talk with her he did not know how to arrange it and over a week passed before he happened to meet her where others were not present when the opportunity came and he encountered her on the road from the place to her own home he only stopped to say good morning and to ask her when she could find time to see him in private i have something to say to you said he it do you love my son will not take long but i do not wish to be interrupted i shall consider any time mine that you was the prompt answer the sooner it is over the better he mused i will send away to night on an errand if you will call at the house better make it nine o clock or about that i will be there she replied and they separated promptly at the time appointed she came and found him sitting alone on the awaiting her he had given a commission that would take him away for an hour or two and as he seldom had visitors no one was likely to disturb them i know you will believe miss he said coming directly to the point that there is no one whom i would rather please than you nearly a year ago i was about to arrange a piece of business which i thought necessary when in obedience to your request i postponed it you mean i trust that you abandoned it altogether she interrupted him to say i post it he answered deliberately for a year the time is nearly expired and i want no misunderstanding i have wished many times that i had not made you that promise but having made it i kept it nothing could induce me to make it again may i not hope she began he stopped her with a trace of impatience that is all there is to that subject if you please now will you tell me if you and are as good friends as ever she struggled with herself a moment for she felt the ton that she was defeated but she thought it best not to cross him she responded that she and were on the same pleasant terms that they had always been but excuse me you know why i ask it is there more nothing definite between you she shook her head with deepening color oh there is so much time for that why it be years and years before i shall want to think of it a ut meanwhile you have no fears of losing him she sm l ed now not nor that she is and always will be our dearest friend unless she added you are so cruel as to destroy that r he spoke with more earnestness than she had supposed him capable of exhibiting do you love my son ery much she looked into his eyes a startled at his manner yes she said timidly you would not like to have take him from you no and from the heavenly blue of her eyes there fell a on his hand then let me warn you not to let him be close in this friendship with that handsome girl he is easily influenced he has a soul as gentle as your own and the slightest thing may turn him it is the height of folly for you to imagine that they can be thrown together at all seasons without something do love my son more than ordinary attraction draw him away from her before you are too late listened to him with alarm but not with any fear that his words could come true she trembled at the thought that he should have formed such an idea why loves me she answered in a whisper it is not necessary that he should say so in words or that any promise should be made between us we have loved each other ever since we were children he has shown his affection for me in a thousand ways i know it i feel it is our dear friend whom i could never suspect of she knows our love for each other though it has never been talked over and why should it be ah mr you do her wrong if you entertain the slightest suspicion that she would separate and me she was so earnest that he wished he could agree with her but he was a practical man and he told her that he was fully convinced to the contrary if you think it to find from his own lips just how he stands said he i shall endeavor to discover it for myself i could never consent that son of mine should link his life with a daughter of you think you say you are sure that he never would do so i also must be certain for i assure you loving as i do and he is the only thing on earth for whom i care much i would never allow him to speak to me again never own him as a relation should he make a marriage of that kind he had spoken at an unusual length for him and she had the rest of the conversation principally to herself most

of his replies being in say the what she might she could not move him from either point on which he had decided he would do as he pleased about the mill power and he would have a talk with him to have less to do with miss in fact to break off his friendship with the entire family i won t have him going there he said angrily if he is stubborn he must choose between us and if you are wise miss you will aid instead of me in that matter she felt the complete of arguing with him but she uttered a final protest declaring that she could not bear to think that a friendship as pure and sweet as they three had enjoyed for nearly fifteen years should be broken up for a mere whim and that she should be compelled to do all in her power to prevent and from sacrificing their old friendship for each other you will advise my son to my request is that it he asked you must remember she said that he is nearly twenty three but a boy still a boy who does not know his mind who must be guided as other boys are it is useless to talk longer with me miss we see things differently rose with a motion which clearly meant farewell and started to leave i will go part of the way with you he said no she interrupted pleasantly i am afraid of nothing all i ask of you is that you will think it over good night every word of this conversation had been heard by an listener none other than do you love my box himself he had started on the errand with which his father had him and becoming doubtful of a portion of the message he was to deliver had returned by a rear path to ask that it be more fully explained while searching for his father he had heard s voice and had paused from sheer wonder that she should be there the first words that caught his ear were these are you and as good friends as ever he could not resist waiting one moment to hear her reply and after that he was in a for either to advance or retreat might subject him to the suspicion of being the that he was and he did not wish to appear contemptible to either of them he had heard it all and when they separated he pursued his journey fain to let the message take care of itself as there was no way of it now as he walked along the road he heard over again what had been said he had known that his father did not like but he had not supposed the could grow to this proportion so it was to come to separating him from was it it was true that he was nothing but a boy who did not know his own mind but he would not willingly submit to like this never before had he been made to feel parental restraint and the first pull of the cord was not pleasant separate him from forbid him to see her what nonsense he could not and would not bear it then he thought of the loveliness of s confession made without fear or blush she loved him and had owned it to the one who was by the ties of nature nearest to him and had the best right to ask her it was very sweet to know that she cared s the dearly for him this girl whom he had loved ever since as she herself put it they were children he had never loved her as much as he did at this moment nor felt more the impossibility of going through life without her counsel and companionship how noble and generous she was in her to many girls he well knew would have sacrificed their friend rather than the slightest risk of losing their lover he was angry with himself that he was walking in an opposite direction on an errand of little importance instead of back to the village by her side with her arm linked in his if he were there at this moment she should no longer have to confess that he had never told her definitely of the love he bore her and the hope that lay next his heart and then there came a pain a sudden in that heart so and yet so true for he knew that however much he loved was no less dear to him chapter xiii there are in asia there was no corn on the farm that year nor any of the numerous varieties of small crops that late there was not even a garden planted nothing but the winter wheat that is in the latter part of june had covered his the neighbors upon this fact and there are in asia came to various conclusions some said with an air of wisdom that john wanted his money all at once in order to meet the payment of his interest and that was why he had raised the kind of grain that earliest others guessed at the true reason his desire to clear the fields so that he could tap the brook as soon as possible and cut off the supply of water that turned the wheels of mill had gone with her father and mother on a month s visit to relations at a distance she had parted with regret from even for this brief time and he had said many pleasant things to her during the calls that he made after her journey was decided upon he meant to tell her before she left that she held a place in his heart dearer than that of a mere friend meant to tell her in set phrase but when he approached the subject the words failed to

come once when he stammered something of what was in his mind she quite prevented his going any farther by saying that she entirely understood him that there was no need of his saying anything more and that she had entire confidence and faith in his truth and honor don t neglect while i am gone she said at the last with a little tremor of the voice but don t forget either he assured her that he could never forget her present or absent and asked her to write often which she promised to do went from the station where he and had been to see the party off to the home of the somewhat depressed but the brightness of s spirits soon had their effect upon his own and he was than ever within an hour after thk the early tea in which he with the family he and strolled down to the grove where the house was and took a short ride on the little lake there she was an expert and insisted that as he was her guest she must do the wishing only to make her happy he consented with some reluctance to sit in the stern and allow her to furnish the motive power that impelled the small craft as she bent forward and put her strength into the work he noticed as he never had before the magnificence of her she wore a dress with sleeves of open work and the pink flesh showed distinctly as the of her arms stood out in relief the neck was cut low and the beauty of the throat was apparent she had worn her long hair in two from a sudden fancy and the loose locks that played about her forehead added to her expression but it was not her olive skin her dark eyes or her dress that made her irresistible to him on that evening it was the clear and shining star of love that had set itself on her brow and beamed through all obstacles into his very soul when they reached the of the lake she ceased he begged to be permitted to take the oars from her but she was saying that she only intended to rest a few minutes there where all was so still and then row back to the shore the night was cloudy and no one walking on the bank could have them he changed his seat to the one by her side they conversed in low whispers laughing at trifles in a suppressed way and neither was at ease the oars had been placed in position on the edge of the boat and nothing pre there ass ft obeying a sudden impulse to take s hand in his as he touched it all the blood in his body seemed at his brain let us not go in he said in a whisper let us never go in again i she leaned toward him as if with his words and as she did so he put his arms about her as long as he had known her this was the first time he had ever done that or anything approaching it the boat drifted but little there was no current in the lake which had an outlet only through a little brook that ran toward the wandering five miles at least to every one that a crow s flight would have taken to reach its destination felt the yielding form lying close against him and the effect on his senses was most powerful raised her face to his she had loved him all her life and now must be the beginning of that love s he felt her breath his lips but he was afraid to touch that sweet mouth with his own a moment my love he gasped astonished she drew herself a little away too far he in a i shall be myself she put her hand cool and moist even though she trembled with excitement upon his head and was to find the fever that raged there you are not well she exclaimed oh yes he answered i think i never was well till now she laid her cheek to his and for some time ther the was no sound but the beating of their hearts so near together i shall get used to it after awhile were his first words but at present you affect me like a strong battery just think i am nearly and yours is the first girl s face that ever touched mine there was never any one else she responded no he answered and there never can be with such of sentiment they passed the next ten minutes and then roused herself we must go back she said it is dark and we ought to be on the way how can you be so he exclaimed always light where you are nevertheless he suffered her to take up the oars and with noiseless motions she brought the boat to its landing he assisted her to tie it to the ring in the platform and then they took the path toward home as they passed the summer house gate he held back it is still early he said in low tones let us go in for a little while but there is no one there was her answer surely that is not necessary the strong sense of her training came to her rescue no she replied we will go to my house and sit in a corner of the he wore a look of disappointment as he started to seeing that he did not seem content she asked the reason you do not trust me was his answer there are in asia because i would rather go home than into the house yes m what has that to do with trusting you she simply for an instant he felt like a cross between an idiot and a villain he

knew that the half formed thought of evil that had forced its way into his mind had been exhibited in all its naked she had it not with anger or an assumption of superior virtue but by a refusal to understand he feared that she never could forget this moment and he cursed the folly into which his mad humor had led him don t make a serious thing of it he said trying to force a laugh i was only trying you of course i did not think that you would go in there at this time of the evening and if you had consented i should have refused why it would be preposterous not that there would be any real harm but on account of what it would give people a chance to say that affair in the boat has turned my head i really believe come let us talk of something else was quite willing to talk of other things bat he had not in the least her she knew that he had wanted her to stop at the summer house and that all the gossip of mrs that might have been in would not have prevented his going had she not objected but what girl of nineteen can find the sun of her first day s love sky much obscured by such a small cloud as this before they had reached her home they were talking brightly of other things mr saw them coming and went to tell his the wife that had returned he heard their steps on the and refrained from disturbing them as long as they were together he was quite content never doubting that his daughter was the dearest girl on earth to he thought it only right to give him every opportunity to be alone with her it is the american method and though mrs having had a different training sometimes uttered a mild protest she always to what she considered her husband s superior judgment she had supreme confidence in her daughter of course was there ever a mother who did not believe that her daughter could be trusted under all circumstances other women s girls might forget but hers never and yet since the world began to on its some of them must have been mistaken it was but little after nine o clock when they came upon the but it was much later when they separated they talked of everything from the condition of the weather to the journey of do you know said suddenly i was almost inclined to be jealous of dear a few weeks ago of course i couldn t really have been so but somehow you seemed just as attentive to her as you did to me and well it s all right now i love her dearly and i wouldn t have anything come between us for the world she is so sweet but i don t believe she ever will marry when i get a home of my own i should be so happy if she would come and live with me the face of came back to him the sweet there asia h truthful face that had looked up to him when her confidence in his honor had been for but he was under the influence of a stronger nature and the that it gave him was only momentary how did you choose me when you have always had her near you was the next thing that startled him i am sure she is much the better looking and i never can hope to compare with her in grace you are the only man who would have turned to me with such a choice before him no i am not he interrupted there is cliff she asked him what he meant by that why cliff has been crazy over you ever since the first day i brought him here he has taken it for granted that and i would make a match and that you would favor him when you put me out of your mind nonsense he never showed it she said much pleased nevertheless no it is true cliff is too for anything but he loves you he will be all broken up when he hears of this and i suppose he must hear some time gave a start oh no he mustn t that is i mean for ever so long you have three years yet before you ar admitted to the bar and a good while after that before you can get into a practice i don t want you to tell any one and i shall not either no she added thoughtfully not even nor my father or the they were sitting close together and the influence of her affected him strongly do you think he said that i am going to wait years and years for you why it seems horrible cruelty that i must watch the clock to night even he pulled out his watch look at those racing hands it is a quarter past ten and they are doing their best to make it twenty minutes it will be eleven soon and then twelve and when my limit is up i must go and leave you his arm was about the back of her chair and she shrank into its curves very prettily the folks are ab d long ago said she and there is no hurry you can stay as long as you wish but still i shall have to go he responded with a clouded face no matter how long i stay i shall have to go at last that is what spoils everything she could not help feeling a little of what was in his words perhaps she said slowly we shall not have to wait many years perhaps you will get a law practice very soon after your admission that we can live on in a very quiet way

of course it will not take much i think for a year or two my father will give me all that i shall want at the start and he would lend you some money if you needed it this severely on s my own father would do that he replied quickly but i cannot bring myself to think of any thing like years in connection with waiting for you months seem too long even weeks he turned upon her with the force of sudden and pressed his lips to hers for a moment she there in asia abandoned herself to the delirium and then she gently drew herself away from him hush she whispered soothingly we must be very wise and sensible there is nothing to do but wait in a few weeks you will be back at your studies and then with so much to occupy your mind the time will pass more rapidly and you he said will be at the within a few miles of me and i shall see you often as i have been doing do you think i can pore over and with your countenance ever before me no i shall think of you all day visit you every evening and lie awake dreaming of you all night this vivid statement of made laugh softly i will go to some other school if it will help you any she said there are plenty that are hundreds of miles away what is there to keep you from getting along as well as you have done during the last year he laid his head on her shoulder it will never be the same again he answered shall never be the same nothing will be as it used i had not kissed you then there are in asia i have read that having tasted human flesh will eat no other food you have made a tiger of me she bent her head and touched her cheek to hi a terrible fate she exclaimed to be eaten alive daily by a beast i tasted the lips again and then sat upright i cannot bear it he cried there is but one the choice for as either we must be married speedily or i must not be alone with you her heart beat wildly though her reason was in arms against him a do not speak like that i beg you she said a speedy marriage is out of the question we are both too young we must wait fix your mind on that fact and be strong stood up and stretched his arms above his head let me go now at least he said in a whisper i shall come to you to morrow with more sense in my head to night i have none absolutely none if i were to kiss you again i should bite you yes i am in danger of becoming a tiger indeed she felt the tears rising to her eyes but with a powerful effort she repressed them you must go good night she said you know best whatever you have said or may say whatever you have thought or may think i love you no she stepped backward as he to clasp her waist i think it is not wise to night we have been very happy i have at least come in the morning and i will sing for you he had his hat off and was brushing his hair back with his hand there is one way he said which would make everything right if you loved me enough to do it we might have a secret marriage and later we could have the public one just the same and nobody know the difference it has been done that way often and there is no possibility of harm looked the least bit insulted as she heard these in asia what for she asked are you afraid of losing me do you think i can ever change no he cried but i want you now f she stood there a minute revolving the proposition in her mind from the bottom of her soul she pitied him it could not be she said slowly at last it would be my parents who have a right to know every act of mine of such great importance as that it would be myself it would be you this is a temporary and will pass away let me be a help to your life not a go on with your studies and when the right time comes and i assure you i am as anxious for the day as you we will be united before the world i could not bear to carry a secret from my father and mother and whatever the ceremony by which we were joined i should feel guilty like oil on troubled waters were the words of the maiden the young man s brow cleared and he drew to his side with a tender movement i am not good enough for you he said his voice choking but you shall hear nothing more like this be as gentle with me as you can and time will make it all right with us the tears she had held back flew to her eyes as she gazed after his form which soon vanished among the trees that bordered the winding avenue the chapter xiv s all was awake to the fact that something was going to happen it was whispered about the village that john had at last been unable by any means that he could summon to pay his interest to the company and that his farm would be sold at public to the highest as soon as the necessary could be gone through with the mysterious way in which he had met the difficulties of former years were among the and some predicted that the luck of finding some way out of the would again be his but the

greater number said his time had come they said that a first with interest in a second of unusual size and a on every animal and tool on his place could not be carried forever the price of wheat was low that year and even if it had been higher it would not have saved him for in of a custom not uncommon in the west he had pledged the entire crop as it grew to in exchange for accommodation no said the people who knew these things the farm must go who would purchase it they were not long in deciding that question who purchased everything in the way of land that was offered in why of course the man whose purse always full the place joined his s and besides his possession of it would settle the vexed subject of the mill power once in his hands no one could scare him again with threats to cut off the water from his profitable mill said nothing to any one about his troubles the notice of intent to appeared in the county paper there was but a few weeks lacking of the time when the would stand with his hammer on the steps of the house and offer it to whoever chose to buy this land that he had found in the midst of a wilderness and had broken to the almost literally with his own hands this dwelling that he had reared in which his wife had died and his son been born these stables and which had held his stock and wheat for more than twenty years all must be sacrificed to meet the demands of who had never even seen them that subtle thing called interest which labors day and night in fair weather and foul amid the of winter and the days of summer whether crops be large or small whether the one who owes it be sick or well had done the business for him long years ago he had admitted the monster to his house and it had refused to though fed with twice its bulk of bread and meat it had his strength his courage and his power to produce even the food which it demanded and now it him that it might claim all he had for its own did not see the notice in the newspaper he cared little for the county news and had he read the paper he would have been very unlikely to notice such a thing as an advertisement of but it had appeared twice and he had not shown the in any way that he knew of it mr thought it his duty to have a talk with him and advance a proposition the shock to the young man when he was made to understand the situation was very great until that moment he had not known that his father wai indebted to any man to the value of a penny mr told him the whole truth in the kindest and most sympathetic manner proposed various ways of over the difficulties which clustered about his parent but he was compelled to tear out the from under them one by one the first was equal to sixty per cent of the value of the property the second covered very nearly all the rest other entangled everything else that might have been availed of in the emergency til tell you the whole truth painful as it is said mr it is best that you should not be deceived in any way and my father in the loving kindness of his heart has kept it all a secret said sadly he has sent me to school with money that he could not afford to pay for that purpose he has labored on alone when i might have been of some use to him and has borne his burden without telling me of its existence it will now be for me to do something in return if indeed i am fit for anything mr bowed saying that these sentiments did honor to his young friend there is something more that i must tell you he added for reasons which i cannot feel are any fault of mine i have incurred the enmity of your father nothing more than arose out of a upon the mill stream question i think hastened to interrupt it is much older and deeper than that replied mr it is unnecessary to go into it for i might not be able to state the case as fairly as one could do it whatever the reason your father hates me cordially the suit you speak of went against him and his friends and he has since threatened to cut the bank of the brook where it borders on his land and shut off my power the result would be to a large part of his own territory to his injury but i think he to carry out the scheme this would of course result in a loss to me and in no gain to him what i want to say to you is this in the event of the sale of his place which it seems now can hardly be prevented this state of affairs will compel me lor my own protection to be a the young man heard with wonder it was all so new to him that he could not comprehend it in all its bearings he only said yes sir and waited for mr to proceed i need not say said the mill owner that i have the greatest regard for you i have felt since you were big enough to walk over here and take to school as if you were almost a son of my own and this unhappy has given me particular uneasiness on your account i have feared that it would trouble my my make annoyance for both of you which i naturally wished to avoid if possible you

you understand me yes said i understand the at the same time he wondered if he did i want to prevent any that will trouble you and proceeded the elder man i want you to feel that you have a friend in me on whom you can call you can as freely as if there had never been any feeling against me on your father s part at the same time as a business man i wish to protect my mill said certainly like one in a dream what i wish to propose continued mr is this i will attend the sale of the farm and if possible become its after that i will leave it in your hands to do what you please with and you can arrange with your father to remain and cultivate the soil as he has always done if he desires when you have finished your law studies and become successful you can redeem the estate only to me enough to make my in the brook beyond question mr leaned back in his chair for they were sitting in his parlor with the air of one who wanted to know if anything could be fairer than that i do not quite see said how i am to pursue my studies any longer if my father is i cannot ask him to labor for me while i continue idle it will be my place to my career and do something in return for the sacrifices he has made a very natural thought said mr and one that i am glad to hear you utter but the best service you can render your father is to continue your studies and get into a position to earn a good deal more than you could ever hope to do in ways two or three years of successful law s fc practice and i could aid you a good deal in getting established would bring more than three times as much as if spent in ordinary in this world it does not do to think of to day alone we must keep an eye on the future if your father should not feel able to furnish you the means to continue your studies though with the plan i have he ought to have no trouble in so doing i shall be only too glad to lend you the necessary amount lend you on your personal note and let you return it at your leisure when you feel able in later years thanked him and said that he would consider the matter he wanted time to think the truth was he found the whole recital very disagreeable it is not pleasant to learn that one s father is and that one may have to depend on the of others for the comforts of life and it is difficult to be thankful in the proper degree to the person who brings us the tidings no matter how generous or considerate he may appear went to find and after a short talk with her excused himself on account of work in his study which he felt obliged to do he walked back to his father s thinking what a dreary world this was after all as he turned into the familiar gate which was to belong to his family but a few days longer he could have wept outright with vexation john saw that something unusual had happened as soon as his eyes rested on the clouded face of his son and suspected that the inevitable knowledge had come to him that knowledge that he had tried more than once to impart and had never found himself quite able to do so the what s the matter he asked with unusual solicitude in his tone you do not look happy tried to say something but for a minute he could not articulate a single word then he broke out passionately oh father why have you kept it from me so long why should i have told you would it have made you any happier was the answer i wanted you to get your profession first there is no money for an honest man in farming it takes a to a fortune out of land such a man as he added with flashing eyes a lawyer is all right any where i hoped you would be ready to get your own living before the crash came but i guess it s on us now he spoke with a quiet resignation that surprised the young man and made him hope that he would avail himself of the olive branch which he could offer what has made you so bitter against mr he asked he would help us i am sure in an emergency like this would he the resigned air was gone and an expression of intense hatred took its place i hope he ll wait till somebody asks him i ve no doubt he d like to help me and so get some hold on you he spoke now with earnestness i trust there has been nothing serious between you and i would rather see you in your grave than to have you join your blood to his the young man before the question put in the way it was there is nothing there must be nothing s the aroused father you and you have given her cause to think that your mind is fixed on her she is worth a thousand her father has always treated me like a gentleman it would make me happy to see her your wife but if you should so far forget my wishes as to marry the other one he paused overcome by the violence of his emotions and then added we should have to be strangers my boy from that day there was nothing in the nature of to withstand an like this his love for his father had always been strong and this morning it

had been newly aroused by the light thrown upon the kindness of that parent in bearing his alone that he might have a calm ride on the sea of life he forgot the words he had so recently exchanged with forgot for the moment everything but the debt he owed to this the only relation whom he knew nothing shall come between us father he said firmly john caught his son to his breast as though he were only a child i knew it he cried i knew i could rely upon you you have some of my spirit in you after all and you will not marry against my will s heart grew cold in his bosom but he answered no you must leave it to me to arrange in my own way he added presently i must have lull the to sec and part from her as pleasantly as i can we have been intimate from and it will take a little time yes it will take a little time began the task assigned him that very afternoon by going to make a call she noted his extreme but when she commented upon it he said he had a headache nothing would content her but that he must lie on a sofa in the sitting room and let her bind up his head in water though he protested at first he found it not unpleasant when she sat by his side and held one of his hands in hers while with her other hand she smoothed back the hair from his temples which were really throbbing now was that afternoon in a light which in its simplicity became her well her dark eyes grew luminous from sheer tenderness as they shone upon him and he wondered how he could ever bring himself to say to her what he had promised to do after a while he changed his head from the pillow to her lap saying that the former position made the ache worse and the longer he lay there the harder it seemed to him to take the step he had contemplated i cannot lie here he said finally all the blood in me seems to rush to my head let me try sitting up a little while and won t you give me a brush so that i can make my hair look like that of a christian she brought the brush but insisted on arranging the hair herself and as she bent over it he felt her warm and fragrant breath on his cheek you can do it better this way he said drawing i s her upon his knee she made no objection to the new position but went on with her work stretching her neck to see where the parting ought to be this brought her fair throat within easy distance of his lips if you do that i can t finish your hair she said drawing her chin down over the place he had the hair is a secondary matter he answered i would have gone away looking like a chief rather than have missed that opportunity she called him a silly fellow but she did not act as if she thought so and after finishing the parting she continued to sit there on his knee putting one hand on his shoulder as a balance that s a pretty dress you have on he commented is it the cost was twelve cents a yard you see it is not expensive to clothe girls she responded oh but they wear so many other things yes they do wear some she hesitated laughing and blushing but the entire can be had for very little money mamma has always claimed that extravagance in clothing is almost a sin and she has brought me up with fixed ideas on the matter of economy your husband will owe her thanks he said in spite of all he had promised his father and although he fully meant in some way to carry out that promise he could not bear to give up thinking just a little longer of this beautiful creature as a possible mrs it was delicious merely to hold n on his knee and to see the glances that shot at him every time she raised those wonderful eyes to his face he tried even with there in his lap to think of but he felt there was no comparison from a physical point of view and yet it was and not that he must have had not his father it and had he not in a moment of weakness accepted the decree sat on his knee for a quarter of an hour and then remarking that she weighed a hundred and twenty pounds and knew he must be getting tired though he was too courteous to tell her so rose and took a seat on the sofa opposite to him they talked of for some time after that acting much as lovers usually do do you really weigh a hundred and twenty he asked suddenly precisely i was weighed yesterday in the village you have a very small foot for that weight she tried to hide the small foot under her gown saying it was impertinent for him to notice it and that it was not remarkably small anyway if you like small feet you should pin your faith on she said she wears a whole size smaller shoe than i he said he did not think feet that were out of proportion made their owner any more beautiful to this she answered that as weighed only a hundred and ten and was taller than she by several inches her tiny feet were a great addition to her good looks u it s only because you like me the best she said as a up i feel the same about you i s would give more for your smallest finger than for the entire body

of any other person he laughed for she had put him into such good humor that the headache had taken wings and flown away he might not be able to marry this girl but it was very agreeable indeed to know that she cared for him he wondered if she would take it much to heart when he had to tell her that the separation was inevitable she did not seem as if she would cry herself into a consumption she would understand his position and not blame him for what he could not help it would be as hard for him as for her too and she ought to feel that when should he tell her not yet at least not before came home he pictured to himself a week without either of them and it looked like a very dismal prospect saw that he had become thoughtful and she tried to rally him with only partial success if any one should try to separate us he said as they were standing at the door what would you do keep my word was her calm answer supposing your parents objected supposing they said to you that they would never consent knowing that her father and mother fully approved of her choice this did not give the girl any uneasiness and her reply was prompt i should feel that the matter was one the only one perhaps in the world in which i was justified in their wishes but he persisted if they told you that such a marriage would forever cut you off from them that the they would never afterward recognize you as their child she put her round arms about his neck in all her innocent truth and love i should take you against them all for i should feel that they were the claim of relationship when they tried to make my life unhappy he stooped and kissed her wondering what there was in him to make so beautiful a being show this devotion then he went to his home with his problem farther than ever from solution chapter xv cutting the mill bank wrote to twice each week and he answered her as often he had been trying to himself to thinking of her as an inevitable partner for life and the letters constituted a sort of practice in matrimonial confidences with the which seems a part of some natures he had begun to like less from the moment when his father had selected her as the girl who must be his wife he still liked her a great deal but the parental direction to take her from that fondness which formerly made it impossible to tell any difference between her and there was a difference now and it was all in f of the creature who held his senses in whenever he was in her presence whose face and cutting the mill bank voice and the touch of whose hand followed him even to his dreams but he wrote to such letters as he used to write when he first went to school joined to a few more tender things which he thought the coming conditions her letters to him were sweet and tender without anything like passion merely the of a pure girl to the one she loves and and in whom she has never thought of having the least doubt little more was said by and his father to each other about the impending sale of their home the violent opposition of mr to the shut out all hopes of rescue that his son had formed in that quarter and there was no other part of the horizon in which they could discern a ray of light as far as either of them could see an evening was coming very soon when they would have to find another shelter had been so to thinking for himself in money matters that he relied upon his father to point out his path when the crash should come mr that all he could raise would not suffice to satisfy the charges due on his property had provided as well for the immediate future as he could by keeping all he received and thus there was a few hundred dollars ready for immediate necessities they would have time to look about and decide what it was best to try to do passed his time as he had hitherto done visiting writing to and lying at full length in the under the trees in the orchard there seemed little use in studying law books when it was so unlikely that he should ever back into the office of the things went on in this way till just a week before the was announced when a flew through the town that had begun to carry out his threat of tearing down the bank of the brook as it passed his land on the way to the and had gone on a stroll through the woods on the morning when this news startled the inhabitants of nearly everybody else in the town heard of it and the road leading to the vicinity was thronged with eager sight within the next hour some of the people who came with some with some were free in their expressions that both of them were fools and the great majority cared for nothing whatever but to see the fun it was not a very large job that had to be done to turn the waters of the stream upon s land and let it flow past the artificial into its natural course six good with and who could tear away the bank and use the materials to dam the current on one side could do the work in two or three hours had this number at work eagerly assisting them with his own hands directing the labor at the same time in a low voice and seeming not to notice the crowd that

came to stand and comment it was the most exciting episode that had ever had in its entire history corresponding to a great railway strike or mill in a larger centre he s doing it this time said an old man who came up to the mill you ought to see the dirt fly by twelve o clock he will have all the the hill i t water in the brook run off and your mill will stand as still as a post do you think so was the quiet response think so retorted the old man yes and so would you if you had been over there i m sorry on my word for the mill is really a blessing to the neighborhood as i ve said all along perhaps after the farm is sold you can make arrangements with whoever it to fill up the bank again but it will take a good deal of time one man can tear it down faster than twenty could build it up this is a bad time of year for you to be idle with all the new wheat ready to grind i heard too that you were going to put in another set of machinery and i intended to bring over a load of grain to morrow myself mr heard the old man with patience when he had finished he said to him do i usually boast a great deal why no sir i can t say that you do well then listen a moment do you see that machinery revolving there the old man gazed in the direction indicated yes sir come over at twelve o clock said his voice rising gradually come at one come at two come at six to night come to morrow come the next day and you ll find it working just as you see it now bring on your grain grind it tell your neighbors to bring theirs not keep them waiting there s going to be more grain ground in this mill in the next two months than has ever been in three i the turned and went into the mill and walked slowly away the excitement of this thing has turned s head he muttered as he went along but the strangeness of what he had heard impressed him so strongly that he walked back to where the digging was going on and repeated the to the assembled multitude who was working like a heard it and thought he understood had probably sent to the judge of the court holding a special some miles away to get an issued against him he whispered to his men promising them double pay if they would work harder and taking up his he struck into the place in the until the sweat rolled from him like rain the excitement in the crowd grew to fever heat as the story that brought and the of this one and that were added to the stock of gossip it was eleven o clock when with a quick blow tore away the that held the stream and a second later the released waters breaking from their confinement like an poured down upon the the crowd stood on the higher ground on the side of the stream and they saw that the work would have its intended effect in a very short time almost no water flowed into the after that and the amount necessary to turn the large wheel was growing smaller every moment leaned on his and wiped the perspiration from his face he felt that the time of hie was at hand he could see the revolving the mill bank t mill wheel from where he stood and could with tolerable accuracy the fall of the water in the in half an hour the wheel began to show signs of weariness it turned slower slower yet and then stopped the of which included the villagers who were envious of his rival s prosperity not a small portion of the crowd which had gathered set up a wild shout of glee at this sight and their chief smiled with the triumph he could not conceal depicted in his countenance but the had only a moment in which to enjoy their success one of the party who was nearer to the mill than the rest leaned over and placed one hand to his ear in an attitude of intense attention others who had thought they detected something strange in the air stopped and listened also there was a sound coming from the mill as if the machinery were still in full operation a puzzled look the faces of the crowd and as one man they ran toward the edifice from which the sound proceeded did not follow them he knew what had happened his joined to his apprehension told him what it was that made the noise the mill had never stopped running some other power previously arranged for had taken the place of the water wheel what was it steam of course the heavy load that had been drawn to the mill in the night and which he had supposed to be another set of machinery for grinding had been an engine powerful w enough to do the work he had been at such pains to stop there is something in arrested triumph at the moment of apparent victory that may affect stronger minds than that of this farmer he went into his house overcome by the occurrence and hid himself from he had pictured the rage of and the laugh of the multitude at his discomfiture now the laugh would be heard to be sure but it was against himself that it would be turned he had been by the simplest of methods had chosen the most cutting way to show the superiority of his mental and the of his purse felt that he had been an idiot to think that he could combat such a

man even temporarily only one thing was needed to make his humiliation complete would come to the and buy the roof from over his head a week from to day there would be no lower depth of disgrace into which he could sink and strolled back from their walk in the woods just before one o clock they had passed a morning together that had been to as beautiful and clear as the august sky above their heads and notwithstanding the troubles that encircled him had enjoyed it to the utmost she had his straw hat with leaves with red and he had gathered a great bunch of wild flowers and pinned it to her she had sat under a tree and held his head in her lap and he had stolen kisses from ever its part of her rosy cheeks cherry lips and rounded throat the wild passion that had affected him in his first close intimacy with her gave way on this occasion to a contented calm and there was nothing for which she had to him even by the mild method of a look he was to take lunch with her at her home but as she said when they heard the distant town clock striking the hour of noon lunch was a meal that one could take at any time so they had waited nearly an hour more and then strolled back under the trees the beaten paths their arms in fashion about each other s emerging into the travelled they met some young people who told them what had happened your father cut the mill bank at last this morning said one to and the big wheel is still grew pale while s face flushed with indignation but your father went on the gossip to was prepared in a quite unexpected way it seems that he had a steam engine ready the had only to be shifted from one to the other the mill never stopped a second not even for the usual noon hour the passed on when he was sure that they were out of hearing stopped in the middle of the street my dear girl this is going to make trouble for us he said she answered with a nod for she was afraid t her voice the ct whatever be the cause my father is against yours to a fearful extent he has had bad luck in everything as perhaps you know i was not told of it till very lately his disappointments have his mind i am afraid and this affair will not make him any in his feelings toward your people i must try and tell you everything now that i have begun he has asked really commanded me to have nothing more to do with you he paused and found her regarding him with a face that seemed made of stone well she said why have you not obeyed him because i cannot because you have been dear to me too long to make it possible but something must be done to tide over this temporary difficulty he is absolutely without reason in the matter if you will help me we can arrange it all right until there is some improvement in his feelings we must not be seen publicly together she sighed deeply if you love me i will do anything that is reasonable but tell me first do you think your father justified in trying to injure mine in the wanton way he attempted this morning and do you think my father wrong in taking methods to protect himself he hesitated a moment before he answered her let us not try to settle that question he said finally you love your father i love mine it is not for us to their acts and remember this also my father a week from to night will not have a house to call his own while yours is a prosperous man with large possessions i cannot cutting the mill ban see yet what the end will be i shall have to give up the law for one thing and seek for work in some common business oh no you must not do that she cried in protest you must take money enough not from my father but from me to finish your term and place yourself in the position to which you have it is nothing that you should be ashamed of your success is as dear to me as to you i am an only child and my father will do anything i ask s pride was hurt again it was ridiculous that a mere girl should have it in her power to offer him the means to live upon something was the matter with a world in which there could be such a reversed state of things we must pass the first bridge in this emergency he answered before we try those which follow in the meantime if i am obliged to keep away from your house or to ask you to meet me secretly you will not blame me now that you know the truth there is a flat stone on the wall near the entrance to your that is i will put a letter there when i am able to meet you and will look for your replies in the same place and now we must part here as my father will wonder what is keeping me away sadly the young girl took the bunch of from her waist and dropped them over a hedge by the roadside she took the hat from his head and removed the wreath also they would attract attention she explained oh how long must we act as if we were doing something not long he answered cheerfully but for the present you will readily admit that we have a divided duty no one was in sight and they were standing where a little of trees them from sudden

surprise took the face between his hands and brought the lips into contact with his own i are you sure you love me she whispered if there is ever to be any doubt of it i had rather know it now he drew her close to his breast and kissed her again and again if you had consented to my proposal for a secret marriage you would not find such ideas creeping into your head he replied how would that have made any difference she asked innocently a ceremony of marriage would only hold where the heart went with the words if you truly love me nothing else is necessary does it seem so to you said he that shows the way a woman reasons if it would please me very much if i was sure that it would be the wisest and best thing are you certain that you could never consent i see before me a very bleak prospect i am to be turned out of the house where i was born perhaps compelled to labor in the fields like a common workman there is nothing in my whole horizon that contains a ray of light but you if you were truly my own if you would become my wife from whom nothing could part me i would even consent to take the money you have offered for there would then be no disgrace in it in as he spoke he drew her to him yet until she could feel something of the torrent that through his veins i am no angel and only your love strong real true can keep me right why should you insist on a point when so much is at stake he had almost her with his eyes his lips and his embrace but the womanly sense that was in her still held out it is a thing to think of a good while she answered i cannot bear to deceive my parents who have never refused me anything since i can remember if it becomes imperative that we should be married without waiting for you to finish your studies i had rather go directly to them and state the case their only aim would be to make me happy i am almost sure that they would not object when they understood everything this was not at all what he wanted it would a collision with his father and with he wanted a private union which could be kept from the knowledge of the world for a long time this would enable him to dispose of the obstacles in his way at his leisure did not want a marriage now with a wealthy law him out the cash he needed as though he were ten years of age he thought there would be something charming too in a secret union with such a girl as but the town clock had struck one and he had to tear himself away for the present at least he told her that they would both have to think of this matter at their leisure when their minds were calm she was pleased with this tone and they parted its the with less feeling on her part than she would other wise have had that she must maintain a sort of against him for her own preservation i will leave you a note later in the day he said as she left him don t fail to keep an appointment if i am able to make one did little that afternoon but watch the wall that bounded the estate on the street side which she could see plainly from her music room window it was nearly six when passed and paused apparently to break off a flower from a vine that clung to the rock when he was out of sight she tripped nervously to the place and lifted the flat stone but her heart beat faster than ever and her cheek grew crimson when she read the note my darling meet me at the summer house in the wood at eight o clock bring the key do not hesitate everything depends on your presence there g chapter xvi it is of course john had not been the most agreeable man in for a number of years he had been noted for his short answers his to take part in any gathering his way of driving or walking along the road as though he saw no one wanted no one to see him but from the day it is op course w when the steam engine began its work his manners were even surly than before he acted as if every man whom he met were his personal enemy never replying to the good morning with which old acquaintances greeted him and what little business he had to do in an ill natured in this way he lost what sympathy he had had among the villagers and became most cordially detested before the time for the arrived little by little he learned from bits of conversation that he overheard how deeply had laid his plans after he found that his enemy had determined to tap the brook he had brought to his mill not only a powerful engine but enough machinery to double its grinding capacity as the only fuel of the vicinity was wood and as this was not over plenty he had bought quietly through an agent all the available stock in town and had made a contract for a large amount to be delivered in the future as wanted it was much cheaper to run his mill with water of course than with steam but the engine would not prove altogether a loss there were several months in the year when the old power had been insufficient and with the increased machinery this time would be increased and another element in the scheme of the mill owner was developed the first time a new customer

came with a load of wheat for grinding i shall take out an additional for my toil after this said to him handing him a as he spoke i have ground at a lower than i ought having the water power to rely on but the price will be increased hereafter machinery is the dear and wood is costly and i do not see why i should bear the loss when the cost of grinding has been through no fault of mine the man one of those who shouted when he saw the bank of the brook looked anything but pleased i suppose there s no law compelling us to come here he growled no and i should not grind any more for the public except for accommodation it me a little more to buy wheat and grind altogether for myself this was not long in being spread some who heard it were indignant at declaring that he was a bent on the destruction of his poorer neighbors but the majority traced the trouble directly to the act of john and heaped their on him as the cause of this injury to the farming industry of county you know what wheat was worth when started that mill said one of them in a knot that gathered in the evening at the post office and how it went up as soon as he began to grind we were wholly at the mercy of the until this mill gave us a double market you may talk of till you are tired but i tell you if there was ever a man of public spirit it is that he has taken the smallest of any miller in the state when he might have had twice as much if there had been anything mean about him what do you say to this increase that s the question put in another i say it s right i say the man would be a fool ip li of if he had done anything else what do you suppose it cost him to put that engine in and what will be his bill for wood in the course of a year do you think he wants that to come out of his own pocket would any of you no i ll bet you wouldn t he added as no one seemed able to satisfactorily answer his numerous if you want to blame any one blame if you pay extra lay it to him he s your man he s done it sh called a listener in a low voice there ae is now i don t care was the sharp retort as john the shop i d as say it to him as to you had heard it all coming to the steps of the store he had stopped to read a that was nailed outside the door and the harsh use of his name had come to his ears as plainly as to those of the he said nothing in response to the cast upon him but looked in his box took the mail offered him and departed what did he care whether this man or that in the village approved of what he had done he had no intention of remaining among them after his farm was sold he found a grain of comfort even in his hatred of in the reflection that they would all have to pay more than they had ever done to get their wheat turned into flour on the road which led to his home he met the handsome carriage that rode in with its smart driver and saw that and his wife occupied the main seat the dust from the highway rose as they approached covering him with its choking cloud he fixed his eyes on the ground and b pretended not to see them but before he could do so he had caught a vision of the frail woman whose love he had and for whom he had thrown a life away that might with her he fondly imagined have been worth something to him had her he had lands by seventeen hundred acres and more now a mill whose power no one could interfere with money beside everything that he could desire and the foot passenger whose form he covered with the dust of his carriage and who had started in life on precisely the same level as he had nothing no the dust covered figure raised himself a little did not have everything he wanted he had never had a son in that one thing alone the surpassed him he wanted now to gain the boy that he might make him one of his family that he might put him in the place of a child of his own john knew from a hundred sources that had set his heart on a marriage between his daughter and and he had nothing left now to live for except to disappoint him in that hope would obey him he had promised to break whatever friendship he had with and he would keep his word could sue for his son in vain his handsome daughter so like what her mother was at her age might fade and pine for the love she as he had for the love of but he would be could have his acres and his cash but the one thing that his child wanted to make her a happy woman it was in the power of his crushed neighbor to with bold it of on the morning when the sale of his farm was to take place mr had a brief talk with you have heard of course he said everybody has heard about my failure to stop his mill there was no need of anything more than the to explain who was meant i expect that he will buy the farm he has bought everything that has been offered for sale about here for

years let him have it let him take the ground which i turned over with my breaking when he and i were poor together let him take this house where i have lived for so long and use it as he will for his i don t care but don t forget your promise my boy about his daughter let him not boast at least that he has beaten me with my own son as his assistant you have told me what you will do and i rely upon you said yes sir and that ended the conversation his feelings toward had undergone many changes during the past few days the meeting which he had arranged in the summer house was not carried out as he had planned for one thing to the wood at the hour appointed in his note but it was to tell him that she had purposely neglected to bring the keys to the gate and dwelling as she could conceive of no message that he had to give her which could not be told equally well under the shadow of the trees outside this threw him into a fit of which he could not wholly conceal and in response to her earnest request to tell what had offended him he his former charge of her lack of faith in him he said it made him miserable to feel that she him at every point the you ought to know that a man has some said he in an injured tone i asked you to bring the keys if you loved me as truly as i love you these precautions would not enter your head you would only say to yourself wishes it and that is reason enough for me if the case were reversed you would not find me about trifles he hurt her more than he meant to but she tried to answer him gravely i can understand that a man may have pride she said but a woman should also have a little to go into that summer house with you at this hour would subject us to the scorn of any person who might discover it for your sake as well as my own i thought it wise to disregard your request and if you think it over you will admit that i am right he did not know how to combat this statement which he knew did her honor but it was not in his mood to make what did you want to tell me she asked seeing that he still seemed unhappy i only wanted to talk things over we can t hold a private conversation here where any by may hear us i don t know but my father might take it into his head to stroll this way there would be an end of everything between him and me if he saw me with you is he so severe as that yes he has not only forbidden me to speak to you again but he has been so kind as to tell me just the person on whom my affections should centre it ib of ft then as she regarded him with an inquiring look he said half on account of the hateful temper that was on him it is of course looked thoughtfully at the ground near her feet he does not even propose to consult her it seems why he asked do you doubt that she would accept me i cannot tell she answered while an expression of pain flitted across her brow she has known my sentiments toward you for a long time though we have never spoken a word on the matter and it would probably take her by surprise if any one should couple you and her in that way somehow i never can think of as a married woman she seems destined to become one of those dear old maids that the world cannot get along without this touched his pride again in a new place he did not want to think that she was the only girl who had ever fallen in love with him and yet he did not know exactly how to her so you don t think would have had me if i had gone to her instead of you he said i wish i were at liberty to tell you something he stopped short with that air of wisdom which usually an of this sort and an added sadness came to the face of if she loves you i am very sorry for her she said simply i do not see how i could have been so blind as not to notice but perhaps i was so full of my own love she added that i could see ing else the this confession was sufficient to his wounded vanity and he rewarded her for it with a kiss they remained in the wood an hour or so longer and then he took her back to the neighborhood of her father s house and they parted with mutual expressions of chapter xvii buying a son in law never had an in or near drawn such an audience as assembled when si stood upon a chair under one of the big trees and proceeded to read the power of sale under which he proposed to dispose of the farm not three persons in the entire party had the remotest intention of putting in a bid or had the means to do so had they been ever so willing but this did not prevent them from each other for good near the chair on which stood and standing with wide open mouths drinking in each word of his as though it were heavenly no one had any doubt that would own the farm when the sale was over and they turned occasionally to watch him as he sat in his carriage a little out of the crowd looking pale and

firm like a man who means to have what he has set out for the agent of the company was also pointed out though most of the farmers present knew his face only too well his buying a son in law had on some of the best pieces of land in that section and he was noted for his in collecting interest for the eastern who were his stood with at the front door of the house both of them showing the mental strain under which they were laboring everybody was relieved when the voice of the broke the stillness gentlemen he said i am under the painful necessity of offering to the highest here to day this estate which has long been the abode of one of your esteemed i say painful because no one likes to see a farm from a man who has met with and i must say also at this time that it is not the policy of the company to any of theirs who is able to pay his interest even though the time may have passed in which he agreed to pay the principal the principal represented here has been for the past nine years it is because of the failure of the to pay the interest gentlemen that we are obliged to sell this property the agent of the company whispered to to go on with his sale and to let further praise of his go till some other time the agent of the in this case has just informed me that he is willing to start the bidding at the amount of the and interest said mr though no one in the assembly had the least doubt of the different import of the whispered directions mr then offers three thousand one hundred and nine dollars he does not however wish to buy the estate and will not bid against any one else the while the crowd was trying to admire the of mr as thus set forth a sensation was caused by the arrival of a rapidly driven carriage it was the private vehicle of colonel and that gentleman himself occupied it the horses bore signs of having been put to their best speed being covered with foam which flew from every part of them as they were suddenly pulled up in the midst of the lawn party the colonel had an anxious look as he surveyed the and sprang to the ground has the sale begun he asked those about him just one bid said old as for the rest the began to read the deed as a matter of form describing the premises to be sold as colonel glanced about the crowd his eye met that of mr sitting upright as a in his carriage they nodded with some thing less than their usual without exactly knowing why each suspected that the other had designs not in with his own plans that day the colonel found what he sought at last it was he attracted the attention of the young man and to him to come a little apart from the others came here to see if there was anything i could do for you he said taking by the arm we only arrived in town an hour ago and just heard of this sale by accident was with me when i got the news and she said don t waste a minute father buy the farm do anything that is necessary to help him and here i am in good time as it appears a son in law quite overcome with surprise at the generosity of the colonel could hardly answer let me ask father he stammered i will return in a moment as quickly as he could convey the information told his father why colonel had come and a ray of light lit up the features of the discouraged man i will see him he whispered stay where you are the crowd was not of these and gossip began to the that colonel had arrived with money to pay up the interest and stop the heard these passed from mouth to mouth and his countenance darkened john heard from the colonel s own lips what he had already said to and thanked him quietly there s nothing you can do except to buy it said he the company wouldn t stop the sale now even if all the interest was paid and the principal on top of that i ve inquired it s against their policy when they have advertised a sale it has to come off it is a good bit of land and you could afford to pay more than their claim there s a second of fifteen hundred too said yes but the first holds i expected to see here to protect his interest i represent him said colonel not thinking it a time to go into particulars well mr i ll buy the place and arrange with you to remain if you wish told me to do whatever you the desired you understand sir that my daughter s request has brought me here do you think there is likely to be much of a contest the farmer looked across the lawn to where was the only one who ll bid against you he said is that man in the carriage he is here from hate as you are from good will his daughter had her heart set on and i have forbidden him to see her he wants to get the farm to hold it over our heads no one but you can prevent him saying this abruptly left the colonel and returned to the place which he had originally occupied the had finished reading his document and had also given a glowing description of the premises which he was offering and for this farm with its buildings as it now stands he said in up i am offered three thousand one hundred

consciousness and when the rest of the family seeing that she needed no help had retired he sat by her side holding her hand and even kissing her pale cheek occasionally as he in as mild a manner as the facts would bear what he thought best of the afternoon occurrence poor said when she had heard him through it will be very sad for her i must go and see her in the morning do you think the hurt to your father will be a serious one not to his body said but to his mind it will be serious indeed he has cherished an enmity to mr for a long time and this wound will not help him forget it i will tell you something more as a secret he has already expressed in the you do hot know my father strongest terms his wish that i should never speak to again to whom this news was not wholly unexpected responded that she was very sorry and hoped that he would i do not see how he can carry his spite forgive me if the word seems strong against mr to such an extent as to visit it upon surely she is not to be held for the differences between him and her father i shall go to see him and try to talk him out of it smiled at the idea that she could have any influence with this man whom he his only son could not pretend to affect in the least you do not know my father or you would not cherish any such notion as that he replied the girl blushed as she recollected the former conversations that she and john had held i know him quite well she replied and he has always had a liking for me when he has passed others with only a nod or a word he has stopped to spend five minutes in talking to me he knows to some extent too how much i care for you and that ought to count the young man at these words he remembered again the disagreeable way in which his father had arranged this matter and it hurt him he wondered what had passed between him and the colonel when they went off together before the bidding by the latter began everybody in would know that the farm had been bought by solely on account of the understood intentions of his daughter and it was very to have things turn out in this way still had a deep regard for but he felt that at this time was the one who needed his sympathy and do what he might he could not get her out of his mind mrs came in and asked him in a way that he could hardly decline to remain to tea and managed to get to the table where she was placed as usual at his side the colonel was wise enough to turn the conversation upon matters with the events of the day principally the excursion he and his family had been taking we had a lovely time said he at least mrs s and i did i fear was too anxious to get back to for some reason to enjoy things to their full extent on the contrary replied i had a delightful trip of course it is pleasant to get home again though i shall have but a little while before school begins just think how soon it will be before we shall all be starting again for thought this a good opportunity to free himself of what had been for a long time on his mind you and will have to do without me hereafter i fear said he it looks as if my law education was at an end how is that asked colonel while the others looked at the young man as if they could not believe their hearing why everybody knows that we are as poor as any church mouse now was the reply it has come upon me all at once my father having been too kind in keeping his troubles to himself as long as he could but i am quite reconciled i shall have to go to work and get my living do not mr colonel put down a cup of tea that he wa raising to his lips what nonsense the boy is talking he cried good have you no friends whom you can call upon do you think we are going to see you throw up a career in this way for want of a few paltry dollars of temporary assistance the colonel was not in the habit of thinking of the american dollar in connection with the word paltry and knew it he found himself in danger of being surrounded by another set of from which he would have difficulty in escaping whatever bargain his father had made he would not so soon at least become a party to it and he answered with some spirit that he could not think of being to any one that he would rather look his fate in the face and take the position in life which his reduced circumstances pointed out sat a silent but most interested listener to this conversation she heard her father offer to lend all the money he needed or to make such arrangements with mr as would amount to the same thing would not yield however i am better prepared he said finally to consider your proposal because i have already had it in similar form from another source colonel his wife and stared at their guest who could have been so generous they gave up the instantly and asked him directly if he would impart the name of this would be benefactor oh i thought you would have guessed it at once he said with it was mr the of course i don t think he would renew it

after what has occurred to day he added with an attempt to be humorous but he made me the offer in good faith a fortnight ago i thought there were reasons why i ought to decline to accept it and i did so but those reasons do not exist in my case interposed the colonel quickly you have done yourself honor thus far as i view it now it is quite another thing i feel toward you as though you were a son of my own and i cannot bear that you should give up your bright prospects when everything can be so easily arranged the speaker then launched into the description of a plan that he had by which mr was to have the farm to him under a large enough to enable him to pay every dollar of his debts and have enough left for a working capital instead of the fifteen and twenty per cent interest that he had been compelled to pay only eight the lowest rate ever known then in that section was to be charged this would enable him to send his son to the law school and with care he might in time remove all the from his estate heard him but imperfectly he thought of the of these two of bidding for him against each other he had loved both of the girls all his life but he thought he should learn to hate them if this sort of thing went on much longer let me think of it he said as he rose from the table i cannot tell to night what i will do followed him alone to the gate and he thb of a embraced her there in the semi darkness as he felt he ought beautiful as ever with new proof of her love in every glance that she gave him the money that her father was shaking before his eyes came between them as her mouth touched his that shy mouth that had seemed too reserved for such things until so lately he thought the delicate trembling of the lips could never be felt by any other man this side the grave such love as hers is apt to come but once and build its nest to endure all storms and seasons he went where he could see s home there was a lowered light in her chamber he guessed that she had heard the tidings with what bitter additions he knew not and that it had her instantly remorse took hold of him he would have given a year of his life could he have that peeped in at that blind lifted that window and thrown his arms around her as she lay there that she might shed her tears against the heart that caused them chapter xix the nature of a girl was as much excited as had been when she heard of the assault she was naturally of a more self disposition and ordinarily would have borne any bad news with the greater but this was so terrible that it quite upset her she learned the truth from her father soon after he reached home for he thought it wisest to let her gain her information from him than to receive it second hand from others and possibly in a shape she was sitting anxiously on the when he drove in at the gate and as his carriage stopped at the steps she hastened to meet him did you buy it she asked hardly waiting till the coachman was out of hearing her breath came in short and every in her face showed the anxiety with which she uttered the question no i did not he replied and she had time to notice that he wore an appearance of extreme the place was sold to colonel she looked the image of extreme surprise was he there i did not know he had reached home what did he want of it how much did he pay tell me everything she said rapidly wait a minute he seemed to want strength i have a very disagreeable story to tell and i need lime get me an easy chair flew into the music room through the window and returned with the article desired then she seated herself by his side and waited i don t know where to begin said her father clearing his throat of an that stuck there he put one arm around her and drew her to his side as if to keep something from her i hare bad news my child bad news for you ike nature of a girl her lips formed the words for me but she uttered no sound said mr with an effort you must think no more of she swayed a little under his arm but asked him why in a voice that surprised him by its firmness he is to marry john told me so before a crowd of them in the most insulting manner bought the farm and them with it i would not have believed it of him but i saw it with my own eyes it was this way again he cleared his throat and she did not move i had told that i would buy the place and after cutting off merely enough to protect the brook i would deed the rest to him so that his father could remain there if he chose just as the sale began drove up he left his carriage and called aside then went for his father and he and had a when john left he looked over to me with an expression that said i don t need any of your help the bidding began i bid five thousand dollars more than the place was worth and he bid six i bid seven and he five hundred more then i said eight and he said nine there was no use he would have paid the last

cent he had rather than have allowed me to beat him and i let it go he was buying more than a farm he was buying a son in law as well and he could afford to pay high had raised his voice toward the end of his speech until it could have been heard by any person within two hundred feet s only action was to put her hand gently upon his lips as a signal to him the that he was speaking too loud having done which she waited for him to proceed i thought of you as the bidding went on i knew my girl that you loved him but i did not believe that you would think it becoming in me to buy you a husband in the public market where every spectator could see that he was the real article over which the contest was being there is too much of the blood in you for that you have the pride that goes with your race on both sides paid five thousand for the farm and four for i thought him too dear at that figure tell me was x not right the daughter inclined her head her brain was whirling her heart beat like a trip hammer she was afraid to make any pronounced demonstration lest she should betray the extent of her emotion but i have not told you all her father went on though it is really of small moment except for the disgrace of such an occurrence when john out the particulars of the bargain when he threw it at me before their all that his son was to marry and told me to tell you of it i forgot myself and and struck him this ring was in the way and cut his forehead he showed her the jewel still red from the blood he had drawn at that moment came up and threw me down then we were separated and i came home i was ashamed of the part i had played as soon as i had time to think but i couldn t help doing it john was fearfully rose feebly saying that she would go to hei room for a little while and her father went to tell his wife something of what had occurred the nature of a go up and see if there is anything she needs he said you can talk to her better than i car tell her to forget him to put him out of her mind and never let him come there again he and his father have outraged our feelings she will see that nothing more can ever occur between them and us when she came down an hour later the thin pale face of the invalid wife and mother was turned toward her husband with its usual of expression i have tried to console her she said but you must not under estimate the shock she loves him with all the strength of her nature and she will not get over it in a day she will require nursing and perhaps a change of scene and i cannot say that ven those things will cure her knowing nothing of what had happened except that her father and mr had quarrelled and that and had been engaged in a personal with the latter to call on the next morning as she would have done on any other day she could not see that the difficulties of their parents ought to cause any between herself and her friend and supposed that mr had had no interest in the sale of the property except to protect the brook which matter she was sure her father would arrange to his satisfaction she felt certain that s love was hers alone and that not only knew it but approved of it so she came up the walk as brightly as ever and saluted mrs with a kiss as she had done every time she had met her since she could remember we came home yesterday she said and i was too tired to run down last night where b it seems an age since i saw her she is in her room was the quiet reply and i think asleep she is not well i was up with her most of the night wore a look of the deepest regret why i had not heard of it she exclaimed i hope it is nothing serious nothing but what time will cure was the calm answer mrs wondered if all of this apparent surprise could be real she will have to be still for some days and see no company however that is too bad i want to see her so much j tell her i called won t you and let me know the very earliest minute i can go to her room i promise to be very thoughtful and not excite her an hour later a messenger arrived from the household with a beautiful of flowers on their grounds and arranged by s own hands s quick ear caught the purport of the words which the servant spoke at the door and a tide of painful thoughts swept over her toward evening she surprised her mother by asking what she had done with the flowers that had sent to her and on being told that she had feared the gift would annoy her answered gently how could you think that please have them sent up to me let me not lose with the rest it is not her fault poor girl this was taken as an encouraging the flowers were placed where could reach them easily and many times each hour she their fragrance the next morning another was sent to take their place and each day after that the nature of a another and with each was a tiny card with some words of and the s name but for more than

a week did not leave her chamber on the fifth day mary chief among the of the came into the sick room and slipped a note under the sheets of the bed with a very mysterious air i hope i haven t done wrong to bring it miss she said without telling your mother but the young man particularly begged it of me and said it was most important that i should put it into your own hands glanced at the writing though she knew instinctively that but one young man could have sent her a note with such a request you did quite right mary she answered all of a tremble when you go down tell mamma that i am quite comfortable and shall need nothing at present yes miss the maid tripped away much relieved i hope there s some way for them to make it up she said to herself for she adored her young mistress and divined the cause of her illness when she was gone broke the seal of the letter and read what follows my poor child they tell me that you are ill and i feel that i am in some way the unhappy cause of your trouble though heaven knows i would suffer anything rather than that the slightest harm should happen to you i do not know what they have told you and that makes it hard for me to defend myself the but if i had an hour by your side i am sure i could convince you that i am not altogether to blame when i sprang upon your father i was not responsible for what i did i came up just in time to see my own father s face covered with blood from the in his forehead and i acted without reflection i hear that he said something to him about and me which enraged him and that this caused the blow whatever he said was caused by his anger and ought not to have been taken seriously for my own part i am very sorry that anything of the kind occurred but it is too late to talk about that now what i want most to tell you my angel girl is this i love you more at this moment than i ever did i want you to know that i have but one hope in life and that is your promise that i shall one day call you my own this you have vowed to me and i shall hold you to your word these miserable quarrels over money matters must not keep us apart my love i feel strong to wait now only send me word i beg that you still care for me yours while life remains girl nature is the same the world over faith in the one they love may be shaken until it seems as if not a could remain and then at the touch of the s it is in all its in all its strength had been trying to herself to the thought that everything was over between her and her lover she had grown faint and dizzy in contemplating a future in which the nature op a girl he had no part she had said to herself that she must be brave and bear up and remember her pride as her father had told her but now as she read the letter she forgot it all she remembered only the dear eyes that had looked into hers the arms that had encircled her the lips that had been pressed to her lips she read she comprehended she believed a burst of tears was the first effect of the news her nerves gave way before the unexpected change in the state of affairs then there succeeded to this an extreme calm a the like of which she could not recall in her experience she wiped the tears from her eyes bathed her face with a that lay near her and rang the bell for mary brush my hair if you please she said as the girl made her appearance i think i can sit up i am much better the maid who had been under a shade of doubt as to the possible effect of the note showed her gratification you must have had new medicine to make you so much stronger miss she said yes s face grew lighter as she spoke i have had new medicine mary and i owe it all to you believe me i shall not soon forget it when mrs came up she was gratified to see the marked improvement in the appearance of her daughter and after a short talk she was persuaded to go for a ride an exercise she had not taken since became ill the mary then brought a and other writing materials and was left alone while she composed an answer to s it was written in the warmest tone and was much longer than the one she had received i do not see how i could have doubted you even under such provocation was the burden of it whatever happens i shall never do so again you may trust mary to bring me your letters as she is to be relied upon leave them as you used under the stone on the wall and look for my answers in the same spot chapter xx considering his temptations the arrangements between colonel and john did not wait for any decision of s the morning after the sale the farmer met the colonel by appointment at the office of a village lawyer and they were not long in coming to an understanding the colonel paid the amount due the company and advanced enough beside to clear every debt owed on the personal property he confessed that the second was his own so that that required no other attention when all was disposed of he agreed to have a

deed of the premises conveyed to under a of sixty five hundred dollars which would put john in possession of quite a little sum of ready cash with which to tide over the winter and send back to to the office of the generous nature of these proposals made considering on w impossible and the papers were made out oil the spot signed sealed and sent to the county clerk s office to be recorded offered last night to advance money enough to take him through said the colonel but he had a touch of pride that stood in the way it will be all right now coming directly from you i would not have him give up his career for any thing i thank you was the answer as mr stood in front of the office mirror to arrange the on his head i hope i shall be able to make it right to you some day i am not one of those who forget a kindness nor an injury either he added significantly oh let that drop said colonel pleasantly and you have fought long enough it was an ugly blow that he gave you yesterday but he couldn t have thought of the ring i ll he was sorry enough for it the next minute put on his hat and left the glass it s not the first blow he s given me nor the worst one he muttered well let it pass you ve got your farm again and if you do well you can clear it in a few years stick to wheat raising john and let old rest and by the way i d fix that brook up if i were you the water will spoil twenty acres or so of good land i meant to have spoken to you about it before the papers were signed did you the tone was almost impertinent considering what had passed i wouldn t have taken it under such conditions no not if it had been my the only chance fix up the brook for him t say not the colonel did not think it wise to press the matter for he thought he could get this concession later you ll send back to his law books though he said yes if he wants to go but i wish that girl wasn t going to be so near him i don t like the idea of their being off where they can see each other he s promised to break off all connection with her but young folks are uncertain the colonel was a trifle you don t think he cares anything for her anything special said he no not in one sense but they ve been with each other since they were children and she is strong minded is a good boy but he is influenced easier than i wish he was i ll be plain with you colonel if i had as much money as you have if i was in good circumstances i mean i should propose to him to get married at once instead of waiting three or four years he hasn t anything nor i either but it would have settled things if it could have been done colonel as he understood the but he rallied immediately i ve only one thing in the world to live for besides my wife he said and that is if i ve tried to put away a few dollars it s been in the hope that they would help her to ease and comfort when i could no longer provide for her her mind is all set on have seen that for a long time and as i have of the young man i ve his temptations been glad of it i can t hope to keep my daughter always and i don t know any one i d rather her choice would have fallen upon you ve been plain with me and i ll be the same with you if they re of a mind to marry this year i ll give them every help that i can then they can go back to with nothing to worry either of us still i must say that i haven t any real fear of why he s been attached to as long as he s known her on the third day after this one of those days when was ill in bed and before she had received s passionate letter colonel met as he was driving out on a road near the village and pulled up his horse to speak with him it was impossible to help seeing that the mill owner wore an air of reserve and did not seem over cordial in his but he could not let that keep him from saying what he wanted i ve asked john to fix up the bank of that brook again said the colonel and i think he ll come around to it in time though he s a little now you didn t take pains to put it in your paper when you sold him back the land it seems said no i forgot it till it was too late but i spoke to him afterward and i ll go at him again he s only a lot of good land and he ought as i told him to let by be by after this mr a fly from the of his horse with his whip don t put yourself out said he with i ve just bought the farm above me belonging to mr i shall cut a channel te rods long or so and run the brook water around there won t be any to bother him nor you in a fortnight more i could have got along with the steam alone and i shall mainly now but the water would be handy in case of a break down the a extra

which i charge makes it about even there was a in his manner of delivery that the sarcasm of his words and the colonel did not know just how to reply i hope you don t feel anything against me because i bid on the farm he said presently it was a public sale i haven t made anything out of it i only wanted to help john as an old friend lifted his eyes and surveyed the speaker you ll get what you for of course he answered john wouldn t go back on his word after you ve helped him out of the hole i don t know what you mean don t you i thought maybe you did why you re welcome to the boy i ve forbidden to ever see him again so we ll not stand in your way your money has bought him he s yours i wouldn t give my girl to him if he came on his knees and begged it when i get a son in law colonel i shan t take him from under the hammer of an with this he hit the horse with the whip and drove away was too angry for a few moments to follow him or there might have been another assault to record when he could command himself he only said it s hit him harder than i supposed and went home to talk it over with first however he consulted her mother and that considering his temptations wise woman knowing her daughter much better than ne did advised she said was so high minded that she would resent anything that looked like showing distrust or fear of her lover and that the present was no time to push anything if mr is as angry as you think she said it is probable that he will refuse to let go back to school with that would things it is terrible to think that they must suffer from this business when they have been like sisters so long don t cut their friendship any shorter than is necessary and if you can let some one besides you take the first step so in ignorance of the extent of the storm that was raging plucked her each morning for who was delighted with its fragrance as well as with the kindness of the heart that sent it to her on the seventh day hearing that was out of bed she brought the flowers in person to her great joy she was permitted to see her friend in her room where she sat arrayed in white and looking as young and pretty who have hopeful minds always do very charming indeed my darling dear dear how had worried about her how she had missed her society without which did not seem at all like itself how happy she had been to learn each day that was better and how glad she was that she was now evidently on the road to complete recovery was told with all the earnestness that such when the one who gives them is twenty years of age this responded in terms hardly less warm and then both launched into the conversation in which everything in and vicinity bore a conspicuous part except the one person who had until that day formed the main object of all their neither mentioned nor in any way alluded to the name of which was certainly rather strange an hour like this and then departed saying that she feared to stay longer lest she should tax the wasted energies of her friend and that she should expect her at her house as soon as she could ride out hope and love are two wonderful it was but a few days after this that the invalid told her mother she wanted to go down into the grove and rest by herself in the summer house she would need only mary to keep her company there and she did not wish on any account to be disturbed as she felt the need of absolute quiet mrs consented immediately to the plan and mary joyfully prepared to accompany her if i should be out late don t mind mamma aid as she was starting i will send mary up for a lunch if i get hungry i feel that the air of the woods is what i want the air of the woods and perfect wondered how she could look her mother in the face and talk to her like this in all her life she had never till this day deceived her in anything she must be a very bad girl she reflected when such a falsehood gave her no but the letter from that mary had found under the stone that morning had begged her to arrange some place where he could see her some spot where neither of the parents could trace them she could think of none but the summer house and she felt that with mary to accompany her there would be no great in meeting him within its walls besides there would be a poetic for the doubt in him that she had expressed when he asked her the other time to meet him there his letters received of late had been so tender so passionately that she would have felt little uneasiness even had mary not been available and with that discreet young person upon the need not be too near either what more could mrs ask mary s intentions in the matter were of the most honorable kind though her part may seem open to criticism she adored her young mistress and had shared in common with others of the household the belief that she and were just made for each other when was by the news that her father brought the servants knew what was the trouble almost as soon as she and all called it a shame and said it

was a dreadful pity that so nice a couple should be torn apart because their elders were silly enough to indulge in a quarrel over a piece of land or a mill brook mary was of a romantic mood she had read many tales in which the fair heroine experienced the before she became the wife of the hero and had there learned that no method however uncommon is deemed improper that has for its object the of young and faithful hearts had offered to pay her for carrying his messages but she would the take nothing she only desired to serve in what she fully believed to be a righteous cause it was about four o clock in the afternoon when and mary reached the summer house and it was but a few minutes later that opened the unlocked gate of the as had been arranged in accordance with s letter mary had retired to another part of the grounds and came alone to meet him if either had had doubts of the other at any time all was by the first glance his arms were opened and like a dove to its nest she flew into their embrace my darling my poor little pet he exclaimed a how tired and pale they have made you with their senseless stories come into the house and let me tell you over and over again that nothing can ever separate us that the more they try to me from you the stronger is my love they went in together too happy at first to answer him in words she lay against his breast that haven to which she had so long wanted to fly and to think that you have met me here of your own accord he cried could anything else in the world have given me equal delight i brought mary she whispered for the sake of appearances only you would not have been afraid of me alone she shook her head and allowed him to taste the honey on her lips without a pretence of how long can you remain f he asked as long as you wish considering his temptations until eight or nine if you desire but you will tire of my company before that hour shall i he looked and acted as if that was a not likely to arise when they could command themselves a little better they exchanged mutual confidences in relation to the state of affairs at home she told him that her father had become very bitter against him thinking it was all his fault that mr had insulted him at the and for the first time in his life had refused to listen to a word of defence from her she frankly related what he had said about colonel buying a son in law at public for mr had not to tell her the conversation he had had with that gentleman and replied that his father had said he would never own him as a son if he spoke to her again he was obliged he said to creep away like a thief under false in order to be there now but all this has only made my love the stronger he added seeing the thick cloud that her face if anything had been needed to my heart to yours and nothing was this action on his part would have done it there is so much said about she commented can it be that it has no foundation whatever in any act of yours it was a direct question and he knew it must have a direct answer you know my relations with her he said they have been those of a friend merely i know she likes me and perhaps if you were not in existence something might have come about between the ton us in time the colonel is altogether too in arranging things for me i am old enough to make my own choice in a matter of such importance i do not like to say anything against him after he has done my father such a service but he has made me feel contemptible you see how it is i have to go to his house and i have to see for she is always there and that makes people talk and then i have to see you in this way because of those confounded quarrels looked up at him for she still lay in his arms do you think she loves you or rather does she for if she does you know it very well he hesitated for some seconds she likes me at least he said at last i don t want to appear she likes me and she would be glad to please her father but what does it matter the girl was gazing thoughtfully on the floor matter it matters a great deal if she loves you she will have to suffer i know what it is to think you are going to belong to another i hope she does not love you enough to go through what i did a week ago he embraced her more tenderly yet and reminded her gently that all her fears might have been saved by the secret marriage which he had begged her to yes that would have disposed ot one set of fears she answered and perhaps given me another and a harder set to bear in its place i want to walk up to the altar with you before everybody if my parents continue as as considering his they now are i may have to choose between them and you but i want to do it openly and not like one who seeks the darkness to accomplish that for which he fears the daylight we will meet here till we can do better but let us hope that something will soon interfere in our behalf he reminded her that it would be but

in connection with her that i am fully persuaded of oh cliff i thought you would do something to aid me and you only make it worse and worse his companion grew dark about the eyes he was a good natured fellow but he was on the point of an explosion at that moment what is the matter with me cliff cried wildly rising and pressing his hands to his temples here are these two girls either of them fit for an angel both have a fondness for me which is as unaccountable as it is and what does such love such affection do to me beautiful pure and good as they are they have already made me a fool and they will yet make me a villain the anger that had been rising in s brain turned to sympathy as he saw the earnestness of his friend you are insane he answered no man in his senses would talk like this i know it said i am insane in one way and yet no body of would order me placed in confinement i am bad enough and yet i have been trying for the past month to give up one cf these girls trying as man never tried before i have met her three or four times a week against the wishes of her father and the commands of mine met her passed hours with her and every moment the thought has been uppermost can i give her up the more i have put that question to myself the less able have i been to answer it then i have gone to see the other one whom i can meet with the full approval of all our friends and have asked myself the same thing con her with the same result you you have met miss alone stammered with an aspect of not exactly a trusted maid of hers has always been within call of all the uncertain things which girls trust with their secrets said earnestly a maid is the worst to day she may be the soul of devotion to morrow something happens to make her reveal all that she knows and more you are my friend but this must stop i put it plainly it must stop it is not pleasant to be dictated to by a self con and felt his pride aroused you are very plain i must say he replied coldly i am said i will be yet that there be no possibility of a misunderstanding i t the esteem miss too highly to permit you to go o her as you are doing listened with increasing astonishment injure her injure he repeated yes every time you meet her unknown to her parents with only her maid to protect her good name you injure her and this is not the way to break with her as you profess to think the only way to do that is to write her a frank honest letter saying that your engagement to another makes it proper that you should cease attentions which might be this is the advice i give you follow it or not as you will now another thing i cannot longer stay here as your guest i shall go at once to the village hotel and remain there while i am in started up and caught his friend by the sleeve come cliff that is going too far he exclaimed i have done nothing against you you act as though we had had a quarrel you talk about my being insane i think it is you who are best open to that charge no said i have no quarrel with you but there is danger of one and if it comes it is better that i am not under your roof when the blow falls you are playing double with these girls i have no right to sit an idle spectator of your amusement i shall go to the hotel we have not fallen out and if we ever do it will be from no fault of mine but one thing is certain there must be a change in your conduct and that right speedily he continued assuming the tone of a pleading friend it is for your own sake as wall u tb a han in mine as well as theirs that i say this you are old enough to understand that results flow from causes chapter xxii like a man in liquor did not try longer to his friend from the step he had resolved upon in the first place he felt that it would be useless and in the second he was not sure that it would not be better for him that such a jealous spy upon his every movement was further away so went to the hotel and thought for a long time of what he had said to him could he give up he did not share his friend s idea about the letter he ought to write that seemed brutal considering all that had passed neither had he any fear of the of mary there had been servants in the history of love but she was not of that mould the summer house was secluded no one walked in the wood at night who would be likely to see him enter or leave it as for it was her father s property and she had a right to go and come when she pleased without question he did not mean to do her reputation harm certainly not had he not told her that she was the only woman in the world for whom he cared and yet he had said no less to what a tangled web he had been wearing and the how hopeless seemed the task of its from the limbs which it the more he thought of it however the he became that he ought to make a brave effort to give up

and as a preliminary to that end he wrote a note and left it under the flat stone asking her to meet him that evening instead of the next as had been arranged received the note with joy when mary brought it to her her parents had that day departed for the east and she had been afflicted with ever since the train had out of the with them on board she met at the hour appointed with more than her usual tenderness and as he touched her ripe lips he knew that all the courage with which he had thought himself endowed had taken to itself wings and flown away she talked to him first of the departure of her parents who were not expected to come back for a month or more then she expressed the hope that he would not feel obliged to go to until near the time they would return as she could now meet him with the utmost freedom came to see her occasionally but there was not the old cordiality after all and told her that he was not going just yet at any rate he mentioned that cliff had come to town and was staying at the hotel saying that it was better to have him there than at his house where he would know his every movement and possibly become suspicious he said that his father had also become quite a and that ha had pretended to retire to his room at eight mi a ma account of without this deception he should find it hard to get these evenings to himself you ought to see cliff he said he is than ever you know he was always fond of you and i don t think he has given up hope yet she blushed and replied that he must not talk nonsense a mr never said a word to me except the ordinary she added i think you are too much inclined to draw on your imagination liked to see the roses come into her cheeks which were still a little affected by the that had come to her at the time of her illness oh he said cliff is a thorough gentleman there isn t a mean streak in him if you were my sister there isn t a man on earth that i would so soon give you to but as it is i don t see how i can oblige him this made her laugh and the conversation took on a lighter tone she told him among other things that they were entirely alone in the summer house that evening mary had wanted very much to go to a friend s where she should remain till eleven o clock and had given her permission after all it was just the same nobody would know she was absent and nobody would guess at any rate that was there oh yes it was quite the same they told each other this several times but one of them knew different from the moment that they heard that mary had gone and that there was no one on the premises but himself and there was a in the heart of he the could not sit still he walked about the rooms looking at the pictures and when he talked his utterance was not as distinct as usual m my head he said in answer to hei anxious she made him lie down and brought with which she bathed it the ache did not disappear however he could not stay there but got up and walked again she accompanied him growing paler as she saw his agitation she was alarmed but did not know what to say and thus the strange actions went on for an hour or more until she was nearly exhausted with her emotions darling he said suddenly stopping and facing her would it not have been better f you had married me when i asked you tell me from your heart do you not wish at this moment that i were your husband if if she began m if you insist upon it as necessary to your happiness i will marry you tomorrow she thought this would a cry of pleasure from him but it did not to morrow he exclaimed in so loud a voice that she feared lest it should pass the walls of the building and the limits of the to morrow i there is no to morrow there is nothing in this world but to day to morrow is a centuries off how can you talk to me of to morrow i the tears came into her eyes in spite of all that she could do to repress them but he saw them not he was blind its he mused she started to go nearer to him but he moved backward as she approached are you afraid to remain here alone till mary comes i think i shall have to leave you the tears that had gathered fell in a shower he did not see them no she answered i am not afraid good night then he walked to the door like a man who has been drinking liquor and opened it then he rolled out of the gate and went through the wood seeking not for travelled ways chapter it s for he mused there was something very noble in the position which young occupied ever since he had he had admired her and now that admiration had grown into the deepest love he had no and she was the only girl for whom he had ever felt a strong attachment toward he had a feeling that he could not put into words that made him assume a sort of over her when she seemed by danger but that was not love was the one who had his heart in yet there had been little to give him hope that he would ever have

the opportunity to tell her of his sentiments so long as there was anything between her and s the he was barred out by the commonest rules of honor and more than that he had observed her too closely not to know that while was in the way the suit of no other man on earth would have the least effect upon her there was no reason why he should not call upon her indeed she would have thought it strange if he had not knowing that he was in town and he took an early opportunity of visiting the mansion she received him kindly but he saw at a glance that there was trouble in her face he guessed the truth that was not as regular in his calls as she thought he should be one of the first things brought out in their conversation was the fact that he was living at the hotel which he ascribed to greater convenience she asked him with an effort if he had seen and he said that he had once or twice but not for long and you have called on of course she said no i mean to do so soon however i know she will be glad to see you said m i have sometimes thought she added that she had an especially warm side for you he wondered how she could be so blind you are surely mistaken he answered then he continued unable to resist the inclination i suspect on the contrary that she has a decided preference for another she regarded him another no there can be none we are so intimate that if there were she would have told he how thoroughly both of these girls believed in their hold on it matters not said more than he was wont to speak i have set my affections elsewhere the natural curiosity of the feminine mind overpowered ah she said is it a secret or can you give me her name i cannot now there may be a time when i can said he with great deliberation but i assure you that it will be either her or no one you imply that there is doubt of your happiness said sweetly i hope sincerely that the difficulties whatever they are will be removed you deserve one of the best girls in the world he took up her hand and kissed it with the reverence of a you would aid me if you could he asked you may be sure of that she answered warmly he was afraid he should say too much and he soon after took his departure from s house he went to that of it was not yet late and he wanted to have a talk with her too the servant who answered his ring told him that her young mistress had gone out to spend the evening and she did not know at what hour she would return not liking to go to his hotel so early took a long stroll up the road ending by going into e woods and lying down under a tall tree to dream alone he had lain there perhaps an hour when he heard a quick step approaching and saw walking at a strange and reckless gait through the so peculiar was his friend s action that s first thought was that he saw a turned aside for the larger trees and bushes but over the smaller ones he stalked like a wild animal who had no idea of roads or clear spaces started to his feet and called his name three times before he received any intimation that his words had reached the ears for which they were intended then stopped like one startled looked around and replied in a hoarse voice who s there it is i stepped out of his concealment and saw that the face of his friend was ghastly his eyes were with red and his entire appearance was the reverse of natural where did you come from asked suspiciously have been lying here under this tree for an hour or more s eyes cleared a little as he spoke next you are a friend of mine aren t you i hope lam have you a pistol there was such a calm cold blooded tone in this inquiry that shuddered i have not what could i do with one he you could do me a favor you could place m against that tree and shoot me dead was thoroughly shocked what has happened he asked let me walk he t home with you you want to get to bed and rest you need medicine the soothing voice had a certain effect and suffered himself to be led in the direction indicated but he had no notion of telling this man what him how came you out here he asked it is a good way from the hotel i took the liberty of calling upon your replied we talked of nothing but you however so you need have no jealousy stared at him a moment before he comprehended do you mean m m i said your whom else could i have meant have you several of them a shiver passed over the form of the other man i don t know whether i have one he said there was never a formal engagement between and me if there were i should feel it my duty to ask a release for to night if never before i know i cannot marry her felt greatly agitated by this statement he knew not what to think when you have rested you will be able to talk more he said she fully understands that you and she are engaged and let me tell you that you trifle with the heart of a superior girl when you play at fast and loose with miss admitted by a nod that he had no desire to this statement i

am not insane as you seem perhaps not to think he answered i may have been for a moment out of my mind but now i am quite the sober and sensible for three years i have been try ing to ascertain which of these girls i most cared for at last i have discovered there is one of them without whom life would be a miserable blank to me and cliff it is not stopped stock still in the road he had anticipated he knew not what but never this you mean he said that you love miss v beyond a doubt it is clear to me now as the sun at noon as soon as i can i shall try to communicate to the fact that there can be nothing more between us did not mean to introduce himself into the matter if he could help it and he thought it his duty to say something more it will be a blow to her he said she is a gin i might almost say woman of strong affections they are all on you there has been ing to prepare her for this don t cliff he exclaimed it is not an easy thing and you have no right to make it harder while as i tell you my eyes have been opened at last to where my love really lies i have a regard for which that which other men feel for their favorite sisters i would do anything in the world to spare her pain she is very very dear to me the knowledge that i must cause her suffering is terrible to me but how can i escape would that our friendly relations could have gone on forever but since custom me to the one when i take the other it must be she who is left i like as well as ever but there ig m n for i hb mused o language to express my adoration my complete worship of that girl heard him the colonel will be much disappointed mused he by god cried whatever they do they shall not buy and sell me there is enough of left in me for that at any rate i shall have to give up everything for and i am willing to do it my father will never forgive me if i marry the daughter of the man he considers his worst enemy and no one can reason with him will make an awful row perhaps his child and refuse to speak to her again will feel hurt will call me a heartless wretch when i have only tried to save her from the worst fate imaginable and you the last one left will cast me over everything will have to go and only will be me only i would rather live with her on a desert island than with any other girl in the midst of friends and plenty felt that was fully in earnest but it was all so strange how did this knowledge come so suddenly he asked it was but yesterday that you could not come to any decision between them and that you leaned if at all to the other side paused and turned his face toward the moon which shone upon and it it came to me as the truth came to on the road to i have been with her tonight ou left early said your at the moment when i you were not of the kind one ought to expect in a happy lover had for the time forgotten the events which sent him wildly through the wood and at the recollection of them his countenance grew sober that that was something else he stammered they were near his father s gate now and he walked slowly as he had professed to have a headache and had retired early he did not desire that his parent should see him re enter the house if by any chance he were yet awake when you have had a night s rest and tell me this again i shall know how thoroughly to believe you said as he turned to leave there is something unsettled about your mind to night which leaves me a little in doubt oh you may believe it all now responded i shall marry i must i am not good enough for her understand that cliff it is a miracle that she loves me but i believe she does if ever woman loved man as to that s the hard thing i don t know how i shall manage that it will give me sad hours as well as her he waited but could think of nothing more to say on tha point i wanted to learn which of them it was and until i did learn what could i do but wait don t be hard on me in your thoughts old boy my road is a straight one now and i should be a villain not to follow it was thinking of something else at that moment tell me before i leave you said he why if hb was that you asked m to place you against a tree and shoot you tried to laugh away the ugly incident perhaps i was a little crazy he said i can not tell you what caused my but it was nothing serious nothing that is going to be so now i am glad you did not take me at my word walked slowly up to his father s door it was now half past ten o clock and he was much surprised to see his parent sitting at that to him unheard of hour on the so you did not go to bed said his father in a tone in which no special meaning could be discerned yes i did but the room was close and i went out to stroll i think it has done me

novel she had brought and found herself absorbed in the woes of its heroine while watched and waited anxiously for the step of the one she loved who was expected at eight o clock did not arrive till nearly an hour later grew impatient fearing everything that her active brain could conceive of when he came at last she flew to him without a moment s delay oh i feared something had happened to keep you away she cried in a low voice what was the matter i could not escape the watchful eyes of my father he answered with a trace of bitterness i pretended illness again and went to my room but he sat up later than usual and i could not pass the is it not an outrage that i should be compelled to endure this sort of thing you must endure it a little longer she said close to his breast i am a with you in the deception for i meet you against all the commands of my father at first it made me feel very wicked but i am becoming hardened there will come a time when we shall look back on these meetings and be glad that we dared to have them they had entered so noiselessly that mary bad not heard s step and the future conversation was carried on in such low tones that it reached no other ears than their own the the first thing i want is your forgiveness he began but she stopped him say nothing about it your note quite sufficiently explains all but i must have made you suffer horribly own feelings were any you must have had an awful night i do not know what was the matter with me i was quite out of my head and really knew nothing after i left you until i met cliff half a mile from here she started alarmed at the statement he did not suspect no but he wondered what had happened to affect me so just to plague him i have pretended that i did not know which i loved best you or but when we met last night i told him the truth i said there was but one little girl in the world for me and that was you i didn t mean to be quite so confidential but i was afraid he would be calling on you and proposing and i didn t like to take any risks it pleased her to hear him talk like this for it showed that he rejoiced in the possession of her love t and was not willing that any other man should have an opportunity even to ask for it was very dear to her that night all the dearer for the little episode of the evening preceding mary is with you this time of course he said presently she assented and indicated the dining room as the present of the person inquired for you won t let her go again no she shook her head decidedly she will not be likely to come in though no sleep for not unless called laughed i don t think you ll need to call her he said she has great faith in us i really believe she thinks it a sort of christian duty to help us to these meetings agreed with a smile if she thought it wrong she would not do it i am sure she is the most devoted girl drew the figure which he had been with his arm closer to his breast we will have her with us when when we are married oh to be sure he drank in the sweet breath for a moment then he found his brain growing unsteady again when was it he asked that you first thought you loved me i don t know i can t remember but since we have met here my love has grown to be a very different thing from what it was before he asked her to explain but she could not i feel now she said as if i could not live were we to be parted why that he said is like of a wife to her husband yes if we were already married you could not be dearer than you are he drew a long breath oh i wish we were it is such a little ceremony and yet it means so much a few words from a clergyman and we could tell miss mary there to give up her post of i am so tired of waiting for you the she placed an arm affectionately about his neck why you have me already no he answered with lips i do not have you we are here at a risk to our we come in and creep out like you told me yesterday that you would agree to a secret marriage if i insisted upon it i think i must insist she had hoped that he would forget her rash promise for she dreaded above all things taking a step of that kind which seemed cruel to her parents who had always granted her every favor she asked them let us talk it over sensibly she said of what use would it be it could stop idle tongues if it were discovered that we have met here he replied quickly is that nothing to consider i could prove that mary had always been with us said the girl with a blush there was a covert sneer in the smile with which he met this she is your servant and herself only a young woman it would amount to nothing are you tying to avoid carrying out your own proposal you told me frankly that you would do it if i insisted she knew that this was true and yet she wanted to find some avenue of escape that should be at the same time satisfactory to him