ucy had never exhibited in all the years he had known her. She was bold
and unabashed where Lucy was shy and unassuming. This girl's eyes
laughed, while Lucy's were grave and serious; yet they were the same
eyes.

"Let me tell you about my lost Lucy," he said, with a glance at the
unconscious Donald.

"Go ahead, if it will relieve you," she answered, demurely.

"She lived on a farm five miles from here, and she was my sweetheart.
Her mother is blind and her father old and feeble. She worked for a
dentist in the town and was accused of stealing a ring, and it nearly
broke her heart to be so unjustly suspected. In order to make good the
loss of the ring, a valuable diamond--I--I got into trouble, and Lucy
was so shocked and distressed that she--she lost her head--became mad,
you know--and left home during the night without a word to any one. We
haven't been able to find her since."

"That's too bad," remarked Eliza Parsons, buttering her bread.

"About the time that Lucy went away, you appeared at Elmhurst,"
continued Tom. "And in face and form you're the image of my Lucy. That
is why I asked you to tell me where you came from and how you came
here."

"Ah, you think I'm mad, do you?" asked the girl, with a quizzical smile.
"Well, I'm not going to satisfy your curiosity, even to prove my sanity;
and I'm not anxious to pose as your lost Lucy. So please pass the sugar
and try to be sociable, instead of staring at me as if I scared you."

Tom passed the sugar, but he could not eat, nor could he tear himself
away from this strange girl's presence. He tried again to draw her into
conversation, but she showed annoyance and resented his persistence.
Presently she went away, giving him an amused smile as she left the
room--a smile that made him feel that this was indeed a case of mistaken
identity.

In fact, Tom Gates, on sober reflection, knew that the girl could not be
Lucy, yet he could not still the yearning in his heart whenever he saw
her. His heart declared that she was Lucy, and his head realized that
she could not be.

While he waited in the library for Mr. Forbes to return from Fairview a
man was shown into the room and sat down quietly in a corner.

He was a small, lean man, of unassuming appearance, with a thin face and
gray eyes set close together. When he looked at Tom Gates he scarcely
seemed to see him, and his manner conveyed the impression that he
disliked to attract notice.

"Waiting for Mr. Forbes