it much until of late.
You know how we live here; I can guess what you have enjoyed at home.
Life's strenuous on the prairie, and though I think it's good, it makes
demands on one you can't have felt in England. There's so much that you
must give up, many things that you will miss. I am anxious when I think
of it."

Muriel looked far across the plain which ran back; glistening in the
sunlight, until it faded into cold blues and purples toward the skyline.
The gray bluffs, standing one behind the other, and the long straggling
line of timber by a ravine marked its vast extent. It filled the girl
with a sense of freedom; its wideness uplifted her.

"Jack," she said, "I wonder whether you can understand why I made you
take me out? The prairie has drawn me from the beginning, and I felt it
would be easier to make a great change in this wonderful open space; I
wanted to adopt the country, to feel it belonged to me. Now that I've
made my choice, my home is where you are; I want nothing but to be loved
and cared for, as you must care for me."

Prescott drew her toward him, but there was more of respect than passion
in his caress.

"My dear," he said gravely, "I feel very humble as well as thankful. It's
a great thing I've undertaken, to make you happy; and I think you'll try
to forgive me if I sometimes fail."

Muriel laughed and shook herself free.

"I'm not really hard to please, and even if you make mistakes now and
then, good intentions count for a good deal. But you are dreadfully
solemn, and there's so much that is pleasant to talk about."

They walked on briskly, for it had been possible to stand still only in
the shelter of the bluff with bright sunshine streaming down on them; the
cold they had forgotten now made itself felt.

"I can't understand Jernyngham," Prescott said after a while. "One can't
blame him for persecuting me, but there's something in his conduct that
makes one think him off his balance."

Muriel's eyes sparkled with indignation.

"I suppose he ought to be pitied, but I can't forgive him, and I'll tell
you what I think. He has led a well-regulated life, but his virtues are
narrow and petty. Indeed, I think they're partly habits. He is not a
clever or a really strong man; but because of his money and position,
which he never ventured out of, he found people to obey him and grew into
a domineering autocrat. I believe he was fond of Cyril and felt what he
thought of as his loss; but that was