d her proposals; at
last she would not answer her letters; and their friendship outwardly
ceased. Louise did not blame her; she accounted for her, and pitied and
forgave her; she said it was what she herself would do in Sue's place,
but probably if she had continued herself, she would not have done what
Sue did, even in Sue's place. She remembered Sue with a tender constancy
when she could no longer openly approach her without hurting more than
she helped; and before the day of the assignee's sale came, she thought
out a scheme which Wade carried into effect with Putney's help. Those
things of their own that the sisters had meant to sacrifice, were bidden
off, and restored to them in such a way that it was not possible for
them to refuse to take back the dresses, the jewels, the particular
pieces of furniture which Louise associated with them.

Each of the sisters dealt with the event in her sort; Adeline simply
exulted in getting her things again; Sue gave all hers into Adeline's
keeping, and bade her never let her see them.

PART SECOND.

I.

Northwick kept up the mental juggle he had used in getting himself away
from Hatboro', and as far as Ponkwasset Junction he made believe that he
was going to leave the main line, and take the branch road to the mills.
He had a thousand-mile ticket, and he had no baggage check to define his
destination; he could step off and get on where he pleased. At first he
let the conductor take up the mileage on his ticket as far as Ponkwasset
Junction; but when he got there he kept on with the train, northward, in
the pretence that he was going on as far as Willoughby Junction, to look
after some business of his quarries. He verified his pretence by
speaking of it to the conductor who knew him; he was not a person to
take conductors into his confidence, but he felt obliged to account to
the man for his apparent change of mind. He was at some trouble to make
it seem casual and insignificant, and he wondered if the conductor meant
to insinuate anything by saying in return that it was a pretty brisk day
to be knocking round much in a stone quarry. Northwick smiled in saying,
"It was, rather;" he watched the conductor to see if he should betray
any particular interest in the matter when he left him. But the
conductor went on punching the passengers' tickets, and seemed to forget
Northwick as soon as he left him. At the next station, Northwick
followed him out on the platform t