mpelled her own to waver and
finally to drop.

"Loben ist nicht lieben," said Bauer firmly. It was the nearest he had
ever come to declaring himself, in words. And Helen was the most
deficient girl, Walter always said, when it came to languages. She did
not know German and did not care to learn. Miss Gray had laughed at her
more than once on account of her obtuseness. So Helen now, with some
heightened colour, said as she raised her eyes.

"What does that mean?"

"Loben ist nicht Lieben," repeated Bauer.

"Won't you translate it?" asked Helen petulantly. "You know I never
understood German."

"I--can't," said Bauer. And to Helen's surprise, he abruptly got up and
walked away.

"Loben ist nicht lieben," she softly murmured. "I'll ask Lucy what it
means. But he needn't have gone so. He has no manners. I do not think he
is nice."

That night after supper she found Miss Gray alone in the school room.

"Lucy, what does this German mean. As near as I can pronounce it, it
sounds like this. 'Loben ist nicht lieben'?"

"Say it again."

Helen repeated the sentence.

"Oh! Why, it sounds like 'praising is not loving.' Where did you hear
it?"

"Oh, I heard it. I wondered what it meant. You know I don't care for
German."

"Nor for _the_ German?" Miss Gray ventured.

"Nor for _the_ German," Helen said after a pause. And that was as near
as she came to exchanging confidences with Miss Gray. But was there
anything to give in exchange?

She asked the question several times on the way home. Her good-bye to
Bauer had been commonplace enough. He had ventured at the last moment
after the party was seated in the wagon ready for the drive to Canyon
Diablo to hand up a book to Helen.

"Would you accept this to use on your journey? You may find it help pass
the time. It's the collection of desert flowers I've been making."

Helen was really pleased and expressed her thanks warmly. But nothing
more was said except the regular good-byes as the Douglases waved their
farewells to all the mission people on the little knoll.

When she was on the train and started for home Helen found on
examination that Bauer's modest volume was in reality composed of a rare
collection of desert plants, and in the back leaves of the book were
several photographs of desert scenes, including a dozen of Oraibi and
the snake dance itself. She found her own person in several of the
pictures, and the farther she travelled from Tolchaco the more
per