e believed he would give
a thousand dollars."

That settled it, Hugh had no thousand dollars; he had not even ten, and
with a moan of pain, he tried to shut out Rocket from his mind. And this
it was which kept him so nervous and restless, dreading yet longing for
the eventful day, and feeling glad when at last he could say--

"To-morrow is the sale."

The next morning was cold and chilly, making Hugh shiver as he waited
for the footstep which he had learned to know so well. She had not come
to see him the previous night, and he waited for her anxiously now,
feeling sure that on this day of all others she would stay with him.
How, then, was he disappointed when at last she came to him, cloaked and
hooded as for a ride.

"Are you going out to-day again?" he asked, his tone that of a pleading
child.

"It does not seem right to leave you alone, I know," she said, "but poor
Ellen needs me sadly, and I promised to be there."

"At Mosside, with all those rough men, oh, Alice, don't go!" and Hugh
grasped the little hand.

"It may appear unladylike, I know, but I think it right to stay by
Ellen. By the way," and Alice spoke rapidly now, "the doctor says
you'll never get well so long as you keep so closely in the house. You
are able to ride, and I promised to coax you out to-morrow, if the day
is fine. I shall not take a refusal," she continued, as he shook his
head. "I am getting quite vain of my horsemanship. I shall feel quite
proud of your escort, even if I have to tease for it; so, remember, you
are mine for a part of to-morrow."

She drew her hand from his, and with another of her radiant smiles,
swept from the room, leaving him in a maze of blissful bewilderment.
Never till this morning had a hope entered Hugh's heart that Alice
Johnson might be won. Except her, there was not a girl in all the world
who had ever awakened the slightest emotion within his heart, and Alice
had seemed so far removed from him that to dream of her was worse than
useless. She would never esteem him save as a friend, and until this
morning Hugh had fancied he could be satisfied with that, but there was
something in the way her little fingers twined themselves around his,
something in her manner, which prompted the wild hope that in an
unguarded moment she had betrayed herself, had permitted him a glimpse
of what was in her mind, only a glimpse, but enough to make the poor
deluded man giddy with happiness. She, the Golden Haired, could be