ver repay
you, Mr. Plowden, for your noble frankness?"

"By keeping my secret, as your husband has done all these years."

"I will; I promise you that. Only, I do not see the necessity for
secrecy, since your trouble is over and done for, and you are happily
married to another woman."

"That's just the reason, dear friend. You see, I allowed people to think
I was a bachelor, if I did not actually tell them so. Gertrude became my
wife under that belief."

"Why did you not tell her the truth before marriage?"

"I tried to; but my dear, sweet, young Gertrude was so romantic that,
while she could and did overlook the disparity in our ages, she never
would have done the fact that I had been married before and was a
father. It would have disenchanted her completely, and I should have
lost her. So, you will keep my secret, my dear madam, will you not?"

"That I will. Oh, how shall I ever forgive myself for wronging my own
dear, innocent, faithful, self-sacrificing love by my cruel suspicions
and hateful jealousy?"

"Freely confess to him your fault."

"That I will. I will fly to him and ask his forgiveness."

And "fly" she did, as literally as she could, but in the wrong
direction. As the last whisk of her skirts was heard in the direction of
Mr. Rutherford's study den, that wily gentleman emerged from a door on
the opposite side of the library.

"Well?" he demanded anxiously. "Don't keep me on thorns. Have you made
it all right with her?"

"I have," replied Mr. Plowden.

"You don't mean to say she swallowed it all!"

Plowden nodded.

"And didn't even drop on the weak point in the story--that when I was
supposed to be placing in school your little girl, aged six years, I was
not much older myself?"

"No."

The two gentlemen exchanged a smile; then the elder, becoming serious,
said:

"But of course you will keep faith with me, Rutherford, and as soon as
you obtain your telegraphic release you will tell her the whole truth,
whatever that may be?"

"Yes; but I can't get that, you know, until the day after Christmas. I
had to wire to my client's business address, so it was too late to
connect to-day. To-morrow is a holiday. It will be the day after before
I can hear."

"And what about my affair?"

"That is not so easily managed. Still, I have a suspicion that--but I'll
say nothing about that at present. The woman is very determined. I told
her I could do nothing in the matter until after the holidays. S