d drive over to White Pine for dinner--and come
back after the sun goes down? It's a beautiful drive."

"I'm sorry," said Sarah, flushing with a feeling that was akin to guilt,
"but I am engaged Sunday."

Bob turned again to his work, cast into sudden gloom, and wondering
jealously what was Sarah's engagement. Sarah, not altogether easy in her
mind, nor wholly pleased with herself, endeavored to justify herself for
being so lightly off with the old and on with the new.... She compared
Bob to Farley Curtis, and found the comparison not in Bob's favor. Not
that this was exactly a justification, but it was a salve. Sarah was in
the shopping period of her life--shopping for a husband, so to speak.
She was entitled to the best she could get ... and Bob did not seem to
be the best. Farley was sprightly, interesting, with the manners of a
more effete world than Coldriver; Bob was awkward, ofttimes silent,
lacking polish. Farley was solicitous in small matters that Bob failed
utterly to perceive; Farley was always skilled in minute points of
decorum, whose very existence was unknown to Bob. In short, Farley was
altogether fascinating, while Bob, at best, was commonplace. Yet, not in
her objective mind, but deep in her centers of intuition, she was
conscious of a hesitancy, conscious of something that urged her toward
Bob and warned her against Farley Curtis.

On Sunday Bob saw Sarah drive away with Curtis--and spent a black day of
jealousy and heartburning. During the succeeding two weeks he spent many
black days and sleepless nights, for Curtis monopolized Sarah's leisure,
and Sarah seemed to have thrown discretion to the winds and clothed
herself against fear of Coldriver's gossip, for she seemed to give her
company almost eagerly to the stranger.... And Coldriver talked.

Bob spoke bitterly of the matter to Scattergood.

"Um!..." grunted Scattergood, "don't seem to recall any statute
forbiddin' any young feller to git him any gal he kin. Eh?"

"No. But this Curtis--there's something wrong there. He isn't intending
to play fair.... I--He's got some kind of a purpose, Mr. Baines."

"Think so, eh? What kind of a purpose?" Scattergood had his own ideas on
this subject, but did not disclose them. It was in his mind that Curtis
cultivated Sarah because of Sarah's propinquity of a certain paper which
the man had reason to believe was in Bob Allen's safe.

Bob's face was set and stern, granite as the hills among which he had