know, but just enough to be good."

Now, you may depend upon it, this kind of talk, accompanied by a smile
of affection, went a good deal farther with Nan than the most tremendous
scolding would have gone. It touched her where she was weakest--or, if
you please, strongest--in her affections, and she vowed to herself that
she would put off her hoyden ways, and become a demure young lady, or at
least play the part to the best of her ability.

Eugenia Claiborne declared that Nan had acted more demurely in the
closet than she could have done, if, instead of Gabriel, Paul Tomlin had
come spying on the radicals where she was. "I don't see how you could
help saying something. If I had been in your place, and Paul had come in
there, I should certainly have said something to him, if only to let him
know that I was as patriotic as he was." Miss Eugenia had grand ideas
about patriotism.

"Oh, if it had been Paul instead of Gabriel I would have made myself
known," said Nan; "but Gabriel----"

"I don't see what the difference is when it comes to making yourself
known to any one in the dark, especially to a friend," remarked Eugenia.
"For my part, horses couldn't have dragged me in that awful place. I'm
sure you must be very brave, to make up your mind to go there. Weren't
you frightened to death?"

"Why there was nothing to frighten any one," said Nan; "not even rats."

"Ooh!" cried Eugenia with a shiver. "Why of course there were rats in
that dark, still place. I wouldn't go in there in broad daylight."

This conversation occurred while Nan was visiting Eugenia, and in the
course thereof, Nan was given to understand that her friend thought a
good deal of Paul Tomlin. As soon as Nan grasped the idea that Eugenia
was trying to convey--there never was a girl more obtuse in
love-matters--she became profuse in her praises of Paul, who was really
a very clever young man. As Mrs. Absalom had said, it was not likely
that he would ever be brilliant enough to set the creek on fire, but he
was a very agreeable lad, entirely unlike Silas Tomlin, his father.

If Eugenia thought that Nan would exchange confidences with her, she was
sadly mistaken. Nan had a horror of falling in love, and when the name
of Gabriel was mentioned by her friend, she made many scornful
allusions to that youngster.

"But you know, Nan, that you think more of Gabriel than you do of any
other young man," said Eugenia. "You may deceive yourself and him, but
you