roach her. By inviting his
confidence, she would doubtless draw something from him that would deny
or corroborate her father's opinion of his sentiments. If he was really
in love with Jessie, she would learn what reasons he had for expecting
a serious culmination of his suit, and perhaps she might be able
delicately to open his eyes to the truth. If, as she believed, it was
only a boyish fancy, she would laugh him out of it with that camaraderie
which had always existed between them. A half motherly sympathy, albeit
born quite as much from a contemplation of his beautiful yearning eyes
as from his interesting position, lightened the smile with which she
greeted him.

"So you contrived to throw over your stupid business and join us,
after all," she said; "or was it that you changed your mind at the
last moment?" she added mischievously. "I thought only we women were
permitted that!" Indeed, she could not help noticing that there was
really a strong feminine suggestion in the shifting color and slightly
conscious eyelids of the young fellow.

"Do young girls always change their minds?" asked George, with an
embarrassed smile.

"Not, always; but sometimes they don't know their own mind--particularly
if they are very young; and when they do at last, you clever creatures
of men, who have interpreted their ignorance to please yourselves, abuse
them for being fickle." She stopped to observe the effect of what she
believed a rather clear and significant exposition of Jessie's and
George's possible situation. But she was not prepared for the look
of blank resignation that seemed to drive the color from his face and
moisten the fire of his dark eyes.

"I reckon you're right," he said, looking down.

"Oh! we're not accusing you of fickleness," said Christie gayly;
"although you didn't come, and we were obliged to ask Mr. Hall to join
us. I suppose you found him and Jessie just now?"

But George made no reply. The color was slowly coming back to his face,
which, as she glanced covertly at him, seemed to have grown so much
older that his returning blood might have brought two or three years
with it.

"Really, Mr. Kearney," she said dryly, "one would think that some silly,
conceited girl"--she was quite earnest in her epithets, for a sudden,
angry conviction of some coquetry and disingenuousness in Jessie had
come to her in contemplating its effects upon the young fellow at her
side--"some country jilt, had been trying her r