larity of grief, but she fastened her eyes on him.

"Because I am going to send you a big box of them to-morrow," said
Robert.

Amabel turned to Ellen. "Does he mean it?" she asked.

"I guess so," replied Ellen, laughing.

Amabel, looking from one to the other, also began to laugh
unwillingly.

Then the sitting-room door opened, and Fanny called sharply and
imperatively, "Amabel, Amabel; come!"

Amabel clung more tightly to Ellen, who began to gently loosen her
arms.

"Amabel Tenny, come this minute. It is your bed-time," said Fanny.

"I guess you had better go, darling," whispered Ellen.

"I don't want to go to bed till you do, Ellen," whispered the child.

Ellen gently but firmly unclasped the clinging arms. "Run along,
dear," she whispered.

"I will send those chocolates to-morrow," suggested Robert.

Amabel seemed to do everything by sudden and violent impulses. All
at once she ceased resisting. She slid down from Ellen's lap as
quickly as she had gotten into it. She clutched her neck with two
little wiry arms, kissed her hard on the mouth, darted across the
room to Robert, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, then
flew out of the room.

"She is an interesting child," said Robert, who felt, like most
people, the delicate flattery of a child's unsolicited caresses.

"I am very fond of her," replied Ellen.

Then the two were silent. Robert suddenly realized that there was
little to say unless he ventured on debatable ground. It would be
too absurd of him to commence making love at once, and as for asking
Ellen about her work, that seemed a subject better let alone.

Ellen herself opened the conversation by inquiring for his aunt.

"Aunt Cynthia is very well," replied Robert. "I was in there last
evening. You have not been to see her lately, Miss Brewster."

Robert realized as soon as he had said that that he had made a
mistake.

"No," replied Ellen. She obviously paled a little, and looked at him
wistfully. The young man could not stand it any longer, so straight
into the heart of the matter he lunged.

"Look here, Miss Brewster," he said, "why on earth didn't you tell
Aunt Cynthia?"

"Tell her?" repeated Ellen, vaguely.

"Yes; make a clean breast of it to her. Tell her just why you went
to work, and gave up college?"

Ellen colored, and looked at him half defiantly, half piteously. "I
told her all I ought to," she said.

"But you did not; pardon me," said Robert, "you did not