I mean," I said angrily.

"Well, what do you mean?"

"Do you love anyone to marry him?"

"The idea of it," cried Nelly, laughing.

"But you must tell me."

"Must, Tom?"

"Indeed you must, Nelly."

She had risen from the chair with an amused, perplexed look in her eyes.
I held her an instant by the dress.

"Please tell me."

"O you silly boy!" cried Nelly. Then she rumpled my hair all over my
forehead and ran laughing out of the room.

Suppose Cinderella had rumpled the prince's hair all over his forehead,
how would he have liked it? Suppose the Sleeping Beauty, when the king's
son with a kiss set her and all the old clocks agoing in the spell-bound
castle--suppose the young minx had looked up and coolly laughed in his
eye, I guess the king's son wouldn't have been greatly pleased.

I hesitated a second or two and then rushed after Nelly just in time to
run against Miss Abigail, who entered the room with a couple of lighted
candles.

"Goodness gracious, Tom!" exclaimed Miss Abigail. "Are you possessed?"

I left her scraping the warm spermaceti from one of her thumbs.

Nelly was in the kitchen talking quite unconcernedly with Kitty Collins.
There she remained until supper-time. Supper over, we all adjourned to
the sitting-room. I planned and plotted, but could manage in no way to
get Nelly alone. She and the Captain played cribbage all the evening.

The next morning my lady did not make her appearance until we were
seated at the breakfast-table. I had got up at daylight myself.
Immediately after breakfast the carriage arrived to take her to the
railway station. A gentleman stepped from this carriage, and greatly to
my surprise was warmly welcomed by the Captain and Miss Abigail, and by
Miss Nelly herself, who seemed unnecessarily glad to see him. From the
hasty conversation that followed I learned that the gentleman had come
somewhat unexpectedly to conduct Miss Nelly to Boston. But how did he
know that she was to leave that morning? Nelly bade farewell to the
Captain and Miss Abigail, made a little rush and kissed me on the nose,
and was gone.

As the wheels of the hack rolled up the street and over my finer
feelings, I turned to the Captain.

"Who was that gentleman, sir?"

"That was Mr. Waldron."

"A relation of yours, sir?" I asked craftily.

"No relation of mine--a relation of Nelly's," said the Captain, smiling.

"A cousin," I suggested, feeling a strange hatred spring up in my bosom
for