mountain maiden with appraising
eye for a few seconds. Then she crossed the room and stood close by her
side, while she tapped upon the table nervously with her carefully
gloved fingers.

"If this sale fails, as it seems it must," she said, slowly, "it rests
with you whether my father will advance the money to pay the assessment
on that stock of Mr. Layson's."

"Your father give him the money?" Madge said in astonishment. "Well, I'd
never thought o' that! But what have I got to do about it?"

The situation was a hard one, even for the self-possession of the
lowlands girl, who had inherited her father's coolness in emergency as
well as some other traits less desirable. Her color rose and she tried,
earnestly, to gather words which would express the thought she had in
mind without including a confession of the weakness of her own position.
This she could not, do, however. She walked over to the window, gazed
from it, for a moment, at the passing crowds, and then returned to
Madge, to tell her bluntly: "I want you to go away from here."

"Me go away? What for?"

It was impossible, Barbara now discovered, to make her meaning wholly
clear, without some measure of humiliation. The first thing that was,
obviously, necessary was a statement of facts as they were, and this
must include confession of her own sore weakness. She hesitated, trying
to avoid it, but when she quite decided that it could not be helped,
plunged on with a perfect frankness. What she wished was immediately to
gain her point. If she must eat a bit of humble pie in order to
accomplish this, why, she would eat it, much as she disliked the diet.

"Can't you see that it is you who stand between Frank and me?" she
cried. "If it hadn't been for you, I should have been his promised wife!
If you will go away and never see him again, I can win him back."

Madge was dumbfounded. The cold and utter selfishness of the girl's
proposal was astounding. She looked at Barbara with eyes in which
incredulous amazement gave way, slowly, to an expression of chill
wonder. "Say, you don't seem to squander many thoughts on other people!
S'posin' I happen to love him a little, myself!"

Barbara laughed scornfully. Sprung from low stock, herself, but reared
in luxury, she had the most complete contempt for anyone whom
circumstances had denied advantages such as she had known. "You--_you_
love him!" she exclaimed.

The words had slipped from Madge's lips without forethought