of her when he is gone."

"Mr. Abbot seems very feeble," he said aloud, "do you not think a change
would be beneficial to him?"

"I--do not know," Virgie began wistfully; then added, more to herself than
to him, "Where could we go?"

"I would advise the sea-shore. I should think the salt air would do him
good. Santa Cruz, Monterey, or any of those places on the California
coast, would be both pleasant and healthful."

A startled look came into Virgie's eyes, and her face grew pale.

She had often been to Santa Cruz and Monterey, in the old delightful days
when her mother was living, where she had reigned like a little queen, and
they had all been so happy, with no suspicion of the black shadow that was
creeping upon them so surely.

"No, no, we could not go there; I--I do not believe that papa could be
persuaded to leave home," she faltered with evident nervousness and
embarrassment.

"There is a sad history and a secret here," said Mr. Heath to himself, and
he wondered more than ever what cruel misfortune could have driven these
people thus into exile.

"Has Mr. Abbot ever consulted a physician?" he asked.

"No; there is no physician near us. But papa understands something of
medicine himself," Virgie answered, sighing, for her heart was very heavy
whenever she thought of her father's condition, and it was evident to her
that Mr. Heath considered him to be in a very critical state.

He saw that it troubled her to talk about it, and resolved that he would
not refer to the subject again.

As they stood there the gorgeous tints faded out of the western sky, a
purplish haze settled over mountain and valley, like a gauzy vail
softening all their outlines, and a mist was beginning to rise from the
depths below.

"The dew is falling, Miss Abbot. I fear you will take cold in this
dampness. Shall I take you back now?" Mr. Heath asked.

"Yes. I think it will be hardly safe for us to linger longer," she
replied. "But, Mr. Heath, be careful as you go down; the path is not
altogether safe."

The young man laughed lightly.

"I have scaled greater heights, climbed steeper and more rugged paths than
these, Miss Abbot," he said. "The Alps, the Pyrenees, the Caucasus, are
all familiar ground, and this is but child's play compared with them."

"Oh, then you have been in Europe?" Virgie cried, with animation.

"Yes, in almost every portion of it," he answered, watching her kindly
face with admiration.

"How favored