t silent a moment looking at it,
and at last suddenly a great drop fell upon it which made them both
start. He did not look up at her, but took out his big white handkerchief
and wiped the drop gently away and then stooped and kissed the spot where
it had fallen. Her own lashes were wet when their eyes met afterwards,
and she spoke in a subdued voice.

"I have always liked you very much, Cousin Tom," she said; "you mustn't
talk of going away. We should miss you much more than you think. I know I
should be very sorry."

"You won't be here to miss me, Delia," he answered, sadly.

The hand on his palm trembled slightly and her eyes faltered under his
gaze.

"I--think it--is possible I shall live in Delisleville," she whispered.

His heart bounded as if it would burst his side. He knew what she meant
in an instant, though he had never suspected it before.

"Oh! Oh!" he groaned. "Oh, Delia! which--which of them is it? It's De
Courcy, I could swear. It's De Courcy!"

"Yes," she faltered, "it is De Courcy."

He drew his hand away and covered his face with it.

"I knew it was De Courcy," he cried. "He was always the kind of fellow to
win. I suppose he deserves it. The Lord knows I hope he does, for your
sake. Of course it's De Courcy. Who else?"

He did not stay long after this, and when he went away he wrung her hand
in his in a desperate farewell.

"This is another reason for my going now," he said; "I couldn't stay.
This--is--good-bye, Delia."

He went home and had a prolonged interview with his father. It was not an
agreeable interview to recur to mentally in after time, but in the end
Tom gained his point, and a portion of his future patrimony was handed
over to him.

"I shall be no further trouble to you," he said. "You mayn't ever hear of
me again. This is the end of me as far as you are concerned."

That night, with a valise in his hand, he took his place in the stage
running towards the mountain regions of North Carolina, and from that day
forward the place knew him no more. It was as he had known it would be:
no one was very sorry to be rid of him, and even Delia's sadness was at
length toned down by the excitement of preparation for and the
festivities attendant upon her triumphant union with the most dashing De
Willoughby of the flock.

When this event occurred, Tom's wanderings had ended temporarily in the
farm-house referred to in the first chapter, and his appearance in this
remote and usually