familiar figure waiting for her.

And at last she did see him. He was sitting on the bank, leaning against
the trunk of a tree, and when she came in sight he ran down to the
little beach that made a good landing-place just at this point.

"Cynthia, you're a brick!" he exclaimed. "I was afraid you were not
coming."

"Oh, Neal, I'm _so_ glad to see you! Get in quickly, and we'll go back
as fast as we can. Of course I came, but we mustn't lose a minute on
account of Edith. Hurry!"

"What do you mean? I'm not going back with you."

"Not going back? Why, Neal, of course you are."

"Not by a long shot. Did you think I would ever go back there?"

"Neal!"

Cynthia's voice trembled. The color rose in her face and her eyes filled
with tears.

"Neal, you can't really mean it?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why did you send for me?"

"Because I wanted to see you. There, don't look as if you were going to
cry, Cynthia. I hate girls that cry, and you never were that sort. I'll
be sorry I sent for you if you do."

Cynthia struggled to regain her composure. This was a bitter
disappointment, but she must make every effort to prevail upon Neal to
yield.

"I'm not crying," she said, blinking her eyes very hard. "Tell me what
you mean."

"I don't mean anything in particular, except that I wanted to see you
again, perhaps for the last time." This with a rather tragic air.

"The last time?"

"Yes. I've made up my mind to cut loose from everybody, and just look
out for myself after this. If my only sister suspects me of stealing, I
don't care to have anything more to do with her. I can easily get along
until I'm twenty-five. I'll just knock round and take things easy, and
if I go to the bad no one will care particularly."

"Neal, I had no idea you were such a coward!" exclaimed Cynthia,
indignantly.

"Coward! You had better look out, Cynthia. I won't stand much of that
sort of thing."

[Illustration: "YOU WERE AFRAID TO BRAVE IT OUT. AFRAID!"]

"You've got to stand it. I call you a coward. You ran away like a boy in
a dime novel, just because you couldn't stand having anything go wrong.
You were afraid to brave it out. _Afraid!_"

There was no suspicion of tears now in Cynthia's voice. She knelt in the
canoe very erect and very angry. Her cheeks were crimson, and her blue
eyes had grown very dark.

"I tell you again to take care," said Neal, restraining his anger with
difficulty. "I did not send for you to come dow