ht to be, and I won't have it!"

"Very well. It shall be just as you say," he replied. The sarcastic
humility of his tone made her laugh in spite of herself, and she
immediately changed the subject, demanding--

"Where is Laura to-night?"

"She's at home, making cake for the picnic," he said.

"The good girl! and I ought to be making some, too. I wonder if poor
George will be at the picnic?"

"I doubt it," said Henry. "You know he never goes to any sort of party.
The last time I saw him at such a place was at Mr. Bradford's. He was
playing whist, and they were joking about cheating. Somebody said--Mr.
Bradford it was--'I can trust my wife's honesty. She doesn't know enough
to cheat, but I don't know about George.' George was her partner.
Bradford didn't mean any harm; he forgot, you see. He'd have bitten his
tongue off otherwise sooner than have said it. But everybody saw the
application, and there was a dead silence. George got red as fire, and
then pale as death. I don't know how they finished the hand, but
presently somebody made an excuse, and the game was broken off."

"Oh, dear! dear! That was cruel! cruel! How could Mr. Bradford do it? I
should think he would never forgive himself! never!" exclaimed Madeline,
with an accent of poignant sympathy, involuntarily pressing Henry's arm,
and thereby causing him instantly to forget all about George and his
misfortunes, and setting his heart to beating so tumultuously that he was
afraid she would notice it and be offended. But she did not seem to be
conscious of the intoxicating effluence she was giving forth, and
presently added, in a tone of sweetest pity--

"He used to be so frank and dashing in his manner, and now when he meets
one of us girls on the street he seems so embarrassed, and looks away or
at the ground, as if he thought we should not like to bow to him, or
meant to cut him. I'm sure we'd cut our heads off sooner. It's enough to
make one cry, such times, to see how wretched he is, and so sensitive
that no one can say a word to cheer him. Did you notice what he said
about leaving town? I hadn't heard anything about it before, had you?"

"No," said Henry, "not a word. Wonder where he's going. Perhaps he thinks
it will be easier for him in some place where they don't know him."

They walked on in silence a few moments, and then Madeline said, in a
musing tone--

"How strange it would seem if one really could have unpleasant things
blotted out of thei