asping her hands.

"Nettie must yield!" cried the Bushranger, full of emotion; and Susan
cried a little, and told him how much the poor dear children wished it;
and knew in her fool's heart that she had driven Nettie to the extremest
bounds of patience, and that a little more persistence and iteration
would gain the day.

In the mean time Nettie went out with Freddy--the other two being at
school--and took him across the fields for his afternoon walk. The
little fellow talked of Australia all the way, with a childish treachery
and betrayal of her cause which went to Nettie's heart. She walked by
his side, hearing without listening, throbbing all over with secret
disgust, impatience, and despair. She too perceived well enough the
approaching crisis. She saw that once more all her own resolution--the
purpose of her heart--would be overborne by the hopeless pertinacity of
the unconvincible, unreasoning fool. She did not call her sister hard
names--she recognised the quality without giving it its appropriate
title--and recognised also, with a bitterness of resistance, yet a sense
of the inevitable, not to be described, the certain issue of the unequal
contest. What chance had the generous little heart, the hasty temper,
the quick and vivacious spirit, against that unwearying, unreasoning
pertinacity? Once more she must arise, and go forth to the end of the
world: and the sacrifice must be final now.

CHAPTER XIV.

"Well, it's to be hoped she's going to do well for herself--that's all
we've got to do with it, eh? I suppose so," said Mr Wodehouse; "she's
nothing to you, is she, but a little girl you've taken a deal of notice
of?--more notice than was wanted, if I am any judge. If she does go and
marry this fellow from Australia, and he's willing to take the whole
bundle back to where they came from, it is the best thing that could
happen, in _my_ opinion. Sly young dog, that doctor, though, I must
say--don't you think so? Well, that's how it appears to me. Let's see;
there was Bessie----; hum! perhaps it's as well, in present circumstances,
to name no names. There was _her_, in the first instance, you know;
and the way he got out of that was beautiful; it was what I call
instructive, was that. And then--why then, there was Miss Marjoribanks,
you know--capital match that--just the thing for young Rider--set him up
for life."

"Papa, pray--_pray_ don't talk nonsense," said Miss Wodehouse, with
gentle indignation.