on't stint in the matter of food," exclaimed
the brother. "You'll have to drop it while I'm here, I can tell you. I
thought the mater would be up to some little game of this kind when she
buried you alive in such an out-of-the-way corner. She makes a great
mistake though, and so I shall tell her. Young girls of your age ought
to be fed up. You'll develop properly then, you won't otherwise. That's
the new dodge. All the doctors go upon it. Feed up the young to any
extent, and they'll pay for it by-and-bye. Plenty of good English beef
and mutton. What's the matter, Kate? What are you laughing in that
immoderate manner for?"

"Oh, nothing, Loftie. I may laugh, I suppose, without saying why. I wish
you would not put on that killing air, though. And you know perfectly
there is no use in laying down the law in mother's house."

The three young people were now standing in the hall, and Clara tripped
timidly forward.

"We want dinner as quickly as possible, Clara," said Mabel. "Come,
Loftus, let us take you to your room."

That night the choicely served repast was less meagre than usual. Caller
herring graced the board in abundance, and even Loftus did not despise
these, when really fresh and cooked to perfection. The hash of New
Zealand mutton, however, which followed, was not so much to this
fastidious young officer's taste, but quantities of fine strawberries,
supplemented by a jug of rich cream, put him once more into a good
humor. He did not know that Kate had spent one of her very scarce
sixpences on the cream, and that the girls had walked a mile-and-a-half
through the hot sun that morning to fetch it.

The decanters of wine did not only do duty as ornaments that evening,
and as the black coffee which followed was quite to Loftus' taste, he
forgot the New Zealand mutton, or, at least, determined not to speak on
the subject before the next morning.

After Mabel went to bed that night Kate asked her brother what the fresh
scrape was about. He was really in an excellent humor then; the
seclusion and almost romance of the old place soothed his nerves, which
were somewhat jaded with the rush and tear of a life not lived too
worthily. He and Kitty were strolling up and down in the moonlight, and
when she asked her question and looked up at him with her fine,
intelligent, sympathetic face, he pulled her little ear affectionately,
and pushed back the tendrils of soft, dark hair from her brow.

"The usual thing, Kitty," h