nute that I would have minded
you as I do Uncle Tom."

"But you will have to when we are married," said James.

Clemency blushed and quivered. "Well, maybe I will," she whispered. "I
suppose I shall be just enough of a fool to stay in the house, if you
order me, the way I do when Uncle Tom does."

"You shall stay in the house for no man alive when I have you in
charge," said James. "Clemency--"

"What?"

"I will take you out now, if you say so. I can protect you."

"I know you can," Clemency said, "but I guess we had better not. You see
Uncle Tom doesn't know yet, and he will be coming home, and--"

"I am going to tell him just as soon as he does," declared James.

"I wonder if you had better not wait," Clemency said thoughtfully.

"Wait? Why?"

"Nothing, only poor Uncle Tom is frightfully worried about something
now. He worries about that dreadful man, and I am afraid he worries
about mother. I don't know exactly what he worries about; but I don't
want him worried about anything else."

"I can't see for the life of me why he should worry about this," said
James with a piqued air. He was, in fact, considering quite naively that
he was not a bad match, taking into consideration his prospects, and
Clemency evidently needed all the protection she could get.

Clemency understood directly what his tone implied. "Oh, goodness," said
she, "of course, as far as you are concerned, Uncle Tom will be pleased.
Why shouldn't he? and so will mother. Here you are young and handsome,
and well educated, and good, what more could anybody want for a girl,
unless they were on the lookout for a ducal coronet or something of that
sort? It isn't that, only there is something queer, there must be
something queer, about that man, and I don't know how much this might
complicate it. I don't know but Uncle Tom might have more occasion to
worry."

"I don't see why," said James mystified, "but I'll wait a few days if
you say so, only I hate to have anything underhanded, you know. How
about your mother?"

"Please wait and tell her when you tell Uncle Tom," pleaded Clemency.
All the time she was completely deceiving the young man. What she was
really afraid of was that James himself might run into danger from this
mysterious persecutor of hers if the fact of her betrothal became known.
"I shall not mind staying in the house at all now," she added. An
expression came over her face which James did not understand, which no
man would hav