be generous enough
to--to let me alone."

Her eyes pleaded with him seriously.

"What am I doing?" asked Ben. "What do you suppose is the reason that
I'm wasting all these minutes when I might be holding you in my arms!"
He had to stop here himself and swallow manfully. "If you knew how you
look at this moment--and I don't kiss you--just because I'm giving
Mother a little time, so that you will be satisfied--"

"Then you'll promise--will you promise--you kept your promise about the
farm?"

"Yes; I found Pete in the village."

"Then you do keep promises! Tell me solemnly that you will leave your
mother in freedom. If you don't, Ben--Sir Galahad--I'll run away. I
really will--"

In her earnestness she lifted her face toward his, her eyes were
irresistible, and in an instant he had swept her into his arms and was
kissing her tenderly, fervently, to the utter undoing of the droopy hat
which fell unnoticed to the floor.

Voices approaching made him release her.

Very flushed, very grave, both of them, they looked into each other's
eyes, and Geraldine, being a woman, put both hands up to her ruffled
hair.

"I do promise you, Geraldine," he said, low and earnestly. "Whatever my
mother does after this you may know is of her own volition."

Pete burst into the room wild-eyed, followed by Miss Mehitable, who was
talking and laughing.

"He was afraid you'd go away without him," she said--"Mercy's sakes,
Geraldine Melody, look at your hat!" She darted upon it and snapped some
dust off its chiffon. "You'd better be careful how you throw this
around. We can't buy a hat like this every day."

"Oh, do forgive me, Miss Upton!" murmured the girl, her eyes very
bright. "It was her present to me," she added to Ben. "I'm so sorry!"
She went to Miss Mehitable and laid her cheek against hers, and Miss
Upton bestowed another prodigious wink upon the purchaser of the hat.

It did not break his gravity; a gravity which Miss Upton but just now
noticed.

"Come, Pete, we'll be going," said Ben, and his flushed, serious face
worried Miss Mehitable's kind heart, especially as no sign of his merry
carelessness returned in his brief leave-taking.

When they were gone and the door had closed after them, she looked at
the girl accusingly.

"Something has happened," she said, in a low tone not to attract
Charlotte.

"Don't be cross with me about the hat," said the girl, nestling up close
to her again. "I just love it--much better e