ut her. A heartless, selfish hypochondriac! even
her nieces will scarcely stay in the house with her. I think she would
get you cheap at a thousand a year, Miss Kane; but you must be joking."

"I am in earnest," responded Frances. "Please don't make it harder for
me, Mr. Spens. I know what I am undertaking. Will you please tell your
client that I can pay him his interest? If he refuses to accept it, I am
as I was before; if he consents, I go to Arden. You will do me a great
favor by letting me know his decision as soon as possible."

The lawyer bowed.

"I will do so," he said. Then he added, "I hope you will forgive me,
Miss Kane, for saying that I think you are a very brave and unselfish
woman, but I don't believe even you will stand Mrs. Carnegie for long."

"I think you are mistaken," responded Frances, gently. "I do it for the
sake of three hundred pounds a year, to save the Firs for my father
during his lifetime."

The lawyer thought he had seldom seen anything sadder than Frances'
smile. It quite haunted him as he wrote to his client, urging him to
accept her terms.

CHAPTER IX.

UNDER THE ELMS.

Squire Kane had spent by no means an unhappy day. The misfortune, which
came like a sudden crash upon Frances, he had been long prepared for.
Only last week Mr. Spens had told him that he might expect some such
letter as had been put into his hands that morning. He had been a little
nervous while breaking his news to Frances--a little nervous and a
little cross. But when once she was told, he was conscious of a feeling
of relief; for all his hard words to her, he had unbounded faith in this
clever managing daughter of his; she had got him out of other scrapes,
and somehow, by hook or by crook, she would get him out of this.

Except for Fluff's rather hard words to him when he spoke to her about
Frances, he had rather an agreeable day. He was obliged to exert himself
a little, and the exertion did him good and made him less sleepy than
usual. Both Fluff and Philip did their best to make matters pass
agreeably for him, and when Frances at last reached home, in the cool of
the evening, she found herself in the midst of a very cheerful domestic
scene.

At this hour the squire was usually asleep in the south parlor; on this
night he was out-of-doors. His circular cape, it is true, was over his
shoulders, and Fluff had tucked a white shawl round his knees, but still
he was sitting out-of-doors, cheering, lau