have you on your heart?"

"That I was with you--all day!"

Holsma reflected.

"Certainly," he said, "all day."

"From early this morning--from seven o'clock on."

"From seven o'clock on," the doctor repeated.

"And--I ate breakfast at your house."

"Certainly, the young gentleman ate breakfast at our house. To be
sure, he ate breakfast with us. Kaatje, you can ride in the carriage
with us."

As Holsma helped Walter in he gave the coachman directions to stop at
Juffrouw Pieterse's, where "the girl" was "to leave a message." When
he took a seat by his protege, Walter pressed his hand and exclaimed:
"Oh, what a good fortune it is that I found you!"

"Do you think so? It was only a--mere accident. Mrs. Claus is a----"

"A cousin?" interrupted Walter.

"Yes, and she's a good woman," said Holsma. "She is a cousin of ours,
and I came to visit her. I do that every week, not as a physician,
but as a kinsman. You can go to see her as much as you like: nothing
will hurt you there."

"M'neer!" exclaimed Walter suddenly--and he caught his breath--"I
think so much of Femke!"

"So?" answered Holsma dryly. "I do too."

The doctor was diagnosing Walter's case; but he preferred to do it
quietly. While speaking of indifferent things, he noted that Kaatje had
been mistaken; that Walter was both excited and exhausted, but that
his mind was unaffected. On the contrary, his mind was growing. His
soul was expanding.

When Kaatje left the carriage, Walter felt that the time had come to
give and receive explanations. Holsma was of a contrary opinion. He
was friendly enough, but showed no inclination for heart-to-heart
confidences. Walter's confusing story was promptly interrupted.

"I've heard that you're going to enter the world of business."

"Yes, sir, the day after to-morrow."

"Well, that isn't bad, if you get into the right hands. You must work,
though; and that's good for boys like you."

Fearing that Walter might imagine he was something more than the
average boy, Holsma continued immediately:

"It's a good thing for everybody, especially young people. They're
all alike; and all need to work. All boys must work; and girls,
too. Everybody must work."

Walter did not understand that the doctor was giving him a dose
of medicine; but he saw that the time for explanations had not
yet arrived. Still he would have felt better if he could have
unburdened his mind of at least a part of those persistent memories
of la