"And I," said Clapp. "Never refuse a good offer, say I."

Poor Aunt Deborah! She little dreamed that she was the dupe of a
designing adventurer who bore no relationship to her.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE ROMANCE OF A RING.

Ferdinand B. Kensington, as he called himself, removed the next
morning to the house of Aunt Deborah. The latter received him very
cordially, partly because it was a pleasant relief to her solitude to
have a lively and active young man in the house, partly because she
was not forced to look upon him as a poor relation in need of
pecuniary assistance. She even felt considerable respect for the
prospective recipient of an income of two thousand dollars, which in
her eyes was a magnificent salary.

Ferdinand, on his part, spared no pains to make himself agreeable to
the old lady, whom he had a mercenary object in pleasing. Finding
that she was curious to hear about the great city, which to her was
as unknown as London or Paris, be gratified her by long accounts,
chiefly of as imaginative character, to which she listened greedily.
These included some personal adventures, in all of which he figured
very creditably.

Here is a specimen.

"By the way, Aunt Deborah," he said, casually, "have you noticed this
ring on my middle finger?"

"No, I didn't notice it before, Ferdinand. It's very handsome."

"I should think it ought to be, Aunt Deborah," said the young man.

"Why?"

"It cost enough to be handsome."

"How much did it cost?" asked the old lady, not without curiosity.

"Guess."

"I aint no judge of such things; I've only got this plain gold ring.
Yours has got some sort of a stone in it."

"That stone is a diamond, Aunt Deborah!"

"You don't say so! Let me look at it. It aint got no color. Looks
like glass."

"It's very expensive, though. How much do you think it cost?"

"Well, maybe five dollars."

"Five dollars!" ejaculated the young man. "Why, what can you be
thinking of, Aunt Deborah?"

"I shouldn't have guessed so much," said the old lady,
misunderstanding him, "only you said it was expensive."

"So it is. Five dollars would be nothing at all."

"You don't say it cost more?"

"A great deal more."

"Did it cost ten dollars?"

"More."

"Fifteen?"

"I see, aunt, you have no idea of the cost of diamond rings! You may
believe me or not, but that ring cost six hundred and fifty dollars."

"What!" almost screamed Aunt Deborah, letting fall her knitting