for richly deserved shooting. When
he found it was a mistake, the poor fellow was bitterly sorry for
it. Surely, there was nothing more to be said about it."

The girl sat silent for some time.

"Well, it is all cleared up now," she said at last. "There is no
reason why we should not be friends as of old."

"None whatever," he said. "There has been only--" and he stopped
short.

"Only what, Frank?"

"Nothing," he said. "We will be just as we were, Bertha. I will try
and be the good elder brother, and scold you and look after you,
and warn you, if it should be necessary, until you get under other
guidance."

"It will be some time," she said, quietly, "before that happens. I
have had a sharp lesson."

"And did you really care for him much, Bertha?"

"I don't think that I really cared for him at all," she said. "That
is not the lesson that I was thinking of."

He saw the colour mount into her cheeks as she twisted the
handkerchief she held into a knot. Then, turning to him, she said:

"Frank, are you never going to give me a chance again?"

He could not misunderstand her.

"Do you mean--can you mean, Bertha?" he said, in a low tone. "Do
you mean that if I ask you the same question again you will give me
a different answer?"

"I did not know then," she said. "I had never thought of it. You
took me altogether by surprise, and what I said I thought was true.
Afterwards I knew that I had been mistaken. I hoped that you would
ask me again, but you did not, and I soon felt that you never
would. You tried hard to be as you were before, but you were not
the same, and I was not the same. Then I did not seem to care.
There were three men who wanted me. I did not care much which it
was, but I would not have anyone say that I had married for
position--I hated the idea of that--and so I would have taken the
third. He was bright and pleasant, and all that sort of thing, and
I thought that I could be happy with him, until George Lechmere
opened my eyes. Then, of course, that was over; but his story
showed me still more what a fool I had been, what a heart I had
thrown away, and I said, 'I will at least make an effort to undo
the past. I will not let my chance of happiness go away from me
merely from false pride. If he loves me still he will forgive me.
If not, at least I shall not, all through my life, feel that I
might have made it different could I have brought myself to speak a
word.'"

"I love you as much as eve