e, and
since she had given up every one else as hopeless, had devoted herself
entirely to him--and his secret jealousy of Clem.

Strangely enough, with the exception of Cyn, no one was aware of the
exact state of his mind. Clem was as unconscious of it as a child, for
any peculiarity in his behavior was laid to his well-known
idiosyncrasies; Celeste suspected he was in love, but was blindly
determined to believe she was the chief attraction in his eyes. Nattie,
if she thought about it at all, imagined he was entirely cured Of that
former "foolishness," as she termed his one attempt to put his devotion
into words. And as for Jo, being so opposed to anything of a sentimental
nature himself, naturally he was unwilling to observe any indications of
the kind in another, and any glaring revelations that forced themselves
on his notice, he, in common with Clem, decided was "only Quimby's way."

Oh, Dear, no! Jo could see nothing but plain-unromantic facts. It was no
sentiment, or anything of the sort on Jo's part, of course, that made
him reproduce the handsome, brilliant face of Cyn, in so many of his
recent pictures. Oh, no! she was a good "study," that was all! Nor that
caused him to seek her society in preference to all others, to listen
entranced when she sang, and to be exceedingly annoyed--a rare thing
once for good humored Jo--when Clem was given more than his share of her
attention. Again oh, no! Cyn was a fellow Bohemian, a congenial
spirit, that was all. Neither in the least sentimental or jealous was Jo!

But for all that, and for some unexplained reason, he was not quite so
even in his spirits as he was wont to be, sometimes being very happy,
and then terribly depressed. Did he eat too much, or too little, which?
For if it was not the first commencement of a first love--and of course
it was not--it must have been his digestion that ailed him!

Had Miss Betsey Kling known of these little uneasy undercurrents amidst
the gayety that so annoyed her, the knowledge would doubtless have given
her much satisfaction, besides, possibly, the inkling she could not now
obtain of what was "going on." It was a source of great distress to her
that she could not ascertain whether it was Cyn or Nattie with whom Clem
was "flirting." For she was positive he was trifling with the affections
of one or the other, and that matters would end in some kind of a
horrible scandal. But for all her listening and prying around, she could
not