ing her face in her hands, at which Clem made a hasty
motion, and then, as if aware any interference of his would only make
matters worse, checked himself. But Cyn came to the front with striking
effect.

"You ought, certainly, to be well informed on the subject of _old_
females who run after _old_ men!" she said, witheringly. "If one may
believe what the Tor--what Mr. Fishblate says!"

This shot told. Miss Kling turned livid with rage and mortification, and
burst into a terrific spasm of sneezing.

"Miss Rogers," she said, wrathfully, as soon as she recovered
sufficiently to speak, "your conduct and that of your associates is such,
that I can no longer allow you to remain on my premises.

"Miss Kling, this is--is very unjust,", said the agitated Nattie.

"It is against the wishes of her friends that she has remained as long
as she has," cried Cyn, hotly.

"Miss Kling, your proceedings are infamous!" exclaimed Clem, not able to
contain himself longer.

Rather afraid to draw out Cyn any more, Miss Kling gladly seized this
opportunity to attack Clem.

"Young man, what right have you to interfere?" she inquired,
majestically.

Clem bit his lip. Sure enough, what right had he?

He glanced at Nattie where she sat, pale and disturbed, at the scene
that threatened to end seriously for her, and then, obeying a sudden
impulse, seized the key at his side, and called,

"N--N--N!"

Nattie looked up quickly, and while Miss Kling, who supposed he was
wantonly drumming on the obnoxious instrument to exasperate her, vented
her indignation, and also the outraged feelings caused by the
Torpedo-wound inflicted by Cyn, still rankling, in a wrathful homily to
which no one listened, for Cyn was watching Clem curiously, he wrote
rapidly, his eyes on the sounder,

"She says I have no right to interfere. If you had not so changed
towards me--if I could hope you loved me as I have ever loved you, I
would ask you to give me the right, and let me put this pernicious
discredit to her sex on the other side of that door!"

As these words in dots and dashes came to her ears, Nattie, forgetting
Miss Kling, forgetting everything, except that she loved Clem, and Clem
declared--could it be possible--that he loved her, arose hastily, with a
quick joy suffusing her face, and then their eyes met, and neither words
or dots and dashes were needed. Love, more potent than electricity,
required no interpreter, and that most powerful of all magne