e exchanging affectionate greetings.

"Oh, why not, Connie?" Marjorie's happy face clouded. "You know we'd
love to have you, wouldn't we, Mary?"

"Of course." Mary again smiled at Constance, but again her smile lacked
warmth.

Constance shook her head almost obstinately.

"I think I had better not come," she repeated, and in her speech there
was a shadowy return of the old baffling reserve that had so greatly
disturbed Marjorie in the early stages of their friendship.

"But you promised to take dinner with us to-night," remarked Marjorie.

"I--I have changed my mind. It will be best for me to go home, I think.
I'll come over to-morrow."

Mrs. Dean added her persuasions, but Constance was firm, and, after
bidding a courteous farewell to the Deans' guests, she hurried away,
more agitated than she cared to admit.

"Why, what ails Constance, Marjorie?" asked Mrs. Dean in surprise.

"Nothing--that is, I don't know." Marjorie looked after her friend's
rapidly disappearing figure, a puzzled expression in her brown eyes.

Mary Raymond viewed Marjorie with a faint frown. It was rather provoking
in Marjorie to express so much concern over this Constance Stevens.
After their long separation she felt that her chum's every thought ought
to be for her alone. And in that instant a certain fabled green-eyed
monster, that Mary had never believed could exist for her, suddenly
sprang into life and whispered to her that, perhaps, after all, she was
not first in Marjorie Dean's heart.

CHAPTER III

SOWING THE SEED OF DISCORD

"Before you talk of another single thing, Mary Raymond, please tell me
what you mean by a 'mysterious mission' that is 'part sad and part
glad,'" exclaimed Marjorie.

Mr. Raymond was occupying the front seat of the automobile, beside Mrs.
Dean, who drove the car, a birthday present from her husband, and the
two girls had the tonneau of the automobile to themselves. They had
scarcely deposited Mary's luggage on the floor of the car and settled
themselves for the short ride to the Deans' home when Marjorie had made
her eager inquiry into the nature of the "mysterious mission" that had
so aroused her curiosity.

"Well," began Mary, brightening, "father and I _have_ come to see you on
a mission, but the only mystery about it is that you don't as yet know
why we've come. I thought 'mysterious mission' looked rather well on
paper so I set it down."

"But you're going to tell me about it this insta