y. Uncle--he kissed me--before the world. I can't take it
back--we have given--I have promised. Uncle, I have promised--well, all
through me."

"Stop where you are!" said he. "Have you disgraced us all so soon? Has
it gone so far? However that is, you shall go no further."

He rose, his fingers on the table-top, rapping in emphasis.

"My dear," he said, "I am older than you, and I have seen the world more
than you have. I recognize fully enough the dynamic quality of what you
call love--what I call merely sex in younger human beings. It is a thing
of extreme seriousness, that's true. But the surest thing about all that
sort of thing is that it changes, it passes. You will forget all this."

"You do me much honor!" said Anne Oglesby, coloring. "You speak with
much delicacy. But love me, love my lover."

The swift resistance of a strong nature seemed suddenly to flash out at
Judge Henderson from her gray eyes. Suddenly he turned and took her arm.
He escorted her to the inner room, which served as his own study and
consultation chambers.

"Come here," said he. "Well have to talk this thing over quietly. This
is a terrible matter--you don't know how terrible. There's a lot under
this that you don't know at all. Anne, my dear girl, what can I say to
you to alter you in this foolish resolve?"

"Nothing! I'm going to see his mother this very afternoon. He told me to
come, so I could meet his mother----"

"You're going to do nothing of the kind!" said Judge Henderson in sudden
anger. "You're going to stay here and listen to reason, that's what
you're going to do! You undertake to go into a situation which reaches
wider than this town, wider than this state, do you? It is your duty,
then, to prevent me from _my_ duty? Are you so selfish, so egotistic as
all that?"

She smiled at him amusedly, cynically, a wide and frank smile, which
irritated him unspeakably. He frowned.

"It is time now for you to reflect. First--as you say--this young man
has no father. His mother----"

He paused suddenly, his pallid face working strangely now. The shrill
summons of the telephone close at his hand as he sat had caused him to
start, but it was with relief. He took down the receiver and placed his
hand for the moment over the mouthpiece.

"Aurora Lane--you don't know about her?" he began.

Then she saw a sudden change of expression which passed over his face.
"Yes--yes," he said, into the telephone. "The jury has brought in its
v