heir depths.
"Do--do you mistake me for an enlisted man?"

"Oh, I did n't know; you said you were a soldier, and that's what I
always heard they got. I am so glad if they give you more. I was only
going to say that I believed I could get you a good place in McCarthy's
store if you wanted it. He pays sixty-five dollars, and his clerk has
just left."

Brant stared at her with open mooch, totally unable for the moment to
decide whether or not that innocent, sympathetic face masked mischief.
Before he succeeded in regaining confidence and speech, she had risen
to her feet, holding back her skirt with one hand.

"Really, I must go," she announced calmly, drawing back toward the
slight opening between the rushes. "No doubt YOU have done fully as
well as you could considering your position in life; but this has
proved another disappointment. You have fallen, far, very far, below
my ideal. Good-bye."

He sprang instantly erect, his cheeks flushed. "Please don't go
without a farther word. We seem predestined to misunderstand. I am
even willing to confess myself a fool in the hope of some time being
able to convince you otherwise. You have not even told me that you
live here; nor do I know your name."

She shook her head positively, repressed merriment darkening her eyes
and wrinkling the corners of her mouth. "It would be highly improper
to introduce myself to a stranger--we Presbyterians never do that."

"But do you feel no curiosity as to who I may be?"

"Why, not in the least; the thought is ridiculous. How very conceited
you must be to imagine such a thing!"

He was not a man easily daunted, nor did he recall any previous
embarrassment in the presence of a young woman. But now he confronted
something utterly unique; those quiet eyes seemed to look straight
through him. His voice faltered sadly, yet succeeded in asking: "Are
we, then, never to meet again? Am I to understand this to be your
wish?"

She laughed. "Really, sir, I am not aware that I have the slightest
desire in the matter. I have given it no thought, but I presume the
possibility of our meeting again depends largely upon yourself, and the
sort of society you keep. Surely you cannot expect that I would seek
such an opportunity?"

He bowed humbly. "You mistake my purpose. I merely meant to ask if
there was not some possibility of our again coming together socially
the presence of mutual friends."

"Oh, I scarcely think so; I do no