bligation in Mr. Bays. He succeeded; but of course the important member
of the family still felt that Dic was beholden to her. She could not,
however, with either safety or justice, exclude from her house the man
who was to lend the much-needed money. While she realized the great
favor she was conferring on Dic, and fully understood the nature of the
burden she was taking upon herself solely for his sake, she had no
thought of shrinking from her duty;--not she. The money had not been
delivered, and Dic, if offended, might change his mind and foolishly
refuse her sacrifice. It might not be entirely safe to presume too
largely upon his sense of obligation--some persons are devoid of
gratitude--until the money was in hand. For these reasons Dic was
tolerated, and during the next ten days spent his evenings with Rita,
though mother and father Bays did not migrate to the kitchen, in
accordance with well-established usage on Blue, and as they had done
when Williams came a-wooing. Dic cared little for the infringement, and
felt that old times had come again. Rita, growing bold, braved her
mother's wrath, and continued each evening to give him a moment of his
own. One evening it would be a drink from the well that she wanted.
Again, it was a gourdful of shell-barks from the cellar under the
kitchen, whence she, of course, was afraid to fetch them alone. The most
guileless heart will grow adroit under certain well-known conditions;
and even Rita, the simplest of girls, easily made opportunities to give
Dic these little moments from which she came back rosy, while that lucky
young man was far from discontented.

Rita paid each evening for Dic's moment when the door closed on him, and
continued payment during the next day till his return. But she
considered the moment a great bargain at the price, continued her
purchases, and paid the bills on demand to incarnate Justice. The bills
were heavy, and had not Rita been encased by an armor of trusty steel,
wrought from the links of her happiness, her soft, white form would
have been pierced through and through by the tough, ashen shafts of her
mother's relentless cruelty.

We are apt to feel pain and suffering comparatively. To one who has
experienced a great agony, smaller troubles seem trivial. Rita had
experienced her great agony, and her mother's thrusts were but needle
pricks compared with it.

* * * * *

Arrangements were quickly made for moving