, which was wrapped up and
placed in the bottom of the sleigh.

Alice appeared at the door equipped for her journey. Always lovely in
Quincy's eyes, she appeared still more so in her suit of dark blue
cloth. Over her shoulders she wore a fur cape lined with quilted red
satin, and on her head a fur cap, which made a strong contract with her
light hair which crept out in little curls from underneath.

They started off at a smart speed, for Old Bill was not in the shafts
this time. Alice had been familiar with the road to Eastborough before
leaving home, and as Quincy described the various points they passed,
Alice entered into the spirit of the drive with all the interest and
enthusiasm of a child. The sharp winter air brought a rosy bloom to her
cheeks, and as Quincy looked at those wonderful large blue eyes, he
could hardly make himself believe that they could not see him. He was
sure he had never seen a handsomer girl.

As they passed Uncle Ike's little house, Quincy called her attention to
it. Alice said:

"Poor Uncle Ike, I wish I could do more for him, he has done so much for
me. He paid for my lessons in bookkeeping and music, and also for my
board until I had finished my studies and obtained a position. He has
been a father to me since my own dear father died."

Quincy felt some inclination to find out the real reason why Uncle Ike
had left his family, but he repressed it and called attention to some
trees, heavily coated with snow and ice, which looked beautiful in the
sunshine, and he described them so graphically, bringing in allusions to
pearls and diamonds and strings of glistening jewels, that Alice clapped
her hands in delight and said she would take him as her literary
partner, to write in the descriptive passages. Quincy for an instant
felt impelled to take advantage of the situation, but saying to himself,
"The time is not yet," he touched the horse with his whip and for half a
minute was obliged to give it his undivided attention.

"Did you think the horse was running away?" said he to Alice, when he
had brought him down to a trot. "Were you afraid?"

"I am afraid of nothing nowadays," she replied. "I trust my companions
implicitly, knowing that they will tell me if I am in danger and advise
me what to do. I had a debate a long time ago with Uncle Ike about blind
people and deaf people. He said he would rather be stone deaf than
blind. As he argued it, the deaf person could read and write and get