le, more so, I
fancy, than Harwood does;--why not speculate along that line? It's as
plausible as the other."

"Oh, that boy! That's something we must guard against, Morton; that is
quite impossible."

"I dare say it is," he replied. "But not more unlikely than that Harwood
will marry this Sylvia who worries you so unnecessarily."

"Marian is going to marry somebody, some day, and that's on my mind a
great deal. You have got to give more thought to family matters. It's
right for Marian to marry, and I think a girl of her tastes should
settle early, but we must guard her from mistakes. I've had that on my
conscience several years."

"Of course, Hallie; and I've not been unmindful of it."

"And if Aunt Sally is interested in young Harwood and you think well of
him yourself--but of course I don't favor him for Marian. I should like
Marian to marry into a family of some standing."

"Well, we'll see to it that she does; we want our daughter to be
happy--we must do the best we can for our children," he concluded
largely.

She promised to appear at the dinner table, and he went down with some
idea of seeing Mrs. Owen at once, to assure her of his honorable
intentions toward her in the "Courier" matter; he wanted to relieve his
own fears as well as his wife's as to the mischief that had been wrought
by Thatcher's suit.

In the hall below he met Sylvia, just back from her first day at the
normal school. The maid had admitted her, and she was slipping her
parasol into the rack as he came downstairs. She heard his step and
turned toward him, a slender, dark young woman in black. In the dim hall
she did not at once recognize him, and he spoke first.

"Good-afternoon, Miss Garrison! I am Mr. Bassett; I believe I introduced
myself to you at Waupegan--and that seems a long time ago."

"I remember very well, Mr. Bassett," Sylvia replied, and they shook
hands. "You found me in my dream corner by the lake and walked to Mrs.
Owen's with me. I remember our meeting perfectly."

He stood with his hand on the newel regarding her intently. She was
entirely at ease, a young woman without awkwardness or embarrassment.
She had disposed of their previous meeting lightly, as though such
fortuitous incidents had not been lacking in her life. Her mourning hat
cast a shadow upon her face, but he had been conscious of the
friendliness of her smile. Her dark eyes had inspected him swiftly; he
was vaguely aware of a feeling that he wanted t