truggle with himself a moment before he could speak.
Then it was low and humbly.

"Miss Faith--I don't know just what Phil has said about me,--I can't
find out. But whatever it is there isn't one word of it true. I never
said one word about you, Miss Faith, that I wouldn't say to you, just
the same!" And Reuben looked as if he would have confronted the whole
world on that point.

"I am quite sure of it, Reuben," Faith said very gently. "I didn't need
you to come and tell me so."

He looked up at her with both gladness and thanks in his eyes.

"I shouldn't have troubled you with my trouble at all, Miss Faith--only
he said you were displeased with me--and I was afraid it might be true."

"Who said I was displeased with you?"

An involuntary glance of Reuben's eye towards the closed door, seemed
to say he did not want his words to go far.

"Dr. Harrison, Miss Faith. At least I thought he said so."

"Did he speak to you?"

"Yes ma'am--and just pushed my word out of the way when I gave
it,--said it might be well enough to tell people but he didn't think
you liked it. And so I got vexed. I'm so used to Mr. Linden," Reuben
said--as if in excuse.

"Are you satisfied now, Reuben?" said Faith, giving him a good look of
her eyes.

A little qualified his look was--perhaps because he had been too much
troubled to have the traces go off at once; but there was no want of
satisfaction in his,

"O yes, Miss Faith--I can't tell you how thankful I am to you!
Goodnight, ma'am."

Faith went back to the parlour. And then Mr. Linden, taking from his
pocket a piece of broad dark blue ribband, and laying it lightly round
Faith's shoulders, told her gravely, "that she was entitled to wear
that for the rest of the evening."

Faith matched the blue with red, and stood eying the ribband which she
had caught as it was falling from her shoulders, seeming for a minute
as if she had as much as she could bear. Rallying, she looked up at Mr.
Linden to get a little more light as to what he expected of her, or
what he meant. But unless she could read a decided opinion that the two
'favours' looked better together than separate, his face gave her no
information. Then smiling he said,

"I don't mean that you _must_ wear it--merely that you have the right."

Faith gave another glance at his face, and then without more ado tied
the blue ribband round her waist, where as she still wore the white
dress of yesterday, it shewed to very good ad