udes she assumed, or the exceedingly plain but very
becoming dresses that she wore. After she once got "used" to Roseleaf
she treated him quite as if she had been five years his senior.

"Are you a rich man?" she asked him, on one of those early autumn
evenings that they passed together.

Her manner was as simple as if she had said that it looked like rain,
and his answer was hardly less so.

"No, Daisy. I have not much property, but I intend to earn more,
by-and-by. Did you think, because I seem so idle, that I was a
millionaire?"

"No," she answered, a shade of disappointment in her face. "I only
wanted, in case you had plenty of money, to get you to lend me some."

He stared at her through the half-light. Her features were turned in a
direction that did not reveal them very well. What did she want of
money!

"How much do you need?" he inquired, wondering if it was within his
power to oblige her.

"Oh, too much, I am afraid. And I cannot answer any questions, because
the object I have is a secret. I don't think my plan very feasible, for
it might be years and years before I could pay it back. You won't mind
my speaking of it, will you?"

Curiosity grew stronger, and as politely as possible he renewed his
question as to how much the girl needed to carry out her plan.

"I don't know, exactly," she said, thoughtfully. "Perhaps a thousand
dollars a year for five or six years; it might take less."

"It is a great deal," he admitted. "Does your father know what you
contemplate?"

The girl changed color at once.

"Oh, no. I should not like to have him, either. He would say it was very
foolish. And yet I am sure it would not be. The money would do much
good--yes, ever so much."

The young man thought hard for a few moments. A desire to see a brighter
light flash into those young eyes possessed him. He debated seriously
the idea of handing her his patrimony, as he would have given her a
pound of candy if she had wanted it.

"I might give you part," he said, after a pause. "Perhaps your thousand
for the first year or two."

She looked him full in the face, and put both her hands in his
impulsively.

"You are too good," she exclaimed, with fervor. "But you cannot afford
so large a gift. No, I would only take it if you had a very large sum,
and could not possibly miss it. I asked carelessly. I should not have
done so--I was selfish to think of such a thing."

"I want to speak to you about something, also,"