do not think I would trifle with the feelings of any
person," she said. "Still, I cannot marry every man who may happen to
ask me. You know so much about this matter that I feel justified in
saying this; and I earnestly beg that you will ask no more."

But this Mr. Weil said gently he could not promise. He said further that
Roseleaf was one of his dearest friends, and that he could not without
emotion see him in such distress as he had recently witnessed.

"You don't know how fond I am of that boy," he added. "I would do
anything in my power to make him happy. He loves you. He will make you a
good husband. You must give me some message that will console him."

He could not get it, try as he might; and he said, with a forced smile,
that he should renew the attack at an early date, for the cause was a
righteous one, that he could not give over unsatisfied. He took her arm
and strolled up and down the veranda, in such a way that any visitor
might have taken them to be lovers, if not already married. She liked
him better and better. The touch of his sleeve was pleasant. His low
tones soothed the ache in her bosom, severe enough, God knows! When her
father came from the city he smiled brightly to see them together, and
after hearing that Millicent was away, came to the dinner table with the
gayest air he had worn for months.

Another week passed, during which Mr. Weil went nearly every day to
Midlands, and communicated to Roseleaf on each return the result of his
labors, coloring them with the roseate hues of hope, though there was
little that could legitimately be drawn from the words or actions of
Miss Daisy. The critic for Cutt & Slashem had also been given more than
an inkling of the state of affairs, and had perused with delight the
chapters last written on the famous romance. He saw that the next
experience needed by the author was a severe attack of jealousy, and as
there was no one else to play the part of Iago he himself undertook the
role.

"Archie Weil is pretty popular with the Fern family, isn't he?" was the
way he began, when he called on Roseleaf. "I met the old gentleman the
other day and he seemed absolutely 'gone on' him, as the saying is. They
tell me he's out at Midlands every day. Got his eye on the younger
daughter, too, they intimate."

It takes but little to unnerve a mind already driven to the verge of
distraction. The next time that Weil saw Roseleaf, the latter received
him with a coolness t