er this time, honey," replied her mother
soothingly. "Good-by, child. Take care of yo'self an' yo'r money, and
write to yo'r mammy."

One kiss all round, and Rena was lifted into the buggy. Wain seized
the reins, and under his skillful touch the pretty mare began to prance
and curvet with restrained impatience. Wain could not resist the
opportunity to show off before the party, which included Mary B.'s
entire family and several other neighbors, who had gathered to see the
travelers off.

"Good-by ter Patesville! Good-by, folkses all!" he cried, with a wave
of his disengaged hand.

"Good-by, mother! Good-by, all!" cried Rena, as with tears in her
heart and a brave smile on her face she left her home behind her for
the second time.

When they had crossed the river bridge, the travelers came to a long
stretch of rising ground, from the summit of which they could look back
over the white sandy road for nearly a mile. Neither Rena nor her
companion saw Frank Fowler behind the chinquapin bush at the foot of
the hill, nor the gaze of mute love and longing with which he watched
the buggy mount the long incline. He had not been able to trust
himself to bid her farewell. He had seen her go away once before with
every prospect of happiness, and come back, a dove with a wounded wing,
to the old nest behind the cedars. She was going away again, with a
man whom he disliked and distrusted. If she had met misfortune before,
what were her prospects for happiness now?

The buggy paused at the top of the hill, and Frank, shading his eyes
with his hand, thought he could see her turn and look behind. Look
back, dear child, towards your home and those who love you! For who
knows more than this faithful worshiper what threads of the past Fate
is weaving into your future, or whether happiness or misery lies before
you?

XXV

BALANCE ALL

The road to Sampson County lay for the most part over the pine-clad
sandhills,--an alternation of gentle rises and gradual descents, with
now and then a swamp of greater or less extent. Long stretches of the
highway led through the virgin forest, for miles unbroken by a clearing
or sign of human habitation.

They traveled slowly, with frequent pauses in shady places, for the
weather was hot. The journey, made leisurely, required more than a
day, and might with slight effort be prolonged into two. They stopped
for the night at a small village, where Wain found lodging for Rena
w