ve me for I didn't intend to be brash."

"Brash, my dear? What do you mean by that?"

She laughed. "Why, I thought everybody know'd what brash meant. Well,
it's er--too quick to say somethin' you oughtn't to say."

"Well, then, I don't think you were 'brash.'"

"Thank you." She resumed her work, and after a time left off to inquire:
"May I ask you somethin'?"

"Certainly--anything."

"Well, where you came from how long does it take anybody to--to fall--in
love?"

Mrs. Mayfield blushed. "No longer than it does here, my dear. Sometimes
here and everywhere love comes like death, in the twinkling of an eye.
But why do you ask?"

Upon her bosom the girl pressed her hands. "Because lately there is
somethin' here that tastes bitter an' sweet at the same time. You have
told me somethin' about yo'se'f an' now I will tell you somethin'. I--I
love Tom."

The woman arose. "Oh, but you mustn't tell it--you mustn't let him know
it. He is wayward and I am afraid that he has innocently deceived you.
He is hardly responsible--he says many things he doesn't mean. He--"

"And is he a liar, too?" the girl exclaimed, her eyes ablaze with anger.

"Oh, no, not that. But has he told you?"

She stood cold and defiant. "Not with words that I didn't understand,
but sometimes when he looks into my eyes I feel that he is tellin' me
with somethin' I do understand, and now--now I must shut my eyes." And
catching up the churn she ran into the house, Mrs. Mayfield calling
after her.

"Come back, Lou, I didn't mean that. Please come back and let me
explain." She hastened toward the door and Lou came running out. "Lou, I
didn't mean--" But she would not stay to hear. She ran away and Mrs.
Mayfield was begging her to return when Tom came hurriedly out of the
house. The girl had seen him and with fluttering heart she was seeking
the loneliness of the woods.

Mrs. Mayfield seized Tom by the hand. "Just a moment, Tom. Wait, sir;
just a moment." He strove to pull away, but she held him back.

"Yes, as soon as I catch the fawn. Let me go, please."

"Why, have things come to such a pass as this? Wait just a moment, I
tell you."

"Well, what is it?"

"Why won't you be more considerate? Why do you act this way? What are
you trying to do? You must remember that Mr. Starbuck is our host, and
that his daughter, while one of the most lovable of little girls--"

"Ah, you are leaving off your romance and are coming down to
level-headedness. Yes