ever come to know so much about such things?"

"I can't tell you that, miss," said the gardener; "but sometimes I
notice things I cannot see, as when I look upon a flower bud not yet
open and know exactly what is inside of it."

With the smile still on her lips and the flush still on her cheeks, the
Daughter of the House walked away through the garden. She had determined
to make her story end sadly, but John Gayther had known her heart better
than she knew it herself.

THIS STORY IS TOLD BY

JOHN GAYTHER

AND IS CALLED

THE LADY IN THE BOX

III

THE LADY IN THE BOX

John Gayther was busy putting the finishing touches to a bed in which he
intended to sow his latest planting of bush-beans, or string-beans, or
snaps, as they are called in different parts of the country. These were
very choice seeds which had been sent to him by a friend abroad, and,
consequently, John wanted to get them into the ground as soon as
possible. But when he saw entering the garden not only the Daughter of
the House but also her mother, the Mistress of the House, a sudden
conviction shot through him that there would be no beans planted that
morning.

The elder of these two ladies was not very elderly, and she was
handsomer than her daughter. She was pleasant to look upon and pleasant
to talk to, but she had a mind of her own; John Gayther had found that
out long before. She was very fond of flowers, and there were many beds
of them which were planted and treated according to her directions and
fancies. These beds did not, in fact, form part of the gardener's
garden; they belonged to her, and nobody else had anything to say about
them. Many things grew there which were not often found in gardens:
weeds, for instance, from foreign countries, and some from near-by
regions, which the Mistress of the House thought might be made to grow
into comely blossoms if they were given the chance. Here she picked and
planted, and put in and pulled out, according to her own will; and her
pulling out was often done after a fashion which would have discouraged
any other gardener but John Gayther, who had long since learned that
the Mistress of the House knew what she wanted, and that it would be
entirely useless for him to trouble himself about her methods.

The gardener was not altogether happy when he saw these two ladies
coming toward h