he folds of soft white paper she lifted
out a square of exquisite lace for a bridal veil, and flung it over
Katherine's hair. "But plainly I have the eye of a seer, and I
imagined you standing up to be married in a sailor hat, or
something equally unsuitable, and it was not to be endured."

"How lovely!" sighed Mrs. Burton, in an ecstasy of admiration. But
Katherine said nothing at all; her heart was too full for speech,
and she was thinking of last summer, when it had seemed right that
she should stand aside to let Mary have the happiness she wanted
for herself. Things had changed so much since then that it seemed
scarcely possible that she could have had to bear so many
heartaches.

At this moment one of the twins burst into the room with the
information that the bishop had arrived, and Katherine, walking
like one in a dream, went out from her chamber and crossed the
homely kitchen to the store.

A murmur went round the crowded place as she entered. Heretofore
she had been to them a good, hard-working girl, with pleasant
manners and a pretty face. They had seen her staggering along the
portage paths laden with heavy burdens; they had seen her
struggling to row a boat up river against a strong current; they
had met her dripping with wet, or covered with frost, like an
Esquimaux: but this stately girl with the beautiful face, clad in
her white bridal robe, and with Mary's veil over her shining hair,
was a revelation to them, and it was Oily Dave who voiced the
opinion of the assembly when he exclaimed in a very audible tone:
"My word, but ain't she a stunner!"

He was sitting in the very front row, as if he were the most
intimate and faithful friend the family possessed. He held his
treasured "top" hat carefully in front of him, as if it were a
collecting bag, and he were about to take the offertory. For the
rest, his costume was something of a mixture: a football sweater
with broad stripes, a Norfolk jacket, dungaree trousers, and a
fisherman's long boots made him a striking figure even in that
company of mixed costumes. He was as self-satisfied and complacent
as if he had never planned evil deeds and tried to carry them out,
while the benevolence with which he smiled upon the wedding party
might have led one to suppose they had no more tried or trusted
friend than he.

Katherine was conscious of the critical, appraising glances of the
trim little gentleman who stood by the side of Jervis, and they
mad