his rain? Ought you? Won't you get
that bronchitis again? Dinah----"

"Dinah is an old fuss! She never has believed that I'm not soluble in
water, like salt or sugar. Besides, I'm not going 'in the rain,' I'm
going in the close carriage, along with you and the babies with the
dreadful names. I'm going to have them renamed, if I can. Run along
and put on your jacket. I think I've solved the riddle of my neighbor
Oliver's unhappiness and I'll let no rain hinder me from making him
glad again."

"Dear Aunt Betty, will you do this for a man you do not like?"

"Of course. I'd do it for my worst enemy, if I knew--and maybe this
poor miller is that. What ails that man is--remorse. He hasn't done
right but I'm going to give him the chance now, and see his round face
fall into its old curves again."

But good and unselfish as her mission was, for once the lady of
Deerhurst's judgment was mistaken.

CHAPTER XV

A MARVELOUS TALE AND ITS ENDING

Oliver Sands was shut up in his private office. It opened from another
larger room that had once been tenanted but was now empty. The
emptiness of the great chamber, with its small bed and simple
furnishings, both attracted and repelled him, as was witnessed by the
fact that he frequently rose and closed the door, only to rise again
directly and open it again. Each time he did this he peered all about
the big room, whose windows were screened by wire netting as well as
by a row of spruce trees. These trees were trimmed in a peculiar
manner and were often commented upon by passers along the road beyond.
All the lower branches, to the height of the window-tops, were left to
grow, luxuriantly, as nature had designed. But above that the tall
trees were shaven almost bare, only sufficient branches being left to
keep them alive. Also, beyond the trees and bordering the road was a
high brick wall, presumably for the training of peach and other fruit
trees, for such were carefully trained to it.

But the same wondering eyes which had noticed the trees had observed
the wall, where indeed the fruit grew lusciously after a custom
common enough in England but almost unknown in this region.

"Looks like both trees and wall were planned to let light into that
side the house and keep eyes out. But, has been so ever since
Heartsease was, and nothing different now."

No, everything was outwardly unchanged, but his home was not like his
home, that morning, when Mrs. Betty Calvert came to