"

"Fooling you!" she ejaculated, in soft reproach. "Would I fool you,
Rube? Is that your opinion of _me_? You think, then--but tell me,
Rube, why do you think so?--that those early days are less dear to me
than to you--their memory less sweet?"

"I have thought so," murmured he in great agitation, "because I have
not dared to think otherwise--_until now_."

And into his great soul there entered, then and there, the ineffable
beatitude of the true believer.

Oh, wicked, wicked Mell! One little hour ago, and you had forgotten
his very existence! Is the Recording Angel, who stands above your head
up there, off duty, that you should dare to do it? Or, will it help
your case in the day of reckoning, that deception foul as this, has
been raised by clever women into the dignity of a fine art, and goes
on among them all the while, as inexpugnable as an Act of Congress?

"Melville, I will run this race--run it to please you."

"I knew you would! And believe me, Rube, nothing could please me
more."

"Suppose I should win," said Rube, "what then?"

"You will be the hero of the day, and--" Mell halted very prettily,
but finally brought it out in sweet confusion, "and maybe _I_ would
wear a crown."

"By my troth, you shall! But what of me? I take no stock in crowns
like that. If I should win, Mell, may I name my own reward?"

"You may."

"It will be a big one."

"The man who runs and wins generally gets a big one."

"But understand my meaning, Mell, understand it perfectly. I do not
want the shadow of a doubt to rest upon this matter. Who shall decide
when lovers disagree?"

He had been toying with a twig broken from a flowering bay; it was
stripped of foliage, save a few green leaves at the end, and with this
he lightly touched the dimpled hand reposing upon her lap.

"_That_ is what I would ask. Will you give it to me, Mell, if I win
the race?"

Mell trembled violently, but she said "yes."

That was natural enough. When a woman says yes, it is time to tremble.
Even Rube knew that.

"You mean it? It is a solemn promise! One of those promises you always
keep!"

Again Mell trembled violently--worse than before, and again said
"yes."

That barely audible yes, had scarcely died upon her white lips when
Rube sprang to his feet, and casting off his fawn colored flannel
jacket and light waist-coat, tossed them in a careless heap upon the
ground at her feet. Divested of those outer garments, the symmetrical
cu