d, in a gentle voice,
"there's no use; you've got to go home."

"Yes," said Henry. "Go home to your ma, right away, like a good girl."

Lucy remained motionless. Her poor young eyes seemed to see nothing.

"Good Lord!" sighed Meeks, wiping his forehead with his disengaged
hand. "Well, come along, Lucy. Now, Lucy, you don't want to make a
spectacle of yourself on the street. I think we must go home with
you, because I can see right in your eyes that you won't budge a step
unless we make you, but we don't want to walk holding on to you. So
now you just march along ahead, and we'll keep behind you, and we
won't have all the town up in arms."

Lucy said nothing. Meeks wiped his forehead again, freed her, and
gave her a gentle shove between her shoulders. "Now, march," said he.

Lucy began to walk; the two men kept behind her. Presently they met a
boy, who evidently noticed nothing unusual, for he leaped past,
whistling.

"Thank the Lord it isn't far," muttered Meeks, wiping his forehead.
"It's d--n hot."

Lucy walked on quite rapidly after awhile. They were nearly in sight
of her home when Mrs. Ayres met them. She was almost running, and was
pale and out of breath.

"Lucy," she began, "where--?" Then she realized that Meeks and Henry
were with the girl.

"Henry, you just keep an eye on her," said Meeks. Then he spoke to
Mrs. Ayres with old-fashioned ceremony. "Madam," he said, "will you
be so kind as to step aside? I have a word I would like to say to
you."

Mrs. Ayres, with a scared glance at Lucy, complied.

"Just this way a moment," he said. "Now, madam, I have a word of
advice which you are at liberty to take or not. Your daughter seems
to be in a dangerously nervous state. I will tell you plainly where
we found her. It seems that Mr. Allen and Miss Fletcher have fallen
in love with each other, and have come to an understanding. We
happened upon them, sitting together very properly, as lovers should,
in the apple orchard back of Mr. Whitman's, and your daughter stood
there watching them. She is very nervous. If you take my advice you
will lose no time in getting her away."

Mrs. Ayres stood and listened with a cold, pale dignity. She waited
until Meeks had entirely finished, then she spoke slowly and evenly.

"Thank you, Mr. Meeks," she said. "Your advice is very good, so good
that I have proved it by anticipating you. My daughter is in a very
nervous condition. She never fully recovered from a severe a