t I was
going to tell you."

"Oh, I'm so very much obliged," said Katie, "for what you've told me
thus far!"

"Now, Miss Talbot, you must know, has very few relatives. She's the
last of an ancient family, and one or two uncles and aunts are all
that are left besides herself. Her life has been by no means gay, or
even cheerful, and perhaps that was one reason why she was willing to
accept me."

"How delightful it is," said Katie, "to see such perfect modesty! Mr.
Rivers, you are almost too diffident to live!"

"Oh, but really I mean that a girl like Miss Talbot, with her wealth,
and ancient family, and social standing, and all that, might have the
pick of all the best fellows in the country."

"That stands to reason; and so you imply that when such a lady chose
you, you--"

"Ah, now, Miss Westlotorn, I didn't," said Harry. "I'm not so
infernally conceited as all that, you know."

"But hadn't she promised in the boat?"

"In the boat! Well, yes--"

"Of course: then why did she have to choose you again?"

"Oh, well--in the boat it was an informal sort of thing. But never
mind. She promised to marry me, and I went back to Barcelona. We then
corresponded for about a year."

"How awfully dreary!" sighed Katie. "I do so detest letter-writing!
If I had to write letters, I would break the engagement."

"Well, it's a bother, of course," said Harry; "but, after all, a
letter is the only substitute one can have for the absent one."

"And how long is it since you last saw her?"

"A year."

"A year! Why, you must have utterly forgotten what she looks like.
Should you be able to recognize her, if you were to meet her in a
crowd?"

"Oh yes," said Harry, with a laugh. "Now you must know that when I
was engaged I expected to go to England in about three months' time
to get married. Business, however, detained me. I hoped to go again,
a few months later. But the fact is, I found it impossible; and so on
for a whole year I was detained, until at last I had to write,
imploring her to come out to me and be married in Barcelona."

"Well, for my part, I never would marry a man unless he came for me,"
said Katie.

[Illustration: "Here Stood The Leader Of The Band."]

[Illustration: "They Then Fell Behind The Wagon, Walking At A Slow
Pace."]

"Then I'm glad," said Harry, "that you are not Miss Talbot. She was
not so cruel as that; for though at first she refused, she at last
consented and promised to come. This,