older men
would have staked a good deal for the knowledge that she singled him for
her consideration.

Arnold viewed it all with inward satisfaction. He regarded memory but
as a sort of palimpsest; and he was patiently waiting until his own
name should appear again, when the other's should have been sufficiently
obliterated.

It was a severe winter, and everybody appreciated the luxury of a warm
home. December came in wet and cold, and la grippe held the country in
its disagreeable hold. The Levices were congratulating themselves one
evening on their having escaped the epidemic.

"I suppose the secret of it lies in the fact that we do not coddle
ourselves," observed Levice.

"If you were to coddle yourself a little more," retorted his wife, "you
would not cough every morning as you do. Really, Jules, if you do not
consult a physician, I shall send for Kemp myself. I actually think it
is making you thin."

"Nonsense!" he replied carelessly; "it is only a little irritation of
the throat every morning. If the weather is clear next week, I must go
to New York. Eh, Louis?"

"At this time of the year!" cried Mrs. Levice, in expostulation.

"Some one has to go, and the only one that should is I."

"I think I could manage it," said Louis, "if you would see about the
other adjustment while I am gone."

"No, you could not,"--when Levice said "no," it seldom meant an ultimate
"yes." "Besides, the trip will do me good."

"I shall go with you," put in Mrs. Levice, decidedly.

"No, dear; you could not stand the cold in New York, and I could not be
bothered with a woman's grip-sack."

"Take Ruth, then."

"I should love to go with you, Father," she replied to the questioning
glance of his eyes. He seemed to ponder over it for a while, but shook
his head finally.

"No," he said again; "I shall be very busy, and a woman would be a
nuisance to me. Besides, I wish to be alone for a while."

They all looked at him in surprise; he was so unused to making testy
remarks.

"Grown tired of womankind?" asked Mrs. Levice, playfully. "Well, if
you must, you must; don't overstay your health and visit, and bring us
something pretty. How long will you be gone?"

"That depends on the speediness of the courts. No more than three weeks
at the utmost, however."

So the following Wednesday being bright and sunny, he set off; the
family crossed the bay with him.

"Take care of your mother, Ruth," he said at parting, "and of yoursel