must be remembered that she was convent-bred.

II

By the time that Laurie's answer came, poor Maggie had arranged her
emotions fairly satisfactorily. She came to the conclusion, arrived at
after much heart-searching, that after all she was not yet actually in
love with Laurie, but was in danger of being so, and that therefore
now that she knew the danger, and could guard against it, she need not
actually withdraw from her home, and bury herself in a convent or the
foreign mission-field.

She arrived at this astonishing conclusion by the following process of
thought. It may be presented in the form of a syllogism.

All girls who are in love regard the beloved as a spotless,
reproachless hero.

Maggie Deronnais did not regard Laurie Baxter as a spotless,
reproachless hero.

_Ergo._ Maggie Deronnais was not in love with Laurie Baxter.

Strange as it may appear to non-Catholic readers, Maggie did not
confide her complications to the ear of Father Mahon. She mentioned,
no doubt, on the following Saturday, that she had given way to
thoughts of pride and jealousy, that she had deceived herself with
regard to a certain action, done really for selfish motives, into
thinking she had done it for altruistic motives, and there she left
it. And, no doubt, Father Mahon left it there too, and gave her
absolution without hesitation.

Then Laurie's answer arrived, and had to be dealt with, that is, it
had to be treated interiorly with a proper restraint of emotions.

"My dear Maggie," he wrote;

Why all this fury? What have I done? I said to mother that
I didn't know for certain whether I could come or not, as
I had a lot to do. I don't think she can have given you
the letter to read, or you wouldn't have written all that
about my being away from home at the one season of the
year, etc. Of course I'll come, if you or anybody feels
like that. Does mother feel upset too? Please tell me if
she ever feels that, or is in the least unwell, or
anything. I'll come instantly. As it is, shall we say the
20th of December, and I'll stay at least a week. Will that
do?

Yours,
L.B.

This was a little overwhelming, and Maggie wrote off a penitent
letter, refraining carefully, however, from any expressions that might
have anything of the least warmth, but saying that she was very glad
he was coming, and that the shooting should be seen to.

She directed the