A Daughter of the Land

Kate winced. This was getting on places that hurt and to matters

she well understood, but she was the soul of candour. "You did

very well to educate yourself as you have, with no help at all,"

she said.

"I've done my best in the past, I'm going to do marvels in the

future, and whatever I do, it is all for you and yours for the

taking," he said grandiosely.

"Thank you," said Kate. "But are you making that offer when you

can't help seeing that I'm in deep trouble?"

"A thousand times over," he said. "All I want to know about your

trouble is whether there is anything a man of my size and strength

can do to help you."

"Not a thing," said Kate, "in the direction of slaying a gay

deceiver, if that's what you mean. The extent of my familiarities

with John Jardine consists in voluntarily kissing him twice last

Sunday night for the first and last time, once for himself, and

once for his mother, whom I have since ceased to respect."

George Holt was watching her with eyes lynx-sharp, but Kate never

saw it. When she mentioned her farewell of Sunday night, a queer

smile swept over his face and instantly disappeared.

"I should thing any girl might be permitted that much, in saying a

final good-bye to a man who had shown her a fine time for weeks,"

he commented casually.

"But I didn't know I was saying good-bye," explained Kate. "I

expected him back in a week, and that I would then arrange to

marry him. That was the agreement we made then."

As she began to speak, George Holt's face flashed triumph at

having led her on; at what she said it fell perceptibly, but he

instantly controlled it and said casually: "In any event, it was

your own business."

"It was," said Kate. "I had given no man the slightest

encouragement, I was perfectly free. John Jardine was courting me

openly in the presence of his mother and any one who happened to

be around. I intended to marry him. I liked him as much as any

man need be liked. I don't know whether it was the same feeling

Nancy Ellen had for Robert Gray or not, but it was a whole lot of

feeling of some kind. I was satisfied with it, and he would have

been. I meant to be a good wife to him and a good daughter to his

mother, and I could have done much good in the world and extracted

untold pleasure from the money he would have put in my power to

handle. All was going 'merry as a marriage bell,' and then this

morning came my Waterloo, in the same post with your letter."

"Do you know what you are doing?" cried George Holt, roughly,

losing self-control with hope. "YOU ARE PROVING TO ME, AND

ADMITTING TO YOURSELF, THAT YOU NEVER LOVED THAT MAN AT ALL. You

were flattered, and tempted with position and riches, but your

heart was not his, or you would be mighty SURE of it, don't you

forget that!"