[Illustration: THE SQUIRREL INN. ]

THE SQUIRREL INN

BY

FRANK R. STOCKTON

_AUTHOR OF "RUDDER GRANGE, " "THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?" "THE LATE MRS. NULL, " "THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE, " "THE MERRYCHANTER, " "THE HUNDREDTH MAN, " ETC. _

[Illustration]

 NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1891

 COPYRIGHT, 1891, BY FRANK R. STOCKTON. 

_All rights reserved. _

THE DE VINNE PRESS. 

CONTENTS

 PAGE

 I THE STEAMBOAT PIER 1

 II THE BABY, THE MAN, AND THE MASTERY 7

 III MATTHEW VASSAR 16

 IV LODLOE UNDERTAKES TO NOMINATE HIS SUCCESSOR 25

 V THE LANDLORD AND HIS INN 32

 VI THE GREEK SCHOLAR 40

 VII ROCKMORES AHEAD 47

 VIII MISS MAYBERRY 56

 IX THE PRESERVATION OF LITERATURE 61

 X ROSE VERSUS MAYBERRY 68

 XI LANIGAN BEAM 78

 XII LANIGAN CHANGES HIS CRAVAT 90

 XIII DECREES OF EXILE 96

 XIV BACKING OUT 101

 XV THE BABY IS PASSED AROUND 110

 XVI MESSRS. BEAM AND LODLOE DECLINE TO WAIT FOR THE SECOND TABLE 119

 XVII BANANAS AND OATS 132

 XVIII SWEET PEAS 138

 XIX THE AROUSED ROSE 149

 XX AN INGENUOUS MAID 157

 XXI TWISTED TRYSTS 163

 XXII THE BLOSSOM AND THE LITTLE JAR 175

 XXIII HAMMERSTEIN 181

 XXIV TRANSLATIONS 197

 XXV MR. TIPPENGRAY MOUNTS HIGH 204

 XXVI ANOTHER SQUIRREL IN THE TAP-ROOM 213

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

 PAGE

 THE SQUIRREL INN FRONTISPIECE

 ON DECK 11

 A WAGON-LOAD OF NURSE-MAIDS 28

 STEPHEN PETTER 33

 THE SIGN 38

 A GREEK IN AN OUTHOUSE 42

 MR. TIPPENGRAY 44

 "I SUPPOSE THIS IS MRS. CRISTIE" 49

 LODLOE IS INTRODUCED TO STEPHEN PETTER 53

 "PASSING NEARER, MR. TIPPENGRAY STOPPED" 65

 "TEACH THE OLD HENS GOOD MANNERS" 76

 "DON'T GET EXCITED" 80

 "HAVE YOU HAPPENED TO HEAR ANYBODY SPEAK OF ME?" 83

 "I AM HERE FOR A PURPOSE" 92

 IDA MAKES HERSELF COMFORTABLE 102

 "BACK!" 108

 "HE BEGAN SLOWLY TO PUSH IT TOWARDS THE SQUIRREL INN" 112

 "I WILL WHEEL IT DOWN TO MY SUMMER-HOUSE WHERE IT IS COOL AND SHADY" 113

 "HE LEANED OVER THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CARRIAGE" 118

 "CALTHY, THIS IS TRULY LIKE OLD TIMES" 129

 "WILL YOU NOT TAKE THESE INSTEAD?" 143

 "I HAVE DISSECTED ONE" 147

 MRS. CRISTIE CONSIDERS 153

 A MATRIMONIAL CONVERSATION 160

 CALTHEA HOLDS HIM WITH HER LISTENING EAR 165

 THE BABY AND THE SWEET-PEA BLOSSOM 179

 MISS CALTHEA STEPS OUT 187

 "WHAT SKEERED HIM?" 191

 MR. TIPPENGRAY STOPPED AND LISTENED 192

 THE TRANSLATION 198

 THE PROPOSAL 206

 MR. PETTER TAKES OFF HIS HAT 209

 LANIGAN BEAM WANTS HIS LADDER 210

THE SQUIRREL INN

I

THE STEAMBOAT PIER

The steamboat _Manasquan_ was advertised to leave her pier on the eastside of the city at half-past nine on a July morning. At nine o'clockWalter Lodloe was on the forward upper deck, watching the earlypassengers come on board, and occasionally smiling as his glance fellupon a tall man in a blue flannel shirt, who, with a number of otherdeck-hands, was hard at work transferring from the pier to the steamerthe boxes, barrels, and bales of merchandise the discouraging mass ofwhich was on the point of being increased by the unloading of a newlyarrived two-horse truck. 

Lodloe had good reason to allow himself his smiles of satisfaction, forhe had just achieved a victory over the man in the blue shirt, and avictory over a busy deck-hand on a hot day is rare enough to bevaluable. As soon as he had stepped on board, he had deposited hishand-baggage in a place of safety, and walked forward to see the men runon the freight. It was a lively scene, and being a student of incident, character, and all that sort of thing, it greatly interested him. Standing by a strangely marked cask which had excited his curiosity, hefound himself in the way of the deck-hand in the blue shirt, who, withred face and sparkling forehead, had just wheeled two heavy boxes up theincline of the gang-plank, and was about to roll them with easy rapidityto the other side of the deck; but Lodloe, with his back turned anddirectly in front of him, made it necessary for him to make a violentswerve to the right or to break the legs of a passenger. He made theswerve, missed Lodloe, and then, dumping his load, turned and swore atthe young man with the promptness and accuracy of a cow-boy's revolver. 

It was quite natural that a high-spirited young fellow should object tobe sworn at, no matter what provocation he had given, and Lodloe notonly objected but grew very angry. The thing which instantly suggesteditself to him, and which to most people would seem the proper thing todo, was to knock down the man. But this knocking-down business is amatter which should be approached with great caution. Walter was astrong young fellow and had had some practice in boxing, but it was notimpossible that, even with the backing of justifiable indignation, theconventional blow straight from the shoulder might have failed to fellthe tall deck-hand. 

But even had Lodloe succeeded in stretching the insulting man upon thedirty deck, it is not at all probable that he would have staid there. Infive seconds there would have been a great fight, and it would not havebeen long before the young gentleman would have found himself in thecustody of a policeman. 

Lodloe's common sense was capable of considerable tension without givingway, even under a strain like this, and, although pale with anger, hewould not engage in a personal contest with a deck-hand on a crowdedsteamboat; but to bear the insult was almost impossible. Never beforehad he been subjected to such violent abuse. 

But in a flash he remembered something, and the man had scarcely turnedhis empty truck to go back to the pier, when Lodloe stepped in front ofhim, and with a wave of the hand stopped him. 

Two nights before Lodloe had been sitting up late reading some papers onmodern Italian history, and in the course of said reading had met withthe text of the _anathema maranatha_ pronounced by Pius IX. Againstdisbelievers in his infallibility. The directness, force, andcomprehensiveness of the expressions used in this composition made adeep impression upon Lodloe, and as it was not very long he hadcommitted it to memory, thinking that he might some time care to use itin quotation. Now it flashed upon him that the time had come to quotethis _anathema maranatha_, without hesitation he delivered the whole ofit, and square, straight into the face of the petrified deck-hand. 

Petrified immediately he was not. As first he flushed furiously, butafter a few phrases he began to pale and to turn to living stone; enoughmobility, however, remained to allow him presently to raise his handimploringly, but Lodloe had now nearly finished his discourse, and witha few words more he turned and walked away. The deck-hand wiped hisbrow, took in a long breath, and went to work. If another passenger hadgot in his way, he would not have sworn at him. 

Therefore it was that, gently pleased by the sensations of victory, Walter Lodloe sat on the upper deck and watched the busy scene. He soonnoted that passengers were beginning to come down the pier inconsiderable numbers, and among these his eye was caught by a youngwoman wheeling a baby-carriage. 

When this little equipage had been pushed down nearly to the end of thatside of the pier from which the passengers were going on board, itstopped, and its motive power looked behind her. Presently she turnedher head towards the steamer and eagerly scanned every part of it onwhich she could see human beings. In doing this she exhibited to Lodloea very attractive face. It was young enough, it was round enough, andthe brown eyes were large enough, to suit almost any one whose taste wasnot restricted to the lines of the old sculptors. 

When she completed her survey of the steamboat, the young woman turnedthe carriage around and wheeled it up the pier. Very soon, however, shereturned, walking rapidly, and ran the little vehicle over the broadgang-plank on to the steamboat. Now Lodloe lost sight of her, but inabout five minutes she appeared on the forward upper deck without thebaby-carriage, and looking eagerly here and there. Not finding what shesought, she hastily descended. 

The next act in this performance was the appearance of thebaby-carriage, borne by the blue-shirted deck-hand, and followed by theyoung woman carrying the baby. The carriage was humbly set down by itsbearer, who departed without looking to the right or left, and the babywas quickly deposited in it. Then the young woman stepped to the railand looked anxiously upon the pier. As Lodloe gazed upon her it was easyto see that she was greatly troubled. She was expecting some one who didnot come. Now she went to the head of the stairway and went down a fewsteps, then she came up again and stood undecided. Her eyes now fellupon Lodloe, who was looking at her, and she immediately approached him. 

"Can you tell me, sir, " she said, "exactly how long it will be beforethis boat starts?"

Lodloe drew out his watch. 

"In eight minutes, " he answered. 

If Lodloe had allowed himself to suppose that because the young womanwho addressed him was in sole charge of a baby-carriage she was a nurseor superior maid-servant, that notion would have instantly vanished whenhe heard her speak. 

The lady turned a quick glance towards the pier, and then moved to thehead of the stairway, but stopped before reaching it. It was plain thatshe was in much perplexity. Lodloe stepped quickly towards her. 

"Madam, " said he, "you are looking for some one. Can I help you?"

"I am, " she said; "I am looking for my nurse-maid. She promised to meetme on the pier. I cannot imagine what has become of her. "

"Let me go and find her, " said Lodloe. "What sort of person is she?"

"She isn't any sort of person in particular, " answered the lady. "Icouldn't describe her. I will run down and look for her myself, and ifyou will kindly see that nobody knocks over my baby I shall be muchobliged to you. "

Lodloe instantly undertook the charge, and the lady disappeared below. 

II

THE BABY, THE MAN, AND THE MASTERY

The young man drew the baby-carriage to the bench by the rail and, seating himself, gazed with interest upon its youthful occupant. Thisindividual appeared to be about two years of age, with its mother's eyesand a combative disposition. The latter was indicated by the manner inwhich it banged its own legs and the sides of its carriage with a wickerbludgeon that had once been a rattle. It looked earnestly at the youngman, and gave the edges of its carriage a whack which knocked thebludgeon out of its hand. Lodloe picked up the weapon, and, restoring itto its owner, began to commune with himself. 

"It is the same old story, " he thought. "The mother desires to be rid ofthe infant; she leaves it for a moment in the charge of a stranger; sheis never seen again. However, I accept the situation. If she doesn'tcome back this baby is mine. It seems like a good sort of baby, and Ithink I shall like it. Yes, youngster, if your mother doesn't come backyou are mine. I shall not pass you over to the police or to any oneelse; I shall run you myself. "

It was now half-past nine. Lodloe arose and looked out over the pier. Hecould see nothing of the young mother. The freight was all on board, andthey were hauling up the forward gang-plank. One or two belatedpassengers were hurrying along the pier; the bell was ringing; now thepassengers were on board, the aft gang-plank was hauled in, the hawserswere cast off from the posts, the pilot's bell jingled, the wheels beganto revolve, and the great steamboat slowly moved from its pier. 

"I knew it, " said Lodloe, unconsciously speaking aloud; "she hadn't theslightest idea of coming back. Now, then, " said he, "I own a baby, and Imust consider what I am to do with it. One thing is certain, I intend tokeep it. I believe I can get more solid comfort and fun out of a babythan I could possibly get out of a dog or even a horse. "

Walter Lodloe was a young man who had adopted literature as aprofession. Earlier in life he had worked at journalism, but for thelast two years he had devoted himself almost entirely to literature pureand simple. His rewards, so far, had been slight, but he was not in theleast discouraged, and hoped bravely for better things. He was now onhis way to spend some months at a quiet country place of which he hadheard, not for a summer holiday, but to work where he could live cheaplyand enjoy outdoor life. His profession made him more independent than anartist--all he needed were writing materials, and a post-office within areasonable distance. 

Lodloe gazed with much satisfaction at his new acquisition. He was nostickler for conventionalities, and did not in the least object toappear at his destination--where he knew no one--with a baby and acarriage. 

"I'll get some country girl to take care of it when I am busy, " he said, "and the rest of the time I'll attend to it myself. I'll teach it a lotof things, and from what I have seen of youngster-culture I shouldn'twonder if I should beat the record. "

At this moment the baby gave a great wave with its empty rattle, and, losing its hold upon it, the wicker weapon went overboard. Then, afterfeeling about in its lap, and peering over the side of the carriage, thebaby began to whimper. 

"Now then, " thought the young man, "here's my chance. I must begininstantly to teach it that I am its master. "

Leaning forward, he looked sternly into the child's face, and in asharp, quick tone said:

"Whoa!"

The baby stopped instantly, and stared at its new guardian. 

"There, " thought Lodloe, "it is just the same with a baby as with ahorse. Be firm, be decided; it knows what you want, and it will do it. "

At this instant the baby opened its mouth, uttered a wild wail, andcontinued wailing. 

Lodloe laughed. "That didn't seem to work, " said he; and to quiet thelittle creature he agitated the vehicle, shook before the child hiskeys, and showed it his watch, but the wails went on with persistentviolence. The baby's face became red, its eyes dropped tears. 

The young man looked around him for assistance. The forward upper deckwas without an awning, and was occupied only by a few men, the majorityof the passengers preferring the spacious and shaded after deck. Two ofthe men were laughing at Lodloe. 

"That's a new way, " one of them called out to him, "to shut up a youngone. Did it ever work?"

"It didn't this time, " answered Lodloe. "Have you any young ones?"

"Five, " answered the man. 

"And how do you stop them when they howl like that?"

"I leave that to the old woman, " was the answer, "and when she's heardenough of it she spanks 'em. "

Lodloe shook his head. That method did not suit him. 

"If you'd run its wagon round the deck, " said another man, "perhaps thatwould stop it. I guess you was never left alone with it before. "

Lodloe made no reply to this supposition, but began to wheel thecarriage around the deck. Still the baby yelled and kicked. An elderlygentleman who had been reading a book went below. 

"If you could feed it, " said one of the men who had spoken before, "thatmight stop it, but the best thing you can do is to take it down to itsmother. "

[Illustration: ON DECK. ]

Lodloe was annoyed. He had not yet arranged in his mind how he shouldaccount for his possession of the baby, and he did not want anexplanation forced upon him before he was ready to make it. These menhad come on board after the departure of the young woman, and could knownothing of the facts, and therefore Lodloe, speaking from a high, figurative standpoint, settled the matter by shaking his head andsaying:

"That can't be done. The little thing has lost its mother. "

The man who had last spoken looked compassionately at Lodloe. 

"That's a hard case, " he said; "I know all about it, for I've been inthat boat myself. My wife died just as I was going to sail for thiscountry, and I had to bring over the two babies. I was as seasick asblazes, and had to take care of 'em night and day. I tell you, sir, you've got a hard time ahead of you; but feedin' 's the only thing. I'llget you something. Is it on milk yet, or can it eat biscuit?"

Lodloe looked at the open mouth of the vociferous infant and saw teeth. 

"Biscuit will do, " he said, "or perhaps a banana. If you can get mesomething of the sort I shall be much obliged"; and he gave the man somemoney. 

The messenger soon returned with an assortment of refreshments, amongwhich, happily, was not a banana, and the baby soon stopped wailing tosuck an enormous stick of striped candy. Quiet having been restored tothis part of the vessel, Lodloe sat down to reconsider the situation. 

"It may be, " he said to himself, "that I shall have to take it to anasylum, but I shall let it stay there only during the period ofunintelligent howling. When it is old enough to understand that I am itsmaster, then I shall take it in hand again. It is ridiculous to supposethat a human being cannot be as easily trained as a horse. "

The more he considered the situation the better he liked it. Thepossession of a healthy and vigorous youngster without encumbrances wasto him a novel and delightful sensation. 

"I hope, " he said to himself, "that when the country girl dresses it shewill find no label on its clothes, nor any sign which might enable oneto discover the original owners. I don't want anybody coming up to claimit after we've got to be regular chums. "

When the boat made its first landing the two men who had given adviceand assistance to Lodloe got off, and as the sun rose higher the forwarddeck became so unpleasantly warm that nearly everybody left it; butLodloe concluded to remain. The little carriage had a top, whichsufficiently shaded the baby, and as for himself he was used to the sun. If he went among the other passengers they might ask him questions, andhe was not prepared for these. What he wanted was to be let alone untilhe reached his landing-place, and then he would run his baby-carriageashore, and when the steamboat had passed on he would be master of thesituation, and could assume what position he chose towards his newpossession. 

"When I get the little bouncer to Squirrel Inn I shall be all right, butI must have the relationship defined before I arrive there. " And to theplanning and determination of that he now gave his mind. 

He had not decided whether he should create an imaginary mother who haddied young, consider himself the uncle of the child, whose parents hadbeen lost at sea, or adopt the little creature as a brother or asister, as the case might be, when the subject of his reflections laiddown its stick of candy and began a violent outcry against circumstancesin general. 

Lodloe's first impulse was to throw it overboard. Repressing thisnatural instinct, he endeavored to quiet the infantile turbulence withoffers of biscuit, fresh candy, gingercakes, and apples, but withouteffect. The young bewailer would have nothing to do with any of theseenticements. 

Lodloe was puzzled. "I have got to keep the thing quiet until we land, "he thought; "then I will immediately hire some one to go with me andtake charge of it, but I can't stand this uproar for two hours longer. "The crying attracted the attention of other people, and presently acountry woman appeared from below. 

"What is the matter with it?" she asked. "I thought it was some childleft here all by itself. "

"What would you do with it?" asked Lodloe, helplessly. 

"You ought to take it up and walk it about until its mother comes, " saidthe woman; and having given this advice she returned below to quiet oneof her own offspring who had been started off by the sounds of woe. 

Lodloe smiled at the idea of carrying the baby about until its mothercame; but he was willing to do the thing in moderation, and taking upthe child resolutely, if not skilfully, he began to stride up and downthe deck with it. 

This suited the youngster perfectly, and it ceased crying and began tolook about with great interest. It actually smiled into the young man'sface, and taking hold of his mustache began to use it as a doorbell. 

"This is capital, " said Lodloe; "we are chums already. " And as he strodehe whistled, talked baby-talk, and snapped his fingers in the face ofthe admiring youngster, who slapped at him, and laughed, and did itsbest to kick off the bosom of his shirt. 

III

MATTHEW VASSAR

In the course of this sociable promenade the steamboat stopped at asmall town, and it had scarcely started again when the baby gave asquirm which nearly threw it out of its bearer's arms. At the sameinstant he heard quick steps behind him, and, turning, he beheld themother of the child. At the sight his heart fell. Gone were his plans, his hopes, his little chum. 

The young woman was flushed and panting. 

"Upon my word!" was all she could say as she clasped the child, whoselittle arms stretched out towards her. She seated herself upon thenearest bench. In a few moments she looked from her baby to Lodloe; shehad not quite recovered her breath, and her face was flushed, but in hereyes and on her mouth and dimpled cheeks there was an expression ofintense delight mingled with amusement. 

"Will you tell me, sir, " she said, "how long you have been carrying thisbaby about? And did you have to take care of it?"

Lodloe did not feel in a very good humor. By not imposing upon him, ashe thought she had done, she had deceived and disappointed him. 

"Of course I took care of it, " he said, "as you left it in my charge;and it gave me a lot of trouble, I assure you. For a time it kicked up adreadful row. I had the advice of professionals, but I did all the workmyself. "

"I am very sorry, " she said, "but it does seem extremely funny that itshould have happened so. What did you think had become of me?"

"I supposed you had gone off to whatever place you wanted to go to, "said Lodloe. 

She looked at him in amazement. 

"Do you mean to say, " she exclaimed, "that you thought I wanted to getrid of my baby, and to palm him off on you--an utter stranger?"

"That is exactly what I thought, " he answered. "Of course, people whowant to get rid of babies don't palm them off on friends andacquaintances. I am very sorry if I misjudged you, but I think you willadmit that, under the circumstances, my supposition was a very naturalone. "

"Tell me one more thing, " she said; "what did you intend to do with thischild?"

"I intended to bring it up as my own, " said Lodloe; "I had alreadyformed plans for its education. "

The lady looked at him in speechless amazement. If she had known him shewould have burst out laughing. 

"The way of it was this, " she said presently. "I ran off the steamboatto look for my nurse-maid, and if I hadn't thought of first searchingthrough the other parts of the boat to see if she was on board I shouldhave had plenty of time. I found her waiting for me at the entrance ofthe pier, and when I ran towards her all she had to say was that she hadmade up her mind not to go into the country. I was so excited, and soangry at her for playing such a trick on me at the last moment, that Iforgot how time was passing, and that is why I was left behind. But itnever entered my mind that any one would think that I intended to desertmy baby, and I didn't feel afraid either that he wouldn't be taken careof. I had seen ever so many women on board, and some with babies oftheir own, and I did not doubt that some of these would take charge ofhim. 

"As soon as I saw that the steamboat had gone, I jumped into a cab, andwent to the West Bank Railroad, and took the first train for Scurry, where I knew the steamboat stopped. The ticket agent told me he thoughtthe train would get there about forty minutes before the boat; but itdidn't, and I had to run every inch of the way from the station to thewharf, and then barely got there in time. "

"You managed matters very well, " said Lodloe. 

"I should have managed better, " said she, "if I had taken my baby ashorewith me. In that case, I should have remained in the city until Isecured another maid. But why did you trouble yourself with the child, especially when he cried?"

"Madam, " said Lodloe, "you left that little creature in my charge, andit never entered my mind to hand it over to anybody else. I took advice, as I told you, but that was all I wanted of any one until I wentashore, and then I intended to hire a country girl to act as its nurse. "

"And you really and positively intended to keep it for your own?" sheasked. 

"I did, " he answered. 

At this the lady could not help laughing. "In all my life, " she said, "Inever heard of anything like that. But I am just as much obliged to you, sir, as if I were acquainted with you; in fact, more so. "

Lodloe took out his card and handed it to her. She read it, and thensaid:

"I am Mrs. Robert Cristie of Philadelphia. And now I will take my babyto the other end of the boat, where it is more sheltered, but notwithout thanking you most heartily for your very great kindness. "

"If you are going aft, " said Lodloe, "let me help you. If you will takethe baby, I will bring its carriage. "

In a few minutes the mother and child were ensconced in a shady spot onthe lower deck, and then Lodloe, lifting his hat, remarked:

"As I suppose two people cannot become conventionally acquainted withoutthe intervention of a third person, no matter how little each may knowof said third party, I must take my leave; but allow me to say that, ifyou require any further assistance, I shall be most happy to give it. Ishall be on the boat until we reach Romney. "

"That is where I get off, " she said. 

"Indeed, " said he; "then perhaps you will engage the country girl whom Iintended to hire. "

"Do you know any one living there, " she asked, "who would come to me asnurse-maid?"

"I don't know a soul in Romney, " said Lodloe; "I never was in the placein my life. I merely supposed that in a little town like that there weregirls to be hired. I don't intend to remain in Romney, to be sure, but Ithought it would be much safer to engage a girl there than to trust togetting one in the country place to which I am going. "

"And you thought out all that, and about my baby?" said Mrs. Cristie. 

"Yes, I did, " said Lodloe, laughing. 

"Very well, " said she; "I shall avail myself of your forethought, andshall try to get a girl in Romney. Where do you go when you leavethere?"

"Oh, I am going some five or six miles from the town, to a place calledthe 'Squirrel Inn. '"

"The Squirrel Inn!" exclaimed Mrs. Cristie, dropping her hands into herlap and leaning forward. 

"Yes, " said Lodloe; "are you going there?"

"I am, " she answered. 

Now in his heart Walter Lodloe blessed his guardian angel that she hadprompted him to make the announcement of his destination before he knewwhere this lady was going. 

"I am very glad to hear that, " he said. "It seems odd that we shouldhappen to be going to the same place, and yet it is not so very odd, after all, for people going to the Squirrel Inn must take this boat andland at Romney, which is not on the railroad. "

"The odd part of it is that so few people go to the Squirrel Inn, " saidthe lady. 

"I did not know that, " remarked Lodloe; "in fact I know very littleabout the place. I have heard it spoken of, and it seems to be just thequiet, restful place in which I can work. I am a literary man, and liketo work in the country. "

"Do you know the Rockmores of Germantown?" asked Mrs. Cristie. 

"I never heard of them, " he answered. 

"Well, then, you may as well stay on board this steamboat and go backhome in her, " said Mrs. Cristie; "if you do not know the Rockmores ofGermantown Stephen Petter will not take you into his inn. I know allabout the place. I was there with my husband three years ago. Mr. Petteris very particular about the guests he entertains. Several years ago, when he opened the inn, the Rockmores of Germantown spent the summerwith him, and he was so impressed with them that he will not takeanybody unless they know the Rockmores of Germantown. "

"He must be a ridiculous old crank, " said Lodloe, drawing a camp-chairnear to the lady, and seating himself thereon. 

"In one way he is not a crank, " said Mrs. Cristie; "you can't turn him. When he has made up his mind about anything, that matter is settled andfixed just as if it were screwed down to the floor. "

"From what I had been told, " said the young man, "I supposed theSquirrel Inn to be a free and easy place. "

"It is, after you get there, " said Mrs. Cristie, "and the situation andthe surroundings are beautiful, and the air is very healthful. Myhusband was Captain Cristie of the navy. He was in bad health when hewent to the Squirrel Inn, but the air did him good, and if we had staidall winter, as Stephen Petter wanted us to, it would have been a greatadvantage to him. But when the weather grew cool we went to New York, where my husband died early in the following December. "

"I will take my chances with Stephen Petter, " said Lodloe, after asuitable pause. "I am going to the Squirrel Inn, and I am bound to staythere. There must be some road not through Germantown by which a fellowcan get into the favor of Mr. Petter. Perhaps you will say a good wordfor me, madam?"

"I don't know any good word to say, " she answered, "except that you takeexcellent care of babies, and I am not at all sure that that would haveany weight with Stephen Petter. Since you are going to the inn, andsince we have already talked together so much, I wish I did properlyknow you. Did you ever have a sister at Vassar?"

"I am sorry to say, " said Lodloe, "that I never had a sister at thatcollege, though I have one who wanted very much to go there; but insteadof that she went with an aunt to Europe, where she married. "

"An American?" asked Mrs. Cristie. 

"Yes, " said Lodloe. 

"What was his name?"

"Tredwell. "

"I never heard of him, " said the lady. "There don't seem to be anythreads to take hold of. "

"Perhaps you had a brother at Princeton, " remarked Lodloe. 

"I have no brother, " said she. 

There was now a pause in the dialogue. The young man was well pleasedthat this very interesting young woman wished to know him properly, asshe put it, and if there could be found the least bit of foundation onwhich might be built a conventional acquaintance he was determined tofind it. 

"Were you a Vassar girl?" he asked. 

"Oh, yes, " said Mrs. Cristie; "I was there four years. "

"Perhaps you know something of old Matthew Vassar, the founder?"

Mrs. Cristie laughed. "I've heard enough about him, you may be sure; butwhat has he to do with anything?"

"I once slept in his room, " said Lodloe; "in the Founder's Room, withall his stiff old furniture, and his books, and his portrait. "

"You!" cried Mrs. Cristie. "When did you do that?"

"It was two years ago this spring, " said Lodloe. "I was up there gettingmaterial for an article on the college which I wrote for the 'BaysideMagazine. '"

"Did you write that?" said Mrs. Cristie. "I read it, and it was just asfull of mistakes as it could be. "

"That may be, and I don't wonder at it, " said the young man. "I kept ontaking in material until I had a good deal more than I could properlystow away in my mind, and it got to be too late for me to go back to thetown, and they had to put me into the Founder's Room, because the housewas a good deal crowded. Before I went to bed I examined all the thingsin the room. I didn't sleep well at all, for during the night the oldgentleman got down out of his frame, and sat on the side of my bed, andtold me a lot of things about that college which nobody else ever knew, I am sure. "

"And I suppose you mixed up all that information with what the collegepeople gave you, " she said. 

"That may be the case, " answered Lodloe, laughing, "for some of the oldgentleman's points were very interesting and made a deep impression uponme. "

"Well, " said Mrs. Cristie, speaking very emphatically, "when I hadfinished reading that article I very much wished to meet the person whohad written it, so that I might tell him what I thought of it; but ofcourse I had no idea that the founder had anything to do with itsinaccuracies. "

"Madam, " said Lodloe, "if it had not been for the mistakes in it younever would have thought of the man who wrote the paper, but you didthink of him, and wanted to meet him. Now it seems to me that we havebeen quite properly introduced to each other, and it was old MatthewVassar who did it. I am sure I am very much obliged to him. "

Mrs. Cristie laughed. "I don't know what the social authorities wouldsay to such an introduction, " she answered, "but as baby is asleep Ishall take him into the saloon. "

IV

LODLOE UNDERTAKES TO NOMINATE HIS SUCCESSOR

It was late in the afternoon when the Romney passengers were landed, andMrs. Cristie and Lodloe, with a few other persons, repaired to thevillage hotel. 

"There is a sort of stage-wagon, " said the lady, "which takes peoplefrom this house to the Squirrel Inn, and it starts when the driver isready; but before I leave Romney I must try to find some one who will gowith me as nurse-maid. "

"Madam, " said Lodloe, "don't think of it. I have made inquiries of thelandlord, and he says the roads are rough, and that it will take morethan an hour to reach the Squirrel Inn, so that if you do not start nowI fear you and the baby will not get there before dark. I prefer to stayhere to-night, and it will be no trouble at all for me to look up asuitable person for you, and to take her with me to-morrow. It will be agood plan to take four or five of them, and when you have selected theone you like best the others can come back here in the wagon. It will bea lark for them. "

Mrs. Cristie drew a long breath. "Truly, " she said, "your proposition isphenomenal. Half a dozen nurse-maids in a wagon, from whom I am to pickand choose! The thing is so startling and novel that I am inclined toaccept. I should very much dislike to be on the road after dark, and ifyou have planned to stay here to-night, and if it will not be muchtrouble--"

"Say not another word, " cried Lodloe; "project your mind into to-morrowmorning, and behold a wagon-load of willing maidens at the door of theinn. "

When Mrs. Cristie and the baby and an elderly woman who lived inLethbury, a village two miles beyond the Squirrel Inn, had started ontheir journey, Walter Lodloe set about the task he had undertaken. Itwas still hot, and the Romney streets were dusty, and after an hour ortwo of inquiry, walking, and waiting for people who had been sent for, Lodloe found that in the whole village there was not a female fromthirteen to seventy-three who would think of such a thing as leaving herhome to become nurse-maid to a city lady. He went to bed that night agood deal chagrined, and not in the least knowing what he was going todo about it. 

In the morning, however, the thing to do rose clear and plain beforehim. 

"I can't go to her and tell her I've failed, " he said to himself. "Amaid must be got, and I have undertaken to get one. As there is nobodyto be had here, I must go back to the city for one. There are plenty ofthem there. "

So when the early morning boat came along he took passage for thenearest railroad station on the river, for he wished to lose no time onthat trip. 

The elderly lady who was going to Lethbury took a great interest in Mrs. Cristie, who was to be her only fellow-passenger. She was at the hotelwith her carpet-bag and her paper bundle some time before the bigspring-wagon was ready to start, and she gave earnest attention to theloading thereon of Mrs. Cristie's trunk and the baby-carriage. When theywere on their way the elderly woman promptly began the conversation:

"I think, " said she to Mrs. Cristie, "that I've seed you before. "

"Perhaps so, " said the other; "I was in this region three years ago. "

"Yes, yes, " said the elder woman; "I thought I was right. Then you had ahusband and no child. It now looks as if you had a child and nohusband. "

Mrs. Cristie informed her that her surmise was correct. 

"Well, well, " said the elderly woman; "I've had 'em both, and it's hardto say which can be spared best, but as we've got nothin' to do with thesparin' of 'em, we've got ter rest satisfied. After all, they're a gooddeal like lilock bushes, both of 'em. They may be cut down, and grubbedup, and a parsley bed made on the spot, but some day they sprout upag'in, and before you know it you've got just as big a bush as ever. Does Stephen Petter know you're comin'?"

[Illustration: A WAGON-LOAD OF NURSE-MAIDS. ]

"Oh, yes, " said Mrs. Cristie, quite willing to change the subject; "allthat is arranged. I was so pleased with the place when I was herebefore, and Mrs. Petter was so good to me, that I quite long to spend asummer there with my child. "

"Well, I'm glad he knows you are comin', but if he didn't, I was goin'ter say to you that you'd better go on to Lethbury, and then see whatyou could do with Stephen to-morrow. It's no use stoppin' at his housewithout givin' notice, and like as not it ain't no use then. "

"Is Mr. Petter's house filled?" asked Mrs. Cristie. 

"Filled!" said the elderly woman. "There's nobody on the place but hisown family and the Greek. "

"Greek!" exclaimed Mrs. Cristie. 

"Yes, " said the other; "he keeps a Greek in an outhouse, but what fornobody knows. I think Stephen Petter is gettin' more oncommon than hewas. If he wants to get custom for his house the best thing he can do isto die. There ain't no other way, for Stephen's not goin' to do nochangin' of himself. My niece, Calthea Rose, the daughter of DanielRose, who used to keep the store, --she keeps it now herself, --goes overthere a good deal, for she's wonderful partial to Susan Petter, andthere's a good reason for it too, for a better woman never lived, andthe walk over there is mostly shady, or through the fields, to both ofwhich Calthea is partial, and so she knows most things that's goin' onat the Squirrel Inn, which latterly has not been much, except the comin'of the Greek; an' as nobody has been able to get at the bottom of thatbusiness, that isn't much, neither. "

"I think I remember Miss Calthea Rose, " said Mrs. Cristie. "She wastall, wasn't she, with a very fair complexion?"

"Yes, " said the elderly woman; "and it's just as fair now as it wasthen. Some of it's owin' to sun-bonnet, and some of it to cold cream. Calthea isn't as young as she was, but she's wonderful lively on herfeet yit, and there ain't many that could get ahead of her walkin' orbargainin'. "

"And she keeps the store?" asked Mrs. Cristie. 

"Yes, " said the other; "she keeps it, and in more ways than one. Yousee, when Dan'el died--and that was two years ago last March--he lefteverything to Calthea, and the store with the rest. Before he died hetold her what he had done, and advised her to sell out the stock, andput the money into somethin' that would pay good interest, and this sheagreed to do, and this she is doing now. She wouldn't consent to noauction, for she knew well enough the things wouldn't bring more 'n halfthey cost, so she undertook herself to sell 'em all out at retail, justas her father intended they should be sold when he bought 'em. Well, it's took her a long while, and, in the opinion of most folks, it'lltake her a long while yit. You see she don't lay in no new goods, butjust keeps on sellin' or tryin' to sell what she's got on hand. 

"It was purty easy to get rid of the groceries, and the iron and woodenthings got themselves sold some way or other; but old dry-goods, withnever any new ones to lighten 'em up, is about as humdrum as old peoplewithout youngsters in the family. Now it stands to reason that when aperson goes into a store and sees nothin' but old calicoes, and someother odds and ends, gettin' mustier and dustier and a little morefly-specked every time, and never a new thing, even so much as a spoolof cotton thread, then persons isn't likely to go often into that store, specially when there's a new one in the village that keeps up to thetimes. 

"Now that's Calthea Rose's way of doin' business. She undertook to sellout them goods, and she's goin' to keep on till she does it. She iswillin' to sell some of the worst-lookin' things at cost, but not a centbelow that, for if she does, she loses money, and that isn't CaltheaRose. I guess, all put together, she hasn't sold more 'n ten dollars'worth of goods this year, and most of them was took by the Greek, thoughwhat he wants with 'em is more 'n I know. "

"I am sorry to hear that there are no guests at the Squirrel Inn, " wasMrs. Cristie's only reply to this information. 

"Oh, you needn't give yourself no trouble about loneliness and that sortof thing, " said the elderly woman; "before to-morrow night the wholehouse may be crowded from cockloft to potato-cellar. It never has beenyit, but there's no tellin' what Stephen Petter has a-brewin' in hismind. "

V

THE LANDLORD AND HIS INN

Stephen Petter was a man of middle age, who had been born on a farm, andwho, apparently, had been destined to farm a farm. But at the age ofthirty, having come into a moderate inheritance, he devoted himself moreto the business of cultivating himself and less to that of cultivatinghis fields. 

He was a man who had built himself up out of books. His regulareducation had been limited, but he was an industrious reader, and fromthe characters of this and that author he had conceived an idea of asort of man which pleased his fancy, and to make himself this sort ofman he had given a great deal of study and a great deal of hard labor. The result was that he had shaped himself into something like anold-fashioned country clergyman, without his education, his manners, hisreligion, or his clothes. Imperfect similitudes of these Stephen Petterhad acquired, but this was as far as he had gone. A well-read man whohappened also to be a good judge of human nature could have traced backevery obvious point of Stephen Petter's character to some Englishauthor of the last century or the first half of this one. 

[Illustration: STEPHEN PETTER. ]

It was rather odd that a man like this should be the landlord of an inn. But everything about Stephen Petter was odd, so ten years before he hadconceived the notion that such a man as he would like to be would beentirely unwilling to live in the little village of Lethbury, where hehad no opportunity of exercising an influence upon his fellow-beings. Such an influence he thought it fit to exercise, and as he was notqualified to be a clergyman, or a physician, or a lawyer, he resolved tokeep a tavern. This vocation would bring him into contact withfellow-beings; it would give him opportunities to control, impel, andretard. 

Stephen Petter did not for a moment think of buying the Lethbury"Hotel, " nor of establishing such a house as was demanded by thevillage. What he had read about houses of entertainment gave him no suchmotives as these. Fortunately he had an opportunity of carrying out hisplan according to the notions he had imbibed from his books. 

Some years before Stephen Petter had decided upon his vocation, a richgentleman had built himself a country-seat about two miles out ofLethbury. This house and its handsome grounds were the talk and theadmiration of the neighborhood. But the owner had not occupied hiscountry-home a whole summer before he determined to make a still moreattractive home of it by lighting it with a new-fashioned gas ofdomestic manufacture. He succeeded in lighting not only his house butthe whole country-side, for one moonless night his mansion was burned tothe ground. Nothing was left of the house but the foundations, and onthese the owner felt no desire to build again. He departed from theLethbury neighborhood and never came back. 

When Mr. Petter became impressed with the belief that it would be a goodthing for him to be an innkeeper, he also became impressed with thebelief that the situation which the rich man had chosen for hiscountry-home would be an admirable one for his purposes. He accordinglybought the property at a very reasonable price, and on the stonefoundations of the house which had been burned he built his inn. 

This edifice was constructed very much as he had endeavored to constructhimself. His plans for one part of it were made up from thedescriptions in one of his books, and those of another part from thedescriptions or pictures in some other book. Portions of the structurewere colonial, others were old English, and others again suggested theSwiss chalet or a château in Normandy. There was a tall tower and therewere some little towers. There were peaks here and there, and differentkinds of slopes to the various roofs, some of which were thatched, someshingled in fanciful ways, and some covered with long strips or slabs. There were a good many doors and a good many windows, and these were ofdifferent forms, sizes, and periods, some of them jutting boldlyoutward, and some appearing anxious to shrink out of sight. 

It took a great deal of thought and a good deal of labor to build thishouse; which was also true of Mr. Petter's character. But thefirst-named work was the more difficult of the two, for in building uphimself he consulted with no one, while in planning his inn he met withall sorts of opposition from the village workmen and builders. 

But at the cost of all the time that was needed and all the money hecould spare, he had his house built as he wanted it; and when it wasfinished it seemed to exhibit a trace of nearly everything a houseshould possess excepting chronology and paint. Mr. Petter had selectedwith a great deal of care the various woods of which his house wasbuilt, and he decidedly objected to conceal their hues and texture bymonotonous paint. The descriptions that he had read of houses seldommentioned paint. 

The interior was not in the least monotonous. The floors of the rooms, even in the same story, were seldom upon the same level; sometimes oneentered a room from a hallway by an ascent of two or three steps, whileaccess to others was obtained by going down some steps. The inside wassubordinated in a great degree to the outside: if there happened to be apretty window like something Mr. Petter had seen in an engraving, a roomof suitable shape and size was constructed behind the window. Stairwayswere placed where they were needed, but they were not allowed tointerfere with the shapes of rooms or hallways; if there happened to beno other good place for them they were put on the outside of the house. Some of these stairways were wide, some narrow, and some winding; and asthose on the outside were generally covered they increased theopportunities for queer windows and perplexing projections. The upperroom of the tower was reached by a staircase from the outside, whichopened into a little garden fenced off from the rest of the grounds, sothat a person might occupy this room without having any communicationwith the other people in the house. 

In one of the back wings of the building there was a room which was morepeculiar than any other, from the fact that there was no entrance to itwhatever, unless one climbed into it by means of a ladder placed at oneof its windows. This room, which was of fair size and well lighted, wasin the second story, but it appeared to be of greater height on accountof the descent of the ground at the back of the inn. It had beenconstructed because the shape of that part of the building called for aroom, and a stairway to it had been omitted for the reason that if onehad been built in the inside of the house it would have spoiled theshape of the room below, and there seemed no good way of putting one onthe outside. So when the room was finished and floored the workmen cameout of it through one of the windows, and Stephen Petter reserved hisdecision in regard to a door and stairway until the apartment should beneeded. The grounds around the Squirrel Inn were interesting andattractive, and with them Stephen Petter had interfered very little. Therich man had planned beautiful surroundings for his country-home, andduring many years nature had labored steadily to carry out his plans. There were grassy stretches and slopes, great trees, and terracescovered with tangled masses of vines and flowers. The house stood on abluff, and on one side could be seen a wide view of a lovely valley, with the two steeples of Lethbury showing above the treetops. 

Back of the house, and sweeping around between it and the public road, was a far-reaching extent of woodland; and through this, for thedistance of half a mile, wound the shaded lane which led from thehighway to the Squirrel Inn. 

At the point at which this lane was entered from the highroad was thesign of the inn. This was a tall post with a small square frame hangingfrom a transverse beam, and seated on the lower strip of the frame was alarge stuffed gray squirrel. Every spring Stephen Petter took down thissquirrel and put up a new one. The old squirrels were fastened up sideby side on a ledge in the taproom, and by counting them one could findout how many years the inn had been kept. 

[Illustration: THE SIGN. ]

Directly below the bluff on which the house stood were Stephen Petter'sgrassy meadows and his fields of grain and corn, and in the richpastures, or in the shade of the trees standing by the bank of the rapidlittle stream that ran down from the woodlands, might be seen his flocksand his herds. By nature he was a very good farmer, and his agriculturalmethod he had not derived from his books. There were people whosaid--and among these Calthea Rose expressed herself rather better thanthe others--that Mr. Petter's farm kept him, while he kept the SquirrelInn. 

When it had become known that the Squirrel Inn was ready to receiveguests, people came from here and there; not very many of them, butamong them were the Rockmores of Germantown. This large family, so itappeared to Stephen Petter, was composed of the kind of fellow-beingswith whom he wished to associate. Their manners and ways seemed to himthe manners and ways of the people he liked to read about, and heregarded them with admiration and respect. He soon discovered from theirconversation that they were connected or acquainted with leadingfamilies in our principal Eastern cities, and it became his hope that heand his Squirrel Inn might become connected with these leading familiesby means of the Rockmores of Germantown. 

As this high-classed family liked variety in their summer outings, theydid not come again to the Squirrel Inn, but the effect of theirinfluence remained strong upon its landlord. He made up his mind thatthose persons who did not know the Rockmores of Germantown did not movein those circles of society from which he wished to obtain his guests, and therefore he drew a line which excluded all persons who did notpossess this acquaintanceship. 

This rule was very effectual in preventing the crowding of his house, and, indeed, there were summers when he had no guests at all; but thisdid not move Stephen Petter. Better an empty house than people outsidethe pale of good society. 

VI

THE GREEK SCHOLAR

Mrs. Cristie and her baby were warmly welcomed by Stephen Petter and hiswife. They had learned during her former visit to like this lady forherself, and now that she came to them a widow their sentiments towardsher were warmer than ever. 

Mrs. Petter wondered very much why she had come without a maid, butfearing that perhaps the poor lady's circumstances were not what theyhad been she forbore to ask any immediate questions. But in her heartshe resolved that, if she kept her health and strength, Mrs. Cristieshould not be worn out by that child. 

The young widow was charmed to find herself once more at the SquirrelInn, for it had been more like a home to her than any place in which shehad lived since her marriage, but when she went to her room that nightthere was a certain depression on her spirits. This was caused by theexpected advent on the next day of Mr. Lodloe and a wagon-load ofcandidates for the nurse-maidship. 

The whole affair annoyed her. In the first place it was very awkward tohave this young man engaged in this service for her; and now that he wasengaged in it, it would be, in a manner, under her auspices that hewould arrive at the Squirrel Inn. The more she thought of the matter themore it annoyed her. She now saw that she must announce the coming ofthis gentleman. It would not do for him to make a totally unexpectedappearance as her agent in the nurse-maid business. 

But no worry of this sort could keep her awake very long, and after anight of sound and healthful sleep she told her host and hostess, thenext morning at breakfast, of the Mr. Lodloe who had kindly undertakento bring her a nurse-maid. 

"Lodloe, " repeated Mr. Petter. "It strikes me that I have heard theRockmores mention that name. Is it a Germantown family?"

"I really do not know, " answered Mrs. Cristie; "he is from New York. "

Here she stopped. She was of a frank and truthful nature, and very muchwished to say that she knew nothing whatever of Mr. Lodloe, but she wasalso of a kindly and grateful disposition, and she very well knew thatsuch a remark would be an extremely detrimental one to the young man;so, being in doubt, she resolved to play trumps, and in cases like thissilence is generally trumps. 

Mrs. Petter had a mind which could project itself with the rapidity oflight into the regions of possibilities, and if the possibilitiesappeared to her desirable her mind moved at even greater velocity. Itwas plain to her that there must be something between this young widowand the young man who was going to bring her a nurse-maid; and if thiswere the case, nothing must be allowed to interfere with the admissionof said young man as a guest at the Squirrel Inn. 

[Illustration: A GREEK IN AN OUTHOUSE. ]

Mrs. Cristie did not want to talk any more on this subject. Nothingwould have pleased her better at that moment than to hear that Mr. Lodloe had been unable to find her a suitable girl and that business hadcalled him to New York. 

"Mr. Petter, " she exclaimed, "I was told yesterday that you kept a Greekin an outhouse. What on earth does that mean?"

Here Mrs. Petter laughed abruptly, and Mr. Petter slightly lifted hisbrow. 

"Who could have told you such nonsense?" he said. "There is no Greekhere. It is true that a Greek scholar lives in my summer-house, but thatis very different from keeping a Greek in an outhouse. "

"And he's always late to breakfast, " said Mrs. Petter; "I believe if wesat down at the table at nine o'clock he would come in just as we werefinishing. "

"How does it happen, " said Mrs. Cristie, "that he lives in thesummer-house?"

"He does not know the Rockmores of Germantown, " said Mrs. Petter. 

"He is a man of learning, " remarked Stephen Petter, "with a fine mind;and although I have made a rule which is intended to keep up thereputation of this house to a desirable level, I do not intend, if I canhelp it, that my rules shall press pinchingly, oppressively, orirritatively upon estimable persons. Such a person is Mr. Tippengray, our Greek scholar; and although his social relations are not exactly upto the mark, he is not a man who should be denied the privileges of thishouse, so far as they can be conscientiously given him. So you see, Mrs. Cristie, that, although I could not take him into the inn, there was noreason why I should not fit up the summer-house for him, which I did, and I believe he likes it better than living in the house with us. "

"Like it!" exclaimed Mrs. Petter; "I should say he did like it. Ibelieve it would drive him crazy if he had to keep regular hours likeother people; but here he is now. Hester, bring in some hot cakes. Mrs. Cristie, allow me to introduce Mr. Tippengray. "

[Illustration: MR. TIPPENGRAY. ]

The appearance of the Greek scholar surprised Mrs. Cristie. She hadexpected to see a man in threadbare black, with a reserved and boweddemeanor. Instead of this, she saw a bright little gentleman in neatsummer clothes, with a large blue cravat tied sailor fashion. He was nota young man, although his hair being light the few portions of it whichhad turned gray were not conspicuous. He was a man who was inclined tolisten and to observe rather than to talk, but when he had anything tosay he popped it out very briskly. 

Mr. Petter, having finished his breakfast, excused himself and retired, and Mrs. Petter remarked to Mr. Tippengray that she was sorry he had nottaken his evening meal with them the day before. 

"I took such a long walk, " said the Greek scholar, "that I concluded tosup in Lethbury. "

"Those Lethbury people usually take tea at five, " said his hostess. 

"But I'm not a Lethbury person, " said he, "and I took my tea at seven. "

Mrs. Petter looked at him with twinkles in her eyes. 

"Of course you went to the hotel, " she said. 

Mr. Tippengray looked at her with twinkles in his eyes. 

"Madam, " said he, "have you noticed that those large blue-jays that werehere in the spring have almost entirely disappeared. I remember you usedto object to their shrill pipes. "

"Which is as much as to say, " said Mrs. Petter, "you don't care tomention where you took tea yesterday. "

"Madam, " said Mr. Tippengray, "the pleasure of taking breakfast hereto-day effaces the memory of all former meals. "

"The truth of it is, " said Mrs. Petter to Mrs. Cristie, when they hadleft the table, "Calthea Rose gave him his tea, and he don't want to sayso. She's mightily taken with him, for he is a fine-minded man, and itisn't often she gets the chance of keeping company with that kind of aman. I don't know whether he likes her liking or not, but he don't careto talk about it. "

Her first day at the Squirrel Inn was not altogether a pleasant one forBertha Cristie. In spite of the much-proffered service of Mrs. Petterthe care of her baby hampered her a good deal; and notwithstanding thedelights of her surroundings her mind was entirely too much occupiedwith wondering when Mr. Lodloe would arrive with his wagon-load ofgirls, and what she would have to say to him and about him when he didarrive. 

[Illustration]

VII

ROCKMORES AHEAD

It was late in the afternoon of the day after Mrs. Cristie reached theSquirrel Inn that she slowly trundled the little carriage containing thebaby towards the end of the bluff beneath which stretched the fairpastures where were feeding Mr. Petter's flocks and herds. All day shehad been looking for the arrival of the young man who had promised tobring her some candidates for the position of child's nurse, and now shewas beginning to believe that she might as well cease to expect him. Itwas an odd sort of service for a comparative stranger voluntarily toundertake, and it would not be at all surprising if he had failed in hisefforts or had given up his idea of coming to the Squirrel Inn. 

Having philosophized a little on the subject, and having succeeded inassuring herself that after all the matter was of no great importance, and that she should have attended to it herself, and must do it the nextday, she was surprised to find how glad she was when, turning, she sawemerging from the woodland road a one-horse wagon with Mr. Lodloesitting by the driver, and a female figure on the back seat. 

The latter proved to be a young person who at a considerable distancelooked about fourteen years old, although on a nearer and more carefulview she would pass for twenty, or thereabouts. She wore a round strawhat with a white ribbon, and a light-colored summer suit with a broadbelt, which held a large bunch of yellow flowers with brown centers. Shehad a cheerful, pleasant countenance, and large brown eyes which seemedto observe everything. 

As the wagon approached, Mrs. Cristie rapidly pushed her baby-carriagetowards the house. Before she reached it the young girl had jumped tothe ground, and was advancing towards her. 

"I suppose this is Mrs. Cristie, " said the newcomer. "I am IdaMayberry"; and she held out her hand. Without a word Mrs. Cristie shookhands with the nurse-maid. 

"I think, " said the latter, "before we have any talk I would better goto my room and freshen myself up a little. I am covered with dust"; andthen she turned to the driver of the wagon and gave him directions inregard to a medium-sized trunk, a large flat box, and several longpackages tied up in brown muslin, which had been strapped to the back ofthe wagon. When these had been taken into the inn, she followed them. 

As Mr. Lodloe approached Mrs. Cristie, hat in hand, she exclaimed in atone which she was not in the habit of using to comparative strangers, in which category sober reflection would certainly have placed thegentleman:

[Illustration: "I SUPPOSE THIS IS MRS. CRISTIE. "]

"Will you please to tell me what is the meaning of this? Who is thatgirl, and where did she come from?"

"Madam, " said Lodloe, in a deprecatory tone, "I can scarcely pick up thecourage to say so, but that is the nurse-maid. "

"And you brought her to me?" exclaimed Mrs. Cristie. 

"I did, " he answered. 

"Did you get her in Romney?"

"No, " said Lodloe; "there wasn't a girl of any sort or kind to be hadthere. I was obliged to go to New York for one. "

"To New York!" cried the astonished Mrs. Cristie. 

"Madam, " said Lodloe, "let me propose that we retire a little from thehouse. Perhaps her room may be somewhere above us. "

And the two having walked a short distance over the lawn, he continued:

"I really believe that I have done a very foolish thing, but havingpromised to do you a service I greatly disliked not to keep my word. Icould find no one in Romney, and of course the only way to get you agirl was to go to New York; and so I went there. My idea was to apply toone of those establishments where there are always lots of maids of allgrades, and bring one to you. That was the way the matter appeared tome, and it seemed simple enough. On the ferryboat I met Mrs. Waltham, alady I know very well, who is a member of the Monday Morning Club, and agreat promoter of college annexes for girls, and all that sort of thing;and when I asked her advice about the best intelligence office, she toldme to keep away from all of them, and to go instead to a teachers'agency, of which she gave me the address, where she said I would bealmost sure to find some teacher who wanted occupation during theholidays. "

"A teacher!" cried Mrs. Cristie. 

"Yes, " said Lodloe; "and you may be sure that I was as much surprised asyou are. But Mrs. Waltham assured me that a great many women teachersfound it necessary to make money during the summer, and were glad to doanything, just as college students wait at hotels. The more she talkedabout it the more she got interested in it, and the matter resulted inher going to the agency with me. Mrs. Waltham is a heavy swell ineducational circles, and as she selected this girl herself I said not aword about it, except to hurry up matters so that the girl and I couldstart on an early afternoon train. "

"Never in my life!" ejaculated Mrs. Cristie. 

"Madam, " interrupted Lodloe, "I beg you not to say what you intended. Itis impossible for you to feel as badly about it as I do. Just to thinkof it stuns me. Did you see her baggage? She has come to stay allsummer. There is no earthly reason to think she will suit you. I don'tsuppose she ever saw a baby. "

Mrs. Cristie's mind was still filled with surprise and vexation, but shecould not help laughing at Mr. Lodloe's comical contrition. 

"I will see her presently, " she said; "but in the mean time what are yougoing to do? There is Mr. Petter standing in the doorway waiting foryour approach, and he will ask you a lot of questions. "

"About the Germantown family, I suppose, " said Lodloe. 

"Yes, " said Mrs. Cristie; "that will be one of them. "

"Well, I don't know them, " said Lodloe, "and that's the end of it. "

"By no means, " said the lady, quickly; "Mr. Petter has on his mostimpressive air. You must go and talk to him, and it will not do to sneerat the Rockmores. "

"If it is absolutely necessary to have credentials in order to securequarters here, " said Lodloe, "I don't see what is to be done about it. "

"Come with me, " said Mrs. Cristie, quickly; "you have put yourself to agreat deal of trouble for me, and I will see what I can do for you. "

When Walter Lodloe and Mr. Petter had been formally introduced to eachother, the brow of the latter bore marks of increased trouble anduncertainty. From the confidential aspect of the interview between Mrs. Cristie and the young man, the landlord of the inn had begun to suspectwhat his wife had suspected, and it galled his spirit to think ofputting his usual test question to this friend of Mrs. Cristie. But hewas a man of principle, and he did not flinch. 

"Are you from Philadelphia, sir, " he asked, "or its vicinity?"

"No, " said Lodloe; "I am from New York. "

[Illustration: LODLOE IS INTRODUCED TO STEPHEN PETTER. ]

"A great many Philadelphia people, " continued the landlord, "or thosefrom its vicinity, are well known in New York, and in fact move inleading circles there. Are you acquainted, sir, with the Rockmores ofGermantown?"

Mrs. Petter now appeared in the doorway, her face clouded. If Mrs. Cristie had known the Rockmores she would have hastened to give Mr. Lodloe such advantages as an acquaintance in the second degree mightafford. But she had never met any member of that family, the valuableconnection being entirely on the side of her late husband. 

"I did not know, " said Lodloe, "that you required credentials ofrespectability, or I might have brought a lot of letters. "

"One from Matthew Vassar?" said Mrs. Cristie, unable to resist heropportunity. 

"Were you acquainted with Matthew Vassar?" interpolated Mrs. Petter withenergetic interest. "He was a great and good man, and his friends oughtto be good enough for anybody. Now put it to yourself, Stephen. Don'tyou think that the friends of Matthew Vassar, the founder of thatcelebrated college, known all over the world, a man who even after hisday and generation is doing so much good, are worthy to be accommodatedin this house?"

Mr. Petter contracted his brows, looked upon the ground, and interlacedhis fingers in front of him. 

"The late Mr. Matthew Vassar, " said he, "was truly a benefactor to hiskind, and a man worthy of all respect; but when we come to consider theway in which the leading circles of society are made up--"

"Don't consider it at all, " cried Mrs. Petter. "If this gentleman is afriend of Mrs. Cristie, and is backed up by Matthew Vassar, you cannotturn him away. If you want to get round the Rockmores you can treat himjust as you treat Mr. Tippengray. Let him have the top room of thetower, which, I am sure, is as pleasant as can be, especially in warmweather, and then he will have his own stairs to himself, and can comein and go out just as Mr. Tippengray does, without ever consideringwhether the Squirrel Inn is open or shut. As for eating, that's adifferent matter. People can eat in a place without living there. Thatwas all settled when we took Mr. Tippengray. "

An expression of decided relief passed over the face of Mr. Petter. 

"It is true, " he said, "that in the case of Mr. Tippengray we made anexception to our rule--"

"That's so, " interrupted Mrs. Petter; "and as I have heard thatexceptions prove a rule, the more of them we have the better. And if thetop room suits Mr. Lodloe, I'll have it made ready for him withoutwaiting another minute. "

Mr. Lodloe declared that any room into which the good lady might chooseto put him would suit him perfectly; and that matter was settled. 

VIII

MISS MAYBERRY

About five minutes after Walter Lodloe had departed for his loft chamberMiss Ida Mayberry made her appearance in the front doorway. She hadchanged her dress, and looked very bright and fresh. 

"Isn't this a pretty place?" she said, approaching Mrs. Cristie. "Ithink I shall like it ever so much. And that is your baby? Is it a boyor a girl?"

"A boy, " was the answer. 

"And his name?"

"Douglas. "

"I like that sort of name, " remarked Miss Mayberry; "it is sensible anddistinctive. And now I wish you would tell me exactly what you want meto do. "

Mrs. Cristie spoke nervously. 

"Really, " said she, "I am afraid that there has been a mistake. I wantan ordinary nurse-maid, and Mr. Lodloe could not have understood--"

"Oh, don't trouble yourself about that, " said the other. "I understandperfectly. You will find me quite practical. What I don't know I canlearn. My mental powers need a change of channel, and if I can give themthis change, and at the same time make some money, I am sure I ought tobe satisfied. "

"But it seems to me, " said Mrs. Cristie, "that one who is by professiona teacher would scarcely--"

"Perhaps not, years ago, " interrupted the other; "but things aredifferent now. Look at all the young college fellows who work duringvacation, and we are beginning to do it, too. Now you will find me justas practical as anybody. Nine months in the year I teach, --moral andmental philosophy are my special branches, --and during vacation I am notgoing to wear out my brain in a summer school, nor empty my purse bylounging about in idleness. Now what could be better than for me to cometo a perfectly lovely place like this, which I fancy more and more everyminute, and take care of a nice little child, which, I am sure, will bea pleasure in itself, and give me a lot of time to read besides?However, I wish you to understand, Mrs. Cristie, that I am never goingto neglect the baby for the sake of study or reading. "

"But have you thought seriously of the position in which this wouldplace you?"

"Oh, yes, " was the answer; "but that is a disadvantage that has to beaccepted, and I don't mind it. Of course I wouldn't go to anybody andeverybody, but when a lady is recommended by a friend of Mrs. Waltham's, I wouldn't hesitate to make an engagement with her. As to salary, I willtake whatever you would pay to another nurse-maid, and I beg you willnot make the slightest difference because I am a teacher. Is that bellfor supper?"

"Yes, " said Mrs. Cristie; "and perhaps you have not yet reflected thatmy nurse-maid must take care of my baby while I am at my meals. "

"That is precisely and exactly what she is going to do. Go in to yoursupper, and I will push him about until you come out again. Then you canshow me how to put him to bed. "

"Isn't she coming in?" asked Mrs. Petter, looking out of the window asshe took her seat at the table. 

"Of course not, " said Mrs. Cristie, in a tone which was intended to makean impression on Mr. Lodloe; "my maids do not eat with me. "

"But, goodnessfulme!" said Mrs. Petter, "you can't look upon that sortof a young woman as a servant. Why, I put her in one of the best rooms;though of course that doesn't make any difference so long as there isnobody else to take it. I wonder if we couldn't find some sort of a girlto take care of the baby while she comes to her meals. "

At this even Stephen Petter smiled. He was pleased that one of hisguests should have a servant of such high degree. It was like a noblelady in waiting upon a queen. 

"She shall be entertained, " he said, "according to her station. Thereneed be no fear about that. "

"Upon my word, " exclaimed Mrs. Petter, "if here isn't Mr. Tippengray!Well, sir, I don't know when I've seen you on hand at regularmeal-time. "

"Perhaps it is a little out of the common, " said the Greek scholar;"but, after all, " he continued, looking out of the window, "it appearsI am not the last one to come in. " And then, glancing around the table, he asked, "Am I taking her place?"

"Oh, no, sir, " said Mrs. Cristie; "that is my maid. "

Mr. Tippengray again looked out of the window; then he helped himself tobutter, and said:

"Have you ever noticed, Mrs. Petter, that the prevailing style in wildflowers seems to vary every year? It changes just like our fashions, though of course there are always a few old fogies among blossomingweeds, as well as among clothes-wearers. "

The next morning Walter Lodloe came to Mrs. Cristie on the lawn. 

"I have been waiting for some time, " he said, "in order to tell you thatI am ready at any moment to repair the unpardonable blunder that I madeyesterday, and to escort back to New York the very unsuitable youngwoman whom I forced upon you. "

"Oh, you need not think of doing anything of that kind, " said Mrs. Cristie; "the young person is perfectly satisfied with the situation, and intends to stay. She gives me no possible excuse to tell her thatshe will not suit me, for she takes hold of things exactly as if sheremembered what people did for her when she was a baby. She doesn't knoweverything, but she intends to; that is plain enough. At present she iswashing one of baby's frocks with my _savon de rose_, because shedeclares that the soap they gave her in the kitchen contains enough lyeto corrode the fibers of the fabric. "

"Then you think she may suit you?" said Lodloe. 

"Oh, she will suit; she intends to suit; and I have nothing to sayexcept that I feel very much as I suppose you would feel if you had acollege president to brush your coat. "

"My spirits rise, " said Lodloe; "I begin to believe that I have not madeso much of a blunder after all. When you can get it, there is nothinglike blooded service. "

"But you do not want too much blood, " said Mrs. Cristie. "I wish she hadnot studied at Bryn Mawr, for I think she pities me for having graduatedat Vassar. But still she says I must call her Ida, and that gives mecourage. "

There then followed a contention in which Lodloe was worsted about hisexpenses in the nurse-maid affair, and, this matter being settled, theyoung man declared that having shown what an extremely undesirableperson he was to work for others, he must go and attend to his own work. 

"What sort of work do you do?" asked Mrs. Cristie. 

"I write, " he answered--"novels, stories, fiction in general. "

"I know that, " said she, "having read your Vassar article; but I do notthink I have met with any of your avowed stories. "

"Madam, " said Walter Lodloe, "there are so many people in this world, and so few of them have read my stories, it is no wonder that you belongto the larger class. But, satirize my Vassar article as you please, Ishall never cease to be grateful to it for my tower room in the SquirrelInn. "

IX

THE PRESERVATION OF LITERATURE

Walter Lodloe set out to go to his work, and on his way to the littlegarden at the foot of the staircase which led to his room in the towerhe saw the Greek scholar sitting on a bench outside his summer-housesmoking a large cigar. 

"Good morning, sir, " said Mr. Tippengray; "do you smoke?"

The tone of these words implied not only a question but an invitation, in case the young man did smoke, to sit down on that bench and do it. Lodloe understood the force of the remark, and, drawing out a cigar, took a seat by Mr. Tippengray. 

"Before I go to my work, " said the latter, "it is my habit to sit hereand enjoy the scenery and a few puffs. I suppose when you come to aplace like this you throw work to the winds. "

"Oh, no!" said Lodloe; "I am a literary man, and I came here to write. "

"Very glad to hear it, " said the other; "very glad that that tower roomis to have the right sort of occupant. If I had not this summer-house, Ishould want that room; but I am afraid, however, if I had it, I shouldlook out of the window a great deal and translate a very little. "

"What do you translate?" asked Lodloe, with interest. 

"At present, " said Mr. Tippengray, "I am engaged in translating intoGreek some of the standard works of our modern literature. There is noknowing what may happen to our modern languages. In the course of a fewcenturies they may become as useless to the readers of that day as theEnglish of Chaucer is to the ordinary reader of our time; but Greek willstand, sir, and the sooner we get the good things of the present dayinto solid Greek the better it will be for them and the literature ofthe future. "

"What work are you translating?" asked Lodloe. 

"I am now at work on the 'Pickwick Papers, '" said the scholar, "and Iassure you that it is not an easy job. When I get through with it Ishall translate it back into English, after the fashion of Sir WilliamJones--the only way to do that sort of thing. Same as a telegraphicmessage--if it isn't repeated, you can't depend on it. If I then findthat my English is like that of Dickens, I shall feel greatlyencouraged, and probably shall take up the works of Thackeray. "

Walter Lodloe was somewhat stunned at this announcement, and heinvoluntarily glanced at the gray streaks in the locks of the Greekscholar. The latter perceived the glance, and, knocking the ashes fromhis cigar, remarked:

"Did you ever notice, sir, that an ordinary robin is perfectly awarethat while squirrels and cats are able to ascend the perpendiculartrunk of a tree, they cannot climb the painted pillar of a piazza; andconsequently it is perfectly safe to build a nest at the top of such apillar?"

Lodloe had noticed this, and a good many other intelligent traits ofanimals, and the two conversed on this interesting subject until the suncame round to the bench on which they were sitting, when they moved to ashady spot and continued the conversation. 

At last Lodloe arose. "It must be nearly dinnertime, " said he. "I thinkI shall take a walk this afternoon, and see some of the country. "

"You ought to do it, " said Mr. Tippengray. "It is a beautiful country. If you like I will go with you. I'm not a bad guide; I know every road, path, and short cut. "

Walter Lodloe expressed his satisfaction at the proposed companionship, and suggested that the first walk be to the village of Lethbury, peepingup among the trees in the distance. 

"Lethbury!" exclaimed the Greek scholar. "Well, sir, if it's all thesame to you, I prefer walking in any direction to that of Lethbury. It'sa good enough place, but to-day I don't feel drawn to it. "

"Very good, " said Lodloe; "we will walk anywhere but in the direction ofLethbury. "

About half an hour afterward, Mrs. Petter, having finished carving apair of fowls, paused for a moment's rest in serving the little company, and looked out of the dining-room window. 

"Upon my word!" she exclaimed, "this is too bad. When other boarderscame, I thought Mr. Tippengray would begin to behave like otherChristians, and come to his meals at the proper time. At supper lastnight and breakfast this morning he was at the table as soon as anybody, and I was beginning to feel real heartened up, as if things were goingto run on regular and proper. But now look at that? Isn't that enough tomake a housekeeper give up in despair?"

Mrs. Cristie, Lodloe, and Mr. Petter all looked out of the window, andbeheld the Greek scholar engaged in pushing the baby carriage backwardand forward under the shade of a large tree; while, on a seat near by, the maid Ida sat reading a book. Now passing nearer, Mr. Tippengraystopped, and with sparkling eyes spoke to her. Then she looked up, andwith sparkling eyes answered him. Then together, with sparkling eyes, they conversed for a few minutes, evidently about the book. After a fewmore turns of the carriage Mr. Tippengray returned to the maid; thesparkling eyes were raised again from the book, and the scene wasrepeated. 

"He has lent her a book, " said Mrs. Cristie. "She did not take that oneout with her. "

"There's a time for books, and there's a time for meals, " said Mrs. Petter. "Why didn't he keep his book until he had eaten his dinner?"

"I think Mr. Tippengray must be something of a philosopher, " saidLodloe, "and that he prefers to take his books to a pretty maid whenother people are at dinner. "

"My wife does not altogether understand the ways of scholars, " said Mr. Petter. "A gentleman giving most of his time to Greek cannot be expectedto give much of his mind to the passage of modern times. "

[Illustration: "PASSING NEARER, MR. TIPPENGRAY STOPPED. "]

"If he gives some of his time to the passage of a good dinner into coldvictuals it would help his dyspepsia. But I suppose he will come when heis ready, and all I have to say is that I would like to see Calthea Roseif she could catch sight of them this minute. "

Mr. Petter sat at the end of the table where he had a view of his flocksand his herds in the pasture below. 

"Well, " said he, "if that estimable young woman wants to catch a sightof them, all she has to do is to step along lively, for at this presentmoment she is walking over the field-path straight to this house, andwhat is more, she is wearing her bonnet and carrying a parasol. "

"Bonnet and parasol!" ejaculated Mrs. Petter. "Fire in the mountains, run, boys, run! Debby, step out as quick as you can to Mr. Tippengray, and you needn't say anything but just ask if Miss Calthea Rose told himshe was coming to dinner to-day, and tell him she's coming over thefield. "

In about one minute the Greek scholar was in his place at the table andbeginning his meal. 

"Now, Mr. Tippengray, " said Mrs. Petter, "I don't suppose you feel anycoals of fire on your head at this present moment. "

"Madame, " said the scholar, "did you ever notice that when squirrelsstrip the bark from the limbs of trees they are very apt to despoilthose branches which project in such a manner as to interfere with aview?"

"No, I didn't, " said Mrs. Petter; "and I don't believe they do it, either. Debby, put a knife, fork, and napkin for Calthea Rose. If she iscoming to dinner it is just as well to let her think that nobody forgotto bring the message she sent. She never comes to meals without sendingword beforehand. "

But Miss Calthea had not come to dinner. She sent word by Debby, who mether at the front door, that she had had her dinner, and that she wouldwait for the family on the piazza. 

"Bonnet and parasol, " said Mrs. Petter. "She has come to make a call, and it's on you, Mrs. Cristie. Don't eat too fast, Mr. Tippengray; she'sgood for the rest of the afternoon. "

X

ROSE VERSUS MAYBERRY

Miss Calthea Rose was a person of good height, originally slender, butgathering an appreciable plumpness as the years went on, and with goodtaste in dress when she chose to exert it, which on the present occasionshe did. She possessed acute perceptions and a decided method of action. But whether or not the relation of her perceptions to her actions wasalways influenced by good judgment was a question with her neighbors. Itnever was, however, a question with herself. 

When everybody but Mr. Tippengray had finished dinner, and he haddesired the others not to wait for him as he would probably be occupiedsome time longer, the host and hostess went out to greet the visitor, followed by Mrs. Cristie and Lodloe. When Miss Calthea Rose turned togreet the latter lady her expression was cold, not to say hard; but whenher eyes fell upon the gentleman by the side of the young widow, asoftening warmth spread over her face, and she came forward withoutstretched hands. 

"Did you see that?" said Mrs. Petter, aside to her husband. "Jealous asshe can be of Mrs. Cristie till she sees that she's got a young man ofher own; then as sweet as sugar. "

When Miss Calthea Rose set about to be as sweet as sugar, it was verygood sugar that she took for her model. She liked to talk, but was not amistress of words, and although her remarks were not always to thepoint, they were generally pointed. At last Mr. Tippengray came out onthe piazza. He walked slowly, and he did not wear his usual ease ofdemeanor; but nothing could have been more cordial and reassuring thanthe greeting given him by Miss Calthea. If this were intended in any wayto inspirit him, it failed of its effect. The Greek scholar stood apart, and did not look like a man who had made up his mind as to what he wasgoing to do next; but Miss Calthea took no notice of his unusualdemeanor. She talked with great graciousness to the company in general, and frequently directed remarks to Mr. Tippengray which indicated a highdegree of good comradeship. 

Under this general warmth Mr. Tippengray was forced to melt a little, and in a manner to accept the position thus publicly tendered him; butsuddenly the maid Ida popped up the steps of the piazza. She had an openbook in her hand, and she went directly and quickly to Mr. Tippengray. She held the book up towards him, and put her finger on a page. 

"You were just here, " she said, "when you had to go to your dinner. Nowif you will finish the explanation I can go on nicely. You don't knowhow you help me. Every word you say seems to take root"; and she lookedup into his face with sparkling eyes. 

But not a sparkle sparkled from the eyes of the Greek scholar. He stoodsilently looking at the book, his face a little flushed, his eyesblinking as if the sunlight were too strong for him. 

"Suppose you walk out on the lawn with me, " said the nurse-maid, "andthen we shall not disturb the others. I will not keep you more than fiveminutes. "

She went down the steps of the piazza, and Mr. Tippengray, havingapparently lost the power of making up his mind what he should do, didwhat she wanted him to do, and followed her. They did not walk very far, but stood barely out of hearing of the persons on the piazza; her eyessparkling up into his face, as his helpful words took root in herunderstanding. 

At the instant of the appearance of the maid Ida Miss Calthea Rosestopped talking. Her subsequent glances towards this young woman and Mr. Tippengray might have made one think of steel chilled to zero. Mrs. Cristie looked at Lodloe, and he at her, and both slightly smiled. "Sheunderstands that sort of thing, " he thought, and "He understands thatsort of thing, " she thought. 

At this moment Mrs. Petter glanced at her two guests and saw the smilewhich passed between them. She understood that sort of thing. 

"Who is that?" said Miss Calthea Rose, presently. 

Mrs. Cristie, full of the humor of the situation, hastened to answer. 

"It is my nurse-maid, " she said, "Ida Mayberry. "

"A child's nurse!" ejaculated Miss Calthea Rose. 

"Yes, " said Mrs. Cristie; "that is what she is. "

"I expect, " said Mrs. Petter, "that he is teaching her Greek, and ofcourse it's hard for her at the beginning. Mr. Tippengray's such a kindman that he would do anything for anybody, so far as he could; but Imust admit that I can't see how Greek can help anybody to nursechildren, unless there is some book on the subject in that language. "

"Greek!" scornfully ejaculated Miss Calthea, and, turning her steelyglance from the couple on the lawn, she began to talk to Mr. Petterabout one of his cows which had broken its leg. 

Ida Mayberry was a young woman who meant what she said, and in less thanfive minutes, with a sparkling glance of thanks, she released Mr. Tippengray. That gentleman returned to the piazza, but his appearanceelicited no more attention from the lady who had so recently broughtinto view their friendly relationship than if he had been the head of anail in the floor beneath her. From Mr. Petter she turned to speak tosome of the others, and if her words and manner did not make Mr. Tippengray understand that, so far as she was concerned, he had ceasedto exist, her success was not what she expected it to be. 

Although he had been amused and interested, Walter Lodloe now thoughtthat he had had enough of Miss Calthea Rose, and wandered away to thelittle garden at the foot of his staircase. He had not reached it beforehe was joined by Mr. Tippengray. 

"Look here, " said the latter, with something of his usual briskness;"if you are still in the humor, suppose we walk over to Lethbury. "

Lodloe looked at him in surprise. "I thought you didn't want to gothere, " he said. 

"I've changed my mind, " replied the other. "I think this is a very goodday to go to Lethbury. It is a pretty village, and you ought to havesome one with you to show you its best points. "

As soon as she thought etiquette would permit, Mrs. Cristie withdrew, pleading the interests of her baby as an excuse. 

"Do you mean to tell me, " said Miss Calthea Rose, the moment the youngmother was out of hearing, "that she leaves her baby in the care of thatthing with a book?"

"Oh, yes, " was the answer; "Mrs. Cristie tells me she is a very goodnurse-maid. "

"Well, " said Miss Calthea, "babies are troublesome, and it's oftenconvenient to get rid of them, but I must say that I never heard of thisnew style of infanticide. I suppose there isn't any law against it yet. "

Mr. Petter looked uneasy. He did not like fault found with Mrs. Cristie, who was a great favorite with him. 

"I am inclined to think, Miss Calthea, " he said, "that you judge thatyoung person too harshly. I have formed a very good opinion of her. Notonly does she attend to her duties, but she has a good mind. It may notbe a fine mind, but it is a good mind. Her desire to learn from Mr. Tippengray is a great point in her favor. "

Here Mrs. Petter, who sat near her husband, pressed violently upon hisfoot; but she was too late, the words had been said. Mrs. Petterprepared herself for a blaze, but none came. There was a momentary flashin the Calthean eyes, and then the lids came down and shut outeverything but a line of steely light. Then she gazed out over thelandscape, and presently again turned her face towards her companions, with nothing more upon it than her usual expression when in a bad humor. 

"Do you know, " she said abruptly, "that Lanigan Beam is coming back?"

"Goodness gracious!" exclaimed Mrs. Petter, "I thought he was settled inPatagonia. "

"It was not Patagonia, " said Mr. Petter; "it was Nicaragua. "

"Well, I knew it was the little end of some place, " said she; "and nowhe's coming back. Well, that is unfortunate. "

"Unfortunate!" said Miss Calthea; "it's criminal. There ought to be alaw against such things. "

Again the host of the Squirrel Inn moved uneasily on his chair andcrossed and recrossed his legs. He liked Lanigan Beam. 

"I cannot see, " he said, "why it is wrong for a man to return to theplace where he was born. "

"Born!" scornfully exclaimed Miss Calthea; "it's the greatest pity thatthere is any place where he was born; but there's no use talking abouthim. He has written to them at the hotel at Lethbury that he will bethere the day after to-morrow, and he wants them to have a room readyfor him. If he'd asked them to have a grave ready for him it would havebeen much more considerate. "

Mr. Petter now rose to his feet; his manner was very dignified. 

"Excuse me, Miss Calthea, " he said, "but I must go and look after my menin the cornfield. "

Miss Calthea Rose sat up very straight in her chair. 

"If there's anything you want to do, Mrs. Petter, I beg you won't let mekeep you. "

"Now, Calthea, " said Mrs. Petter, "don't work yourself into such aterrible stew. You know Stephen doesn't like to have Lanigan pitchedinto; I'm sorry for even what I said. But that about his grave wasenough to rouse a saint. "

Miss Calthea was on the point of retorting that that was something whichStephen Petter was not, by any means, but she restrained herself. If shequarreled with the Petters, and cut herself off from visiting theSquirrel Inn, a great part of the pleasure of her life would be gone. 

"Well, " she said, "we all know Lanigan Beam, and if there's anybody whowants the peace of the community to vanish entirely out of sight, theresponsibility's on him, and not on me. "

"Mrs. Petter, " said Ida Mayberry, appearing so suddenly before that goodwoman that she seemed to have dropped through the roof of the piazza, "do you know where Mr. Tippengray is? I've been looking all over forhim, and can't find him. He isn't in his little house, for I knocked atthe door. "

"Does Mrs. Cristie want him?" asked Mrs. Petter, making this wild graspat a straw. 

"Oh, no, " said Ida. "It is I who want him. There's a Greek sentence inthis book he lent me which I am sure I have not translated properly; andas the baby is asleep now, there couldn't be a better time for him tohelp me, if only I could find him. "

Self-restraint was no longer possible with Miss Calthea Rose. A redblaze shot into her face, and without deigning to look in the directionof the creature who had just spoken, she said in the sharpest tones ofcontemptuous anger:

"Greek to a child's nurse! I expect next he'll teach French to thepigs. "

The maid Ida lifted up her eyes from the book and fixed them on MissCalthea. 

"The best thing he could do, " she quietly remarked, "would be to teachthe old hens good manners"; and then she walked away with her book. 

Miss Calthea sprang to her feet, and looked as if she was going to dosomething; but there was nothing to do, and she sat down again. Her browwas dark, her eyes flashed, and her lips were parted, as if she wasabout to say something; but there was nothing to say, and she satsilent, breathing hard. It was bad enough to be as jealous as MissCalthea was at that moment, but to be so flagrantly insulted by theobject of her jealousy created in her a rage that could not be expressedin words. It was fortunate that she did not look at Mrs. Petter, forthat good lady was doing her best to keep from laughing. 

"Well!" she exclaimed, as soon as she could speak composedly, "this istoo much. I think I must speak to Mrs. Cristie about this. Of course shecan't prevent the young woman from answering back, but I think I canmake her see that it isn't seemly and becoming for nurse-maids to beassociating with boarders in this way. "

[Illustration: "TEACH THE OLD HENS GOOD MANNERS. "]

"If you take my advice, Susan Petter, " said Miss Calthea, in a voicethickened by her emotions, "you will keep your mouth shut on thatsubject. If your boarders choose to associate with servants, let themalone. It simply shows what sort of people they are. "

Calthea Rose did not like to hear herself speak in a voice which mightshow how she was feeling, and as there was no use of staying there ifshe could not talk, she rose to leave, and, in spite of Mrs. Petter'shospitable entreaty to make a longer stay, she departed. 

When her visitor was well out of sight, Mrs. Petter allowed herself tolean back in her chair and laugh quietly. 

"Leave them alone indeed, " she said to herself. "You may want me to doit, but I know well enough that you are not going to leave them alone, Miss Calthea Rose, and I can't say that I wonder at your state of mind, for it seems to me that this is your last chance. If you don't get Mr. Tippengray, I can't see where you are going to find another man properlyolder than you are. "

XI

LANIGAN BEAM

That evening about eleven o'clock Walter Lodloe was sitting in his roomin the tower, his feet upon the sill of the large window which lookedout over the valley. He had come up to his room an hour or two before, determined not to allow the whole day to pass without his having doneany work; and now, having written several pages of the story on which hewas engaged, he was enjoying the approbation of his conscience, theflavor of a good cigar, and the beautiful moonlighted scene which hebeheld from his window. 

More than this, he was thinking over the events of the day with a gooddeal of interest and amusement, particularly of his afternoon walk withMr. Tippengray. He had taken a great fancy to that gentleman, who, without making any direct confidences, had given him a very fair idea ofhis relations with Calthea Rose. It was plain enough that he liked thatvery estimable person, and that he had passed many pleasant hours in hersociety, but that he did not at all agree with what he called herbigoted notions in regard to proprietorship in fellow-beings. 

On the other hand, Lodloe was greatly delighted with Miss Calthea'smanner of showing her state of mind. Quite unexpectedly they had met herin Lethbury, --to which village Mr. Tippengray had not thought she wouldreturn so soon, --and Lodloe almost laughed as he called to mind thebeaming and even genial recognition that she gave to him, and which, atthe same time, included effacement and extinction of his companion tothe extent of being an admirable piece of dramatic art. The effect uponLodloe had been such, that when the lady had passed he involuntarilyturned to see if the Greek scholar had not slipped away just before themoment of meeting. 

"When a woman tries so hard to show how little she thinks of a man, "thought Lodloe, "it is a proof that she thinks a great deal of him, andI shall not be surprised--" Just then there came a tap at the windowopposite the one at which he was sitting. 

Now when a man in the upper room of a fairly tall tower, access to whichis gained by a covered staircase the door at the bottom of which heknows he has locked, hears a tap at the window, he is likely to bestartled. Lodloe was so startled that his chair nearly tipped overbackward. Turning quickly, he saw a man's head and shoulders at theopposite window, the sash of which was raised. With an exclamation, Lodloe sprang to his feet. His lamp had been turned down in order thathe might better enjoy the moonlight, but he could plainly see the man atthe window, who now spoke:

"Hold hard, " said he; "don't get excited. There's nothing out of theway. My name is Beam--Lanigan Beam. I tapped because I thought if Ispoke first you might jump out of the window, being turned in thatdirection. May I come in?"

[Illustration: "DON'T GET EXCITED. "]

Lodloe made no answer; his mind did not comprehend the situation; hewent to the window and looked out. The man was standing on the sharpridge of a roof which stretched from the tower to the rear portion ofthe building. By reaching upward he was able to look into the window. 

"Give me a hand, " said the man, "and we'll consider matters inside. Thisis a mighty ticklish place to stand on. "

Lodloe had heard a good deal that evening about Lanigan Beam, andalthough he was amazed at the appearance of that individual at this timeand place, he was ready and willing to make his acquaintance. Bracinghimself against the window-frame, he reached out his hand, and in a fewmoments Mr. Beam had scrambled into the room. Lodloe turned up the wickof his lamp, and by the bright light he looked at his visitor. 

He saw a man rather long as to legs, and thin as to face, and dressed inan easy-fitting suit of summer clothes. 

"Take a seat, " said Lodloe, "and tell me to what I owe this call. "

"To your lamp, " said the other, taking a chair; "it wasn't burning verybrightly, but still it was a light, and the only one about. I was on myway to Lethbury, but I couldn't get any sort of conveyance at Romney, soI footed it, thinking I would like a moonlight walk. But by the time Igot to the squirrel on the post I thought I would turn in here and staywith Stephen Petter for the night; but the house was all shut up anddark except this room, and as I knew that if I woke Stephen out of asound sleep he'd bang me over the head with his everlasting Rockmores ofGermantown, I determined to take a night's lodging without saying a wordto him about it. 

"There's a room back here that you can only get into by a ladder put upon the outside. I knew all about it, so I went to the ice-house and gota ladder and climbed into the room. I put my valise under my head, andprepared to take a good sleep on the floor, but in three minutes I foundthe place was full of wasps. I couldn't stay there, you know, and I wasjust getting ready to go down the ladder again when I happened to lookout of a window that opened on the roof, and saw you in here. I couldsee only the back of your head, but although it was pretty well lighted, I couldn't judge very well by that what sort of a person you were. But Isaw you were smoking, and it struck me that a man who smokes isgenerally a pretty good fellow, and so I came over. "

"Glad to see you, " said Lodloe; "and what can I do for you?"

"Well, in the first place, " said Beam, "have you any liquid ammonia? Thefirst notice I had of the wasps in that room was this sting on myfinger. "

Lodloe was sorry that he did not possess anything of the kind. 

"If I'm not mistaken, " said the visitor, "there is a bottle of it on thetop shelf of that closet. I have frequently occupied this room, and Iremember putting some there myself. May I look for it?"

Permission being given, Mr. Beam speedily found the bottle, and assuagedthe pains of his sting. 

"Now then, " said he, resuming his seat, "the next favor I'll ask will beto allow me to fill my pipe, and put to you a few questions as to theway the land lies about here at present. I've been away for a year and ahalf, and don't know what's going on, or who's dead or alive. By theway, have you happened to hear anybody speak of me?"

"I should think so, " said Lodloe, laughing. "The greater part of thisevening was occupied in a discussion on your life, adventures, moralcharacter, disposition, and mental bias. There may have been some otherpoints touched upon, but I don't recall them just now. "

"Upon my word, " said Lanigan Beam, putting his arms on the table, andleaning forward, "this is interesting. Who discussed me?"

[Illustration: "HAVE YOU HAPPENED TO HEAR ANYBODY SPEAK OF ME?"]

"Mr. And Mrs. Petter had the most to say, " answered Lodloe. 

"I'm glad to hear they're alive, " interpolated the other. 

"And Mrs. Cristie, who knew you when her husband was alive. "

"Dead, is he?" said Beam. "Very sorry to hear that. A mighty prettywoman is Mrs. Cristie. "

"Miss Calthea Rose was not present, " continued Lodloe, "but her opinionswere quoted very freely by the others, and sometimes combated. "

"Calthea alive, is she?" ejaculated Beam. "Well, well, I ought to beglad to hear it, and I suppose I am. Anybody else?"

"Yes; there was Mr. Tippengray, one of the guests at the inn. There areonly three of us in all. He had heard a great deal about you from MissRose. She seems to have been very communicative to him. "

"Chums, are they?" cried Lanigan Beam. "Well, bless his soul, I say, whatever sort of man he is. Now what did they say about me?"

"It's my opinion, " answered Lodloe, smiling, "that it is a very unsafething to tell a man what other people say about him. "

Lanigan sprang to his feet, and stood, pipe in hand, before the other. "Now, sir, " said he, "I have not heard your name yet--Lodloe; thank you. Now, Mr. Lodloe, I have before me the greatest chance of my life. Italmost never happens that a man has an opportunity of hearing astraightforward account of what people say about him. Now if you want todo the biggest kind of favor to a fellow-being, just tell me what youheard of me to-night. You are a perfect stranger to me, and you canspeak out plainly about it without having the least feeling one way orthe other. "

Lodloe looked at him. 

"Here's a chance, " he said to himself, "that seldom comes to a man; anopportunity to tell a man exactly what his friends and neighbors thinkabout him. It's a rare experience, and I like it. I'll do it. "

"Very good, " said he, aloud; "if you want to see yourself as others seeyou, I'll turn on the lights and act as showman; but remember I havenothing to do with the painting. I have no prejudices one way or theother. "

"All right, " said Lanigan, reseating himself; "let the panorama move. "

"About the first thing I was told, " said Lodloe, "was that you were agood-hearted fellow, but the fact that your father was an Irishman haddeprived your character of ballast. "

"Umph, " said Lanigan; "there are some people who are all ballast. Idon't mind that. "

"And then I heard that, although you were a wild and irresponsibleyouth, people generally expected that as you grew older you wouldgradually accumulate ballast; but instead of that you had steadily gonedownhill from the moment of your birth. "

"Now, then, " said Lanigan, "I suppose I have no right to ask you, but Iwould like very much to know who said that. "

"I don't object in the least to telling you, " said Lodloe; "it is fitterthat you should know it than that I should know it. That was a quotedopinion of Miss Calthea Rose. "

"Good for you, " said Lanigan; "you'd be death to the members of ascandal-monger society. You would break up the business utterly. "

"To this Mr. Petter remarked, " said Lodloe, "that he thought in manyways you had improved very much, but he was obliged to admit that hecould never think of anything that you had done which was of the leastbenefit to yourself or anybody else. "

"Upon my word, " cried Lanigan, "that's a pretty wide sweep for oldPetter. I shall have to rub up his memory. He forgets that I helped himto make the plans for this house. And what did Mrs. Cristie say aboutme?"

"She said she thought it was a great pity that you did not applyyourself to something or other. "

"She is right there, " said Beam, "and, by George! I'll apply myself toher. However, I don't know about that, " he continued. "What else didCalthea say?"

"One remark was that having proved false to every friend you had hereyou had no right to return. "

"That means, " said Mr. Beam, "that having promised at least five timesto marry her, I never did it once. "

"Were you really engaged to her?" asked Lodloe. 

"Oh, yes, " said the other; "it seems to me as if I had always beenengaged to her. Born that way. Sort of an ailment you get used to, likesquinting. When I was a youngster, Calthea was a mighty pretty girl, agood deal my senior, of course, or I wouldn't have cared for her. Asshe grew older she grew prettier, and I was more and more in love withher. We used to have quarrels, but they didn't make much difference, forafter every one of them we engaged ourselves again, and all went on asbefore. But the time came when Calthea kept on being older than I was, and didn't keep on being pretty and agreeable. Then I began to weakenabout the marriage altar and all that sort of thing, but for all that Iwould have been perfectly willing to stay engaged to her for the rest ofmy life if she had wished it, but one day she got jealous, kicked up atremendous row, and away I went. "

"Well, " said Lodloe, "she must have considered that the best thing youcould do for her, for Mrs. Petter said that she had heard her declaredozens of times that from her very youth you had hung like a millstoneabout her neck, and blighted her every prospect, and that your returnhere was like one of the seven plagues of Egypt. "

"Mixed, but severe, " said Mr. Beam. "Did anybody say any good of me?"

"Yes, " answered Lodloe; "Mrs. Cristie said you were an obliging fellow, although very apt to forget what you had promised to do. Mr. Petter saidthat you had a very friendly disposition, although he was obliged toadmit the truth of his wife's remark that said disposition would havebeen more agreeable to your friends, if you had been as willing to dothings for them as you were to have them do things for you. And Mrs. Petter on her own motion summed up your character by saying, that if youhad not been so regardless of the welfare and wishes of others; sototally given up to self-gratification; so ignorant of all kinds ofbusiness, and so unwilling to learn; so extravagant in your habits, andso utterly conscienceless in regard to your debts; so neglectful of yourpromises and your duty; so heretical in your opinions, political andreligious, and such a dreadful backslider from everything that you hadpromised to be when a baby, you would be a very nice sort of fellow, whom she would like to see come into the house. "

"Well, " said Lanigan Beam, leaning back in his chair, "that's all of mybright side, is it?"

"Not quite, " said Lodloe; "Mr. Tippengray declared that you are thefirst man he ever heard of who did not possess a single good point; thatyou must be very interesting, and that he would like to know you. "

"Noble Tippengray!" said Mr. Beam. "And he's the man who is chumming itwith Calthea?"

"Not at present, " said Lodloe; "she is jealous, and doesn't speak tohim. "

Mr. Beam let his head drop on his breast, his arms hung down by hisside, and he sank into his chair, as if his spine had come unhinged. 

"There goes the last prop from under me, " he said. "If Calthea had a manin tow I wouldn't be afraid of her, but now--well, no matter. If youwill let me take that bottle of ammonia with me, --I suppose by rights itnow belongs to the house, --I'll go back to that room and fight it outwith the wasps. As I haven't any good points, they'll be able to putsome into me, I'll wager. "

Lodloe laughed. "You shall not go there, " he said; "I have morebed-covering than I want, and an extra pillow, and if you can makeyourself comfortable on that lounge you are welcome to stay here. "

"Sir, " said Lanigan Beam, rising, "I accept your offer, and if it werenot that by so doing I would destroy the rare symmetry of my character, I would express my gratitude. And now I will go down your stairs, and upmy ladder, and get my valise. "

XII

LANIGAN CHANGES HIS CRAVAT

Early the next morning, without disturbing the sleep of Walter Lodloe, Lanigan Beam descended from the tower, carrying his valise. His facewore that air of gravity which sometimes follows an early morning hourof earnest reflection, and he had substituted a black cravat for theblue one with white spots that he had worn on his arrival. 

Walking out towards the barn he met Mr. Petter, who was one of theearliest risers on the place. 

The greeting given him by the landlord of the Squirrel Inn was a mixtureof surprise, cordiality, and annoyance. 

"Lanigan Beam!" he exclaimed. "Why, I thought--"

"Of course you did; I understand, " said the other, extending his handwith a dignified superiority to momentary excitement in others. "Youthought I would arrive at Lethbury in a day or two, and had no idea ofseeing me here. You have reason, but I have changed my plans. I left NewYork earlier than I intended, and I am not going to Lethbury at all. Atleast not to the hotel there. I greatly prefer this house. "

A shade of decided trouble came over Mr. Petter's face. 

"Now, Lanigan, " he said, "that will not do at all; of course I don'twant to be hard on you, and I never was, but my season is commenced, Ihave my guests, my rules are in full force, and I cannot permit you tocome here and disarrange my arrangements. If for once, Lanigan, you willtake the trouble to think, you will see that for yourself. "

"Mr. Petter, " said the younger man, setting his valise upon the ground, "I have no desire to disarrange them; on the contrary, I would stampthem with fixity. And before we go any further I beg that you be kindenough not to call me by my Christian name, and to endeavor to producein yourself the conviction that since you last saw me I have beenentirely rearranged and reconstructed. In order to do this, you haveonly to think of me as you used to think, and then exactly reverse youropinion. In this way you will get a true view of my present character. It does not suit me to do things partially, or by degrees, and I am nowexactly the opposite of what I used to be. By keeping this in mind anyone who knew me before may consider himself or herself perfectlyacquainted with me now. "

Stephen Petter looked at him doubtfully. 

"Of course, " he said, "I shall be very glad--and so will Mrs. Petter--tofind that you have reformed, but as to your coming here--"

"Now, then, " said Mr. Beam, "I know you are not the man to allowtrifles to stand in the way of important movements. I am here for apurpose, a great purpose, with which you will be in entire sympathy. Iwill say at once, frankly and openly, that my object is the improvementof Lethbury. I have a project which--"

[Illustration: "I AM HERE FOR A PURPOSE. "]

"Now, now, now!" exclaimed Mr. Petter, with much irritation, "I don'twant to hear anything more of any of your projects; I know all aboutthem. They all begin with a demand for money from your friends, andthat is the end of the project and the money. "

"Stephen Petter, " said the other, "you are not looking at my characteras I told you to look at it. Every cent of the capital required for myoperations I will contribute myself. No one will be allowed to subscribeany money whatever. This, you see, is exactly the opposite of what usedto be the case; and when I tell you that the success of my plan willimprove the business of Lethbury, elevate its moral and intellectualstandard, exercise an ennobling and purifying influence upon the tone ofits society, and give an almost incredible impetus to faith, hope, andcharity in its moral atmosphere, --and all that without anybody's beingasked to give a copper, --I know you will agree with me that a merematter of residence should not be allowed to block this great work. "

Since he had been assured that he was not to be asked to contributemoney, Mr. Petter's face had shown relief and interest; but now he shookhis head. 

"This is my season, " he said, "and I have my rules. "

Lanigan Beam laid his hand upon the shoulder of his companion. 

"Petter, " said he, "I don't ask you to infract your rules. That would beagainst my every principle. I do not know the Rockmores of Germantown, but if it were necessary I would immediately go and find them, and maketheir acquaintance--I should have no difficulty in doing it, I assureyou, but it is not necessary. I staid last night with Mr. Lodloe, whooccupies the top room of your tower. Don't jump out of your boots. Iwent to him because there was a light in his room and the rest of thehouse was dark, and he explained to me the Rockmorial reason why heoccupies that room while the rest of your house is nearly empty. Now youcan do the same thing for me. Let me have that upper room with nostairway to it; give me the use of a ladder, and I shall be perfectlysatisfied. "

"But the room's not furnished, " said Mr. Petter. 

"Oh, we can easily get over that little difficulty, " replied Mr. Beam;"whatever furniture may be needed can easily be put in through thewindow. If there are any wasps up there I can fumigate them out. Now wecall that settled, don't we? None of your rules broken, Lethburyregenerated, and nothing for you to do but look on and profit. "

Mr. Petter gazed reflectively upon the ground. 

"There can be no doubt, " said he, "that Lethbury is in a stagnantcondition, and if that condition could be improved, it would be for thebenefit of us all; and considering, furthermore, that if yourproject--which you have not yet explained to me--should be unsuccessful, no one but yourself will lose any money, I see no reason why I shouldinterfere with your showing the people of this neighborhood that yourcharacter has been reconstructed. But if you should lodge in that room, it would make a very odd condition of things. I should then have butthree male guests, and not one of them literally living in my house. "

"Ah, my good friend Petter, " said Lanigan, taking up his valise, "youshould know there is luck in odd conditions, as well as in odd numbers, and everything will turn out right, you may bet on that. Hello, " hecontinued, stepping back a little, "who is that very pretty girl with abook in her hand? That cannot be Mrs. Cristie. "

"Oh, no, " said Mr. Petter, "that is her maid, who takes care of herchild. I think the young woman has come out to study before beginningher daily duties. "

"Upon my word, " said Lanigan Beam, attentively regarding Miss IdaMayberry as she daintily made her way across the dewy lawn to a rusticseat under a tree. And then, suddenly turning to Mr. Petter, he said:

"Look you, my good Stephen, can't you let me go in somewhere and furbishmyself up a little before breakfast?"

And having been shown into a room on the ground floor, Mr. Beamimmediately proceeded to take off his black cravat and to replace it bythe blue one with white spots. 

[Illustration]

XIII

DECREES OF EXILE

Towards the end of the afternoon of the day after Mr. Lanigan Beam hadbeen installed as an outside guest of the Squirrel Inn, Miss CaltheaRose sat by the window at the back of her shop. This shop was a smallone, but it differed from most other places of business in that itcontained very few goods and was often locked up. When there is reasonto suppose that if you go to a shop you will not be able to get in, andthat, should it be open, you will not be apt to find therein anythingyou want, it is not likely that such a shop will have a very good run ofcustom. 

This was the case with Miss Calthea's establishment. It had become rarefor any one even to propose custom, but she did not in the least waverin regard to her plan of closing up the business left to her by herfather. As has been said, she did not wish to continue this business, soshe laid in no new stock, and as she had gradually sold off a greatdeal, she expected to be able in time to sell off everything. She didnot adopt the usual methods of clearing out a stock of goods, becausethese would involve sacrifices, and, as Miss Calthea very freely saidto those who spoke to her on the subject, there was no need whatever forher to make sacrifices. She was good at waiting, and she could wait. When she sold the few things which remained on the shelves--and she, aswell as nearly every one in the village, knew exactly what these thingswere without the trouble of looking--she would retire from business, andhave the shop altered into a front parlor. Until then the articles whichremained on hand were for sale. 

Miss Calthea was busily sewing, but she was much more busily engaged inthinking. So earnestly was her mind set upon the latter occupation thatshe never raised her head to look out at the special varieties ofhollyhocks, dahlias, and marigolds which had lately begun to show theirbeauties in the beds beneath her window, nor did she glance towards thedoor to see if any one was coming in. She had much more important thingsto think about than flowers or customers. 

Mrs. Petter had driven over to Lethbury that morning, and had toldCalthea all the news of the Squirrel Inn. She had told her of theunexpected arrival of Lanigan Beam; of his unwillingness to go toLethbury, as he had originally intended, and of the quarters that hadbeen assigned to him in the ladder-room. She also told how Lanigan, whonow wished to be called Mr. Beam, had a wonderful plan in his mind forthe improvement of Lethbury, but whether it was electric lights, or gas, or water, or street railroads, or a public library, he would not tellanybody. He was going to work in his own way, and all he would say aboutthe scheme was that he did not want anybody to give him money for it. And this, Mrs. Petter had remarked, had helped Mr. Petter and herself tobelieve what Lanigan had said about his amendment, for if anything couldshow a change in him it would be his not wanting people to give himmoney. 

Mrs. Petter had said a great deal about the newcomer, and had declaredthat whatever alterations had gone on in his mind, soul, and character, he certainly had improved in appearance, and was a very good-lookingyoung man, with becoming clothes. In one way, however, he had notchanged, for in a surprisingly short time he had made friends witheverybody on the place. He talked to Mr. Lodloe as if he had been an oldchum; he had renewed his acquaintance with Mrs. Cristie, and was verygallant to her; he was hand-in-glove with Mr. Tippengray, both of themlaughing together and making jokes as if they had always known eachother; and, more than that, it wasn't an hour after breakfast when heand Mrs. Cristie's nurse-maid were sitting on a bench under the trees, reading out of the same book, while Mr. Tippengray was pushing thebaby-carriage up and down on the grass, and Mrs. Cristie and Mr. Lodloewere putting up the lawn-tennis net. 

"I could see for myself, " Mrs. Petter had remarked at this point, "thatyou were right in saying that there was no use in my talking about theboarders associating with servants, for when they made up thelawn-tennis game it turned out that Mr. Tippengray didn't play, and sothat girl Ida had to take a hand while he kept on neglecting his Greekfor the baby. "

At last Miss Calthea let her sewing drop into her lap, and sat lookingat an empty shelf opposite to her. 

"Yes, " she said to herself, her lips moving, although no sound wasaudible, "the first thing to do is to get Lanigan away. As long as he ishere I might as well not lift a finger, and it looks as if thatimpertinent minx of a child's nurse would be my best help. If he doesn'thave one of his changeable fits, he will be ready in three days tofollow her anywhere, but I must look sharp, for at this very minute hemay be making love to the widow. Of course he hasn't any chance withher, but it would be just like Lanigan to go in strongest where he knewhe hadn't any chance. However, I shall see for myself how matters stand, and one thing is certain--Lanigan has got to go. "

About this time Mr. Lanigan Beam, finding himself with a solitaryquarter of an hour on his hands, was reflecting on a bench upon the lawnof the Squirrel Inn. "Yes, " he thought, "it is a great plan. It willelevate the social tone of Lethbury, it will purify the moral atmosphereof the surrounding country, and, above all, it will make it possible forme to live here. It will give me an opportunity to become a man amongmen in the place where I was born. Until this thing is done, I can haveno chance to better myself here, and, more than that, the community hasno chance to better itself. Yes, it must be done; Calthea Rose must go. "

At this moment Mr. Petter came along, on his way to supper. 

"Well, Lanigan, " said he, "are you thinking about your greatenterprise?"

"Yes, " said the other, rising and walking with him; "that is exactlywhat my mind was working on. "

"And you are going to do it all yourself?" said Mr. Petter. 

"Not exactly, " said Beam. "I shall not require any pecuniary assistance, but I shall want some one to help me. "

"Is there anybody about here who can do it?"

"Yes; I hope so, " said Lanigan. "At present I am thinking of Mr. Tippengray. "

"A very good choice, " said Mr. Petter; "he is a man of fine mind, and itwill certainly be to your advantage if you can get him to work withyou. "

"Indeed it will be, " said Lanigan Beam, with much earnestness. 

XIV

BACKING OUT

Ida Mayberry was walking on the narrow road which led through the woodsfrom the Squirrel Inn to the public highway. She had been muchinterested in the road when she had been driven through it on the day ofher arrival, and had availed herself of the opportunity given her thispleasant afternoon, by the prolonged slumbers of Master Douglas Cristie, to make a close acquaintance with its attractions. 

It was indeed a pleasant road, where there were tall trees that oftenmet overhead, and on each side there were bushes, and vines, and wildflowers, and little vistas opening into the woods, and rabbits runningacross the roadway; a shallow stream tumbling along its stony bed, sometimes to be seen and sometimes only heard; yellow butterflies in theair; and glimpses above, that afternoon, of blue sky and white clouds. 

When she had walked about half the length of the road Miss Mayberry cameto a tree with a large branch running horizontally about three feet fromthe ground and then turning up again, so as to make a very good seat foryoung people who like that sort of thing. Ida was a young person wholiked that sort of thing, and she speedily clambered upon the broad, horizontal branch and bestowed herself quite comfortably there. Takingoff her hat and leaning her head against the upright portion of thebranch, she continued the reflections she had been making while walking. 

[Illustration: IDA MAKES HERSELF COMFORTABLE. ]

"Yes, " she said to herself, "it will be wise in me not only to make upmy mind that I will not grow to be an old maid, but to prevent peoplefrom thinking I am going to grow to be one. I believe that people arevery apt to think that way about teachers. Perhaps it is because theyare always contrasted with younger persons. There is no reason why girlteachers should be different from other girls. Marriage should be aspractically advantageous to them as to any others, only they should bemore than usually circumspect in regard to their partners; that is, ifthey care for careers, which I am sure I do. 

"Now the situation in this place seems to me to be one which I oughtseriously to consider. It is generally agreed that propinquity is thecause of most marriages, but I think that a girl ought to be verycareful not to let propinquity get the better of her. She shouldregulate and control propinquities. 

"Here, now, is Mr. Lodloe. He seems to be a very suitable sort of a man, young and good-looking, and, I think, endowed with brains; but I haveread two of his stories, and I see no promise in them, and I doubt if hewould sympathize with good, hard study; besides, he is devoting himselfto Mrs. Cristie, and he is out of the question. Mr. Tippengray is anexceedingly agreeable man and a true student. To marry him would be initself a higher education; but he is not a bit young. I think he is atleast fifty, perhaps more, and then, supposing that he should retain hismental vigor until he is seventy, that would give only twenty years ofsatisfactory intellectual companionship. That is a point that ought tobe very carefully weighed. 

"As to Mr. Beam, he is older than I am, but he is young enough. Upon theprobable duration of his life one might predicate forty years of mentalactivity, and from what I have seen of him he appears to have a goodintellect. They talk about an aqueduct and waterworks he is about toconstruct. That indicates the study of geology, and engineeringcapacity, and such a bias of mind would suit me very well. Mrs. Pettertells me that he is really and truly engaged to that old thing fromLethbury; but as she also said that he is heartily tired of theengagement, I don't see why it should be considered. He is as likely tocorrect his errors of matrimonial inclination as he is those ofmathematical computation, and as for her, I should not let her stand inmy way for one minute. Any woman who is as jealous about a man as she isabout Mr. Tippengray has waived her right in all other men. "

About this time a phaeton, drawn by a stout sorrel horse, and containingMiss Calthea Rose, was turning from the highroad into this lane. As arule, Miss Calthea greatly preferred walking to driving, and althoughher father had left her a horse and several vehicles, she seldom madepersonal use of them; but to-day she was going to Romney, which was toofar away for walking, and she had planned to stop at the Squirrel Innand ask Mrs. Cristie to go with her. 

It was necessary, for the furtherance of Miss Calthea's plans, that sheshould be on good terms with Mrs. Cristie. She ought, in fact, to beintimate with her, so that when the time came she could talk to herfreely and plainly. It was desirable, indeed, that she should maintaina friendly connection with everybody at the Squirrel Inn. She had notyet met Lanigan Beam, and it would be well if he should be made to feelthat she looked upon him merely as an old companion, and cared for himneither more nor less than one cares for ordinary old companions. Thushe would feel perfectly free to carry out his own impulses and herdesires. 

Towards Mr. Tippengray she had decided to soften. She was still veryangry with him, but it would not do to repel him from herself, for thatmight impel him towards another, and spoil two of her plans. Even tothat impertinent child's nurse she would be civil. She need have butlittle to do with the creature, but she must not let any one supposethat she harbored ill feeling towards her, and, with the exception ofMrs. Petter, no one would suppose she had any reason for such feelings. In fact, as Miss Calthea's mind dwelt upon this subject, she came tothink that it would be a very good thing if she could do some kindnessor service to this girl. This would give effect to what she mightafterward be obliged to say about her. 

Having reached this point in her cogitations, she also reached the pointin the road where Ida Mayberry still sat making her plans, and concealedfrom the view of those coming from the direction of the highroad by amass of projecting elderberry bushes. Hearing an approaching vehicle, the young woman on the horizontal limb, not wishing to be seen perchedupon this elevated seat, sprang to the ground, which she touched aboutfour feet from the nose of the sorrel horse. 

This animal, which was trotting along in a quiet and reflective way, asif he also was making plans, was greatly startled by this sudden flashof a light-colored mass, this rustle, this waving, this thud upon theground, and he bounded sidewise entirely across the road, stopping withhis head in the bushes on the other side. 

Miss Calthea, who was nearly thrown from her seat, could not repress ascream, and, turning, perceived Ida Mayberry. 

"Did you do that?" she cried. 

"I am sorry that I made your horse shy, " said Ida, approaching thevehicle; "but he seems to be perfectly quiet now, and I hope nothing isbroken. Horses ought to be taught not to shy, but I suppose that wouldbe difficult, considering the small size of their brain cavities. "

"If some people had as much brains as a horse, " muttered Miss Calthea, "it would be better for them. Back, Sultan! Do you hear me! Back!" Andshe tugged with all her strength upon the reins. 

But the sorrel horse did not move; he had two reasons for refusing toobey his mistress. In the first place, on general principles he dislikedto back, and was fully conscious that Miss Calthea could not make him doit, and in the second place, he wanted a drink, and did not intend tomove until he got it. Just here the brook was at its widest and deepest, and it came so near the road that in shying Sultan had entered it so farthat the front wheels of the phaeton nearly touched the water. Standingmore than fetlock deep in this cool stream, it is no wonder that Sultanwanted some one to loosen his check-rein and let him drink. 

"I am afraid you are not strong enough to back him out of that, " saidIda; "and if there were not so much water all around him I would go andtake him by the head. "

"Let him alone, " cried Miss Calthea. "Back, Sultan! Back, I say!" Andshe pulled and pulled, tiring herself greatly, but making no impressionupon the horse. 

Now appeared upon the scene Mrs. Cristie, pushing her baby-carriage. Shehad come to look for Ida. She was full of sympathy when she heard whathad happened, and, pushing Douglas into a safe place behind a tree, cameforward and proposed that some one go for a man. But Calthea Rose didnot want a man. She was very proud of her abilities as a horsewoman, andshe did not wish a man to behold her inferiority in emergencies of thissort. She therefore opposed the suggestion, and continued to pull andtug. 

"That will never do, " said Ida Mayberry, who had been earnestlyregarding the situation. "You cannot make him move, and even if we didgo into the water, he might jump about and tread on us; but I havethought of a way in which I think we can make him back. You are prettyheavy, Miss Rose, and Mrs. Cristie is lighter than I am, so she ought toget into the phaeton and take the reins, and you and I ought to helpback the phaeton. I have seen it done, and I can tell you how to doit. "

[Illustration: "BACK!"]

To this Miss Calthea paid no immediate attention; but as Mrs. Cristieurged that if Ida knew about such things it would be well to let her trywhat she could do, and as Miss Calthea found that tugging at Sultan'sbit amounted to nothing, she stepped out of the low vehicle and demandedto know what the child's nurse proposed to do. 

"Now jump in, Mrs. Cristie, " said Ida, "and when I give the word youpull the reins with all your might, and shout 'Back!' at him. Miss Rose, you go to that hind wheel, and I will go to this one. Now put one footon a spoke, so, and take hold of the wheel, and when I say 'Now!' wewill both raise ourselves up and put our whole weight on the spoke, andMrs. Cristie will pull on him at the same instant. "

Somewhat doggedly, but anxious to get out of her predicament, MissCalthea took her position at the wheel and put one foot upon an almosthorizontal spoke. Ida did the same, and then giving the word, both womenraised themselves from the ground; Mrs. Cristie gave a great pull, andshouted, "Back!" and as the hind wheels began slowly to revolve, theastonished horse, involuntarily obeying the double impulse thus givenhim, backed a step or two. 

"Now! Again!" cried Ida, and the process was repeated, this time thehorse backing himself out of the water. 

"Bravo!" cried Lanigan Beam, who, with Walter Lodloe, had arrived on thescene just as Calthea Rose and Ida Mayberry had made their secondgraceful descent from an elevated spoke to the ground. 

XV

THE BABY IS PASSED AROUND

"Good for you, Calthy, " cried Lanigan Beam, advancing with outstretchedhands. "How do you do? Old Sultan is at his tricks again, is he, declining to back? But you got the better of him that time, and did itwell, too. "

In his admiration of the feat he had witnessed, the credit of which hegave entirely to his old and well-tried fiancée, Lanigan forgot for themoment his plan for the benefit of Lethbury. 

Irritated and embarrassed as she was, Miss Calthea did not forget herintention of treating Lanigan Beam as a person between whom and herselfthere could be nothing of a connecting order which could be set up assomething of an obstructing order between herself and any one else. Shetherefore took his hand, made a few commonplace remarks about hisreturn, and then, excusing herself, approached Mrs. Cristie, who wasjust about to alight from the phaeton, and gave her the invitation todrive to Romney. That lady hesitated a few moments, and then, remembering some shopping she would like to do, accepted; and theattention of Miss Mayberry having been called to the baby-carriagebehind the tree, the two ladies drove off. 

Ida Mayberry gazed for a moment at the parting vehicle, and then, turning to Mr. Beam, she said:

"She might at least have thanked me for getting her out of that scrape. "

"Was that your idea?" said Lanigan. 

"Of course it was, " said the young woman: "if I hadn't shown her how tomake the horse back, she would have pulled her arms out for nothing. Itis easy to see that she does not know anything about managing horses. "

Lanigan laughed outright. 

"I would advise you not to say that to her, " he said. 

"I would as soon say it to her as not, " said Ida; "somebody ought to doit. Why, if that horse had shied towards me instead of away from me whenI jumped from that tree, I might have been very much hurt. "

Lanigan laughed again, but this time inwardly. 

"Do you like yellow flowers, Miss Mayberry?" said he. "The largest wildcoreopsis I ever saw grows in this region. I noticed some in a field wejust passed. Shall I gather a few for you?"

"I am very fond of that flower, " said Ida; and Mr. Beam declaring thatif she would step a little way with him he would show her a whole fieldof them, the two walked up the road. 

Walter Lodloe had been gazing with some dissatisfaction at the departingphaeton. His mind was getting into a condition which made it unpleasantfor him to see people take Mrs. Cristie away from him. He now turnedand looked at the baby-carriage, in which the infant Douglas was sittingup, endeavoring by various noises to attract attention to himself. Lodloe pulled the vehicle into the road, and, finding that the motionquieted its occupant, he began slowly to push it towards the SquirrelInn. When Walter Lodloe turned into the open space about the inn he metMr. Tippengray with a book in his hand. 

[Illustration: "HE BEGAN SLOWLY TO PUSH IT TOWARDS THE SQUIRREL INN. "]

"Really, " said the latter, elevating his eyebrows, "I heard the creakingof those little wheels, and I--"

"Thought Miss Mayberry was making them creak, " said Lodloe. "But she isnot, and you may as well postpone the lesson I suppose you want to giveher. She is at present taking lessons in botany from another professor";and he hereupon stated in brief the facts of the desertion of the infantDouglas. "Now what am I going to do with the little chap?" he continued;"I must search for Mrs. Petter. "

"Don't do that, " said the Greek scholar, quickly; "it would look badlyfor the young woman. Let me have the child; I will take care of it untilshe comes. I will wheel it down to my summer-house, where it is cool andshady. "

"And an excellent spot to teach Greek, " said Lodloe, laughing. 

"A capital place, " gaily replied Mr. Tippengray, putting his book intohis pocket, and taking hold of the handle of the little carriage, elatedby the feeling that in so doing he was also, for a time, getting a holdupon Miss Mayberry. 

[Illustration: "I WILL WHEEL IT DOWN TO MY SUMMER-HOUSE, WHERE IT ISCOOL AND SHADY. "]

"Yes, " he continued, "it is just the place for me; it suits me in allsorts of ways, and I have a mind to tell you of a most capital jokeconnected with it. It is too good a thing to keep to myself any longer, and now that I know you so well, I am perfectly willing to trust you. Would you believe it? I know the Rockmores of Germantown. I know themvery well, and hate them for a lot of prigs. But I never told StephenPetter. Not I. In some way or other he took it for granted that I didnot possess the valuable acquaintanceship, and I let him think so. Ha!ha! That's the way I got the summer-house, don't you see? Ha! ha! ha!"

Lodloe laughed. "Your secret is safe with me, " said he; and the twohaving reached the little garden, he left the Greek scholar and went tohis room. 

When Ida Mayberry had her arms full of the great yellow flowers shesuddenly appreciated the fact that she must be a long way from the baby, and ought immediately to return to it. She thereupon hastened backacross the uneven surface of the field. When she reached the spot wherethe baby had been left, no baby was there. 

"My goodness!" she exclaimed, "Mr. Lodloe has taken the child away, andthere is no knowing which way he has gone. "

"Oh, the youngster's all right, " said Lanigan. "Sit down and restyourself, and we will walk to the inn. "

"Not a bit of it!" exclaimed Ida. "You go that way, and I will go this, and if you see him, call out as loud as you can. "

Very reluctantly Mr. Beam obeyed orders, and hurried in the direction ofthe highroad. 

As he sat down by his open window Walter Lodloe looked out and saw IdaMayberry running. Instantly there was a shout from the summer-house andthe wave of a handkerchief. Then the nurse-maid ceased to run, butwalked rapidly in the direction of the handkerchief-waver, who stoodtriumphantly pointing to the baby-carriage. After a glance at the babyto see that he was all right, Miss Mayberry seated herself on a bench inthe shade, and took off her hat. In a few moments the Greek scholar wasseated by her, the book was opened, and two heads were together inearnest study. 

About ten minutes later Lodloe saw Lanigan Beam appear upon the lawn, walking rapidly. In a moment he caught sight of the group at thesummer-house, and stopped short. He clenched his fists and slightlystamped one foot. 

Lodloe now gave a low whistle, and Lanigan glancing upward at the sound, he beckoned to him to come to his tower-room. The young man at firsthesitated, and then walked slowly towards the little garden, andascended the outside stairway. 

Lodloe greeted him with a smile. 

"As you seem doubtful about joining the little company down there, Ithought I would ask you up here, " he said. 

Lanigan walked to the window and gazed out at the summer-house. 

"They are having a good, cozy time of it, " said he, "but that won't do. That sort of thing has got to be stopped. "

"Why won't it do?" asked Lodloe. "What is the matter with it, and who isgoing to stop it?"

"It's sheer nonsense, " said Beam, turning away from the window andthrowing himself into a chair; "why should an old fellow like Tippengraytake up all the spare time of that girl? She doesn't need to learnanything. From what she has said to me I judge that she knows too muchalready. "

"It strikes me, " said Lodloe, "that if he likes to teach her, and shelikes to learn, it is nobody's business but their own, unless Mrs. Cristie should think that her interests were being neglected. " He spokequietly, although he was a little provoked at the tone of his companion. 

"Well, " said Mr. Beam, stretching his legs upon a neighboring chair, "Iobject to that intimacy for two reasons. In the first place, it keepsme away from Miss Mayberry, and I am the sort of person she ought toassociate with, especially in her vacation; and in the second place, itkeeps old Tippengray away from Calthea Rose. That is bad, very bad. Mrs. Petter tells me that before Miss Mayberry arrived Calthea and the Greekwere as chummy and as happy together as any two people could be. It iseasy to see that Calthea is dead in love with him, and if she had beenlet alone I am confident she would have married him before the summerwas over. "

"And you think that desirable?" asked Lodloe. 

"Of course I do, " cried Lanigan, sitting up straight in his chair andspeaking earnestly; "it would be the best thing in the world. Caltheahas had a hard time with her various engagements, --all of them withme, --and now that she has found the man she likes she ought to have him. It would be a splendid match; he might travel where he pleased, andCalthea would be an honor to him. She could hold her own with thenobility and gentry, and the crowned heads, for that matter. By George!it would make him two inches taller to walk through a swell crowd withCalthea on his arm, dressed as she would dress, and carrying her head asshe would carry it. "

"You seem to be a matchmaker, " said Lodloe; "but I don't meddle in thatsort of thing. I greatly prefer to let people take care of their ownaffairs; but I feel bound to say to you that after Ida Mayberryneglected her duty to go off with you, I determined to advise Mrs. Cristie to dispense with the services of such a very untrustworthynurse-maid. "

Lanigan Beam sprang to his feet. "Don't you do that!" he cried. "I begof you not to do that. "

"Why not?" said Lodloe. "That would aid your philanthropic plan inregard to Miss Rose and Mr. Tippengray. The maid away, there is noreason why they should not come together again. "

"Now I am a straightforward, honest man, " said Lanigan, "and I tell youplainly that that would be very hard on me. I've come here to my nativeplace to settle down, and if I settle I've got to marry, and I havenever seen a girl whom I would rather marry and settle with than MissMayberry. She may be a little slack about taking care of the baby, butI'll talk to her about that, and I know she will keep a closer eye onhim. Now if you want to see everybody happy, don't prejudice Mrs. Cristie against that girl. Give me a chance, and I'll win her into theright way, and I'll do it easily and naturally, without making hardblood or hurting anybody. Then old Tip and Calthea will come togetheragain, and everything will be jolly. Now don't you go and blast thehappiness of all of us, and get that poor girl turned off like a drunkencook. And as for taking good care of the baby, just look at her now. "

Lodloe looked out of the window. Ida Mayberry was leaning forward on thebench, twirling a great yellow flower before the child, who was laughingand making snatches at it. In a moment appeared Mr. Tippengray with alarge white daisy; he leaned over the other side of the carriage andtwirled his flower in front of the baby. The little fellow was in greatglee, first clutching at one blossom and then at the other, and Mr. Tippengray laughed, and Miss Mayberry laughed, and the three laughedtogether. 

"Confound it!" said Lanigan Beam, with a frown, "this thing must bestopped. "

Lodloe smiled. "Work matters your own way, " he said; "I shall notinterfere. "

An hour later when Calthea Rose and Mrs. Cristie returned from Romney, Ida Mayberry was walking by the side of the baby-carriage, which LaniganBeam was pushing towards the spot from which there was the best view ofthe western sky. 

[Illustration: "HE LEANED OVER THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CARRIAGE. "]

Mrs. Cristie looked at them, and said to herself:

"I don't altogether like that sort of thing, and I think it must bestopped. "

Calthea Rose appeared to have recovered her good humor. She looked abouther apparently satisfied with the world and its ways, and readilyaccepted Mrs. Petter's invitation to stay to tea. 

XVI

MESSRS. BEAM AND LODLOE DECLINE TO WAIT FOR THE SECOND TABLE

As has been before mentioned, Walter Lodloe had grown into a conditionof mind which made it unpleasant for him when people took Mrs. Cristieaway or occupied her time and attention to the exclusion of hisoccupancy of the same. As a literary man he had taken an interest instudying the character of Mrs. Cristie, and he had now come to like thecharacter even better than he liked the study. 

A pretty woman, of a lively and independent disposition, and quick wit, and yet with certain matronly and practical points in her characterwhich always surprised as well as pleased him when they showedthemselves, Mrs. Cristie could not fail to charm such a man as Lodloe, if the two remained long enough together. She had charmed him, and heknew it and liked it, and was naturally anxious to know whether, in theslightest degree, she thought of him as he thought of her. But he hadnever been able to perceive any indication of this. The young widow waskind, gracious, and at times delightfully intimate with him, but heknew enough of the world to understand that this sort of thing in thissort of place might not in the least indicate that what was growing upin him was growing up in her. 

On the afternoon of the day after Miss Calthea Rose had taken tea at theSquirrel Inn Walter Lodloe came down from his room in the tower with noother object in life than to find Mrs. Cristie. It was about the hourthat she usually appeared on the lawn, and if there should followtennis, or talking, or walking, or anything else, one thing would be thesame as another to Lodloe, provided he and she took part. But when hesaw Mrs. Cristie her avocation was one in which he could not take part. 

She was sitting on a bench by Mr. Tippengray, Ida Mayberry was sittingat his other side, and the everlasting baby-carriage was standing nearby. The Greek scholar and the nurse-maid each had a book, but these wereclosed, and Mr. Tippengray was talking with great earnestness andanimation, while the young women appeared to be listening with eagerinterest. It was plain that the two were taking a lesson in something orother. 

As Lodloe walked slowly from the gate of the little garden Mrs. Cristielooked up for a moment, saw him, but instantly resumed her attentivelistening. This was enough; he perceived that for the present, at least, he was not wanted. He strolled on towards the field, and just below theedge of the bluff he saw Lanigan Beam sitting under a tree. 

"Hello!" said the latter, looking up, "are they at that stupid businessyet?"

Lodloe smiled. "Are you waiting for Miss Mayberry to get through withher lesson?" he asked. 

"Yes, I am, " said Lanigan. "I have been hanging around here for half anhour. I never saw such a selfish old codger as that Tippengray. Isuppose he will stick there with them the whole afternoon. "

"And you want him!" said Lodloe. 

"Want him!" exclaimed Lanigan; "not much. But I want her. If there wereonly two together I would do as I did yesterday. I would join them, takea part, and before long carry her off; but I can't do that with Mrs. Cristie there. I haven't the cheek to break up her studies. "

Lodloe laughed. "Don't let us wait for the second table, " he said; "comeand take a walk to Lethbury. "

It was now Lanigan's turn to smile. 

"You think you would better not wait for the second table, " he said;"very well, then; come on. "

The lesson on the bench had been deliberately planned by Mrs. Cristie. She had been considering the subject of her nurse-maid and Lanigan Beam, and had decided that it was her duty to interfere with the growth ofthat intimacy. She felt that it was her duty to exercise some personalsupervision over the interests of the young person in her service, andhad given her some guarded advice in regard to country-resortintimacies. 

Having given this advice to Ida Mayberry, it struck Mrs. Cristie that itwould apply very well to herself. She remembered that she was also ayoung person, and she resolved to take to herself all the advice she hadgiven to her nurse-maid, and thus it was that she was sitting on thebench by Mr. Tippengray, listening to his very interesting discourseupon some of the domestic manners and customs of the ancients, and theirsurprising resemblance in many points to those of the present day. Therefore it was, also, that she allowed Walter Lodloe to pass on hisway without inviting him to join the party. 

When Lodloe and Beam reached Lethbury, the latter proposed that theyshould go and worry Calthea Rose; and to his companion's surprisedexclamation at being asked to join in this diversion Lanigan answered, that having been used to that sort of thing all his life, it seemed themost natural sport in which to indulge now that he found himself inLethbury again. 

"Very good, " said Lodloe, as they approached Miss Rose's place ofbusiness; "I shall not interfere with your native sports, but I do notcare to join them. I shall continue my walk, and stop for you on my wayback. "

When Lanigan Beam entered Miss Rose's shop she was sitting, as was hercustom, by the back window, sewing. A neighbor had dropped in to chatwith her a half-hour before, but had gone away very soon. The people ofLethbury had learned to understand when Calthea Rose did not wish tochat. 

Miss Calthea was not happy; she was disappointed. Things had not gone asshe hoped they would go, and as she had believed they would go when sheaccepted Mrs. Petter's invitation to tea. That meal had been a verypleasant one; even the presence of Ida Mayberry, who came to table withthe family when the baby happened to be asleep, did not disturb her. Onthe contrary, it gratified her, for Lanigan Beam sat by that youngperson and was very attentive to her. She carefully watched Mr. Tippengray, and perceived that this attention, and the interest of thechild's nurse in Lanigan's remarks, did not appear to give him the leastuneasiness. Thereupon she began gradually, and she hoped imperceptibly, to resume her former method of intercourse with the Greek scholar, andto do so without any show of restoring him to favor. She did this sodeftly that Mrs. Cristie was greatly interested in the performance, andan outside observer could have had no reason to suppose that there hadbeen any break in the friendly intercourse between Miss Rose and Mr. Tippengray. 

But this unsatisfactory state of things soon came to an end. When thedaylight began to wane, and Miss Calthea's phaeton had been brought tothe door, she went to it with her plans fully formed. As Mr. Tippengrayassisted her into the vehicle, she intended to accept his proposition todrive her to Lethbury. She had slightly deferred her departure in orderthat the growing duskness might give greater reason for the proposition. There would be a moon about nine o'clock, and his walk back would bepleasant. 

But when she reached the phaeton Mr. Tippengray was not there. IdaMayberry, eager to submit to his critical eye two lines of Browningwhich she had put into a sort of Greek resembling the partly crematedcorpse of a dead language, and who for the past ten minutes had beennervously waiting for Master Douglas to close his eyes in sleep that shemight rush down to Mr. Tippengray while he was yet strolling on thelawn by himself, had rushed down to him, and had made him forgeteverything else in the world in his instinctive effort to conceal fromhis pupil the shock given him by the sight of her lines. He had beenwaiting for Miss Calthea to come out, had been intending to hand her toher vehicle, and had thought of proposing to accompany her to thevillage; but he had not heard the phaeton roll to the door, theleave-taking on the porch did not reach his ear, and his mind took nonote whatever of the fact that Miss Rose was on the point of departure. 

As that lady, stepping out upon the piazza, swept her eyes over thescene and beheld the couple on the lawn, she gave a jerk to the gloveshe was drawing on her hand that tore in it a slit three inches long. She then turned her eyes upon her phaeton, declined the offer of Mr. Petter to see her home, and, after a leave-taking which was a littlemore effusive than was usual with her, drove herself to Lethbury. If thesorrel horse had behaved badly in the early part of that afternoon, hewas punished for it in the early part of that evening, for he completelybroke all previous records of time made between the Squirrel Inn andLethbury. 

Thus the hopes of Miss Calthea had been doubly darkened; the pariah withthe brimstone blossoms had not only treacherously deserted Lanigan, buthad made Mr. Tippengray treacherously desert her. She had been furiouslyangry; now she was low-spirited and cross. But one thing in the worldcould have then cheered her spirits, and that would have been the sightof her bitterest enemy and Lanigan Beam driving or walking together pasther shop door; but when Lanigan alone entered that shop door she was notcheered at all. 

Mr. Beam's greeting was very free and unceremonious, and without beingasked to do so he took a seat near the proprietress of theestablishment. 

"Well, well, " he said, "this looks like old times. Why, Calthy, I don'tbelieve you have sold a thing since I was here last. "

"If you had any eyes in your head, " said Miss Calthea, severely, "youwould see that I have sold a great deal. Nearly everything, in fact. "

"That proves my point, " said Lanigan; "for nearly everything was gonewhen I left. "

"And some of the things that are gone, " said she, "you still owe mefor. "

"Well put, Calthy, " said Lanigan, laughing; "and after that, let's dropthe business. What's new and what's stale in Lethbury?"

"You are about the newest as well as the stalest thing here, " said she. 

Lanigan whistled. "Calthy, " said he, "would you mind my smoking a cigarhere! There will be no customers coming in. "

"You know very well you cannot smoke here, " she said; "what is thematter with you? Has that pincushion-faced child's nurse driven you fromthe inn?"

A pang went through Lanigan. Was Calthea jealous of Miss Mayberry on hisaccount? The thought frightened him. If he could have said anythingwhich would have convinced Calthea that he was on the point of marryingMiss Mayberry, and that therefore she might as well consider everythingat an end between herself and him, he would have said it. But he merelyreplied:

"She is a nice girl, and very much given to learning. "

Now Miss Calthea could restrain herself no longer. 

"Learning!" she exclaimed. "Stuff and deception! Impudent flirting iswhat she is fond of, as long as she can get a good-for-naught like you, or an old numskull like that Tippengray, to play her tricks on. "

Now Lanigan Beam braced himself for action. This sort of thing would notdo; whatever she might say or think about the rest of the world, Caltheamust not look with disfavor on the Greek scholar. 

"Numskull!" said he. "You're off the track there, Calthy, I never knew aman with a better skull than Mr. Tippengray, and as to his beingold--there is a little gray in his hair to be sure, but it's my opinionthat that comes more from study than from years. "

"Nonsense!" said Calthea; "I don't believe he cares a snap for studyunless he can do it with some girl. I expect he has been at that all hislife. "

Now Lanigan's spirits rose; he saw that it was not on his account thatCalthea was jealous of Ida Mayberry. His face put on an expression ofserious interest, and he strove to speak impressively, but not so muchso as to excite suspicion. 

"Calthea, " said he, "I think you are not treating Mr. Tippengray withyour usual impartiality and fairness. From what I have seen of him, I amsure that the great object of his life is to teach, and when he gets achance to do that he does it, and for the moment forgets everythingelse. You may be right in thinking that he prefers to teach youngpersons, and this is natural enough, for young people are much morelikely than older ones to want to learn. Now, to prove that he doesn'tcare to teach young girls just because they are girls, I will tell youthat I saw him, this very afternoon, hard at work teaching Mrs. Cristieand Ida Mayberry at the same time, and he looked twice as happy as whenhe was instructing only one of them. If there were enough people here sothat he could make up a class, and could have a sort of summer school, Iexpect he would be the happiest man on earth. 

"I am afraid that is Mr. Tippengray's fault, " continued Lanigan, foldinghis hands in his lap and gazing reflectively at his outstretched legs. "I am afraid that he gives too much of his mind to teaching, andneglects other things. He is carried away by his love of teaching, andwhen he finds one person, or a dozen persons who want to learn, heneglects his best friends for that one person, or those dozen persons. He oughtn't to do it; it isn't right--but then, after all, no man isperfect, and I suppose the easiest way for us to get along is to stoplooking for perfection. "

Miss Calthea made no answer. She gazed out of the window as if she wasmildly impressed with a solicitude for the welfare of her garden. Thereflitted into her mind a wavering, indeterminate sort of notion thatperhaps Lanigan was a better fellow than he used to be, and that if sheshould succeed in her great purpose it might not be necessary that heshould go away. But still, --and here prudence stepped in front ofkindliness, --if that child's nurse remained in the neighborhood, itwould be safer if Lanigan kept up his interest in her; and if sheultimately carried him off, that was his affair. 

Leaning forward, Miss Calthea took a match from a box on a shelf, andhanded it to Lanigan. 

"You may as well smoke if you want to, " she said; "it's not likely anyone will be coming in, and I don't object when the window is open. "

Gratefully Lanigan lighted his cigar. 

"Calthy, this is truly like old times, " he said. "And to finish up withTippengray, I'll say that if Lodloe and I had not our mind so filledwith our own businesses and projects, I'd get him to go in with me, andhelp make up a class; but if I were to do that, perhaps people might saythat all I wanted was to get in with the girls. "

Here was a chance for Calthea to give her schemes a little push. 

"There is only one girl, " she said, "who would be likely to take part inthat sort of thing, and that is the child's nurse at the Squirrel Inn;but if she really is given to study, I suppose she might help you toimprove your mind, and if you are what you used to be, it will stand agood deal of improving. "

"That's so, Calthy, " said Lanigan; "that's so. " He was in high goodhumor at the turn the conversation had taken, but did his best torepress his inclination to show it. "It might be well to go in forimprovement. I'll do that, anyway. " Lanigan blew out a long whiff ofpurple smoke. "Calthy is a deep one, " he said to himself; "she wants meto draw off that girl from the old man. But all right, my lady; youtackle him and I will tackle her. That suits me beautifully. "

At this moment Lodloe entered the shop, and Miss Calthea Rose greetedhim with much graciousness. 

[Illustration: "CALTHY, THIS IS TRULY LIKE OLD TIMES. "]

"You must have taken a short walk, " said Lanigan. "Don't you want towait until I finish my cigar? It's so much pleasanter to smoke here thanin the open air. Perhaps Miss Calthea will let you join me. "

Lodloe was perfectly willing to wait, but did not wish to smoke. He wasinterested in what he had heard of the stock of goods which was beingsold off about as fast as a glacier moves, and was glad to have theopportunity to look about him. 

"Do you know, Calthy, " said Lanigan, "that you ought to sell Mr. Lodloea bill of goods?" He said this partly because of his own love ofteasing, but partly in earnest. To help Calthea sell off her stock wasan important feature of his project. 

"Mr. Lodloe shall not buy a thing, " said Calthea Rose. "If he is ever inwant of anything, and stops in here to see if I have it in stock, Ishall be glad to sell it to him if it is here, for I am still inbusiness; but I know very well that Mr. Lodloe came in now as anacquaintance and not as a customer. "

"Beg your pardons, both of you, " cried Lanigan, springing to his feet, and throwing the end of his cigar out of the window; "but I say, Calthy, have you any of that fire-blaze calico with the rocket sparks that'sbeen on hand ever since I can remember?"

"Your memory is pretty short sometimes, " said Calthea, "but I think Iknow the goods you mean, and I have seven yards of it left. Why do youask about it?"

"I want to see it, " said Lanigan. "There it is on that shelf; it's thesame-sized parcel that it used to be. Would you mind handing it down tome?"

Lanigan unrolled the calico upon the counter, and gazed upon it withdelight. "Isn't that glorious!" he cried to Lodloe; "isn't that like atown on fire! By George! Calthea, I will take the whole seven yards. "

"Now, Lanigan, " said Miss Calthea, "you know you haven't the least usein the world for this calico. "

"I know nothing of the sort, " said Lanigan; "I have a use for it. I wantto make Mrs. Petter a present, and I have been thinking of afire-screen, and this is just the thing for it. I'll build the framemyself, and I'll nail on this calico, front and back the same. It'llwant a piece of binding, or gimp, tacked around the edges. Have you anybinding, or gimp, Calthy, that would suit?"

Miss Calthea laughed. "You'd better wait until you are ready for it, "she said, "and then come and see. "

"Anyway, I want the calico, " said he. "Please put it aside for me, andI'll come in to-morrow and settle for it. And now it seems to me that ifwe want any supper we had better be getting back to the inn. "

"It's not a bad idea, " said Miss Calthea Rose, when she was left toherself; "but it shall not be in a class. No, indeed! I will take goodcare that it shall not be in a class. "

XVII

BANANAS AND OATS

When Walter Lodloe walked to Lethbury because he could not talk to Mrs. Cristie, it could not have been reasonably supposed that his walk wouldhave had more practical influence on his feelings towards that lady thana conversation with her would have had; but such was the case. 

It would have been very pleasant to talk, or walk, or chat, or stroll, or play tennis, with her, but when he reached the quiet little village, and wandered by himself along the shaded streets, and looked into thepretty yards and gardens, on the profusion of old-fashioned flowers andthe cool green grass under the trees, and here and there a stonewell-curb with a great sweep and an oaken bucket, and the air of quaintcomfort which seemed to invade the interiors of those houses that werepartly opened to his view, it struck him, as no idea of the sort hadever struck him before, what a charming and all-satisfying thing itwould be to marry Mrs. Cristie and live in Lethbury in one of thesecool, quaint houses with the quiet and shade and the flowers--at leastfor a few years until his fortunes should improve. 

He had a notion that Mrs. Cristie would like that sort of thing. Sheseemed so fond of country life. He would write and she would help him. He would work in the vegetable garden, and she among the flowers. Itwould be Arcadia, and it would be cheap. Even with his present incomeevery rural want could be satisfied. 

An infusion of feasibility--or what he looked upon as such--into thesentimentality of such a man as Walter Lodloe generally acts as astiffener to his purposes. He was no more in love with Mrs. Cristie thanhe had been when he left the Squirrel Inn, but he now determined, if hesaw any reason to suppose that she would accept them, to offer himselfand a Lethbury cottage to Mrs. Cristie. 

He had a good opportunity to think over this matter and come todecisions, for his companion walked half the way home without saying aword. 

Suddenly Lanigan spoke. 

"Do you know, " said he, "that I have about made up my mind to marry thegoverness?"

"She isn't a governess, " said Lodloe; "she is a nurse-maid. "

"I prefer to invest her with a higher grade, " said Lanigan; "and it ispretty much the same thing, after all. Anyway, I want to marry her, andI believe I can do it if nobody steps in to interfere. "

"Who do you suppose would do that?" asked Lodloe. 

"Well, " said Lanigan, "if the Lethbury people knew about it, and had achance, every man jack of them, and every woman jack, too, wouldinterfere, and under ordinary circumstances Calthea Rose would take thelead; but just now I think she intends to lend me a hand--not for mygood, but for her own. If she does that, I am not afraid of all Lethburyand the Petters besides. The only person I am afraid of is Mrs. Cristie. "

"Why do you fear her?" asked Lodloe. 

"Well, " said Lanigan, "when she was at the inn some years ago I was atmy wildest, and her husband did not like me. He was in bad health, verytouchy, and I suppose I gave him reason enough to consider me anextremely black sheep. Of course Mrs. Cristie naturally thought prettymuch as he did, and from what you told me of the conference over myadvent, I suppose her opinions haven't changed much. She has treated mevery well since I have been here, but I have no doubt that she wouldconsider it her duty to let Miss Mayberry know just the sort of fellowshe thinks I am. "

"Of course she would do that, " said Lodloe; "and she ought to do it. "

"No, sir, " said Lanigan; "you are wrong, and I am going to prove it toyou, and you shall see that I trust you as if I had known you yearsinstead of days. I want you to understand that I am not the same sort offellow that I used to be, not by any means. I told old Petter that, sothat he might have a little practice in treating me with respect, but Ididn't give him any reasons for it, because Calthea Rose would be sureto suspect that he knew something, and she'd worm it out of him; but Idon't believe she could worm anything out of you. When I left thisplace some eighteen months ago I went down to Central America and boughta banana farm, paying very little money down. In less than three monthsI sold my land to a company, and made a very good thing out of it. Then, thinking the company after a while might want more land, I boughtanother large tract, and before the end of the year I sold that to them, doubling my money. Then I left the tropics, fearing I might go too deepinto that sort of speculation and lose every cent I had. I traveledaround, and at last landed in Chicago, and here the money-making feverseized me again. It is a new thing to me, and a lot more intoxicating, Ican tell you. I invested in oats, and before I knew it that blessedgrain went up until, if its stalks had been as high as its price, itwould have been over my head. I sold out, and then I said to myself:'Now, Lanigan, my boy, if you don't want to be a beastly pauper for therest of your life, you had better go home. ' Honestly, I was frightened, and it seemed to me I should never be safe until I was back in Lethbury. Look here, " he said, taking from a pocket a wallet filled with a mass ofpapers and a bank-book; "look at those certificates, and here is my NewYork bank-book, so you can see that I am not telling you lies. 

"Now you may say that the fact of my having money doesn't prove that Iam any better than I used to be, but if you think that, you are wrong. There is no better way to reform a fellow than to give him something totake care of and take an interest in. That's my case now, and all I'vegot I've given myself, which makes it better, of course. I'm not rich, but I've got enough to buy out any business in Lethbury. And to go intobusiness and to live here are what will suit me better than anythingelse, and that's not counting in Ida Mayberry at all. To live here withher would be better luck than the biggest rise in oats the world eversaw. Now you see where I stand. If Mrs. Cristie goes against me, shedoes a cruel thing to me, and to Ida Mayberry besides. "

"Why don't you tell her the facts?" said Lodloe. "That would be thestraightforward and sensible thing to do. "

"My dear boy, " said Lanigan, "I cannot put the facts into the hands of awoman. No matter how noble or honorable she may be, without the leastintention on her part they would leak out, and if Calthea Rose shouldget hold of them I should be lost. She'd drop old Tippengray like a hotpotato and stick to me like one of those adhesive plasters that haveholes in them. No, sir; I don't want Calthea Rose to think well of me. Iwant her to keep on considering me as a good-for-nothing scapegrace, and, by George! it's easy enough to make her do that. It's all in herline of business. But I want other people to think well of me in ageneral way, and when Calthea and Tippengray have settled things betweenthem, and are traveling on the Continent, which they certainly ought todo, I'll start in business, and take my place as one of the leadingcitizens of Lethbury; and, as things look now, all will be plain sailingif Mrs. Cristie thinks well enough of me not to interfere between meand Ida Mayberry. Now all I ask of you is to say a good word for me ifyou can get a chance. "

"After what you have told me, " said Lodloe, "I think I shall say it. "

"Good for you!" cried Lanigan. "And if I go to Calthy and ask her tolend me the money to get a frame made for Mrs. Petter's fire-screen, don't you be surprised. What I'm doing is just as much for her good asfor mine. In this whole world there couldn't be a better match for herthan old Tippengray, and she knows it, and wants him. "

"If there was a society for the prevention of cruelty to Greek scholars, I don't know but that it might interfere in this case, " said Lodloe. 

XVIII. 

SWEET PEAS. 

Walter Lodloe was now as much flushed with the fever of love-making asLanigan Beam had been flushed with the fever of money-making, but he didnot have the other man's luck. Mrs. Cristie gave him few opportunitiesof making her know him as he wished her to know him. He had sense enoughto see that this was intentional, and that if he made any efforts toimprove his opportunities he might drive her away. 

As he sat at his tower window, his fingers in his hair and his mindtrying to formulate the prudent but bold thing he ought to do, a voicecame up from below. It was that of Ida Mayberry. 

"Mr. Lodloe! Mr. Lodloe!" she cried; and when he had put his head out ofthe window she called to him:

"Don't you want to come down and help us teach Mr. Tippengray to playtennis? He has taught us so much that we are going to teach himsomething. "

"Who are going to teach?" asked Lodloe. 

"Mrs. Cristie and I, " said Ida. "Will you come?"

Instantly consenting, Lodloe drew in his head, his love fever rising. 

The Greek scholar was one of the worst tennis-players in the world. Heknew nothing of the game, and did not appear capable of learning it. Andyet when Lanigan Beam appeared, having just arrived on horseback fromRomney, Mrs. Cristie would not allow the Greek scholar to give up hisplace to the younger man. She insisted on his finishing the game, andwhen it was over she declared the morning too warm to play any more. 

As she and Lodloe stood together for a moment, their rackets still intheir hands, Mrs. Cristie smiled, but at the same time frowned. 

"It is too provoking, " she said; "I wish Douglas would wake up andscream his very loudest. I was just on the point of asking Ida to gowith me into the garden to pick sweet peas, when Mr. Beam hands her thathorrible bunch of wild flowers, crammed full of botany, I've no doubt. And now just look at them! Before one could say a word, there they areon that bench, heads together, and pulling the weeds to pieces. Think ofit! Studying botany with _him_, and Mr. Tippengray on the same lawn withher!"

"Oh, he's too hot to teach anything, " said Lodloe. "You don't seem toapprove of Mr. Beam's attentions to that young woman. "

"I do not, " said she. "You know what he is as well as I do. "

"Better, " said Lodloe. For a moment he paused, and then continued: "Mrs. Cristie, I wish you would let me go into the garden with you to picksweet peas and to talk about Mr. Beam. "

"Mr. Beam!" she repeated. 

"Yes, " said Lodloe; "I wish very much to speak to you in regard to him, and I cannot do it here where we may be interrupted at any moment. "

As a young and pretty woman who knew her attractions, and who had maderesolutions in regard to the preponderance of social intercourse in aparticular direction, Mrs. Cristie hesitated before answering. But as amatron who should know all about a young man who was paying very specialattention to a younger woman in her charge, she accepted the invitation, and went into the garden with Lodloe. 

The sweet pea-blossoms crowded the tall vines which lined one side of apath, and as she picked them he talked to her. 

He began by saying that he had noticed, and he had no doubt that she hadnoticed, that in all the plain talk they had heard about Mr. Beam therehad been nothing said against his moral character except that he did notpay his debts nor keep his promises. To this Mrs. Cristie assented, butsaid that she thought these were very bad things. Lodloe agreed to this, but said he thought that when a young man of whom even professionalslanderers did not say that he was cruel, or that he gambled, or drank, or was addicted to low company and pursuits, had determined to reformhis careless and thoughtless life, he ought to be encouraged and helpedin every possible way. And then when she asked him what reason he had tosuppose that Mr. Beam had determined to reform, he straightway told hereverything about Lanigan, Chicago oats and all, adding that the youngman did not wish him to say anything about this matter, but he had takenit upon himself to do so because Mrs. Cristie ought to know it, andbecause he was sure that she would not mention it to any one. When Mrs. Cristie exclaimed at this, and said that she thought that the soonereverybody knew it the better, Lodloe told her of the state of affairsbetween Calthea Rose and Lanigan Beam, and why the latter did not wishhis reform to be known at present. 

Mrs. Cristie dropped upon the ground every sweet-pea blossom she hadgathered. 

"I cannot imagine, " she said, "how you can take the part of a man whowould deliberately attempt to lower himself in the eyes of one woman inorder that he might have a better chance to win another woman. "

"Mrs. Cristie, " said Lodloe, "I am a young man, and I have lived muchamong young men. I have seen many of them in dangerous and troubledwaters, floating down to ruin and destruction, and now and then I haveseen one who had turned and was trying to strike out for the shore. Inevery case of this kind I have tried to give the poor fellow a hand andhelp him get his feet on firm ground. Sometimes he jumped in again, andsometimes he didn't, but all that was not my affair; I was bound to helphim when I saw him facing the right way, and that is just the way I feelabout young Beam. I do not approve of all his methods, but if he wantsmoral support I say he ought to have it. "

Mrs. Cristie looked at the pink, blue, and purple blossoms on theground. "His sentiments are good and generous ones, " she thought, "and Ishall not say one word against them, but Ida Mayberry shall not marrythat exceedingly slippery young man, and the good Mr. Tippengray shallnot be caught by Calthea Rose. " She came to this resolution with muchfirmness of purpose, but as she was not prepared to say anything on thesubject just then, she looked up very sweetly at Lodloe, and said:

"Suppose we drop Mr. Beam. "

He looked for an instant into her eyes. 

"Gladly, " he exclaimed, with an impulse like a lightning-flash, "andspeak of Walter Lodloe. "

"Of you?" she said. 

"Yes, of me, " he replied; "of myself, of a man who has no scheme, noplan, no concealments, and who only wishes you to know that he loves youwith all his heart. "

She looked at him steadfastly for a moment. 

"Was it for this, " she said, "that you asked me to come with you andpick sweet-pea blossoms?"

"Not at all, " he exclaimed; "I meant no more than I said, and thought ofno more. But the flowers we came to gather you have dropped upon theground. "

"They can easily be picked up again, " she said. 

"Not at all, " he cried, and, stepping forward, put his foot upon thefragrant blossoms. Then with a few rapid dashes he gathered a bunch ofsweet peas and extended them towards Mrs. Cristie. 

"Will you not take these instead?" he said. 

She put her hands behind her back. 

[Illustration: "WILL YOU NOT TAKE THESE INSTEAD?"]

"I do not mean, " he said, speaking low but strongly, "that in acceptingthem you accept me. I only want to know that you will talk to me of whatI said, or at any rate think of it. "

But still she kept her hands behind her back. In her heart she knew thatshe wanted those flowers, but the knowledge had come so suddenly, sounexpectedly, and so unreasonably, that she did not even look at them, and clasped her fingers together more tightly. 

"Some one is coming, " said Lodloe. "Tell me quickly, must these flowersbe dropped?"

Steps could plainly be heard not far away. Mrs. Cristie looked up. 

"I will take one, " she said; "the very smallest. "

He thrust the bunch of flowers towards her, and she hastily drew from itone which happened to be the largest of them all. 

The person who now appeared in the garden walk was Calthea Rose. Sheexperienced no emotions but those of mild amusement at seeing these twotogether. At present she did not care very much about either of them, although, when she had heard of the expected coming of the young widow, she had been afraid of her, and was prepared to dislike her. But findingher, as she supposed, already provided with a lover, Calthea was quitesatisfied with Mrs. Cristie. She liked Lodloe on general principles, because he was a man. Her greeting was very pleasant. It often happenedthat the people whom Calthea Rose neither liked nor disliked were thosewho found her the most pleasant. 

She was inclined to walk on and leave them among the sweet-pea blossoms, but Mrs. Cristie would not allow this. She joined Calthea, and the threewent on together. When they stepped upon the open lawn, Calthea gave aquick glance around, and the result was very satisfactory. Ida Mayberryand Lanigan were still sitting together under a tree, and she saw Mr. Tippengray talking to Mrs. Petter not far from the summer-house. Nothingcould be better arranged. Lanigan was on the right road, and it would bequite as natural for her immediately to join Mrs. Petter as it would beeasy to get rid of her. 

The party separated, Lodloe going to his room and Calthea walkingtowards the summer-house. She had come that day to the Squirrel Inn witha purpose; she was going to be taught by Mr. Tippengray. In this worldwe must adapt ourselves to circumstances, and she was going to adaptherself to the Greek scholar's hobby. She was a sensible woman, and didnot for a moment purpose to ask him to teach her the dead languages, philosophy, or science, things in which he knew she took no interest. Indeed, she would not ask him to teach her anything, but she was goingto give him the opportunity to do so, and she was quite sure that thatwould be sufficient for her purpose. 

She intended to make herself an audience of one, and to listen in a wayshe knew would please him to the recital of his travels and experiences. Of these he had often essayed to talk to her, but she had not encouragedhim. She never liked to talk upon subjects of which other people knewmore than she did, and she always endeavored to bring the conversationinto a channel where she could take an equal part. If she could lead, somuch the better. But now she was going to let Mr. Tippengray talk to herjust as much as he pleased, and tell her all he wanted to tell her. Shenow knew him better than she had done before, and she had strong hopesthat by this new string she would be able to lead him from the SquirrelInn to Lethbury whenever she chose. 

Mrs. Petter had long been accustomed to look upon Calthea Rose as aperson whose anger would blaze up very suddenly, but would go out quiteas promptly--which was true, when Miss Calthea chose to put it out--butshe was a little surprised that Calthea, after so recently going away ina huff, should treat Mr. Tippengray with such easy friendliness. If theGreek scholar himself felt surprised, he did not show it, for he wasalways ready to meet a cordial overture. 

Miss Calthea had just accepted an invitation to be seated in theshade, --which she knew would very soon be followed by Mrs. Petter'sgoing into the house, for that good woman was seldom content to sit longout of doors, --when up stepped Ida Mayberry. 

"Mr. Tippengray, " said she in the clear, distinct way in which shealways spoke, "here is something which I have been trying to explain toMr. Beam, but I am afraid I haven't a quite correct idea about itmyself. Will you please read it, and tell me how it strikes you!"

[Illustration: "I HAVE DISSECTED ONE. "]

This was too much for the patience of Calthea Rose. Her resolutions ofgeniality and good nature could not stand for a moment against such aninterruption at such a time. She turned sharply upon the nurse-maid, and, without attempting to disguise her feelings, said it seemed to herthat a person so anxious to learn would be much better employed inattending to her business and in trying to learn something about babiesthan in interrupting conversation in this impertinent way. 

"Learn something about babies!" exclaimed Miss Mayberry. "Nobody knowsmore about babies than I do--I have dissected one. "

At this Mrs. Petter gave a cry of horror, and Miss Calthea stepped back, speechless with amazement. As for the Greek scholar, he suddenly retiredto a little distance and leaned over a bench, his back to the company. He was greatly agitated. 

Without further remark Miss Mayberry closed her book, and, with dignity, walked back to Lanigan Beam. 

XIX

THE AROUSED ROSE

The soul of Miss Calthea Rose was now filled with one burning purpose, and that was to banish from the Squirrel Inn that obtrusive and utterlyobnoxious collegiate nurse-maid who had so shamelessly admitted a desirefor surgical research in connection with the care of an infant. It wasof no use for Miss Calthea to think at this moment of her plans inregard to Mr. Tippengray, nor indeed of anything but this one absorbingobject. Until she had rid herself of Ida Mayberry she could expect to donothing that she wished to do. Leaving Mr. Tippengray to the quietenjoyment of his agitations, Miss Calthea and Mrs. Petter immediatelyset off to find Mrs. Cristie. 

"She must instantly know, " said the former, "what sort of a serpent shehas in her service. If I were in her place I would never let thatcreature touch my baby again. "

"Touch the baby!" exclaimed Mrs. Petter, "I wouldn't let her touch me. When a person with such a disposition begins on infants there is noknowing where she will stop. Of course I don't mean that she isdangerous to human life, but it seems to me horrible to have any oneabout us who would be looking at our muscles, and thinking about ourbones, and wondering if they worked together properly, and if they wouldcome apart easily. Ugh! It's like having a bat in the room. "

Mrs. Cristie was not in the mood to give proper attention to thealarming facts which were laid before her by the two women, who foundher sitting by the window in her room. It had been so short a time sinceshe had come from the garden, and the blossom of the sweet pea, whichshe still held in her hand, had been so recently picked from its vine, that it was not easy for her to fix her mind upon the disqualificationsof nurse-maids. Even the tale that was told her, intensified by thebitter feeling of Miss Rose, and embellished by the imagination of Mrs. Petter, did not have the effect upon her that was expected by thenarrators. She herself had been a student of anatomy, and was still fondof it, and if she had been able properly to consider the subject at thatmoment, she might not have considered it a bad thing for Ida Mayberry tohave the experience of which she had boasted. 

But the young widow did not wish at that moment to think of hernurse-maid or even of her baby, and certainly not to give her attentionto the tales of her landlady and the spinster from Lethbury. 

"I must admit, " she said, "that I cannot see that what you tell me is sovery, very dreadful, but I will speak to Ida about it. I think she isapt to talk very forcibly, and perhaps imprudently, and does not alwaysmake herself understood. "

This was said with an air of abstraction and want of interest whichgreatly irritated Miss Calthea. She had not even been thanked for whatshe had done. Mrs. Cristie had been very civil, and was evidently tryingto be more so, but this was not enough for Miss Calthea. 

"We considered it our duty, " she said, with a decided rigidity ofcountenance, "to tell you what we know of that girl, and now we leavethe matter with you"; which was a falsehood, if Miss Calthea was capableof telling one. 

Then with much dignity she moved towards the door, and Mrs. Petterprepared to follow; but before going she turned with moist eyes towardsMrs. Cristie, and said:

"Indeed, indeed, you ought to be very careful; and no matter how youlook at it, she is not fit for a nurse, as everybody can see. Make upyour mind to send her away, and I'll go myself and get you a good one. "

Glancing out of the door to see that the Lethbury lady was out ofhearing, Mrs. Cristie said:

"You are very good, Mrs. Petter, and I know you wish me well, but tellme one thing; wasn't it Miss Rose who proposed that you should come tome with this story about Ida!"

"Of course I should have told you myself, " said Mrs. Petter, "though Imight have taken my time about it; but Calthea did not want to lose aminute, and said we must go right off and look for you. She was as madas hops any way, for we were talking to Mr. Tippengray at the time, andCalthea does hate to be interrupted when she is talking to him. Butdon't you worry yourself any more than you can help, and remember mypromise. I'll stick to it, you may count on that. "

When Mrs. Cristie had been left to herself she gave enough time to theconsideration of what had been told her to come to the followingconclusion: "She shall not have him; I have made up my mind to that. Interrupted by Ida! Of course that is at the bottom of it. " And havingsettled this matter, she relapsed into her former mood, and fell tothinking what she should do about the sweet-pea blossom. 

She thought until the supper-bell rang, and then she rose and with apretty smile and flush upon her face, which showed that her thoughts hadnot in the least worried her, she put the sweet-pea blossom into alittle jar which she had brought from Florence, and which was just bigenough for one small flower. 

At supper Walter Lodloe was very quiet and very polite, and Mrs. Cristie, who was opposite to him, though not at all quiet, was also verypolite, but bestowed her attention almost entirely upon Mr. Tippengray, who sat beside her. The Greek scholar liked this, and his conversationsparkled. 

Miss Calthea Rose, who had accepted Mrs. Petter's invitation to spendthe night, --for if ever she was going to do anything at the SquirrelInn, this was the time to do it, --did not like Mrs. Cristie'spoliteness, and her conversation did not sparkle. In fact she wasquieter than Mr. Lodloe, and paid little heed to the chatter of herneighbor, Lanigan Beam. This young man was dissatisfied. There was aplace at the table that was sometimes filled and sometimes not filled. At present it was empty. 

[Illustration: MRS. CRISTIE CONSIDERS. ]

"I cannot see, " said he, speaking to the company in general, "why babiesare not brought to the table. I think they ought to be taught from thevery beginning how to behave themselves at meals. "

Mr. Petter fixed his eyes upon him, and, speaking through the young man, also addressed the company. 

"I'm not altogether in favor of having small children at the table, "said he. "Their food is different from ours, and their ways are oftenunpleasant; but I do think--"

"No, you don't, " interrupted Mrs. Petter from the other end of thetable--"you don't think anything of the kind. That has all been fixedand settled, and there's no use in bringing it up again. "

Mr. Petter looked at his wife with a little flash in his eye, but hespoke quietly. 

"There are some things, " he said, "that can be unfixed and unsettled. "

Mrs. Cristie hastened to stop this discussion. 

"As I own the only baby in the house, " she said, with a smile, "I may aswell say that it is not coming to the table either by itself or in anyother way. "

A thought now tickled Mr. Tippengray. Without any adequate reasonwhatever, there came before him the vision of an opossum which he oncehad seen served at a Virginia dinner-table, plump and white, upon achina dish. And he felt almost irresistibly impelled to lean forward andask Mr. Lodloe if he had ever read any of the works of Mr. JonathanCarver, that noted American traveler of the last century; but he knew itwouldn't do, and he restrained himself. If he had thought Lodloe wouldunderstand him he would have made his observation in Greek, but eventhat would have been impolite to the rest of the company. So he kept hisjoke to himself, and, for fear that any one should perceive hisamusement, he asked Mrs. Petter if she had ever noticed how much finerwas the fur of a cat which slept out of doors than that of one which hadbeen in the house. She had noticed it, but thought that the cat wouldprefer a snug rug by the fire to fine fur. 

Calthea Rose said little and thought much. It was necessary that sheshould take in every possible point in the situation, and she was doingit. She did not like Mrs. Cristie's attention to Mr. Tippengray, becauseit gave him pleasure, and she did not wish that other women should givehim pleasure; but she was not jealous, for that would have been absurdin this case. 

But the apparent state of feeling at the table had given her an idea. She was thinking very bitterly of Mrs. Cristie, and would gladly doanything which would cause that lady discomfort. There seemed to besomething wrong between her and Mr. Lodloe, otherwise the two loverswould be talking to each other, as was their custom. Perhaps she mightfind an opportunity to do something here. If, for instance, she couldget the piqued gentleman to flirt a little with her, --and she had nodoubt of her abilities in this line, --it might cause Mrs. Cristieuneasiness. And here her scheme widened and opened before her. If inany way she could make life at the Squirrel Inn distasteful to Mrs. Cristie, that lady might go away. And in this case the whole problemthat engrossed her would be solved, for of course the maid would go withthe mistress. 

Calthea's eyes brightened, and with a smile she half listened tosomething Lanigan Beam was saying to her. 

"Yes, " she thought; "that would settle the whole business. The widow isthe person I ought to drive away; then they would all go, and leave himto me, as I had him before. "

And now she listened a little, and talked a little, but still kept onthinking. It was really a very good thing that her feeling towards Mrs. Cristie had so suddenly changed, otherwise she might never have thoughtof this admirable scheme. 

XX

AN INGENUOUS MAID

Mrs. Cristie was unusually prompt that evening in going to the relief ofIda Mayberry, but before she allowed that young woman to go down to hersupper she put a question to her. 

"What do you mean, Ida, " she said, "by talking about dissecting babies?Whatever you may have done in that line, I do not think it is very niceto bring it forward when you have charge of a child. "

"Of course it wasn't nice, " replied Ida, "and I should never havethought of speaking of it if it had not been for that thing fromLethbury. She makes me so angry that I don't know what I say. You oughtto hear Lanigan Beam talk about her. He has confided to me, although Iam not sure that he should have done it. "

"Of course not, " said Mrs. Cristie, very promptly; "he should not haveconfided anything to you. "

"Well, " continued Ida, "he told me, but said he would not breathe it toany one else, that the great object of his life at present was to ridthis neighborhood of Calthea Rose. He says she has been a plague tothis community ever since he has known her. She is always ready to makemischief, and nobody can tell when or how she is going to do it. As forhimself, he vows she has made it impossible for him to live here; and ashe wishes to live here, he wants her to go. "

"And how does he propose to make her go?" asked Mrs. Cristie. 

"He wants her to marry Mr. Tippengray, which she is very willing to do, and then he is quite sure that they will go away and travel, and stayabroad for a long time. He knows that this will be the very thing thatshe would want to do. "

"And I suppose, " said Mrs. Cristie, "that Mr. Beam told you all this inorder that you might be induced to help on the match between Mr. Tippengray and Miss Rose. "

"That was exactly his object, " said Ida; "he said that everybody oughtto help in this good work. "

"And then, I suppose, he would like to marry you, " remarked Mrs. Cristie. 

"He hasn't said so yet, " replied Miss Mayberry, "but I think he wouldlike to do it. "

Mrs. Cristie brought down her little fist upon the table, regardless ofher slumbering child. 

"That man is utterly without a conscience, " she exclaimed. "If he hadn'tkept on engaging himself over and over again to Calthea Rose, she mighthave married somebody else, and gone away long ago. He has no one buthimself to blame that she is still here to worry him and other people. And as to his wishing to sacrifice Mr. Tippengray to his ease andcomfort, I think it is the most shameful thing I ever heard of. I hope, Ida, that you did not encourage him in this iniquitous scheme. "

Ida laughed, but quietly--remembering the baby. 

"Not much, " she said; "in fact, I have determined, if I can, to rescueMr. Tippengray from that clutching old thing. "

"How?" asked Mrs. Cristie, quickly. 

"By marrying him myself, " said the nurse-maid. 

"Ida Mayberry!" exclaimed Mrs. Cristie. 

"Yes, " said the other; "I have been considering the matter a good deal, and I think it can be done. He is much older than I am, but that isn'tof great importance when people suit in other ways. Of course I wouldnot wish to marry a very old man, even if he were suitable, for I shouldhave to look forward to a married life so short that it would not pay;but Mr. Tippengray was not born so dreadfully far back, and he is one ofthose men who keep young for a long time. I think he likes me, and I amsure I can easily make him like me more, if I choose. There is nobodyhere that I need be afraid of, excepting you, perhaps. "

Mrs. Cristie looked at her in amazement. 

"Me!" she exclaimed. 

"Yes, " said Ida; "and this is the way of it. For a time I rather likedLanigan Beam, for he's young and good-looking, and particularly becausehe seems very much in love with me; but although he pretends to beanxious to study, I know he is not very deep, and will probably soontire of that. So when my sympathy for Mr. Tippengray was fairlyaroused, --and it has been growing for some time, --it was easy enough todrop Lanigan; but before I allowed myself to become too much interestedin Mr. Tippengray I had to consider all sides of the case. You seem tolike Mr. Tippengray very much, and of course if you really made up yourmind to prefer him to anybody else, one great object would be gained, just the same as if I married him, and he would be saved from the holethose two are digging for him. "

[Illustration: A MATRIMONIAL CONVERSATION. ]

"And in that case, " said Mrs. Cristie, repressing a strong dispositionto laugh, "what would you do? Perhaps you would be content to takeanything that might be left. "

"I suppose you mean Mr. Lodloe, " said Ida. "Well, to speak plainly, Ihave never thought that I had a right to take him into consideration, but if the field were entirely open, I would not hesitate a moment inpreferring him to either of the others. "

Now Mrs. Cristie laughed outright. 

"I could never have imagined, " she said, "that a young girl such as youare could have such practical and business-like views about matrimony. "

"Well, " said the nurse-maid, "I don't see anything out of the way in myviews. I want to bring an intelligent judgment to bear upon everything Ido, and if the higher education is of any good at all, it ought to helpus to regulate our affections. "

"I have nothing to say on the subject, " said Mrs. Cristie, "except thatthey did not pretend to teach us that at Vassar. I don't see how you canbring yourself to such calculations. But one part of your scheme Iapprove of highly: positively you ought to drop Lanigan Beam. As tomarrying Mr. Tippengray, that is your affair, and his affair. And youmay be sure I shall not interfere in any way. "

Ida looked at her and smiled. 

"I wasn't very much afraid of that, " she said, "though of course Ithought I ought to steer clear of even a possible interference; but nowI can go ahead with a clear conscience. "

Mrs. Cristie felt drawn towards this ingenuous maid. 

"Ida, " she said, taking her by the hand, "as you have been so confidingtowards me, I will say to you that since you have concluded to drop Mr. Beam your choice is decidedly restricted. "

"I am glad to hear it, " said the other, warmly; "he is a good man, and Ithink he has brains that you can count on. Is it all settled?"

"Oh, no, no!" said Mrs. Cristie; "and mind, Ida, don't you say a word ofthis to a living soul. "

"Oh, you needn't be afraid of that, " said Miss Mayberry; "I never betrayconfidences. "

"I am afraid, " said Mrs Cristie to herself, as she stood alone by herbaby's bedside, "that I went a little too far. It isn't settled yet, andit would have been better not to say anything about it. However"--andthen her thoughts went wandering. She was going down-stairs and out ofdoors as soon as she had satisfied herself that Douglas could beprudently left to his slumbers. 

XXI

TWISTED TRYSTS

Mrs. Cristie found the lower floor of the Squirrel Inn quite deserted. She stopped before a window in a Norman tower and looked out. Twilightwas fading, but there was a young moon in the sky. By stepping a littleto one side she could see the moon, with the evening star twinkling notfar away from it. She did not go out, however, but slowly wandered intoa long room under the roof of a Swiss chalet. Here she went out on aqueer little balcony and sat down; but her view was cut off by anout-jutting upper story of the old English type, with rows ofsmall-paned windows, and she soon came in from the balcony. There was alight burning in the taproom, and as she passed its open door shestopped for a moment and gazed reflectively at the row of dilapidatedstuffed squirrels, each of which had once stood guard upon theguide-post to the inn. But she took no note of the squirrels, nor ofanything else in the quiet room, but as she stood, and instinctively puther finger to her forehead, a resolution came. 

"I will be sensible, like Ida, " she thought. "I will go out and letthings happen as they may. "

She went out into the young moonlight and, glancing across the lawn, saw, near the edge of the bluff that commanded the western view, twopersons sitting upon a bench. Their backs were towards her, but one ofthem she knew to be Calthea Rose. 

"I hope that is not poor Mr. Tippengray, " said Mrs. Cristie to herself. "If she has secured him already, and taken him out there, I am afraidthat even Ida will not be able to get him away from her. Ida must stillbe at her supper. I should not have detained her so long. "

But Ida was not at her supper. As she turned towards the end of the lawnMrs. Cristie saw her nurse-maid slowly strolling over the grass, a manon each side of her. They were plainly to be seen, and one man was Mr. Tippengray and the other Lanigan Beam. The three were engaged in earnestconversation. Mrs. Cristie smiled. 

"I need not have feared for Ida, " she thought; "she must have made abold stroke to leave her rival in the lurch in that way, but I supposein order to get one man she has to take both. It is a little hard onMiss Calthea"; and with an amused glance towards the couple on the bluffshe moved towards the gardens. Her mind was in a half-timorous andundetermined state, in which she would have been glad to wander about byherself and to meet nobody, or, if it so should happen, glad to meetsomebody; and wistfully, but yet timidly, she wondered which it wouldbe. All at once she heard a step behind her. In spite of herself shestarted and flushed, and, turning, saw Mr. Petter. The sight of thisworthy gentleman was a shock to her. She had been sure he was sittingwith Calthea Rose on the bluff. If it was not he, who was it?

[Illustration: CALTHEA HOLDS HIM WITH HER LISTENING EAR. ]

"I am glad to see you, Mrs. Cristie, " said the landlord of the inn, "forI want to speak with you. My mind is disturbed, and it is on account ofyour assistant, Miss Mayberry. She has been talked about in a way that Ido not at all like. I may even say that my wife has been urging me touse my influence with you to get her dismissed. I assured Mrs. Petter, however, that I should use that influence, if it exists, in exactly theopposite direction. Shall we walk on together, Mrs. Cristie, while Ispeak further on the subject? I have a high opinion of Miss Mayberry. Ilike her because she is what I term blooded. Nothing pleases me so muchas blooded service, and, I may add, blooded associations andpossessions. So far as I am able to have it so, my horses, my cattle, and all my live stock are blooded. I consider my house, this inn, to bea blooded house. It can trace its various lines of architecturalancestry to honorable origins. The company at my house, with theexception of Lanigan Beam, --who, however, is not a full guest, butrather a limited inmate, ascending by a ladder to his dormitory, --are, if you will excuse me for saying so, blooded. And that one of theseguests should avail herself of blooded service is to me a greatgratification, of which I hope I shall not be deprived. To see a vulgardomestic in Miss Mayberry's place would wound and pain me, and I maysay, Mrs. Cristie that I have been able to see no reason whatever forsuch substitution. "

Mrs. Cristie had listened without a word, but as she listened she hadbeen asking herself who that could be with Calthea Rose. If it was notWalter Lodloe, who was it? And if it was he, why was he there? And if hewas there, why did he stay there? Of course she was neither jealous norworried nor troubled by such a thing, but the situation was certainlyodd. She had come out expecting something, she did not know exactlywhat; it might not have been a walk among the sweet-pea blossoms, butshe was very certain it was not a conversation with Mr. Petter, whileWalter Lodloe sat over there in the moonlight with Calthea Rose. 

"You need not have given yourself any anxiety, " she said to hercompanion, "for I have not the slightest idea of discharging Ida. Shesuits me admirably, and what they say about her is all nonsense; ofcourse I do not mean any disrespect to Mrs. Petter. "

Mr. Petter deprecatingly waved his hand. 

"I understand perfectly your reference to my wife, " he said "Her mind, Ithink, has been acted upon by others. Allow me to say, madam, that yourwords have encouraged and delighted me. I feel we are moving in theright direction. I breathe better. "

"How is it possible, " thought Mrs. Cristie, during the delivery of thisspeech, "that he can sit there, and sit, and sit, and sit, when he knowsat this hour I am always somewhere about the house or grounds, and neverin my room? Well, if he likes to sit there, let him sit"; and with thisshe looked up with some vivacity into the face of her landlord andasked him if even his pigeons and his chickens were blooded, and if thepigs were also of good descent. As she spoke she slightly acceleratedher pace. 

Mr. Petter was very willing to walk faster, and to talk about all thatappertained to his beloved Squirrel Inn, and so they walked and talkeduntil they reached the garden and disappeared from view behind the tallshrubbery that bordered the central path. 

Mrs. Petter sat on a little Dutch porch, looking out on the lawn, andher mind was troubled. She wished to talk to Mr. Petter, and here he wasstrolling about in the moonlight with that young widow. Of course therewas nothing in it, and it was perfectly proper for him to be polite tohis guests, but there were lines in politeness as well as in otherthings, and they ought to be drawn before people went off walking bythemselves in the garden at an hour when most farmers were thinkingabout going to bed. The good lady sat very uneasily on her little bench. The night air felt damp to her and disagreeable; she was sure there werespiders and other things running about the porch floor, and there wereno rounds to the bench on which she could put her feet. But she couldnot bear to go in, for she had not the least idea in the world wherethey had gone to. Perhaps they might walk all the way to Lethbury, forall she knew. At this moment a man came up to the porch. It was LaniganBeam, and his soul was troubled. The skilful Miss Mayberry had somanaged the conversation in which she and the two gentlemen wereengaged, that its subject matter became deeper and deeper in itscharacter, until poor Lanigan found that it was getting very much toodeep for him. As long as he could manage to keep his head above water hestood bravely, but when he was obliged to raise himself on the tips ofhis toes, and even then found the discourse rising above his chin, obliging him to shut his mouth and to blink his eyes, he thought it wiseto strike out for shore before he made a pitiful show of his lack ofmental stature. 

And in a very bad humor Lanigan walked rapidly to the house, where hewas much surprised to see Mrs. Petter on the little Dutch porch. 

"Why, madam, " he exclaimed, "I thought you never sat out afternightfall. "

"As a rule, I don't, " the good lady answered, "and I oughtn't to now;but the fact is--" She hesitated, but it was not necessary to finish thesentence. Mr. Petter and Mrs. Cristie emerged from the garden and stoodtogether just outside its gate. He was explaining to her the origin ofsome of the peculiar features of the Squirrel Inn. 

When the eyes of Mr. Beam fell upon these two, who stood plainly visiblein the moonlight, while he and Mrs. Petter were in shadow, his troublewas dissipated by a mischievous hilarity. 

"Well, well, well!" said he, "she _is_ a woman. "

"Of course she is, " said Mrs. Petter; "and what of that, I'd like toknow?"

"Now that I think of it, " said Lanigan, with a finger on the side of hisnose, "I remember that she and her young man didn't have much to say toeach other at supper. Quarreled, perhaps. And she is comforting herselfwith a little flirt with Mr. Petter. "

"Lanigan Beam, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, " cried the goodlady; "you know Mr. Petter never flirts. "

"Well, perhaps _he_ doesn't, " said Lanigan; "but if I were you, Mrs. Petter, I would take him out a shawl or something to put over hisshoulders. He oughtn't to be standing out there in the night wind. "

"I shall do nothing of the kind, " she answered shortly, "and I oughtn'tto be out here in the night air either. "

Lanigan gazed at Mrs. Cristie and her companion. If that charming youngwidow wanted some one to walk about with her in the moonlight, she couldsurely do better than that. Perhaps a diversion might be effected andpartners changed. 

"Mrs. Petter, " said he, "I wouldn't go in, if I were you. If you moveabout you will be all right. Suppose we stroll over that way. "

"I am ready to stroll, " said Mrs. Petter, in a tone that showed she hadbeen a good deal stirred by her companion's remarks, "but I am not goingto stroll over that way. The place is big enough for people to keep tothemselves, if they choose, and I am one that chooses, and I choose towalk in the direction of my duty, or, more properly, the duty ofsomebody else, and see that the hen-houses are shut"; and, takingLanigan's arm, she marched him down to the barn, and then across a smallorchard to the most distant poultry-house within the limits of theestate. 

When Mr. Stephen Petter, allowing his eyes to drop from the pointed roofof his high tower, saw his wife and Lanigan Beam walking away among thetrees in the orchard, he suddenly became aware that the night air waschilly, and suggested to his companion that it might be well to returnto the house. 

"Oh, not yet, Mr. Petter, " said she; "I want you to tell me how you cameto have that little turret over the thatched roof. "

She had determined that she would not go indoors while Calthea Rose andMr. Lodloe sat together on that bench. 

Early in the evening Miss Calthea had seen Mr. Lodloe walking by himselfupon the bluff, and she so arranged a little promenade of her own thatin passing around some shrubbery she met him near the bench. MissCalthea was an admirable manager in dialogue, and if she had an objectin view it did not take her long to find out what her collocutor likedto talk about. She had unusual success in discovering something whichvery much interested Mr. Lodloe, and they were soon seated on a benchdiscussing the manners and ways of life in Lethbury. 

To a man who recently had been seized with a desire to marry and to livein Lethbury, and who had already taken some steps in regard to themarriage, this subject was one of the most lively interest, and Lodloewas delighted to find what a sensible, practical, and well-informedwoman was Miss Rose. She was able to give him all sorts of points aboutbuying a building or renting houses in Lethbury, and she entered withthe greatest zeal into the details of living, service, the cost ofkeeping a horse, a cow, and poultry, and without making any inconvenientinquiries into the reasons for Mr. Lodloe's desire for information onthese subjects. She told him everything he wanted to know abouthousekeeping in her native village, because she had made herself awarethat his mind was set on that sort of thing. In truth she did not carewhether he settled in Lethbury or some other place, or whether he evermarried and settled at all. All she wished was to talk to him in such away that she might keep him with her as long as possible. She wishedthis because she liked to keep a fine-looking young man all to herself, and also because she thought that the longer she did so the moreuneasiness she would cause Mrs. Cristie. 

She had convinced herself that it would not do for life to float toosmoothly at the Squirrel Inn. She would stir up things here and there, but prudently, so that no matter who became disgusted and went away, itwould not be Mr. Tippengray. She was not concerned at present about thisgentleman. It was ten to one that by this time Lanigan Beam had drivenhim away from the child's nurse. 

Walter Lodloe was now beginning to feel that it was quite time that hisconversation with Miss Rose, which had really lasted much longer than hesupposed, should be brought to a close. His manner indicating this, MissCalthea immediately entered into a most attractive description of ahouse picturesquely situated on the outskirts of Lethbury, which wouldprobably soon be vacated on account of the owner's desire to go West. 

At the other end of the extensive lawn two persons walked backward andforward near the edge of the trees perfectly satisfied and untroubled. What the rest of the world was doing was of no concern whatever toeither of them. 

"I am afraid, Mr. Tippengray, " said the nurse-maid, "that when yourGreek version of the literature of to-day, especially its humorousportion, is translated into the American language of the future it willlose much of its point and character. "

"You must remember, my dear Miss Mayberry, " said the gentleman, "that wedo not know what our language will be in eight hundred or a thousandyears from now. The English of to-day may be utterly unintelligible tothe readers of that era, but that portion of our literature which I putinto imperishable and unchangeable Greek will be the same then as now. The scholar may read it for his own pleasure and profit, or he maytranslate it for the pleasure and profit of others. At all events, itwill be there, like a fly in amber, good for all time. All you have todo is to melt your amber, and there you have your fly. "

"And a well-shriveled-up fly it would be, I am afraid, " said Ida. 

Mr. Tippengray laughed. 

"Be not too sure of that, " he said. "I will translate some of my Greekversion of 'Pickwick' back into English, and let you see for yourselfhow my amber preserves the fly. "

"Let me do it, " said Ida. "It is a long time since I read 'Pickwick, 'and therefore my translation will be a better test. "

"Capital!" cried Mr. Tippengray. "I will copy a few lines for youto-night. "

From out an open Elizabethan window under a mansard roof, andoverlooking a small Moorish veranda, there came a sound of woe. Theinfant Douglas had awakened from a troubled sleep, and with a wild andpiercing cry he made known to his fellow-beings his desire for society. Instantly there was a kaleidoscopic change among the personages on thegrounds of the Squirrel Inn. Miss Mayberry darted towards the house; theGreek scholar, without knowing what he was doing, ran after her for ashort distance, and then stopped; Mrs. Petter screamed from the edge ofthe orchard to know what was the matter; and Lanigan ran to see. Mr. Petter, the natural guardian of the place, pricked up his ears andstrode towards the inn, his soul filled with a sudden fear of fire. Mrs. Cristie recognized the voice of her child, but saw Ida running, and so, relieved of present anxiety, remained where her companion had left her. 

Walter Lodloe, hearing Mrs. Petter's voice and the running, sprang fromhis seat; and seeing that it would be impossible to detain him now, andpreferring to leave rather than to be left, Miss Calthea hurried away tosee what was the matter. 

XXII

THE BLOSSOM AND THE LITTLE JAR

Perceiving Mrs. Cristie standing alone near the entrance to the garden, Walter Lodloe walked rapidly towards her. As he approached she moved inthe direction of the house. 

"Will you not stop a moment?" he said. "Do not go in yet. "

"I must, " she answered; "I have been out here a long while--too long. "

"Out here a long time!" he exclaimed. "You surprise me. Please stop onemoment. I want to tell you of a most interesting conversation I have hadwith Miss Rose. It has animated me wonderfully. "

Considering what had occurred that afternoon, this remark could not failto impress Mrs. Cristie, and she stopped and looked at him. He did notgive her time to ask any questions, but went on:

"I have been asking her about life in Lethbury--houses, gardens, everything that relates to a home in that delightful village. And whatshe has told me opens a paradise before me. I did not dream that downin that moon-lighted valley I should be almost rich; that I could offeryou--"

"And may I ask, " she interrupted, "if you have been talking about me toMiss Rose?"

"Not a word of it, " he answered warmly. "I never mentioned your name, nor referred to you in any way. "

She could not help ejaculating a little sarcastically:

"How circumspect!"

"And now, " he said, coming closer to her, "will you not give me ananswer? I love you, and I cannot wait. And oh! speak quickly, for herecomes Mrs. Petter straight towards us. "

"I do not like Lethbury, " said Mrs. Cristie. 

Lodloe could have stamped his feet, in the fire of his impatience. 

"But of me, of myself, " he said. "And oh! speak quickly, she is almosthere. "

"Please cease, " said Mrs. Cristie; "she will hear you. "

Mrs. Petter came up panting. 

"I don't want to interrupt you, Mrs. Cristie, " she said, "but really andtruly you ought to go to your baby. He has stopped crying in the moststartling and suspicious way. Of course I don't know what she has doneto him, and whether it's anything surgical or laudanum. And it isn't forme to be there to smell the little creature's breath; but you ought togo this minute, and if you find there is anything needed in the way ofmustard, or hot water, or sending for the doctor, just call to me fromthe top of the stairs. "

"My dear Mrs. Petter, " said Mrs. Cristie, "why didn't Calthea Rose comeand tell me this herself, instead of sending you?"

"She said that she thought you would take it better from me than fromher; and after we had made up our minds about it, she said I ought notto wait a second. "

"Well, " said Mrs. Cristie, "it was very good in you to come to me, but Ido not feel in the least alarmed. It was Ida's business to quiet thechild, and I have no doubt she did it without knives or poison. But nowthat you are here, Mrs. Petter, I wish to ask your opinion aboutsomething that Mr. Lodloe has been talking of to me. "

The young man looked at her in astonishment. 

"He has been telling me, " continued Mrs. Cristie, "of a gentleman heknows, a person of education, and accustomed to society, who hadconceived the idea of living in Lethbury. Now what do you think ofthat?"

"Well, " said Mrs. Petter, "if he's married, and if his wife's got theasthma, or he's got it himself, I have heard that Lethbury is good forthat sort of complaint. Or if he's failed in business and has to livecheap; or if he is thinking of setting up a store where a person can gethonest wash-goods; or if he has sickly children, and isn't particularabout schools, I suppose he might as well come to Lethbury as not. "

"But he has none of those reasons for settling here, " said Mrs. Cristie. 

"Well, then, " remarked Mrs. Petter, somewhat severely, "he must be weakin his mind. And if he's that, I don't think he's needed in Lethbury. "

As she finished speaking the good woman turned and beheld her husbandjust coming out of the house. Being very desirous of having her talkwith him, and not very well pleased at the manner in which her missionhad been received, she abruptly betook herself to the house. 

"Now, then, " said Mrs. Cristie, turning to Lodloe, "what do you think ofthat very explicit opinion?"

"Does it agree with yours?" he asked. 

"Wonderfully, " she replied. "I could not have imagined that Mrs. Petterand I were so much of a mind. "

"Mrs. Cristie, " said Lodloe, "I drop Lethbury, and here I stand withnothing but myself to offer you. "

The moon had now set, the evening was growing dark, and the lady beganto feel a little chilly about the shoulders. 

"Mr. Lodloe, " she asked, "what did you do with that bunch of sweet peasyou picked this afternoon?"

"They are in my room, " he said eagerly. "I have put them in water. Theyare as fresh as when I gathered them. "

"Well, " she said, speaking rather slowly, "if to-morrow, or next day, orany time when it may be convenient, you will bring them to me, I think Iwill take them. "

[Illustration: THE BABY AND THE SWEET-PEA BLOSSOM. ]

In about half an hour Mrs. Cristie went into the house, feeling that shehad stayed out entirely too late. In her room she found Ida reading by ashaded lamp, and the baby sleeping soundly. The nurse-maid looked upwith a smile, and then turned her face again to her book. Mrs. Cristiestepped quietly to the mantelpiece, on which she had set the little jarfrom Florence, but to her surprise there was nothing in it. Thesweet-pea blossom was gone. After looking here and there upon the floor, she went over to Ida, and in a low voice asked her if she had seenanything of a little flower that had been in that jar. 

"Oh, yes, " said the girl, putting down her book; "I gave it to baby toamuse him, and the instant he took it he stopped crying, and very soonwent to sleep. There it is; I declare, he is holding it yet. "

Mrs. Cristie went softly to the bedside of the child and, bending overhim, gently drew the sweet-pea blossom from his chubby little fist. 

XXIII

HAMMERSTEIN

Miss Calthea Rose was up and about very early the next morning. She hadwork to do in which there must be no delay or loss of opportunity. Itwas plain enough that her scheme for driving away Ida Mayberry hadfailed, and, having carefully noted the extraordinary length of timewhich Mrs. Cristie and Mr. Lodloe spent together under the stars theprevious evening, she was convinced that it would not be easy to makethat lady dissatisfied with the Squirrel Inn. She therefore determinedto turn aside from her plans of exile, to let the child's nurse staywhere she pleased, to give no further thought to Lanigan Beam, and todevote all her energies to capturing Mr. Tippengray. She believed thatshe had been upon the point of doing this before the arrival ofintruders on the scene, and she did not doubt that she could reach thatpoint again. 

Miss Calthea was very restless that morning; she was much more anxiousto begin work than was anybody else on the place. She walked about theground, went into the garden, passed the summer-house on her way thereand back again, and even wandered down to the barnyard, where themilking had just begun. If any one had been roaming about like herself, she could not have failed to observe such person. But there was no oneabout until a little before breakfast-time, when Mr. Petter showedhimself. 

This gentleman greeted Calthea coolly. He had had a very animatedconversation with his wife on the evening before, and had been madeacquainted with the unwarrantable enmity exhibited by this villageshopkeeper toward Mrs. Cristie's blooded assistant. He was beginning todislike Calthea, and he remembered that the Rockmores never liked her, and he wished very much that she would cease to spend so much of hertime at his house. After breakfast Calthea was more fortunate. She sawthe Greek scholar walking upon the lawn, with a piece of writing-paperin his hand. In less than five minutes, by the merest accident in theworld, Mr. Tippengray was walking across the lawn with Miss Rose, and hehad put his piece of paper into his pocket. 

She wanted to ask him something. She would detain him only a fewminutes. The questions she put to him had been suggested to her bysomething she had read that morning--a most meager and unsatisfactorypassage. She held in her hand the volume which, although she did nottell him so, had taken her a half-hour to select in Mr. Petter's bookroom. Shortly they were seated together, and he was answering herquestions which, as she knew, related to the most interestingexperiences of his life. As he spoke his eyes glistened and her soulwarmed. He did not wish that this should be so. He wanted to bring thisinterview to an end. He was nervously anxious to go back on the lawn, that he might see Miss Mayberry when she came out of doors; that hemight show her the lines of "Pickwick" which he had put into Greek, andwhich she was to turn back into English. 

But he could not cut short the interview. Miss Calthea was not anAncient Mariner; she had never even seen the sea, and she had noglittering eye, but she held him with a listening ear, and never waswedding guest, or any other man, held more securely. 

Minutes, quarter-hours, half-hours passed and still he talked and shelistened. She guided his speech as a watchful sailor guides his ship, and whichever way she turned it the wind always filled his sails. Forthe first ten minutes he had been ill at ease, but after that he hadbegun to feel that he had never so much enjoyed talking. In time heforgot everything but what he had to say, and it was rapture to be ableto say it, and to feel that never before had he said it so well. 

His back was towards the inn, but through some trees Miss Calthea couldsee that Mr. Petter's spring wagon, drawn by the two grays, Stolzenfelsand Falkenberg, was at the door, and soon she perceived that Mr. Lodloewas in the driver's place, and that Mrs. Cristie, with Ida Mayberryholding the baby, was on the back seat. The place next Lodloe wasvacant, and they seemed to be waiting for some one. Then Lanigan Beamcame up. There was a good deal of conversation, in which he seemed tobe giving information, and presently he sprang up beside the driver andthey were off. The party were going for a long drive, Miss Caltheathought, because Mrs. Petter had come out and had put a covered basketinto the back of the wagon. 

Mr. Tippengray was so absorbed in the interest of what he was sayingthat he did not hear the roll of the departing wheels, and Miss Caltheaallowed him to talk on for nearly a quarter of an hour until she thoughtshe had exhausted the branch of the subject on which he was engaged, andwas sure the spring wagon was out of sight and hearing. Then shedeclared that she had not believed that any part of the world could beas interesting as that region which Mr. Tippengray had been describingto her, and that she was sorry she could not sit there all the morningand listen to him, but duty was duty, and it was necessary for her toreturn to Lethbury. 

This announcement did not seem in the least to decrease the good spiritsof the Greek scholar, but his chin and his spirits fell when, onreaching the house, he heard from Mrs. Petter that his fellow-guests hadgone off for a long drive. 

"They expected to take you, Mr. Tippengray, " said his hostess, "butLanigan Beam said he had seen you and Miss Rose walking across thefields to Lethbury, and so they asked him to go. I hope they'll be backto dinner, but there's no knowing, and so I put in a basket ofsandwiches and things to keep them from starving before they get home. "

Miss Calthea was quite surprised. 

"We were sitting over yonder the whole time, " she said, "very muchoccupied with talking, it is true, but near enough to hear if we hadbeen called. I fancy that Lanigan had reasons of his own for saying wehad gone to Lethbury. "

Poor Mr. Tippengray was downcast. How much time must elapse before hewould have an opportunity to deliver the piece of paper he had in hispocket! How long would he be obliged to lounge around by himself waitingfor Ida Mayberry to return!

"Well, " said Calthea, "I must go home, and as I ought to have been therelong ago, I am going to ask Mr. Petter to lend me a horse and buggy. It's the greatest pity, Mr. Tippengray, that you have lost your drivewith your friends, but as you can't have that, suppose you take one withme. I don't mind acknowledging to you that I am a little afraid of Mr. Petter's horses, but with you driving I should feel quite safe. "

If Mr. Tippengray could have immediately thought of any good reason whyhe should have staid at home that morning he would probably have givenit, but none came into his mind. After all, he might as well be drivingto Lethbury as staying there doing nothing, and there could be no doubtthat Miss Calthea was very agreeable that morning. Consequently heaccepted the invitation. 

Calthea Rose went herself to the barn to speak to Mr. Petter about thehorse, and especially requested that he would lend her old Zahringen, whom she knew to be the most steady of beasts, but Zahringen had gone tobe shod, and there was no horse at her service except Hammerstein, andno vehicle but a village cart. Hammerstein was a better horse thanZahringen, and would take Calthea home more rapidly, which entirelysuited Mr. Petter. 

It may be here remarked that the barn and stables were not of Mr. Petter's building, but in order that they might not be entirely exemptfrom the influence of his architectural fancies, he had given his horsesthe names of certain castles on the Rhine. 

Calthea was not altogether satisfied with the substitution of the bigblack horse for the fat brown one, but she could make no reasonableobjection, and the vehicle was soon at the door. 

Mr. Tippengray was very fond of driving, and his spirits had risenagain. But he was a good deal surprised when Miss Calthea declined totake the seat beside him, preferring to occupy the rear seat with herback to the horse. By turning a little to one side, she said she couldtalk just as well, and it was more comfortable in such a small vehicleas a village cart to have a whole seat to one's self. 

As soon as they were in the road that ran through the woods she provedthat she could twist herself around so as to talk to her companion, andlook him in the face, quite as easily as if she had been sitting besidehim. They chatted together, and looked each other in the face, and theGreek scholar enjoyed driving very much until they had gone a mile ormore on the main road, and had come upon an overturned wagon lying bythe roadside. At this Hammerstein and the conversation suddenly stopped. The big black horse was very much opposed to overturned vehicles. Heknew that in some way they were connected with disaster, and he wouldnot willingly go near one. He stood head up, ears forward, and slightlysnorting. Mr. Tippengray was annoyed by this nonsense. 

[Illustration: MISS CALTHEA STEPS OUT. ]

"Go on!" he cried, "Get up!" Then the driver took the whip from thesocket and gave the horse a good crack. 

"Get up!" he cried. 

Hammerstein obeyed, but got up in a manner which Mr. Tippengray did notintend. He arose upon his hind legs, and pawed the air, appearing to thetwo persons behind him like a tall, black, unsteady steeple. 

When a horse harnessed to a village cart sees fit to rear, the hind partof the vehicle is brought very near to the ground, so that a personsitting on the back seat can step out without trouble. Miss Caltheaperceived this and stepped out. On general principles she had known thatit was safer to alight from the hind seat of a village cart than fromthe front seat. 

"Don't pull at him that way, " she cried from the opposite side of theroad, "he will go over backwards on top of you. Let him alone andperhaps he will stop rearing. "

Hammerstein now stood on all his feet again, and Miss Calthea earnestlyadvised Mr. Tippengray to turn him around and drive back. 

"I am not far from home now, " she said, "and can easily walk there. Ireally think I do not care to get in again. But I am sure he will gohome to his stable without giving you any trouble. "

But Mr. Tippengray's spirit was up, and he would not be conquered by ahorse, especially in the presence of a lady. 

"I shall make him pass it, " he cried, and he brought down his whip onHammerstein's back with such force that the startled animal gave a greatbound forward, and then, finding himself so near the dreaded wreck, hegave a wilder bound, and passed it. Then, being equipped with blinders, which did not allow him to see behind him, he did not know but thefrightful wagon, its wheels uppermost, was wildly pursuing him, and, fearing that this might be so, he galloped onward with all his speed. 

The Greek scholar pulled at the reins and shouted in such a way thatHammerstein was convinced that he was being urged to use all efforts toget away from the oncoming monster. He did not turn into the Lethburyroad when he came to it, but kept straight on. At such a moment thestraighter the road the better. Going down a long hill, Mr. Tippengray, still pulling and shouting, and now hatless, perceived, some distanceahead of him, a boy standing by the roadside. It was easy enough for thepractised eye of a country boy to take in the state of affairs, and hisinstincts prompted him to skip across the road and open a gate which ledinto a field recently plowed. 

Mr. Tippengray caught at the boy's idea and, exercising all hisstrength, he turned Hammerstein into the open gateway. When he had madea dozen plunges into the deep furrows and through the soft yieldingloam, the horse concluded that he had had enough of that sort ofexercise, and stopped. Mr. Tippengray, whose senses had been nearlybounced out of him, sprang from the cart, and, slipping on the unevensurface of the ground, tumbled into a deep furrow, from which, however, he instantly arose without injury, except to his clothes. Hurrying tothe head of the horse he found the boy already there, holding the nowquiet animal. The Greek scholar looked at him admiringly. 

"My young friend, " said he, "that was a noble thought, worthy of aphilosopher. "

The boy grinned. 

"They generally stop when they get into a plowed field, " he said. "Whatskeered him?"

Mr. Tippengray briefly related the facts of the case, and the horse wasled into the road. It was soon ascertained that no material harm hadbeen done to harness or vehicle. 

"Young man, " said Mr. Tippengray, "what will you take for your hat!"

The boy removed his head-covering and looked at it. It was of coarsestraw, very wide, very much out of shape, without a band, and with ahole in the crown surrounded by a tuft of broken straw. 

"Well, " said he, "it ain't worth much now, but it'll take a quarter tobuy a new one. "

"Here is a quarter for your hat, " said the Greek scholar, "and anotherfor your perspicacity. I suppose I shall find my hat on the road, but Icannot wait for that. The sun is too hot. "

[Illustration: "WHAT SKEERED HIM?"]

The Greek scholar now started homeward, leading Hammerstein. He likedwalking, and had no intention whatever of again getting into that cart. If, when they reached the overturned wagon, the animal should againupheave himself, or in any way misbehave, Mr. Tippengray intended to letgo of him, and allow him to pursue his homeward way in such manner andat such speed as might best please him. 

[Illustration: MR. TIPPENGRAY STOPPED AND LISTENED. ]

The two walked a long distance without reaching the object ofHammerstein's fright, and Mr. Tippengray began to think that the roadwas a good deal narrower and more shaded than he had supposed it to be. The fact was, that a road diverged from the right, near the top of thehill, which he had not noticed when passing it in mad career, andnaturally turning to the right, without thinking very much about it, hehad taken this road instead of the one by which he had come. Ourscholar, however, did not yet comprehend that he was on the wrong road, and kept on. 

Soon his way led through the woods, with great outstretching trees, withwide-open spaces, interspersed here and there with masses ofundergrowth. Mr. Tippengray greatly enjoyed the shaded road, the smellof the pines, and the flowers scattered along the edges of the wood. Butin a few minutes he would doubtless have discovered that he had goneastray, and, notwithstanding the pleasantness of his surroundings, hewould have turned back, had he not suddenly heard voices not far away. He stopped and listened. 

The voices came from behind a clump of evergreens close by the roadside, and to his utter amazement Mr. Tippengray heard the voice of LaniganBeam saying to some one that true love must speak out, and could not besilenced; that for days he had been looking for an opportunity, and nowthat it had come she must hear him, and know that his heart was hersonly, and could never belong to anybody else. Then the voice of IdaMayberry, very clear and distinct, replied that he must not talk to herin that way, that her line of life and his were entirely different. Andshe was doubtless going to say more, when her companion interrupted, andvowed with all possible earnestness that whatever line of life she choseshould be his line; that he would gladly give up every plan and purpose, follow her in whatever direction she chose to lead, and do whatever shewished he should do. 

Mr. Tippengray was very uneasy. The subject-matter of the conversationhe was overhearing disturbed him in a manner which he did notunderstand, and he felt, moreover, that it was not proper for him tolisten to another word. He did not know what to do; if he moved forwardthey would hear the wheels, and know that he had been near, and if heattempted to back out of the vicinity there was no knowing what hubbubhe and Hammerstein might create. While standing undecided, he heardLanigan speak thus:

"And as for Greek, and that sort of thing, you shall have all you want. I'll hire old Tippengray by the year; he shall be the family pedagogue, and we'll tap him for any kind of learning we may happen to want. "

Instantly all thought of retreat fled from the mind of the scholar; hiseyes glittered, and he was on the point of doing something, when therecame from a little distance the voice of Mrs. Cristie, loudly callingfor Ida. There was shuffling of feet, and in a few moments Mr. Tippengray perceived the nurse-maid rapidly walking away between thetrees while Lanigan leisurely followed. 

With head erect and nostrils dilated, as if he had been excited by theperception of something upside down, Mr. Tippengray again laid hold ofthe bridle of Hammerstein, and went on. In a few minutes he emerged uponan open space, through which flowed a little brook, and where sat Mrs. Cristie, Lodloe, Ida Mayberry with the baby in her lap, and LaniganBeam. All of these persons, excepting the infant, were eatingsandwiches. 

At the sight of the little man and the tall horse, the former spatteredwith mud, smeared with the earth of the plowed field, and crowned with amisshapen hat with the expansive hole in the top, the sandwich-eatersstopped eating, gazed open-eyed, and then burst out laughing. Mr. Tippengray did not laugh; his eyes still glittered. 

It was half an hour before the tale was told, order restored, and Mr. Tippengray had washed his face and hands in the brook and takenrefreshment. Then he found himself alone with Mrs. Cristie. 

"Truly you have had a hard time, " said she, kindly. 

"Madam, " answered the Greek scholar, "you are entirely correct. This hasbeen an unfortunate day for me. I have been cunningly entrapped, andheartlessly deserted; I have been nearly frightened out of my wits; havehad my soul nearly burned out of my body, and have been foullybesmirched with dirt and mud. But, worse than all, I have heard myselfmade the subject of contempt and contumely. "

"How is that?" exclaimed Mrs. Cristie. "I do not understand. "

"I will quickly make it plain to you, " said the indignant scholar, andhe related the conversation he had overheard. 

"What a shameful way to speak of you, Mr. Tippengray!" cried Mrs. Cristie. "I did not suppose that Mr. Beam would dare to say such thingsto one whom he knew to be your friend. I have no doubt that if I had notcalled Ida at that moment, you would have heard her resent thatdisrespectful speech. "

"I hope so; with all my heart, I hope so, " replied the Greek scholar. 

He said this with so much feeling that his companion looked at him a fewmoments without speaking. 

"Mr. Tippengray, " she said presently, "it is time for us to go home. Howwould you like to take Ida Mayberry back in your cart?"

The brightness in the eyes of the Greek scholar changed from the glitterof indignation to gleams of joy. 

"Madam, " said he, "I should like it of all things. It would remove fromthe anticipated pleasures of this day the enormous Alpha privative whichhas so far overshadowed them. "

The young widow did not exactly comprehend this answer, but it wasenough to know that he was glad to accept the opportunity she offeredhim. No sooner had he spoken than Mr. Tippengray remembered the hazardsto which he was exposing himself by again taking the reins ofHammerstein, but not for an instant did he think of drawing back. Hisdesire to take Ida Mayberry away from that fellow, and have her byhimself, overpowered fear and all other feelings. 

Mrs. Cristie's arrangement for the return pleased everybody exceptLanigan Beam. The nurse-maid was perfectly willing to go in the villagecart, and was not at all afraid of horses, and Walter Lodloe had noobjection to sit on the back seat of the wagon with his lady-love, andhelp take care of the baby. Lanigan made few remarks about thesituation; he saw that he had made a mistake, and was being punished forit, and without remonstrance he took the front seat and the reins of thegrays. 

XXIV

TRANSLATIONS

Lanigan Beam had no more fear of Mr. Tippengray as a rival than he wouldhave had of Mr. Petter, but the apportionment of companions for thereturn trip nettled him a good deal, and, as a consequence of this, thepair of grays traveled homeward at a smarter pace, and Hammerstein andthe village cart were soon left far behind. 

The road was not the one by which Mr. Tippengray had arrived on thescene, but led through the woods to the main road, which it joined at apoint not far from the sign of the Squirrel Inn. Hammerstein traveledvery quietly and steadily of his own accord, slackening his gait at therough places, thus giving Mr. Tippengray every opportunity for anuninterrupted converse with his fellow scholar; and he lost no time insubmitting to her his Greek version of the lines from "Pickwick. "

"I am very glad you have it with you, " said Ida, "for I put my Greekdictionary in my pocket this morning, when I first came down, hoping tohave a chance to do some translating, and what better chance could Ihave than this?"

[Illustration: THE TRANSLATION. ]

Drawing out her dictionary and a little blank-book she immediately beganher labors. Mr. Tippengray did not altogether like this. He felt anintense and somewhat novel desire to converse with the young woman on nomatter what subject, and he would have preferred that she shouldpostpone the translation. But he would not interrupt the engrossingoccupation into which she now plunged with ardor. Rapidly turningbackward and forward the leaves of the little dictionary, and tappingher front teeth with her pencil as she puzzled over the correlation ofGreek and English words and expressions, she silently pursued her work. 

Although he did not talk to her, it was very pleasant for Mr. Tippengrayto sit and look upon this fair young scholar. At her request he madethe tall steed walk, in order that her pencil might not be too muchjoggled, slyly thinking, the while, that thus the interview would beprolonged. The air was warm and balmy. Everything was still about them. They met no one, and every minute Mr. Tippengray became more and moreconvinced that, next to talking to her, there could be no greater joy inlife than basking in the immediate atmosphere of this girl. 

At last she shut up her dictionary. 

"Now, then!" she exclaimed, "I have translated it, and I assure you thatit is a fair and square version, for I do not in the least remember theoriginal paragraph. "

"I have the original here, " said Mr. Tippengray, pulling the secondvolume of "Pickwick" from his pocket, "and we will compare it with yourtranslation, if you will be so good as to read it. You do not know withwhat anxious enthusiasm I await the result. "

"And I, too, " said Ida, earnestly. "I do not think there could be abetter test of the power of the Greek language to embalm and preservefor future generations the spirit of Dickens. Now I will read, and youcan compare my work with the original as I go on. "

The translation ran thus:

 "For the reason that he who drives a vehicle of the post-road holds high office above the masses, " to him answered the Sire Weller with eyes affiliated; "for the reason that he who drives a vehicle of the post-road acteth at will, undoubted, humanity otherwise prohibited. For the reason that he who drives a vehicle of the post-road is able to look with affection on a woman of eighty far distant, though it is not publicly believed that in the midst of any it is his desire to wed. Among males which one discourseth similarly, Sammy?"

"I wrote Sammy, " she explained, "because I remembered that is the waythe name is used in English. "

Mr. Tippengray raised his eyebrows very high, and his chin slowly beganto approach the sailor knot of his cravat. 

"Oh, dear, " he said, "I am afraid that this would not express to futureages the spirit and style of Dickens. The original passage runs thus, "and he read:

 "'Cos a coachman's a privileged individual, " replied Mr. Weller, looking fixedly at his son. "'Cos a coachman may do without suspicion wot other men may not; 'cos a coachman may be on the very amicablest terms with eighty mile o' females and yet nobody thinks that he ever means to marry any vun among 'em. And wot other man can say the same, Sammy?"

"They are not much alike, are they?" said Miss Mayberry. "I think ifDickens could read my translation he would not in the least recognizeit. The fact is, Mr. Tippengray, I do not believe that your method ofGreek pickling will answer to preserve our fiction for the future. Itmay do for histories and scientific work, but when you come to dialectand vernacular, if you once get it into Greek you can never get it backagain as it used to be. "

"That will be a great pity, " said Mr. Tippengray, "for fiction makes upsuch a large part of our literature. And it does seem that good Englishmight be properly translated into good Greek. "

"Oh, it isn't the translation, " said Ida; "that is all easy enough: it'sthe resurrection back into the original condition. Look at the prophetEnoch. He was translated, but if it were possible now to bring him backagain, he would not be the same Enoch, you know. "

"One might infer from that simile, " said the Greek scholar, smiling, "that when a bit of English gets into Greek it goes to heaven, and wouldbetter stay there. Perhaps you are right in what you say about fiction. Anyway it is very pleasant to talk with one who can appreciate thissubject, and reason sensibly about it. "

Mr. Tippengray shut up his book and put it back into his pocket, whilehis companion tore her translation from her note-book and scattered itin little bits along the road. 

"I would not like it, " she said, "if any one but you were to read thatand know I did it. "

Mr. Tippengray's eyes and Mr. Tippengray's heart turned towards her. Those words, "any one but you, " touched him deeply. He had a feeling asif he were being translated into something better than his originalself, and that this young woman was doing it. He wished to express thisin some way, and to say a good many other things which came crowdingupon his mind, but he expressed nothing and said none of these things. An exclamation from Ida caused him to look in front of him, and therewas the spring wagon with the horses standing still. 

Mrs. Cristie turned round and called to them:

"Mr. Beam says that there are some by-roads just ahead of us, and as hewas afraid you might turn into one and get lost, he thought it better towait for you. "

"Nonsense!" cried Miss Mayberry; "there was no danger that we would turninto any by-ways. The road is plain enough. "

"I'm not so sure of that, " said Mr. Tippengray to himself. "I think thatjust now I was on the point of turning into a by-way. "

The wagon now moved slowly on, and the village cart followed. Mr. Tippengray would gladly have dropped a good deal behind, but he foundthis not practicable, because whenever he made Hammerstein walkStolzenfels and Falkenberg also walked. It was plain enough that LaniganBeam did not wish any longer to cut himself off from the society of thelady to whom he had made a proposal of marriage, and whenever he couldfind a pretext, which was not difficult for Lanigan, he called back toher to direct her attention to something, or to ask her opinion aboutsomething. Miss Mayberry did not respond with any readiness, but thepersistence of the young man succeeded in making the conversation ageneral one, and the Greek scholar made no attempt to explain to thenurse-maid that he was in course of translation. 

Dinner was very late at the Squirrel Inn that day, and Mrs. Petter gaveher guests a scolding. But this did not in the least disturb the mind ofMr. Tippengray, who was well used to being scolded for coming late tohis meals. But something else disturbed him, and for nearly an hourafter dinner he wandered about the lawn and around the house. He wantedvery much to see Miss Mayberry again, and to tell her the things he didnot have a chance to tell her on the road, and he also very much wishedto prevent that rascally Lanigan Beam from getting ahead of him, andcontinuing his broken-off interview with the lady. 

XXV

MR. TIPPENGRAY MOUNTS HIGH

It seemed as if every one must be taking an afternoon nap, for the Greekscholar had the grounds to himself. When he began to be tired ofwalking, he seated himself where he had a good view of the house, andpresently saw Ida Mayberry at her window, with the young Douglas in herarms. Almost at the same moment he saw Lanigan Beam approaching from thedirection of the barns. 

"If he turns his steps towards that window, " thought the scholar, "Ishall see to it that I am there before him. "

But the young man did not walk towards the front of the house, but wentin the direction of his room, where the ladder stood leaning against theopen window. Mounting this, he disappeared within. 

The eyes of Mr. Tippengray flashed, and his face was lighted by a brightthought. In an instant he was on his feet and running lightly towardsLanigan's room. Cautiously and silently he approached the ladder;deftly, and without making the least noise, he moved the upper end ofit from the side of the building, and then, putting it on his shoulder, gently walked away with it. 

Around to the front of the house Mr. Tippengray carried the ladder, andboldly placed it nearly upright, under Miss Mayberry's window. Inastonishment that young lady looked out, and asked him what in the worldhe was doing. 

"I want to speak to you, " said Mr. Tippengray, "on a subject of greatimportance, and I cannot afford to lose this opportunity. May I comeup?"

"Certainly, " said Ida. 

In a moment the Greek scholar was standing on one of the upper rounds ofthe ladder, with his head and shoulders well above the window-sill. Little Douglas was delighted to see him, and, taking hold of hisoutstretched forefinger, gave it a good wag. 

"It was a capital notion, " said Mr. Tippengray, "for me to take thisladder. In the first place, it enables me to get up to you, andsecondly, it prevents Lanigan Beam from getting down from his room. "

Miss Mayberry laughed, and the baby crowed in sympathy. 

"Why shouldn't he get down, Mr. Tippengray?" said she. 

"If he did, " was the answer, "he would be sure to interfere with me. Hewould come here, and I don't want him. I have something to say to you, Miss Mayberry, and I must be brief in saying it, for bystanders, nomatter who they might be, would prevent my speaking plainly. I havebecome convinced, Miss Mayberry, that my life will be imperfect, andindeed worthless, if I cannot pass it in prosecuting my studies in yourcompany, and with your assistance. You may think this strong language, but it is true. "

[Illustration: THE PROPOSAL. ]

"That would be very pleasant, " said the nurse-maid, "but I do not seehow you are going to manage it. My stay here will soon come to an end, for if Mrs. Cristie does not return to the city in a week or two, I mustleave her. I am a teacher, you know, and before the end of the summervacation, I must go and make my arrangements for the next term, and thenyou can easily see for yourself that when I am engaged in a school Icannot do very much studying with you. "

"Oh, my dear young lady, " cried Mr. Tippengray, "you do not catch myidea. I am not thinking of schools or positions, and I do not wish youto think of them. I wish you to know that you have translated me from aquiet scholar into an ardent lover, and that it would be of no use atall to try to get me back into my original condition. If I cannot be theman I want to be, I cannot be the man I was. I ask you for your hands, your heart, and your intellect. I invite you to join me in pursuing thehigher education until the end of our lives. Take me for your scholarand be mine. I pray you give me--"

"Upon--my word!" was the ejaculation, loud and distinct, which came upfrom the foot of the ladder, and stopped Mr. Tippengray's avowal. MissMayberry instantly thrust her head out of the window, and Mr. Tippengraylooked down. It was Calthea Rose who had spoken, and she stood under thewindow in company with Mr. And Mrs. Petter. A short distance away, andrapidly approaching, were Mrs. Cristie and Walter Lodloe. 

"Here is gratitude!" cried Calthea, in stinging tones. "I came all theway back from Lethbury to see if anything had happened to you and thathorse, and this is what I find. The top of a ladder and a child's nurse!Such a disgrace never fell on this county. "

"Never, indeed, " cried Mrs. Petter. "I wouldn't have believed it ifangels had got down on their knees and sworn it to me. Come down fromthat ladder, Mr. Tippengray! Come down from it before I make my husbandbreak it to bits beneath you. Come down, I say!"

"Mr. Tippengray, " said Mr. Petter, in solemn voice, "in the name of thelaws of domesticity and the hearthstone, and in the honorable name ofthe Squirrel Inn, I command you to come down. "

There was but one thing for Mr. Tippengray to do, and that was to comedown, and so down he came. 

"Disgraceful!" cried Miss Rose; "you ought to be ashamed to look anybodyin the face. "

"Never would I have believed it, " exclaimed Mrs. Petter. "Never, never, if I had not seen it with my own eyes, and in broad daylight too!"

What Mr. Tippengray would have said or done is not known, for at thatinstant Ida Mayberry leaned far out of the window and claimed theattention of the company. 

"Look here!" she cried, "we have had enough of this. Mr. Tippengray hasnothing to be ashamed of, and he had a perfect right to climb up thisladder. I want you all to understand that we are engaged to be married. "

This announcement fell like a sudden downpour upon the people beneaththe window, and they stood silenced; but in an instant the Greek scholarbounded up the ladder, and, seizing Miss Mayberry by the hand, kissed itrapturously. 

"I may have been a little abrupt, " she said, in a low voice, "but Iwasn't going to stand here and let our affair be broken off like that. "

At Mr. Tippengray's spontaneous exhibition of tender affection, Mr. Petter involuntarily and reverently took off his hat, while Mrs. Cristieand Lodloe clapped their hands. The lover, with radiant face, nowdescended the ladder and received congratulations from everybody exceptMiss Calthea, who, with her nose pointed about forty-five degrees abovethe horizon, walked rapidly to the post where she had tied her horse. 

[Illustration: MR. PETTER TAKES OFF HIS HAT. ]

Miss Mayberry now appeared, with the baby in her arms, and an expressionof great satisfaction upon her face. Mrs. Cristie relieved her of thefirst, but the latter increased as the little company heartily shookhands with her. 

[Illustration: LANIGAN BEAM WANTS HIS LADDER. ]

"I had supposed it would be different with you, Mr. Tippengray, " saidMrs. Petter, "but people ought to know their own minds, and I have nodoubt that Calthea would have often made it very hot for you, especiallyif you did not turn over an entirely new leaf in regard to coming toyour meals. But there must be no more laddering; whether it is right ornot, it does not look so. When Ida isn't tending to the child, and it'stoo wet to be out of doors, you can have the little parlor toyourselves. I'll have it dusted and aired. "

"Excuse me, " said Lodloe, coming forward, "but if you have no furtheruse for that ladder, Mr. Tippengray, I will take it to Lanigan Beam, whois leaning out of his window, and shouting like mad. I presume he wantsto come down, and as I have locked the door of my room he cannot descendin that way. "

"Poor Lanigan!" ejaculated Mrs. Petter, "he doesn't know what he'scoming down to. But no matter what he undertakes he is always a dayafter the fair. "

Mr. Petter drew the Greek scholar aside. 

"My dear sir, " he said expressively, "I have a special reason forcongratulating you on your decision to unite your blood and culture withthose of another. Had you been entrapped by the wiles of our Lethburyneighbor, a person for whom I have but slight regard, and who is lookedupon with decided disapprobation by those as competent to judge as theRockmores of Germantown, I am afraid, my dear sir, I should have beencompelled to sever those pleasant relations which for so many monthshave held us together, and which I hope may continue for years. "

"My good Petter, " said Mr. Tippengray, "I have a pleasant house in town, which I hope to occupy with my wife this winter, and I should like itvery much if you and Mrs. Petter would make us a visit there, and, ifyou wish, I'll have some of the Germantown Rockmores there to meet you. "

The landlord of the Squirrel Inn stepped back in amazement. 

"Do you mean to say, " he exclaimed, "that you know the Rockmores?"

"The way of it is this, " replied the Greek scholar; "you see, my motherwas a Purley, and on the maternal side she belonged to theKempton-Tucker family, and you know that the head of that family marriedfor his second wife a Mrs. Callaway, who was own sister to John BrentNorris, whose daughter married a Rockmore. So you see we are connected. "

"And you never told me!" solemnly exclaimed Mr. Petter. 

"No, " said his companion; "there are pleasures of revelation, which areenhanced by a delay in realization, and besides I did not wish to placemyself in a position which might, perchance, subordinate some of yourother guests. "

"I must admit that I am sorry, " said Mr. Petter; "but your action in thematter proves your blood. "

And now, Mrs. Cristie having finished her very earnest conversation withIda, the newly betrothed pair walked together towards the bluff fromwhich there was such a beautiful view of the valley below. 

XXVI

ANOTHER SQUIRREL IN THE TAP-ROOM

"If I had known, " said Lanigan Beam, as late that night he sat smokingwith Walter Lodloe in the top room of the tower, "that that old rascalwas capable of stealing my ladder in order to make love to my girl, Ishould have had a higher respect for him. Well, I'm done for, and now Ishall lose no time in saying good-by to the Squirrel Inn and Lethbury. "

"Why so?" asked his companion in surprise. "Was the hope of winning MissMayberry the only thing that kept you here?"

"Oh, no, " said Lanigan; "it was the hope that Calthea might get oldTippengray. You will remember I told you that, but as she cannot now gooff with him, there is nobody for her to go off with, and so I must bethe one to travel. "

Lodloe laughed. "Under the circumstances then, " he said, "you think youcouldn't stay in this neighborhood?"

"Not with Calthea unattached, " replied Lanigan. "Oh, no! Quiteimpossible. "

When Miss Rose had been convinced that all her plans had come to naught, earnestly and with much severity and singleness of purpose sheconsidered the situation. It did not take her long to arrive at theconclusion that the proper thing for her to do was to marry LaniganBeam, and to do it without loss of time. Having come to this decision, she immediately began to make arrangements to carry it into effect. 

It was utterly vain and useless for Lanigan to attempt to get away fromher. She came upon him with a sweet assurance which he supposed hadvanished with her earlier years; she led him with ribbons which hethought had faded and fallen into shreds long, long ago; she clappedover his head a bag which he supposed had been worn out on oldTippengray; and she secured him with fetters which he imagined had longsince been dropped, forgotten, and crumbled into dust. He did not goaway, and it was not long before it was generally understood in theneighborhood that, at last, he and Calthea Rose were to be married. 

Shortly after this fact had been made public, Lanigan and Walter Lodloe, who had not seen each other for some days, were walking together on theLethbury road. 

"Yes, " said the former, "it is a little odd, but then odd things are allthe time happening. I don't know whether Calthea has taken me in byvirtue of my first engagement to her, or on some of the others. Or itmay be that it is merely a repeal of our last breaking off. Anyway, Ifound she had never dreamed of anything but marrying me, and though Ithought I had a loose foot, I found I hadn't, and there's an end of it. Besides, I will say for Calthea that her feelings are different fromwhat I supposed they were. She has mellowed up a good deal in the lastyear or two, and I shall try to make things as easy for her as I can. 

"But one thing is certain; I shall stick to my resolution not to tellher that I have made money, and have reformed my old, loose ways ofliving and doing business. All that I am going to keep as a sort ofsaving fund that I can draw on when I feel like it, and let it alonewhen I don't feel like it. We are going to travel, --she is wild on thatpoint, --and she expects to pay the piper. She can't do it, but I shalllet her think she's doing it. She takes me for a rattling scapegrace, and I needn't put on the sober and respectable unless I choose to; andwhen I do choose it will be a big card in my hand. By George! sir, Iknow Calthea so well that I can twist her around my finger, and I am notsure, if I had got the other one, that I could have done that. It's muchmore likely that I should have been the twisted one. "

"What is Miss Rose going to do about her business?" asked Lodloe. 

"Oh, that's to be wound up with a jerk, " answered his companion. "I'vesettled all that. She wanted to hire somebody to take charge of thestore while we're gone, and to sell out the things on her old plan; butthat's all tomfoolery. I have engaged a shopkeeper at Romney to come outand buy the whole stock at retail price, and I gave him the money to doit with. That's good business, you know, because it's the same as moneycoming back to me, and as for the old oddments, and remnants, andendments of faded braids and rotten calicoes, it's a clear profit to berid of them. If the Romney man sends them to be ground up at thepaper-mill, he may pay himself for the cartage and his time. So the shopwill be shut day after to-morrow, and you can see for yourself that mystyle of business is going to be of the stern, practical sort; and, after all, I don't see any better outlook for a fellow than to live amarried life in which very little is expected of him, while he knowsthat he has on tap a good bank-account and a first-class moralcharacter. "

The autumn was a very pleasant one, and as there was no reason for doinganything else, the guests at the Squirrel Inn remained until late in theseason. Therefore it was that Miss Calthea was enabled to marry andstart off on her wedding tour before the engaged couples at the inn hadreturned to the city, or had even fixed the dates for their weddings. Calthea was not a woman who would allow herself to be left behind inmatters of this nature. From her general loftiness and serenity ofmanner, and the perfect ease and satisfaction with which she talked ofher plans and prospects with her friends and acquaintances, no one couldhave imagined that she had ever departed from her original intention ofbecoming Mrs. Lanigan Beam. 

In the midst of her happiness she could not help feeling a little sorryfor Ida Mayberry, and this she did not hesitate to say to some personswith whom she was intimate, including Mrs. Petter. To be sure, she hadbeen informed as to the year of Mr. Tippengray's birth, which, ifcorrect, would make him forty-six; but it was her private opinion thatsixty would be a good deal nearer the mark. However, if the youngchild's nurse should become an early widow, and be thrown upon her ownresources, she, for one, would not withhold a helping hand. But sheearnestly insisted that not a word she said on this subject should everbe breathed into another ear. 

When Ida Mayberry heard what Calthea had said about her and Mr. Tippengray's age, she was very angry, and declared she would not go tothe old thing's wedding, which was to take place the next day in theLethbury church. But, after thinking over the matter, she changed hermind, and concluded that at times like this we should all be pleasantand good-natured towards one another; so she sat down and wrote a letterto Miss Calthea, which she sent to the expectant bride that veryafternoon. The missive ran thus:

 MY DEAR MISS ROSE:

 I have seen so little of Mr. Beam in the last few days that I have had no opportunity to express to him some thanks which are due him from Mr. Tippengray and myself. I am therefore obliged to ask you, my dear Miss Rose, to give to him a message from me, which, as it is one of gratitude, you will be pleased to deliver. 

 Not long ago, when Mr. Beam took occasion to tell me that he loved me and asked me to marry him, --I remember now that it was on the very day that Mr. Petter's horse behaved so badly and, unfortunately for you, tipped you out of the tail end of the little cart, and made it necessary for you to give up both it and Mr. Tippengray to me, --he (Mr. Beam) was so good as to say that if I would agree to be his wife and still wished the instructive companionship of Mr. Tippengray, he would take that gentleman into his family as a tutor. Now this, as you will readily acknowledge, my dear Miss Rose, was very good in Mr. Beam, and in return I wish you to say to him, both from Mr. Tippengray and from me, that if there should ever be any position in our gift which he is capable of filling, all he has to do is to ask for it. 

 Most sincerely yours, Ida Mayberry. 

And the next day in church no face expressed a more delighted interestin the nuptial ceremonies than that of the pretty Miss Mayberry. 

 * * * * *

It was late in November, and the weather was getting decidedly cool. There was a fire in the tap-room of the Squirrel Inn, and also one inthe little parlor, and by this, after supper, sat Mr. And Mrs. Petter. 

The guests were all gone; Mr. And Mrs. Tippengray, who had had a quietwedding in New York, were on their way to Cambridge, England, where thebride would spend a portion of the honeymoon in the higher studies thereopen to women, while Mrs. Cristie and Mr. Lodloe were passing happy daysin the metropolis preparing for their marriage early in the new year. The Beams were in Florida, where, so Lanigan wrote, they had an idea ofbuying an orange grove, and where, so Calthea wrote, she would not liveif they gave her a whole county. 

The familiar faces all being absent, and very few people dropping infrom Lethbury or the surrounding neighborhood, the Squirrel Inn waslonely, and the hostess thereof did not hesitate to say so. As for thehost, he had his books, his plans, and his hopes. He also had hisregrets, which were useful in helping him to pass his time. 

"What in the world, " asked Mrs. Petter, regarding an object in herhusband's hands, "made you take down that miserable, dilapidated littlesquirrel from the sign-post? You might as well have let him stay thereall winter, and put up a new one in the spring. "

"This has been a most memorable year, " replied her husband, "and I wishto place this squirrel in his proper position on the calendar shelf ofthe tap-room before the storms and winds of winter have blown the furfrom his body and every hair from his upturned tail. I have killed andprepared a fresh squirrel, and I will place him on the sign-post in afew days. "

"If you would let that one stay until he was a skin skeleton, he wouldhave given people a better idea of the way this year has turned out thanhe does now, " said Mrs. Petter. 

"How so?" he asked, looking at her in surprise. 

"Don't we sit here stripped of every friendly voice?" she said. "Ofcourse, it's always more lonesome in the winter, but it's never been sobad as this, for we haven't even Calthea to fall back on. Things didn'tturn out as I expected them to, and I suppose they never will, but italways was my opinion, and is yet, that nothing can go straight in sucha crooked house. This very afternoon, as I was coming from thepoultry-yard, and saw Lanigan's ladder still standing up against thewindow of his room, I couldn't help thinking that if a burglar got intothat room, he might suppose he was in the house; but he'd soon findhimself greatly mistaken, and even if he went over the roof to Mr. Lodloe's room, all he could do would be to come down the tower stairs, and then he would find himself outside, just where he started from. "

"That would suit me very well, " remarked Mr. Petter. 

"If this house had been built in a plain, straightforward way, " his wifecontinued, "with a hall through the middle of it, and the rooms alike onboth sides, then things might have happened in a straightforward way, and not all mixed up, as they were here this summer. Nobody could tellwho was going to marry who, and why they should do it, if they everdid. "

Mr. Petter arose and, still holding the stuffed squirrel in his hand, stood with his back to the fire. 

"It strikes me, Susan, " said he, looking reflectively in front of him, "that our lives are very seldom built with a hall through the middle andthe rooms alike on both sides. I don't think we'd like it if they were. They would be stupid and humdrum. The right sort of a life should haveits ups and downs, its ins and outs, its different levels, its outsidestairs and its inside stairs, its balconies, windows and roofs ofdifferent periods and different styles. This is education. These thingsare the advantages that our lives get from the lives of others. 

"Now, for myself, I like the place I live in to resemble my life andthat of the people about me. And I am sure that nothing could be bettersuited to all that than the Squirrel Inn. 

"All sorts of things come into our lives, and when a thing like LaniganBeam comes into it, what could be better than to lodge it in a placewhere it can go no farther? and if something of a high order, somethingbacked up by Matthew Vassar, but which is a little foreign, and notaltogether of our kind, how well to be able to put that in a noble andelevated position, where it can have every advantage and can go andcome, without being naturalized or made a part of us. Think, too, howhigh excellence can be worthily lodged, with the comforts of the Northand the beauties of the South, as in the case of Mrs. Cristie's rooms;and how blooded service is not forced into a garret, but is quartered ina manner which shows that the blood is recognized and the serviceignored. "

"If I had known what she was when she came, " remarked Mrs. Petter, "Ishould have put her on the top floor. "

"Think, too, " continued the landlord, "of noble sentiments, highaspirations, and deep learning, lodged of their own free will--for itappears that there was no necessity for it--so near as to answer everyneed of social domesticity, and yet in a manner so free and apart as toallow undisturbed and undisturbing reveries beneath the stars, and suchother irregular manifestations of genius as are common to the gifted. "

"Such as coming late to meals, " interpolated the lady. 

"Think, too, " Mr. Petter went on to say, speaking in a more earnestvoice--"think, too, of a life or a house in which there is no place fora Calthea Rose; in which she cannot exist, and which, I am happy to say, she has always opposed and condemned. "

Mrs. Petter slightly yawned. 

"All that sounds very well, " she said, "and there may be truth in it;but, after all, here we are alone by ourselves, and, so far as I cansee, no chance of being less lonely next season, for your rules keepout all common folks, and we can't count on the people who were herethis year coming again. "

Mr. Petter smiled. "There is no reason to suppose, " he said, "that nextseason we shall not be favored with the company of the Rockmores ofGermantown. "

And with that he walked away to place in its proper position on theshelf in the tap-room the squirrel of the past season. 

[Illustration]