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 SWEET CLOVER. A Romance of the White City. 
 
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 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK.
 
 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY 
 
 point Romance 
 
 BY 
 
 CLARA LOUISE BURNHAM 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 s, CambnD0e
 
 Copyright, 1892, 
 Br CLARA LOUISE BURNHAM. 
 
 AU rights reserved. 
 
 The Kivertide Prett, Cambridge, Maa., TJ. S. A. 
 Klectrotyped and Friiited by U. U. Uoughton & Co.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAOB 
 
 I. OLIVE CARLYLE 1 
 
 II. THE FAMILY DINNER-PARTY .... 19 
 
 m. LYDIA BAGO 32 
 
 IV. Miss BAGG'S FIRST PROPOSAL .... 44 
 
 V. Miss BAGO'S SECOND PROPOSAL .... 54 
 
 VI. THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING ... 68 
 
 VII. MOTHER AND SON 88 
 
 VIII. Miss BAGG is TRANSPLANTED .... 108 
 
 IX. Miss CARLYLE'S CONSTITUTIONAL .... 130 
 
 X. MRS. CARLYLE MAKES A FRIEND . . . 141 
 
 XL A BROKEN IDOL 158 
 
 XII. OLIVE MEETS THE JUDGE ..... 175 
 
 XIII. MR. VAN KIRK'S PARABLE 189 
 
 XIV. MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT .... 202 
 XV. WEST POINT 218 
 
 XVI. THE REVIEW 238 
 
 XVII. OLD AND NEW CADETS 262 
 
 XVIII. THE CONCERT IN CAMP ..... 285 
 
 XIX. MR. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF . . . 307 
 
 XX. A NEW ARRIVAL 328 
 
 XXI. OLD GUARD PRIVILEGES ..... 347 
 
 XXII. MRS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION .... 363 
 
 XXIII. KOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN ...... 385 
 
 XXIV. HOME AGAIN 409 
 
 2200635
 
 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OLIVE CARLYLE. 
 
 NEAR the north window in the back parlor of 
 a house in New York a girl of about nineteen sat 
 before an easel. The sheet spread beneath her 
 chair was well littered with blackened bread-crumbs, 
 and her brow was puckered anxiously as she paused, 
 the hand holding her stump poised in air and her 
 eyes fixed upon the nearly finished crayon portrait 
 before her. 
 
 As she sat thus, the faded portiere which con- 
 cealed this room from the front parlor parted, and 
 there entered a thin-faced woman, bonneted and 
 shawled, whose gray eyes shone pleasantly behind 
 steel-bowed spectacles. She smiled at sight of the 
 girl, and because she smiled that dingy back room 
 was a pleasant place to be in. 
 
 " Your forehead, Olive," she said wamingly. 
 " You are frowning again." 
 
 " Never mind my forehead, mother. Come and 
 tell me what is the matter with the Reverend Mr. 
 Wheeler's."
 
 2 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle came forward, unpinning her gray 
 shawl, which she threw back, while she stood be- 
 hind her daughter's chair, then rested her hands on 
 the girl's shoulders and silently inspected her work. 
 
 " It does look a little one-sided," she remarked 
 meditatively, after a minute. 
 
 " I wish people would n't be bumpy" exclaimed 
 the perplexed artist ruefully. " He is bumpy. 
 I '11 leave it to you if he is n't in the original," 
 and she lifted the photograph, protected from her 
 smutty fingers by being incased in a large envel- 
 ope, the front of which had been cut away to 
 expose the pictured face. 
 
 " He has a fine phrenological development cer- 
 tainly, but isn't that rather an extra bump you 
 have given him near the left temple ? " 
 
 The girl dropped her bright head back until it 
 rested against her mother. 
 
 "That I did from memory," she answered. "It is 
 an annex which he has recently thrown out to meet 
 the demand upon his brain of the new missionary 
 movement in Siam. I noticed it last Sunday." 
 
 Her mother laughed, and began to remove her 
 bonnet. " It is very good, child," she said. " You 
 have a decided gift for getting likenesses." 
 
 Olive nodded wisely. " It does n't do to be 
 too exact," she answered. " Remember Cousin 
 Jotham." 
 
 " Do you think the truthfulness of his portrait 
 was accountable for his ungraciousness ? " asked 
 Mrs. Carlyle, glad to see that her daughter was
 
 OLIVE CAELYLE. 3 
 
 willing to refer to what for a year had been too 
 sore a subject to touch. 
 
 " It was partly the truth to nature of his crabbed 
 expression and his network of wrinkles, and partly 
 the fact that I undertook the experiment without 
 your approval. I learned my lesson. It made an 
 exemplary daughter of me." 
 
 She began with her pencil to make careful lines 
 in the beard on the crayoned face, and Mrs. Carlyle 
 sat down with some sewing at the other window. 
 
 " The idea," continued Olive, " of choosing Cou- 
 sin Jotham to try my 'prentice hand upon, and 
 then daring to send him the result. Upon my 
 word, looking at it from one standpoint, I take 
 some pride in my temerity. It is a wonder he 
 did not inclose dynamite with the portrait when 
 he returned it ; but how it did break my poor lit- 
 tle heart at the time ! Dynamite could hardly 
 have done more damage." 
 
 " I suppose you thought you were doing a shrewd 
 stroke of business," observed her mother. 
 
 " Oh, I was sure of it. I expected Cousin Jo- 
 tham to be touched and delighted with my gift, 
 and to advertise me among all his wealthy friends. 
 Now if I had had the sense to send the old gentle- 
 man Max's portrait instead of his own, and the 
 picture had chanced to arrive at a moment when 
 Cousin Jotham was not in one of his periodical 
 rages with his protege, that might have done some 
 good." 
 
 "I have not seen a picture of Max since he
 
 4 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 became a man," remarked Mrs. Carlyle placidly, 
 " but it would be a real pleasure for an artist to 
 copy his face." 
 
 Olive smiled. " Then you do not consider the 
 lieutenant too handsome. Some people do." 
 
 " No. It is one of my little theories that when 
 the world is in order people will all be beautiful, 
 as they will be virtuous and happy." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle sent a glance through her specta- 
 cles at her daughter as she spoke. She had an 
 artist's feeling for all harmony and loveliness. 
 What statuary, rare pictures and costly flowers are 
 in more favored mansions, her only child's beauty 
 was to Mrs. Carlyle in her shabby surroundings, and 
 as a luxurious gift straight from the hand of her 
 Heavenly Father she had taken it, seeing no terror 
 or temptation therein. Perhaps it was this theory 
 of hers that beauty should be the rule and lack of 
 symmetry the exception which had made it possi- 
 ble that so extremely pretty a girl as Olive Car- 
 lyle should have so little vanity. Her mother had 
 always treated her good looks as being like her 
 good health, no more than should be expected. 
 
 " Those periodical rages of Cousin Jotham's with 
 Maxwell ceased long ago," continued Mrs. Carlyle, 
 going on with her work. " It seemed to be the be- 
 ginning of his permanent satisfaction with the boy 
 when Max succeeded in entering the academy at 
 West Point." 
 
 " Yes ; that was such an economical way for 
 Cousin Jothani to educate him," suggested Olive.
 
 OLIVE CARLYLE. 5 
 
 " No, no, my dear. I am convinced that money 
 did not enter into his calculations in that instance. 
 Cousin Jotham believed in the training and the 
 course of study there. Max's mother talked to me 
 about it." 
 
 Olive smiled a little scornfully. " Oh, yes, 
 Cousin Elinor liked the idea of having her sou an 
 army officer." 
 
 " Of course she did. She and Ida Fuller have 
 had a fine visit with him this summer at his post. 
 They enjoyed all sorts of lively military doings. I 
 was glad to find Ida was beginning to have the 
 heart to be gay again. Poor child ! " 
 
 " Well, really, mother, in the few times I have 
 met Ida since she came to live with Cousin Elinor 
 I have not perceived that she was a candidate for 
 sympathy." 
 
 " Oh, my dear," Mrs. Carlyle shook her head, 
 " you will learn in time not to judge by ap- 
 pearances. It is but two years since her hus- 
 band's suicide. No doubt she often carries a sad 
 heart under that bright exterior. We do not see 
 enough of her to judge." 
 
 " No," returned Olive. " We do not see enough 
 of her nor of any of the rest of our relatives to be 
 able to judge of them. They are distant relations 
 with a vengeance. They would be utter strangers 
 if it were not for Cousin Jotham's pride in his pet. 
 I imagine family parties are not much to Max's 
 taste, either. I think they bore him." 
 
 " All the more good-natured of him to wear his
 
 6 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 uniform on those occasions and let his civilian rel- 
 atives admire," replied Mrs. Carlyle tranquilly. 
 
 " And how promptly the family falls apart when 
 the magnet is withdrawn," remarked Olive, work- 
 ing on busily. "The only time Cousin Jotham 
 ever troubles himself to pick up the loose ends is 
 when he wants to show off Max. I believe the 
 
 
 
 first gathering of grown-ups I ever attended in my 
 life was six or seven years ago, when Max was at 
 home from West Point on his vacation. How grand 
 Cousin Jotham's big parlors looked to me that 
 night ! I had not yet entered my teens, but I felt 
 that this was a fine debut into society, and that 
 henceforward all Fifth Avenue was open to me." 
 The girl laughed softly, and her pencil brought out 
 more distinctly the high light in the Reverend Mr. 
 Wheeler's left eye. " After that, no more high 
 life for the poor relations until Max graduated, 
 when we were all asked to inspect the new-fledged 
 lieutenant and tender our congratulations. Since 
 then, let me see : I think we have seen Cousin 
 Jotham's old brocade hangings and young officer 
 twice, relapsing after each orgy into Twenty-fourth 
 Street seclusion. I wonder when the magnet will 
 collect the scattered particles of the family again ? 
 Probably as soon as the government considers that 
 the country's safety will not be endangered by a 
 leave of absence from his post of Lieutenant Max- 
 well Van Kirk of the th cavalry ! " And Olive 
 laughed softly at her own folly. " But I have n't 
 asked you what your adventures were down-town
 
 OLIVE CARLYLE. 1 
 
 to-day. Whom did you give your sprig of rose- 
 geranium to ? " 
 
 " The palest little girl in Macy's. She liked it." 
 
 " I dare say she liked it, but," plaintively, 
 " I do wish, mother dear, you would n't take greens 
 with you whenever you sally forth. It looks queer 
 and countrified to go around in the cars as you do 
 with your little bouquets." 
 
 " Countrified ! Oh, bless you for the compli- 
 ment, my child. I dream dreams sometimes of 
 living in the country, Olive." 
 
 The girl shook her head. " If you felt as I do 
 about it, you would prefer even West Twenty-fourth 
 Street." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle breathed an unconscious sigh. " I 
 could n't leave my girls, of course," she replied. 
 
 " Speaking of the girls," said Olive, " the last 
 time they were here you committed even a worse 
 sin than carrying greens. As I was just saying, 
 we have never benefited greatly by relatives, and 
 why should you have such a craving for hunting 
 up new ones ? At all events, please don't find any 
 among those shop-girls." 
 
 " Olive Carlyle ! " Her mother looked and spoke 
 genuine disappointment. 
 
 " I am willing to have them here as often as you 
 like, and I will play for them to sing ' There 's 
 Music in the Air,' and play games with them and 
 read to them," said Olive firmly, her face looking 
 childishly flushed above the large blue calico apron 
 that enveloped her, " but I do not care to discover 
 any cousins among them."
 
 8 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Cousins ! " Mrs. Carlyle still sat with her 
 hands in her lap and her deep-set, beautiful gray 
 eyes gazing at the mutinous face before the easel. 
 "They are your sisters, everyone," she said, slowly, 
 " and if you do not love them and yearn over them, 
 what have I been doing all these years ? " 
 
 " It is n't because they are shop-girls, mother," 
 replied the girl plaintively. " I am nearly as poor 
 as they are and may be glad to be a shop-girl yet 
 myself, but they are boisterous just as soon as they 
 feel at home, and they have n't clean hands, and 
 their bangs cover their eyebrows, I mean the kind 
 of shop-girl that you always invite to come here." 
 
 " Yes, the kind that needs to come here," said 
 Mrs. Carlyle, apparently recovering her calm, and 
 proceeding with her work. " I am never so glad 
 that our carpets are faded and the furniture old 
 and rubbed as when I see how quickly the girls feel 
 at home with us ; and it is one of the greatest plea- 
 sures I can imagine, to see them enjoying themselves 
 so much and so innocently." 
 
 Olive looked across at the transparent face with 
 its unconscious half-smile. 
 
 " Don't worry about your own little inner re- 
 bellious feelings, daughter," continued the elder 
 woman, " they belong to your youth ; every year 
 you will look deeper and deeper into these things. 
 Did n't you notice the other evening that little 
 Ellen Lanyard had combed her hair back and tried 
 as well as she could with her straight locks to ar- 
 range it like yours ? Despise not the day of small
 
 OLIVE CABLYLE. 9 
 
 things," added Mrs. Carlyle, with her transforming 
 smile. " The lifting up of that heavy bang may 
 mean the lifting up of something more important 
 within." 
 
 Olive gave a low groan as she resumed her 
 crayoning. " How does it feel to be an angel, 
 mother ? " she asked. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle was too accustomed to her daugh- 
 ter's rebound from resentful protest to filial adora- 
 tion to do more than smile at this familiar question. 
 " I saw Cousin Elinor and Ida Fuller driving in 
 a coupe as I was coming home in a car," she re- 
 marked, after a little pause. 
 
 " Did they see you ? " inquired Olive quickly. 
 
 "No. It is a good while since I have spoken 
 with Elinor. She is doubtless very busy with her 
 social duties. She does not need us." 
 
 " Well," said the girl, with a sigh, " lots of peo- 
 ple do. They are not exactly the sort of people 
 to help one into society, but still there are lots of 
 them, the lame and the halt and the blind, men- 
 tally, morally, and physically ; and they each want 
 a little piece of my mother, and, worse than that, 
 they get it." She pushed her chair back. " I must 
 make myself presentable, for some of the con- 
 gregation may come this afternoon to sit on Mr. 
 Wheeler's picture. They really ought to give me 
 a duplicate order, so as to present Mrs. Wheeler 
 with a portrait at Christmas." 
 
 Olive rose and went to a little closet, where she 
 slipped off the enveloping apron and washed her
 
 10 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 face and hands. In a few minutes she reappeared, 
 metamorphosed. As she stepped forth clothed in 
 a clinging cashmere dress, she seemed to prove the 
 theory held by certain artistic souls that only the 
 young and beautiful should wear black. Her fine, 
 smooth skin and youthful tints, her large, express- 
 ive blue eyes, her well-carried head, with its yel- 
 low-brown, waving hair, were well set off by the 
 simple gown, exactly fitting the round, pliant figure. 
 Her firm, light step seemed fit to fall on velvet or 
 on smooth-shaven terraces where peacocks glitter. 
 All the accompaniments of wealth suggested them- 
 selves to the imagination at sight of her, but she had 
 lived too busy and useful a life often to sigh for 
 them in day-dreams, and when the thought of un- 
 attainable riches did present itself, it was naturally 
 in connection with the work her mother managed to 
 do for young women ; a work for which Mrs. Car- 
 lyle's only equipment was her own great heart and 
 clever brain. Their recent talk had brought up 
 this idea of money in the girl's mind. 
 
 " If Max does prove to be Cousin Jotham's heir, 
 as his mother and everybody expects he will be, do 
 you think he will be likely to be generous ? Won't 
 he perhaps give you some money for your work ? " 
 she asked, as she moved the easel and began to 
 gather up the sheet containing the crumbled bread. 
 
 " I do not know, of course, whether my work 
 will require money. It evidently has not needed 
 it as yet." 
 
 " It has not had it, certainly."
 
 OLIVE CARLYLE. 11 
 
 " The same thing." 
 
 " Oh, mother, how can you be sure ? " 
 
 " Does it seem to you a wonderful thing to be- 
 lieve that the Lord of heaven and earth could send 
 me money if He wanted me to use it ? It is such 
 a simple truth." 
 
 " Somehow I forget from time to time," replied 
 Olive meekly. 
 
 When her mother said such things they always 
 seemed for the moment perfectly clear in the light 
 of her translucent certainty. 
 
 " So did I at your age," replied Mrs. Carlyle. 
 " In fact, I forgot nearly all the time." 
 
 " Then I suppose I shall receive the order for 
 another picture of Mr. Wheeler, if it is best," re- 
 marked the girl half-discontentedly. 
 
 " Certainly. Just as surely as that two and two 
 make four." 
 
 The door-bell suddenly sent a peal through the 
 house. " There are the arbiters of my fate, prob- 
 ably, now," said Olive, placing the easel in a favor- 
 able position. She left the room and hastened to 
 open the front door. So full was her mind of the 
 committee she expected to see that she gave a little 
 involuntary start at sight of the two ladies in full 
 calling costume who were waiting on the upper 
 step. 
 
 " Well, Olive, glad to find you at home," said 
 the elder. 
 
 " I have come to scold you, Olive," added the 
 younger, smiling and shaking her head.
 
 12 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 To their simultaneous greeting the girl mur- 
 mured a welcome, and, kissing the cheeks they 
 offered, ushered the visitors into the house. Then 
 she stepped into the back room. " Cousin Elinor 
 and Ida Fuller," she announced distinctly to her 
 mother, who immediately followed her into the 
 parlor. 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk, a large, imposing woman, with 
 prominent brown eyes and large white teeth, came 
 forward in black silk and jet to receive her hostess' 
 cordial welcome, permeating the air with an odor 
 of white rose as she moved. 
 
 " Oh, you two unsociable creatures," she said, in 
 a tone as penetrating as her favorite scent. " See 
 how you make me come after you, although you 
 know how busy I am, driven almost to death." 
 
 " Yes," added Mrs. Fuller, a slender, graceful 
 young woman, " I tell Olive that she will positively 
 have to be put out of the clan, if she does not turn 
 over a new leaf." 
 
 " We are pretty busy people here," observed 
 Mrs. Carlyle, serenely unmoved by this onslaught, 
 although as conscious as her daughter of its ab- 
 surdity. " I should like it if we might see more 
 of one another," she continued, looking at Mrs. 
 Fuller with her affectionate, benedictory gaze. 
 " I am one who believes that blood is much thicker 
 than water; witness" looking back at Mrs. 
 Van Kirk " the way I have clung to the slen- 
 der thread of relationship that binds ine to your 
 aunt."
 
 OLIVE CAELYLE. 13 
 
 " I am glad you do, Mary," said the elder guest 
 graciously, but with a distinct flavor of patronage. 
 " The slightness of the tie matters little when we 
 consider the friendship of our youth. That will 
 connect us always, although circumstances seem 
 against our continuing our intimacy in these days. 
 But I have come on another errand beside re- 
 proaching you for not coming to see me." Mrs. 
 Van Kirk's tight jet armor creaked as she settled 
 back in her chair. " I remember how fond you 
 used to be of Maxwell when he was a child and 
 what an interest you have always taken in him." 
 
 " Certainly. What of him ? " 
 
 " Well, I have great news. He has left the 
 army." 
 
 " Is it possible ! " ejaculated Mrs. Carlyle, 
 throwing herself unrestrictedly into the mother's 
 interest, and looking at her with as much surprise 
 and attention as though she were listening to news 
 of the resignation of the secretary of war. " And 
 are you pleased, Elinor ? " 
 
 " The question of my pleasure has been very 
 little consulted," replied Mrs. Van Kirk, dropping 
 her eyelids and drawing in her breath. 
 
 "I can tell you very decidedly that I am not 
 pleased, Cousin Mary," declared the young widow, 
 shaking her dark head. " You know I visited 
 Max at his post with Aunt Elinor this summer. 
 I never had a pleasanter time in my life. I am 
 simply disgusted that there is to be no more of it ; 
 but neither did Cousin Jotham consult me"
 
 14 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Ah, Cousin Jotham ? " said Mrs. Carlyle, turn- 
 ing inquiringly toward Mrs. Van Kirk. 
 
 " Yes ; oh, yes," replied the latter, with a sub- 
 dued air of importance, " it is all Uncle Jotham's 
 doings. You know he is getting to be a pretty 
 old man now, and when he began to feel that he 
 must have Max near him, there wasn't much to 
 be said. At first the boy hesitated, of course ; but 
 the idleness of his life has always weighed upon 
 him. There is next to no hope, or fear, of active 
 service in the army, and when his Uncle Jotham 
 put it to him as he did, Maxwell finally decided 
 that it was his duty to do as the old gentleman re- 
 quested." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle nodded. " No doubt he wishes 
 Max to become familiar with the various responsi- 
 bilities which will devolve upon him later. I am 
 sure we can see Cousin Jotham's wisdom in that. 
 It would be unfair to make the boy take the care 
 of such a complicated property without any prepa- 
 ration." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk's stiff bodice creaked appallingly. 
 " Oh, of course we know nothing about the future," 
 she said, looking nevertheless as though she did 
 know much which yielded her satisfaction, "but 
 I am well content with Max's decision. I think 
 he did right. The affair has been pending for 
 some time, but matters are settled now, and Max- 
 well is in town, a civilian once more. We have 
 been very quiet about it during the transition pe- 
 riod."
 
 OLIVE CABLYLE. 15 
 
 There was a momentary silence in the room. 
 Then, " I hope he is well and happy," hazarded 
 Mrs. Carlyle. 
 
 " Yes, thank you. You know there is no shilly- 
 shallying in Max's nature. He considered and 
 made up his mind, and now there will be no regret, 
 no looking backward," replied the young man's 
 fond parent. 
 
 " And the United States has lost one of the 
 handsomest men in the service," remarked Mrs. 
 Fuller, smiling. " Army officers are usually good- 
 looking, though. It seems to have a favorable 
 effect on the features as well as the figure to take 
 a military training." 
 
 " The errand I came for especially," said Mrs. 
 Van Kirk, looking from mother to daughter, " is 
 to bring you an invitation from Uncle Jotham." 
 
 " I knew it," declared Olive mentally, and she 
 could not forbear giving one look at her mother. 
 Mrs. Van Kirk noted the wandering glance, and 
 fixed the girl with her large gaze as she proceeded : 
 
 " Dear Uncle Jotham has lived in almost entire 
 seclusion for so long that you will probably be sur- 
 prised to learn that he wants all the family for 
 dinner next Wednesday." 
 
 There were little sparks of mischief in Olive's 
 eyes. " Has it really come to that ? " she asked, 
 with audacious humor. " He has looked for years 
 as though he wanted to eat us all, but I never 
 thought he would avow it and actually set the day 
 for the operation."
 
 16 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Mrs. Fuller smiled. 
 
 " My dear," exclaimed Mrs. Van Kirk, in dis- 
 pleasure, " respect for gray hairs should make you 
 refrain from treating dear Uncle's invitation as a 
 joke. I assure you," she added reproachfully, 
 " it touched me deeply to think he desired to see 
 all his kin sitting about his board once more before 
 he goes hence." and the speaker touched her eyes 
 with her handkerchief. " Shall I tell him, Mary," 
 turning to Mrs. Carlyle, "that you and Olive 
 will be present ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed. I suppose it is a dinner-party in 
 honor of Max." 
 
 " Well, I suppose it is," assented Mrs. Van Kirk, 
 with becoming modesty. Then she rose in her 
 noisy jet fringes. " We were belated on our way 
 here, and so must tear ourselves away," she said. 
 " It is already growing dark." 
 
 " Are you doing well in your art work ? " Mrs. 
 Fuller asked of Olive, as she, too, rose. 
 
 The girl answered civilly, but was painfully con- 
 scious of the open scrutiny with which the young 
 widow's hard, handsome eyes inventoried the old 
 furnishings of the parlor. 
 
 " Run in and see me soon, Mary," said Mrs. Van 
 Kirk. " I wish I had a home and could beg you to 
 make a longer stay than a flying visit. It is an 
 unsatisfactory life this boarding," and she shook 
 her head mournfully. 
 
 " It is pleasant for you and Ida to be in the same 
 house," responded Mrs. Carlyle.
 
 OLIVE CARLYLE. 17 
 
 " Oh, I should be a forlorn orphan indeed with- 
 out Aunt Elinor," said Mrs. Fuller, and with a few 
 more commonplaces the visitors effected their de- 
 parture. 
 
 When the house door had closed, Olive drew her 
 mother into her loving young arms. 
 
 " Say something good to me quick," she said. 
 " I am all bristling like a porcupine. Oh, mother, 
 I like you ! You are so real and so true." 
 
 "Then come down and help me get supper," 
 suggested Mrs. Carlyle, yielding her cheek to the 
 furious kisses her daughter was implanting upon 
 it. " It is quite time. Next Wednesday we shall 
 not have to get our own supper. It seems the young 
 prince is coming into his own." 
 
 " Yes," said Olive, releasing her mother and 
 walking across the room with an excellent imitation 
 of Mrs. Van Kirk's imposing, important, dominant 
 air, and speaking in that lady's deliberate, nasal 
 tone. " Dear Maxwell, my dear child so dutiful 
 to dear Uncle Jotham, so everything he ought to 
 be and nothing that he ought n't Oh, Ida Fuller 
 is a snob ! " exclaimed Olive, stopping in her 
 dramatization and clinching her pretty hands. 
 " What right had she to stare at our poor little 
 belongings ? And I know, I know she was think- 
 ing of the roomers." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle rented rooms to certain inoffensive 
 individuals, and these " roomers," though she rarely 
 laid eyes upon them, Miss Carlyle chose to consider 
 the tragic features of her life.
 
 18 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Her mother laughed most unsympathetically. 
 " Come, dear ; supper-time," she said, leading the 
 way to the basement stairs. 
 
 " "Well," replied Olive, following, but still much 
 ruffled, " I believe the most trying of all Cousin 
 Jotham's cross-grained eccentricities is this occa- 
 sional spasm of sociability with his relatives. He 
 must show Max off, whatever happens."
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 THE FAMILY DINNER-PARTY, 
 
 " IT is a real gathering of the clan, you see, 
 my dears," said Mrs. Van Kirk, graciously, giving 
 Olive and her mother each a hand, as on the fol- 
 lowing Wednesday evening they approached her 
 where she stood by the folding doors in Jotham 
 Bagg's high-studded, spacious old drawing-room, 
 in her temporary character of hostess. " Uncle Jo- 
 tham," turning to the permanently frowning old 
 man near her, and speaking with increased delib- 
 eration and sweetness, " here is our fairest bud." 
 
 The host shook the girlish hand, as it was offered, 
 with a bony, lifeless touch. " How-d'-ye-do, how-d'- 
 ye-do," he muttered, automatically, scarcely parting 
 his dry lips. His stiff, thick, silvery hair stood 
 erect above his wrinkled face, and his head seemed 
 set immovably in his high white stock, while 
 his black eyes softened not at all as they rested a 
 moment on the young face. 
 
 " When I think I sent him that portrait ! " re- 
 flected Olive, as she moved away. " What has he 
 invited us here for, if it is not to eat us ? Do see 
 mother ! Would n't that look in her eyes melt a 
 graven image ? I wonder what she is saying to
 
 20 MISS BAGG'S SECEETARY. 
 
 him ; something sweet about Max, probably, for 
 actually the idol is smiling. My ! I should think 
 the old gentleman would be afraid of cracking his 
 cheeks ; they are so unused to it. I wonder where 
 the exvlieutenant is. Ah ! " for at this moment 
 a tall man in evening dress entered the room, not 
 with the air of a new arrival, but as though he 
 might have been the son of the house. He caught 
 sight of Miss Carlyle's flushed face and advanced 
 to her with a decided look of interest. " What is 
 this ? What is this ? " he said, as he shook her 
 hand. " You have been growing up since we last 
 met. Why, when was it ? The last time I saw you 
 you were a little girl, with your hair braided down 
 your back." 
 
 " Of course," replied Olive gayly. " You did 
 not expect me to remain a child forever, I hope. 
 It is my turn at last to be a young lady." 
 
 "I should say so," replied Van Kirk, continuing 
 to look at her with surprise and approval. 
 
 " This is a world of changes," she remarked. " I 
 understand we have looked our last on all those 
 adornments Lieutenant Van Kirk once dazzled us 
 with in these rooms." 
 
 " Yes ; I have n't a brass button to my name. 
 All my dreams of martial glory I left behind me in 
 Wyoming." 
 
 " And are you glad, or sorry ? " asked Olive 
 impulsively. 
 
 The young man hesitated. 
 
 " Well," he said at last, " a man does not take 
 such a step without due consideration."
 
 THE FAMILY DINNER-PARTY. 21 
 
 " Which means," replied Olive, with a pretty 
 look of deprecation, " that I ought not to have 
 asked that. Well, Cousin Jotham gives you a 
 family party as the best compensation for army 
 gayety at his command." 
 
 Van Kirk smiled in sympathy with her soft 
 laugh. " It is rather an odd freak of the old 
 gentleman's, is n't it ? " 
 
 Olive nodded. " One which you can explain if 
 anybody can, I suppose." 
 
 " Can't, I give you rny word. I have n't the 
 least idea. I can only be grateful for the pleasure." 
 
 " Rather a questionable pleasure. There are no 
 two of us who meet twice a year. There is n't a 
 common interest among us, not one. We know 
 each other's names, and that is all. I dare say 
 you could not give the relationship to one another 
 of the people in this room to save your life." 
 
 " And I would n't try, for the laudable purpose 
 of retaining my reason." 
 
 " Precisely. It is the most absurd gathering I 
 ever heard of." 
 
 Mr. Van Kirk smoothed his mustache. "Are 
 you always so uncomplimentary ? " 
 
 " I am always strictly truthful, and that must 
 usually mean being uncomplimentary while one 
 lives in this world." 
 
 Maxwell laughed. The speaker's happy face and 
 gentle tone were so unrelated to her effort at 
 cynicism. 
 
 " Now, it strikes me that Uncle Jotham should be
 
 22 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 encouraged in making these little excursions out of 
 his shell," he returned. " How are you, Wil- 
 kins ? " this to a short, red-faced individual who 
 clapped him heartily on the shoulder, compelling 
 him to turn around. 
 
 " What do you know of army gayety ? " he pur- 
 sued, turning back to Olive as soon as civility per- 
 mitted. 
 
 " Not much, I must say ; but Ida Fuller was 
 at our house yesterday, and she said she had the 
 pleasantest visit of her life at your post." 
 
 The young man nodded. " Yes, it strikes a 
 stranger, especially a young lady, as a very pleas- 
 ant life. A visitor knows nothing of the monotony 
 which bears down on one after a certain length of 
 time. You had a perfect right to ask if I was glad 
 to leave the army. I was rusting, that is the fact. 
 I like New York, of course. Under all the cir- 
 cumstances, I am glad to begin life again here." 
 
 He looked so handsome and prosperous, standing 
 there beneath the brilliant chandelier, it passed 
 through the mind of his companion that he was in- 
 deed an enviable being, a pet of fortune, and 
 that he had done wisely in discarding his shoul- 
 der-straps to take up the active career which lay 
 before him. 
 
 There was another listener to his declaration, 
 whose sentiments of admiration were lost in the 
 various emotions of anxiety, uneasiness, and jeal- 
 ousy, which the mention only of Van Kirk's name 
 was able to evoke. This was the florid Jeremiah
 
 THE FAMILY DINNER-PARTY. 23 
 
 Wilkins, who, bowing to Olive, had remained in 
 the neighborhood. No soul in Mr. Bagg's circle of 
 acquaintance had been so deeply stirred by the 
 news of the recall of the young lieutenant as that 
 of this cousin of Jothatn's, an habitue" of the house 
 and a most servile slave to the old man's whims ; 
 but he concealed his sentiments under a bluff, loud, 
 familiar cordiality, and now rested his hand again 
 on the broad shoulder that was turned toward him. 
 
 " Of course you feel that way, and right you are, 
 Max," he declared, " right you are ! " 
 
 " I have not spoken to Ida," said Olive. 
 " Does n't she look as though she had stepped out 
 of an old picture in that crape gown ? " and she 
 turned to greet Mrs. Fuller, who advanced, smiling. 
 
 Although Mrs. Van Kirk and her son labored 
 nobly to create an atmosphere of harmony amid the 
 inharmonious assemblage, Jotham Bagg's extraor- 
 dinary dinner-party was rather a grotesque affair. 
 His expressionless face as he sat at the head of his 
 wax-lighted table betrayed no feeling whatever, and 
 beyond answering questions addressed directly to 
 him, he did not exert himself in any way to enter- 
 tain his guests, whose convulsive efforts to assume 
 an air of good-fellowship might have touched even 
 the heart of their host. 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk's uneasiness was plainly discern- 
 ible, and to her son, seconded by Mrs. Fuller, was 
 due whatever measure of success was attained in 
 keeping the conversational ball rolling, unless Mr. 
 Wilkins's noisy laughter could be counted an aid.
 
 24 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 No one ever saw Maxwell Van Kirk embarrassed 
 or at a loss, and even under the present depressing 
 circumstances he talked, told anecdotes, and suc- 
 ceeded in drawing responses to his clever questions 
 from the most hopelessly mute third cousin of them 
 all. 
 
 But all this was hard work against heavy odds, 
 and it was in answer to an imperative look from 
 him that Mrs. Van Kirk with no unnecessarily pro- 
 longed ceremony gave her final gracious smile 
 around the table, and, rising, led the way back to 
 the parlor, the other women following in her rose- 
 scented wake. 
 
 There was one guest who, in spite of her stric- 
 tures upon this eccentric entertainment, was enjoy- 
 ing it highly. Society, beyond church sociables 
 and her mother's labors of love, was an untried 
 pleasure to Olive Carlyle. No wonder she had 
 enjoyed being placed beside Max at the dinner- 
 table and being the recipient of the murmured 
 asides of that much-tried young man. 
 
 Now as she took a superannuated album and 
 seated herself on the green brocade sofa near the 
 pier glass in the drawing-room, Ida Fuller took 
 possession of the place beside her. 
 
 " Let me sit by you and rest a minute from this 
 woefully stupid set of people," said the widow. 
 " Everybody seems under a spell to-night. I never 
 encountered such obstinate silence." 
 
 " I suppose the company cannot recover from 
 their surprise at being invited here."
 
 THE FAMILY DINNER-PARTY. 25 
 
 Mrs. Fuller shrugged her shoulders. " Perhaps 
 that is it. Cousin Jeremiah was odious. I wish 
 I knew how to snub him. He is such a mixture of 
 eagerness and uneasiness. Just one of the para- 
 sites you read about. How can he hang so on 
 Cousin Jotham's looks ? Every time our host's 
 piercing little black eyes roved around the table, 
 it seemed to me they were saying : ' Oh, I see 
 through you. Poor relations, all of you.' He 
 makes me conscious that every civil word anybody 
 addresses to him is set down in his mind as an 
 effort to win his favor." 
 
 " Yes," replied Olive, " and on that account I 
 am rather proud of the sulky front presented by 
 the family to its head." 
 
 " We all know it is of no use," said Ida, half- 
 laughing. " Every one is sure that Max will be 
 Cousin Jotham's heir. It is a shame, too. There 
 is so much money, it ought to be divided. Think 
 what a convenient thing that would be for us all." 
 
 " Yes, I know ; but I would n't ask for it by word 
 or action." 
 
 " Would n't you ? I would. If I knew just 
 the look, word, or act that would please Cousin 
 Jotham, I would look or speak or do it the instant 
 he comes in. I would out-Wilkins Cousin Jere- 
 miah. Oh, I have n't seen that. Why, the 
 wretch ! " 
 
 This exclamation from Mrs. Fuller was caused 
 by the discovery of a picture in the album whose 
 leaves they had been turning, of a man in uniform.
 
 26 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 His pure profile and noble head were brought out 
 by the photographer's art in flattering perfection. 
 Olive gazed at it in silent ad miration. Ida's frown 
 vanished in a smile. " If Cousin Jotham should, 
 out of pure contrariness, neglect Max in his will," 
 she continued, "he has a career before him as 
 leading man in a theatrical company. He could 
 live on the returns from his photographs." 
 
 " But he would not think of it," replied Olive, 
 apparently treating the subject seriously. " He is 
 remarkably unconscious of his looks, I think." 
 
 " He is unconscious. It is his redeeming fea- 
 ture. I think it makes every one forgive him 
 his beauty ; but we had better turn the leaf, he is 
 coming." 
 
 The men entered the room in rather solemn pro- 
 cession, and Olive looked up with involuntary 
 eagerness. Mr. Van Kirk glanced toward the 
 corner where she and his cousin were seated, but 
 moved on to the side of a shy and stiff young 
 woman to whom his mother was talking, not ap- 
 parently to the stranger's entertainment. 
 
 The young people on the sofa continued to turn 
 the leaves of the album which contained, besides 
 Max's, only pictures of long by-gone days, and they 
 enjoyed much repressed hilarity over the costumes 
 and hair-dressing of Mr. Bagg's circle of acquaint- 
 ance. They tried in vain to imagine Cousin Jo- 
 tham in the position of asking for the photograph 
 of a friend and, coming to the counterfeit present- 
 ment of a stout lady, in a high, white cap, with im-
 
 THE FAMILY DINNER-PAETY. 27 
 
 mense puffs of black hair each side her face, Ida 
 dramatized the probable exchange of amenities 
 which led up to the presentation until Olive for- 
 got all pugnacity in merriment, and besought her 
 breathlessly and with tears to desist. 
 
 " Mother is looking at us and wondering what 
 is the matter," she exclaimed, struggling with her 
 risibles. " Do hush, Ida. Here comes Cousin Eli- 
 nor, too." 
 
 As she spoke, Olive closed the album guiltily. 
 " You children seem to be having a merry time," 
 said Mrs. Van Kirk suavely, as she approached. 
 " We want you to entertain the rest of us now. 
 Can't we have some music ? " 
 
 " Music here? " ejaculated Olive. 
 
 " Why not ? " asked Mrs. Van Kirk, with some 
 severity. " The piano is in tune. I saw to that my- 
 self. Ida, you must sing," she continued, curtly. 
 " Olive, I know, will play your accompaniment." 
 
 The graceful woman looked up with a little smile. 
 " Why so imperative ? " she asked. 
 
 " Oh, for mercy's sake don't try me. This even- 
 ing would rack the stoutest nerves. Let us get it 
 over." 
 
 " Complimentary, is n't she ? " this to Max, 
 who here approached. " You know best if it will 
 be safe for me to sing. Will you promise to re- 
 strain our host if he should become violent ? " 
 
 She rose with Olive, who immediately went to 
 the piano and seated herself. Mrs. Fuller opened 
 a book of music on the rack.
 
 28 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " I would prefer to sing this," she said, indicat- 
 ing one of the songs. 
 
 " Well, I have seen it before, fortunately for 
 you," remarked Olive ; " it is not easy to play." 
 
 " Singers are so selfish, too, don't you know," 
 returned Mrs. Fuller ; " they think so little of the 
 trouble they give their accompanists. Accompany- 
 ing is the most ungrateful business in the world ; 
 but I am an exception, really. I appreciate the 
 work." 
 
 "Accompanists are born, not made," replied 
 Olive, smiling, "and I am vain enough to think 
 myself one. I hope you will like me." 
 
 " Oh, of course," murmured Ida, and then the 
 prelude tripped daintily forth from the yellow old 
 keys. 
 
 Jotham Bagg turned his body toward the per- 
 formers. His lifeless face gained no expression as 
 his eyes found the singer. The tendrils of her 
 feathery hair against the white nape of her neck 
 affected him with no admiration. His expression 
 was at ludicrous odds with the fire and fervor of 
 the Spanish song that rolled from the singer's lips. 
 It was all about roses, and dark eyes, and foun- 
 tains, and dancing, and loving. 
 
 " Of dancing I knew naught, 
 By Inez I was taught ! " 
 
 sang Ida, with spirit, and her host's face wrinkled 
 unconsciously into myriad lines of endurance. 
 At last came the final refrain : 
 
 " Of loving I knew naught, 
 By Inez I was taught ! "
 
 THE FAMILY DINNER-PARTY. 29 
 
 Old Jotham looked grim disdain over his white 
 neckcloth ; his mouth had become but one more 
 wrinkle in his drawn face ; but young Van Kirk 
 met the singer when she rose, with ardent dark 
 eyes and unsmiling lips that murmured some in- 
 audible flattery which colored the cheeks of the 
 fair songstress and made her careless of other 
 praise. She had never been so sure as to-night 
 that it was worth while to please Max Van Kirk, 
 and she was elated by her success. 
 
 " Max is in love with her," thought Olive, with 
 a start. The possibility had not occurred to her 
 before, and the conviction gave her for the moment, 
 after having so much enjoyed his approving glances 
 and words, a sudden sensation of being left out 
 and neglected. 
 
 " Now don't rise, Olive," begged Mrs. Van Kirk. 
 " Give us one of your own songs. No excuses, 
 my dear. In practice or out of practice, you have 
 sung since you were two years old, and can no more 
 help it than the brooks or the birds. Sit right 
 down and sing us something." 
 
 The host, hearing this and seeing the girl seat 
 herself once more at the piano, indulged in an un- 
 mistakably fresh frown, and wondered why he had 
 not made kindling wood of that nuisance of an 
 instrument before to-day ; but as Olive touched 
 her prelude he frowned more deeply. He recog- 
 nized something in the simple harmony. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle looked up, wondering what had 
 tempted the child to resurrect the old song which
 
 30 MISS BAGG'S SECRETAEY. 
 
 she had never sung except at her mother's special 
 request. Perhaps it was a spirit of perversity 
 which determined Olive to give a performance as 
 removed as possible from that which had lighted 
 such admiration in Maxwell Van Kirk's eyes. At 
 all events, it was " Mary of Argyle " which she 
 began to sing in an easy, natural voice, as fresh 
 and sweet as herself. 
 
 " I have heard the inavis singing 
 His love-song to the morn " 
 
 Jotham Bagg's frown faded away. He glanced 
 at Van Kirk, who was listening with polite indiffer- 
 ence. A strange pang shot through the old man. 
 He had heard Max's grandmother sing that song, 
 yes, on many a happy evening. Ah, had fate 
 been more kind, this young man would have been 
 his own by right of blood instead of by might of 
 riches. 
 
 When the song closed and Olive arose, the com- 
 pany were electrified by what occurred. It was 
 merely courteous of old Jotham, but only those 
 who knew him best could comprehend how amazing 
 his action was. 
 
 He walked across the room to Olive and made 
 her a stiff, queer bow. "Thank you," he said, 
 curtly. " I enjoyed that very much." 
 
 Max raised his eyebrows. His mother stared 
 uneasily. Mrs. Fuller smiled and looked alert and 
 interested. 
 
 Miss Carlyle blushed all over with surprise and 
 girlish exultation.
 
 THE FAMILY DINNER-PARTY. 31 
 
 " I am comforted at last about the portrait," she 
 said to her mother, as soon as they were alone. 
 
 " It was quite a little triumph, Olive, quite a 
 little triumph," responded Mrs. Carlyle. "You 
 really gave pleasure to the poor old gentleman. 
 The text has been ringing in my ears all the 
 evening: 'Consider the poor.' How truly poor 
 Cousin Jotham seems to be. We ought to give 
 him what we can." 
 
 Maxwell Van Kirk gave no thought to a possible 
 rival in Olive. He was aglow with the fascination 
 he felt for the charming woman whom he put into 
 the coupe with his mother before starting on his 
 brisk homeward walk. 
 
 " Of loving I knew naught, 
 By Inez I was taaght ; " 
 
 he hummed as he strode on. " I '11 wait no longer," 
 he murmured, unconsciously smiling. " I '11 speak 
 to her to-morrow, and then I '11 break it to Uncle 
 Jotham." 
 
 But Olive Carlyle was not destined to bring 
 more moments of pleasure to the indrawn, narrow 
 life of the millionaire, and twelve hours later Uncle 
 Jotham could neither sanction nor resent Max's 
 attachment. Before noon of the next day it was 
 known throughout business circles that Jotham 
 Bagg had been found dead in his bed that 
 morning.
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 LYDIA BAGG. 
 
 THERE was one relative of Jotham's who was 
 not invited to the family dinner. A sufficient rea- 
 son for the neglect lay in the fact that she lived 
 in Massachusetts, but another element in the case 
 was that Mr. Bagg had forgotten the existence of 
 this niece. 
 
 Miss Lydia Bagg, having but a misty conscious- 
 ness that there was such a being as her uncle, was, 
 of course, unmoved by the slight. She was a con- 
 tented, cheerful woman, living her quiet life in the 
 small village of Ashley, with no one to look out 
 for but Judge Gray and her Irish Nora, who with 
 herself composed a household enviably independent 
 of the longings and heart-burnings experienced by 
 Uncle Jotham's satellites. 
 
 One dull, cold morning, some time after her 
 uncle's last dinner - party, Miss Bagg gave the 
 Judge his breakfast as usual, and then left him 
 alone in her shabby parlor to digest it, while she 
 went out to do a few errands. 
 
 It always had a soporific effect upon the Judge 
 to be alone. At the time when his eloquence would 
 have annoyed no one, his perverse spirit urged him
 
 LYDIA BAGG. 33 
 
 to take little naps or to go into protracted brown 
 studies, during which his inien was portentously 
 solemn, and he seemed to revolve in his gray head 
 all the events of his experience and the problems 
 of life so far as they affected him. From time to 
 time he broke the silence by uttering guttural com- 
 ments, and these were often at such startling va- 
 riance with the dignity of his appearance as to 
 lead a chance listener to doubt the profundity of the 
 meditations occupying the wise-looking cranium. 
 
 The pupils of the Judge's eyes had a fashion 
 of dilating and contracting with a celerity which 
 did not inspire confidence in his interlocutors, ex- 
 cepting in the case of the one woman who believed 
 in him, loved him, caressed him, and cared for him 
 faithfully through winter's cold and summer's heat. 
 
 To the Judge's credit be it said that he forbore 
 from shaking Miss Bagg's faith. If he was not 
 in truth so deeply attached to her as she believed 
 him to be, he certainly forbore from maltreating 
 her physically, or hurting her feelings by malice 
 or derision as he did those of poor Nora, the 
 maid of all work. Good-natured Nora was in- 
 clined to like the Judge. She certainly respected 
 him, and had unlimited faith in his penetration 
 and sagacity ; yet he flouted her, jeered at her, 
 and laughed her to scorn in a way which actually 
 at times goaded her to wrathful tears ; but with 
 this occasional exception Miss Bagg's was a serene 
 little household, where content if not plenty 
 reigned.
 
 34 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 The mistress of it had at different periods of 
 her fifty years of life sighed gently over the facts 
 of single-blessedness and poverty. She had felt 
 the latter more since the Judge became a member 
 of her family. He was so excessively fond of 
 fruit ; and Miss Bagg being excessively fond of 
 the Judge, it hurt her tender heart not to be able 
 at all seasons of the year to supply him with his 
 favorite articles of food. However, single-blessed- 
 ness and limited means being the general lot of 
 womankind in Ashley, these trials were less hard 
 to bear there than they might have been in dif- 
 ferent surroundings, and Miss Bagg, being of a 
 cheerful, industrious disposition, did not dream of 
 spending any time in wishing circumstances other 
 than they were. 
 
 Dozens of little wrinkles had already woven 
 themselves about her eyes, but she never bestowed 
 a thought upon them. Dozens of gray hairs 
 mingled in the tightly tied tuft of curls that stood 
 out in a bunch at the back of her head, but she 
 did not attempt to count them, and never had 
 pulled one out. Miss Lydia had been prim and 
 precise at eighteen, when she was the youngest 
 of the Bagg girls, and now that she was alone 
 in the world she was one of the Bagg girls still 
 among the more ancient sisterhood of Ashley ; 
 and in the consistent if selfish attachment of the 
 Judge, and the whole-souled, fervent love of her 
 Irish Nora, there was nothing to remind her that 
 she was growing old.
 
 LYDIA EAGG. 35 
 
 She set forth from her house this chilly morning 
 as usual to make her small purchases, and nothing 
 within or without gave her a presentiment that 
 the day, so similar to hundreds that had preceded 
 it, was to bring her to a sharp turning in her life's 
 lane. 
 
 Nora watched her from the window, filled with 
 affectionate approval of her gait and the fall of the 
 old plaid shawl from her thin shoulders. Miss 
 Bagg did not grow fleshy with her years, and 
 plump Nora was never weary of admiring the bones 
 that showed so genteelly in her mistress's hands, 
 and she considered Miss Lydia's profile a very 
 pronounced profile, thanks to a slightly retreating 
 forehead and chin and a prominent, thin nose to 
 be the ideal of all that was aristocratic and fine. 
 
 " She had a right to take her umbrell," muttered 
 the girl, with a careful thought for the ancient 
 black straw hat which had accompanied Miss Lydia 
 to market during all the years her maid had known 
 her, and perhaps longer still. 
 
 The Judge from his window could also see Miss 
 Bagg's retreating figure. He yawned as he looked 
 after her, and then began to wink and blink and 
 nod in one of his comfortable siestas. It was a 
 dull, dark morning. A fire sputtered feebly in 
 the open stove, a tall clock ticked in a corner of 
 the room. The furniture was spare and faded, and 
 the carpet a much mended affair, with an indis- 
 tinguishable pattern. A little stand of house-plants 
 in the window was the only cheerful object in the
 
 36 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 room, until, after many swings of the clock's long 
 pendulum, Nora came in to look after the condi- 
 tion of the fire. The Judge opened his eyes with 
 a start. 
 
 " Hello," he remarked, in his deep bass. 
 
 " Hello, Joodge," returned the girl. 
 
 " Come, kiss me," said the Judge coaxingly. 
 
 " 'Dade, thin, I won't. It 's a bit o' me lip ye 'd 
 be afther takin'. Go off wid ye." 
 
 The Judge laughed as though he rather enjo3"ed 
 the impeachment, while Nora knelt down before 
 the grate. " Tor'rmint ! The fire 's gone out an me 
 agin," she exclaimed, placing some sticks beneath 
 the coals in forlorn hope. 
 
 " Ha, ha," laughed the Judge. " Get out, red- 
 head ! " 
 
 Nora's face flamed between her annoyance with 
 the perverse fire and this assault. 
 
 " It 's as good have a rid hid as a rid tail like 
 yerself," she retorted. " Shut up, now." 
 
 The poker fell upon the hearth with a crash. 
 
 " Come in," called the Judge, with sudden so- 
 lemnity. 
 
 As though in response to his summons, the door 
 opened and a lady entered. It was Miss Bagg 
 herself, the being who loved him ; the woman 
 whose pleasure and self-imposed duty it was to 
 minister to his happiness ; yet I regret to say 
 that the only greeting which escaped him now 
 on beholding her was a subdued ejaculation of 
 "Eats!"
 
 LYDIA BAGG. 37 
 
 The new-comer did not heed him. Her quick 
 eyes fell upon her maid. " Fire out again, Nora ? 
 Strange you can't learn to make that fire. Here, 
 it is of no use to do that. Lift off the coal first. 
 Now, put on your paper and sticks. Now, go get 
 the blower. How damp it is ! The cold creeps 
 into the house and into one's very bones. Does n't 
 it, Judgie-boy?" 
 
 The brisk little woman took off her shawl and 
 hat, and after giving one or two pats to her hair, 
 seated herself to open the letters she had brought 
 home from the post-office. There were two of them, 
 and letters were a great novelty to Lydia Bagg ; 
 so she allowed Nora to pursue her own way, mut- 
 tering, about the fire, while she opened one of the 
 envelopes with considerable eagerness. Miss Bagg's 
 face, as she read, grew more and more mystified. 
 She turned the letter over at last and looked at its 
 blank back, as though hoping to find there some 
 key by which to decipher its contents. She gave 
 her chair a hitch toward the window, with the in- 
 voluntary effort, so natural, to get light on a per- 
 plexing subject, but when she had read the letter 
 the second time its contents still remained dark 
 sayings to her. The mysterious document was 
 dated from New York and ran thus : 
 
 Miss LYDIA BAGG : 
 
 Dear Madam, My friend Mr. Galbraith has 
 told me of the change in your circumstances, and 
 it occurs to me that I, although a stranger to you,
 
 38 HISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 should extend to you my congratulations and in 
 addition offer you my services in case I can be of 
 assistance to you. Mr. Galbraith thinks you may 
 wish to remove to this city, and that perhaps you 
 are unfamiliar here. I will simply say that in case 
 there is no one whom you would prefer to call 
 upon for the information, or assistance, or woman's 
 wit you may require in seeking new surroundings, 
 I, being connected with you by ties of marriage if 
 not of blood, shall be pleased to serve you in any 
 possible way. A letter to your lawyer's address 
 will find me. Hoping we may become friends, I 
 am sincerely yours, IDA E. FULLEK. 
 
 Miss Bagg lifted her wondering eyes, and a 
 roaring in the grate attracted her attention. She 
 started up and took off the blower, then opened 
 the door and called Nora. 
 
 " Does it want more coal, mem ? " inquired the 
 latter, hurrying in from the kitchen. 
 
 " Nora," said her mistress, with unwonted sever- 
 ity, " I 've taught you to read and you 're a credit 
 tome. What does that say?" presenting the 
 envelope which had brought the mystery. 
 
 " Miss Lydia Bagg, mem," replied the girl, 
 faltering and round-eyed. 
 
 " Very well. Is there any other person of that 
 name in Ashley ? " 
 
 " Not us I ever heerd of, mem." 
 
 " Of course there is n't. Now, the question is, 
 what does it all mean ? Wait the other letter."
 
 LYDIA BAGG. 39 
 
 Miss Bagg's manner was almost tragic, and Nora 
 stared, amazed, while her mistress tore open the 
 second envelope and perused its contents. 
 
 " You rascal ! " exclaimed the Judge severely. 
 Then, changing suddenly to Miss Bagg's soprano 
 voice, he added wheedlingly : " Now, Judgie-boy, 
 can't you sing a little ? " 
 
 " Why Nora ! " exclaimed Miss Bagg, growing 
 very red. Then she turned so pale that her hand- 
 maid began to fan her violently with her apron. 
 
 " Oh don't, Miss Bagg ; please don't ! What is 
 it ? What is it ? Yer scarin' the life out o' me ! " 
 
 " Never mind. Hush, it is all right. It 's 
 sudden, that is all ; " and Miss Lydia, languidly 
 waving her hand, sank back in her chair, and con- 
 tinued to look so white that Nora fell on her knees 
 beside her and wept, and exclaimed, and fanned, 
 while the Judge, disliking the whirlwind raised in 
 his vicinity, cackled and laughed and made threat- 
 ening lunges toward her head, while she, for once 
 unconscious of his hostility, fanned on. 
 
 " Nora, I believe you 're fond of me," said Miss 
 Bagg, rather tremulously. 
 
 " I love every inch o' you, mem," returned the 
 girl fervently. 
 
 " I never gave you much wages," sighed Miss 
 Lydia, " but you know I could n't." 
 
 " Wages, is it ! " cried Nora, her eyes full of 
 tears. " Did n't ye take me whin me mother died 
 an' me father kicked me into the street, an' I was 
 that little an' stupid I was no good to annybody;
 
 40 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 an' did n't ye dress me, and tache me, an' be patient 
 wid me even whin I let the fire out an ye ; an' don't 
 I love ye ? boo-hoo, boo-hoo," blubbered the girl. 
 
 Miss Bagg patted the red hair. " I am glad 
 you do care for me, Nora," she answered, "for I 
 never felt so lonely in my life ; " and then Miss 
 Lydia shed some quiet tears on her own account, 
 while the Judge whistled a few bars of " The Girl 
 I Left Behind Me," dancing clumsily with much 
 spirit to his own piping. 
 
 " An' I won't lave you, no matter what 's hap- 
 pened. 'T ain't wages would get me away, you 
 know that, mem." 
 
 Miss Bagg wiped her eyes. " I believe you, 
 Nora. It is too bad to frighten you so. Nothing 
 bad has happened. I suppose it is something very 
 good. I 've had a lot of money left to me." 
 
 " Ye have ! " exclaimed the other, in sudden 
 glee, clapping her hands on her knees and gazing 
 up through tear-wet eyes. " Then we '11 be afther 
 havin' a new tay-kittle, won't we, Miss Bagg? 
 Hooroo ! " 
 
 Miss Lydia nodded, and swallowed hard. She 
 could not pass from tears to smiles so readily. 
 
 " Scratch," said the Judge, in a bass voice of 
 entreaty. His mistress looked at him. His head 
 was lowered close to the wires of his cage, and he 
 was gazing at her out of the tops of his golden 
 eyes, each delicately shaded feather on his scalp 
 erected. Miss Lydia mechanically slipped her 
 hand through the bars and smoothed his head,
 
 LYDIA BAGG. 41 
 
 while he turned his powerful beak and took hold of 
 her fingers, nibbling them gently as they ruffled bis 
 plumage. All the mines of Golconda would not 
 have tempted Nora so to put herself in the Judge's 
 power, although he frequently gave her the same 
 invitation. 
 
 " Miss Bagg, if ye 're sure 't ain't a joke they 're 
 playin' on ye," she said earnestly, " could I go an' 
 git the kittle now ? Sure I 'm scalded to the el- 
 bow wid the cover fallin' in the old one." 
 
 " Yes, yes, Nora. Go on, poor child." 
 
 Left alone, Miss Bagg tried to adjust herself to 
 the amazing news which had so unnerved her. 
 Once more she read the lawyer's letter, informing 
 her briefly of her good fortune. What would the 
 neighbors say, who had been familiar with her pov- 
 erty for a quarter of a century ? Little by little, 
 very slowly, possibilities presented themselves to 
 her practical, unimaginative mind. She could 
 paint her house. She could have a new carpet in 
 the sitting-room to replace this faded and thread- 
 bare affair upon which her feet now rested. She 
 could afford to give something more to her church 
 than the work of her industrious hands. 
 
 It was all very wonderful and very pleasant. 
 A glow of vague anticipation warmed her heart, 
 and the temporary dismay which the overpowering 
 news brought with it had passed away. 
 
 " Judgie, is n't it wonderful ! " she murmured, 
 and the Judge clucked his satisfaction at having 
 his feathers smoothed the wrong way, and gave 
 her one of his knowing side glances.
 
 42 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " I 've nobody but a bird and a grateful Irish 
 girl to be glad for me, but I 'm a happy woman, 
 and I '11 try to do good with the money when I 
 get a little used to it," added Miss Bagg, a timid 
 catch in her breath as a dim but awful sense of re- 
 sponsibility assailed her. 
 
 It was late that night before she could succeed 
 in losing consciousness in a restless slumber. Mr. 
 Galbraith, the lawyer who had written to her, had 
 said that she would be obliged to come soon to 
 New York to take part in business settlements, and 
 the letter from his friend, the strange lady, seemed, 
 in the excited condition of Miss Bagg's mind, 
 almost threatening. She wondered if she must 
 really give up the little home she loved and had 
 grown into, until not the snail's ohell seemed more 
 a part of itself than her story and a half house did 
 of Miss Bagg. Surely they would not be so cruel 
 as to tear her away from it. She could go to the 
 city and write her name wherever the lawyer told 
 her to, and then come back and continue the peace- 
 ful life habitual to her, with increased powers for 
 usefulness, the thought of which brought a very 
 happy feeling with it each time it recurred. 
 
 Mr. Jotham Bagg. Miss Lydia pondered upon 
 the little she knew of her benefactor, and tried 
 to remember his looks. Notwithstanding the fact 
 that he was her father's only brother, she could 
 remember to have seen him only once, and then 
 at a time when she was so young that all she could 
 recall of him now was a portentous frown. There
 
 LYDIA BAGG. 43 
 
 had been some trouble between him and her fa- 
 ther, that she knew. Never in the many years 
 during which she had been an orphan had this 
 stranger-relative made a sign that he knew of her 
 existence. Now he had left her a fortune. It 
 was strange, incredible ; yet it was true, and when 
 Miss Bagg fell asleep she was still marveling, still 
 building the simplest of castles in the air, which, 
 although various, shared some features in common. 
 They were all well painted in pale yellow with 
 chocolate trimmings, and had the brightest of car- 
 pets.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 MISS BAGG'S FIRST PROPOSAL. 
 
 Miss LYDIA awoke to a strange combination of 
 mental impressions the following morning. Al- 
 though she shrunk from the meeting with lawyers 
 and possible other strangers which must take place 
 before she could come into quiet possession of her 
 own, the new idea of power which had dawned 
 in her mind deepened and spread, and gradually 
 swallowed up her vague terrors. 
 f " The new kittle biles iligant, mem," was Nora's 
 greeting when her mistress came downstairs. 
 
 " I am glad," replied Miss Bagg, reflecting the 
 girl's jubilant smile. Evidently for Nora there was 
 nothing further that the money could do. " It 
 doesn't seem real to me, Nora. The whole thing 
 is like a dream," continued Miss Lydia. " I have 
 the lawyer's letter in my pocket, and have to read 
 it occasionally to prove the reality of what has 
 happened." 
 
 Something in her mistress' face roused the maid's 
 imagination. 
 
 " And is it rich ye air?" she asked eagerly, be- 
 ginning to understand that this good news might 
 be more important than she had realized.
 
 MISS BAG&S FIRST PROPOSAL. 45 
 
 " Why why it looks so," replied Miss Lydia, 
 sitting down to breakfast. 
 
 " An' will ye wear di'monds an' pur'rls ? " asked 
 Nora, her eyes very round. 
 
 " Oh, no indeed, you foolish girl." 
 
 " Ye 'd become 'em. That ye would, Miss Bagg. 
 I 'd like to see 'em a-sthringin' around yer neck and 
 through yer cur'rls, an' you in a pink satin gown 
 a-swapin' afther ye," cried Nora, with honest fervor. 
 
 Miss Lydia raised her brown calico sleeve and 
 shook a thin forefinger at her admirer. " Go along, 
 silly child, and bring me my coffee," she said ; then 
 she turned to a neighboring chair, where, as usual, 
 the Judge's cage was set, for he and Miss Lydia 
 always took their coffee together. " You can have 
 oranges now, Judgie-boy, and bananas, every day 
 and every hour, if you want them," she added 
 caressingly. 
 
 The Judge responded by barking like a wrathful 
 little terrier. 
 
 " Tut, tut, that is n't pretty," said Miss Bagg, in 
 her usual formula of reproach. 
 
 " He do be awful aggrava'atin' this mornin'," re- 
 marked Nora, entering with the coffee-pot. " He 's 
 called me rid-hid over a dozen times while I've 
 been gettin' the breakfast." 
 
 " You must n't be sensitive about that, Nora," 
 replied Miss Bagg. " You know I have told you 
 that the sailor who gave him to my dear father had 
 bright red hair, much redder than yours, and I 
 suppose the man's mates must have addressed him,
 
 46 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 in the terms that the poor bird copied, for the 
 Judge said those phrases when he first came to us. 
 In fact, there were other vulgar and impolite ejac- 
 ulations connected with his master which he seems 
 to have forgotten now. ' Hi, there, Carrots ! ' I 
 remember, was one of them." 
 
 " For the love o' mercy, don't put him in moind 
 of it, mem, for he do be that shairp he '11 hev it at 
 me the very next time he sees the chance to shame 
 me before annybody." 
 
 " Be thankful he does n't swear, Nora," said Miss 
 Bagg solemnly. " That sailor man must have had 
 unusual principle. He told my father that as 
 soon as he got the Judge he put a placard on his 
 cage, and printed on it, * Please do not swear at 
 the bird.' He said he even had to fight the other 
 sailors several times on account of his determina- 
 tion." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! ha I " laughed the Judge, with sud- 
 den noisiness, as though the memory of it all was 
 too much for him. " Ho ! ho ! bless me I Oh 
 dear ; " and he drifted off into a chuckle over his 
 coffee-cup, and looked up at Nora with such a 
 wicked leer that instinctively she crossed herself. 
 It was her unuttered opinion that the Judge knew 
 all the oaths ever invented, and that it was only 
 a part of his cleverness to repress them in Miss 
 Bagg's house. 
 
 " I have to write to this lawyer," thought Miss 
 Lydia, pushing her chair back from the table and 
 sighing. She found herself too excited to eat.
 
 MISS BAG&S FIEST PROPOSAL. 47 
 
 " I suppose I must tell him I will come to New York 
 at once. Who can I ask to go with me ? I don't 
 want to be beholden to that Fuller lady. No 
 doubt she meant to be very kind, but I think I '11 
 just take Nora. No need yet to tell people what 
 has happened. Nora," she added aloud, "don't 
 say a word to any one about the news I have had. 
 How should you like to go to New York with me 
 for a day or two ? " 
 
 The girl's eyes sparkled. " And the Joodge ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " No. I think I could trust Mrs. Furlong to take 
 good care of the Judge." 
 
 " Just you an' me ? " cried Nora, clapping her 
 hands. " Oh, Miss Bagg, I niver thought to see 
 New Yor'rk." 
 
 " Well, perhaps I will take you. Clear off the 
 table. I 'm going into the other room to write a 
 letter." And Miss Bagg departed, carrying the 
 parrot's cage, while her maid went singing about 
 her work in excited delight. 
 
 Miss Lydia took out her little old writing-desk 
 and sat down to her task. It was another dull day, 
 and her shabby sitting-room looked unusually pov- 
 erty-stricken to her because she now knew neat, 
 new furnishings to be attainable. The thought 
 nerved her hand to the execution of its work, but 
 she had not proceeded beyond "Mr. Galbraith, 
 Respected Sir," when she became conscious that 
 one or more persons were entering her gate. She 
 stretched her neck to get a better view through the
 
 48 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 window, and was surprised to observe two strange 
 men walking along her garden path between the 
 leafless rosebushes toward the house. 
 
 One of the strangers, a short, stout individual, 
 with a red face, was talking and gesticulating in 
 an apparently angry fashion to the other, who 
 was tall and kept his eyes bent on the ground. 
 In a minute the shrill door-bell pealed through 
 the house. 
 
 Miss Bagg felt mystified and even a little intimi- 
 dated. She called to Nora as she heard her come 
 through the corridor, but Nora was singing and 
 did not heed her, and Miss Lydia listened intently. 
 All that came to her through the closed door of 
 the room where she sat was a confusion of voices 
 and a bustle of feet ; then suddenly the stout and 
 choleric little man whom she had observed in the 
 yard burst open the door with great force, and, 
 entering, closed it and planted himself against it 
 with such suddenness that Miss Bagg uttered a 
 faint shriek, and, flinging her desk into a neigh- 
 boring chair, started tremulously to her feet. 
 
 " I will be first ! " exclaimed the little man. " It 
 is my right and I claim it. I will be first ! " and 
 he struck a back-handed blow at the door he was 
 guarding, with such vigor that the Judge responded 
 cordially : 
 
 " Come in." 
 
 " Who are you, sir ! What does this mean ? " 
 demanded Miss Lydia, in a voice which trembled 
 too much for severity. Wild visions of seizure, 
 arrest, and disgrace careered through her brain.
 
 MISS BAGG'S FIKST PROPOSAL. 49 
 
 " I am J. Wilkins. Jeremiah Wilkins. That 's 
 who I arn, and I suppose you are Miss Lydia Bagg ; 
 the niece of that treacherous, slippery old reprobate, 
 Jotham Bagg, Esquire." 
 
 The little man stopped, to wipe his heated brow. 
 
 " Well, sir," returned Miss Lydia, lifting her 
 head with what dignity she could muster, " why 
 should you come here to insult him ? " 
 
 " Because I 'm a wronged, defrauded man, and I 
 won't stand it. Do you understand me ? I have 
 been wronged, injured, beyond all precedent." 
 
 " Well, sir, what is it to me if you have ? " 
 
 " Because you have done it, madam. You are 
 the guilty party. You ! " Wilkins pointed a 
 stubby forefinger at Miss Bagg, who retreated a 
 step, her tuft of curls all a-quiver with astonish- 
 ment and trepidation. 
 
 " Sir ! " was all she could manage to reply to the 
 startling accusation. 
 
 " Look at me, madam. You see before you a 
 gentleman ; well dressed, accustomed to good liv- 
 ing and to all the comforts and many of the lux- 
 uries of life. A large part of these luxuries have 
 been provided me on trust. All the tradespeople 
 who know us were as sure as I was that my cousin 
 and intimate friend Jotham intended to leave the 
 major part if not the entire amount of his fortune 
 to me. He did intend it. I am as sure of it as 
 ever." 
 
 " Why," asked Miss Bagg, gathering her courage 
 with a tremendous effort, " should you still believe
 
 50 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 it when my Uncle Jotliam did leave his fortune to 
 me?" 
 
 " Pooh, madam." Mr. Wilkins snapped con- 
 temptuous fingers before his empurpled visage. 
 " He never left a cent of it to you. Did n't you 
 know that ? " 
 
 " Then what why " chirped Miss Lydia, 
 feeling bewildered and browbeaten. 
 
 " It fell to you," explained the other wrathfully. 
 " The forgetful old reprobate had destroyed an 
 old will, and before he had made a new one in my 
 favor he was always putting off and procrasti- 
 nating he died. He meant to make it, I know 
 it. The widow Van Kirk was sure Max was to be 
 the heir. The Carlyles and the Fletchers and the 
 rest expected to be remembered, and out of spite 
 Tom Fletcher put the lawyers on your track. I 
 know very well he did. The Fuller woman thought 
 she should get her baby hands on some of the 
 greenbacks, but I knew better. Cousin Jotham 
 may have meant something for Max, though I doubt 
 it; but I know he never considered the rest of 
 them. It was I, Jerry Wilkins, his companion in 
 thousands of games of chess ; his confidant, his 
 comrade, who he intended should have the hand- 
 ling of his money when he was through with it ; 
 and now look at the situation. Here I am loaded 
 with debts, and here you are a woman whom 
 I believe Jothara Bagg scarcely knew existed, 
 reaping where I have sown, rolling in money which 
 a week ago I dare say you never dreamed of own-
 
 MISS BAGG'S FIRST PROPOSAL. 51 
 
 ing. You owe me reparation, madam, reparation ! 
 What do you say to marrying me ? I 'm a pre- 
 sentable man. I have a good social position, and 
 I will give you the benefit of it. Together we 
 could make a sensation even in a city of million- 
 aires." Mr. Wilkins left the door and advanced 
 to glower more nearly at Miss Bagg, who stood 
 mutely trembling and gazing at him. "Now, 
 what do you say ? ' As he made this addition the 
 suitor paused beside the table and brought his fist 
 down upon it so close to the cage that the Judge 
 was much jarred, and shouting " Come in," 
 promptly fell off the perch, which he remounted, 
 hand over hand, a certain sleekness of feathers 
 and contraction of the eye boding no good to the 
 stranger who had so disturbed his equilibrium. 
 
 Wilkins continued to glare at Miss Lydia. 
 
 " Now, will you do it ? " he continued, after the 
 impressive pause. 
 
 " Certainly not," quavered Miss Bagg breath- 
 lessly. 
 
 " Be careful. Think what you 're doing. Take 
 time." 
 
 " Oh, look out for the Judge," said Miss Lydia 
 tremulously. 
 
 " Aha, the Judge, is it ? There 's somebody 
 ahead of me. I '11 settle him," sputtered Mr. 
 Wilkins wrathfully. 
 
 " Oh, be careful ; he bites sometimes ! " ex- 
 claimed Miss Lydia. 
 
 "Bites, does he?" repeated the other, some-
 
 52 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 what surprised at so novel a mode of obtaining 
 t satisfaction. " Well, then, so can I. Let him 
 come on. If Ow ! wow ! " Mr. Wilkins ut- 
 tered a long roar of surprise and pain, for the 
 Judge, excited and angry, watching his opportu- 
 nity, had launched forth his head, snakelike now in 
 its slimness, and administered a sharp cut on the 
 stubby forefinger before mentioned. Miss Bagg 
 uttered a shriek as the blood spurted forth, and at 
 the same moment Nora's voice was heard protest- 
 ing shrilly. 
 
 " Lave me in to her, I say. I '11 not stay out no 
 longer. It 's tommyhawkin' her he is ; " and again 
 the parlor door burst open, and Nora appeared, 
 wildly disheveled, followed by the tall young man 
 who had accompanied Mr. Wilkins up the garden 
 path. 
 
 " Well, have you had your say out, Wilkins ? 
 I 've kept a clear field for you as long as I could. 
 Hello, what 's the matter ? " 
 
 " Come here, sir, if you are a friend of this 
 person," exclaimed Miss Bagg, her thin cheeks 
 coloring, and her mild eyes sparkling. She had 
 wrapped her handkerchief around the maltreated 
 finger, and Mr. Wilkins, his visage considerably 
 paled, was holding it stiffly upright before him. 
 "Come and tie up this finger. Nora, go get a 
 clean rag and some thread." Miss Bagg retreated 
 hastily, and the tall stranger approached. 
 
 " Mr. Wilkins will be better now he has been 
 bled a little," he remarked coolly. " My name is
 
 MISS BAGG'S FIRST PROPOSAL. 53 
 
 Van Kirk, Miss Bagg. I should not have come 
 but that I expected to present myself alone." 
 
 "Ah, I dare say," observed Mr. Wilkins, re- 
 viving, "each of us expected to present himself 
 alone." 
 
 " Hold up now," said the younger man, taking 
 the roll of cloth Nora offered and proceeding with 
 his bandaging. " You 've had your say." 
 
 " I would have had it, if it had n't been for that 
 devil of a parrot." 
 
 " Ah, Joodge, ye 're the knowin' bye," chuckled 
 Nora, in a whisper. " Ye '11 have me fist full o' 
 paynuts this night o' the wor'rld."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 MISS BAGG'S SECOND PROPOSAL. 
 
 " Now, Miss Bagg," said Mr. "NVilkins, shaking 
 his dressed forefinger at her (it shook quite as 
 impressively bandaged as bare), " tell me, if you 
 please, who this Judge is to whom you referred." 
 
 " I should think you had discovered," returned 
 Miss Lydia, with recovered spirit. " If you are 
 still curious, offer him another of your fingers." 
 
 Mr. Van Kirk smiled as he leaned familiarly 
 on the back of the old haircloth rocking-chair. 
 
 The ! That bird ? " ejaculated Mr. Wil- 
 
 kins. 
 
 Miss Lydia nodded. 
 
 " Then, Miss Bagg Pooh ! nonsense ! Let me 
 apologize for anything in my conduct which may 
 have seemed hasty, and let me hope that you will 
 receive my proposition in the spirit in which it 
 was made." Mr. Wilkins, too entirely possessed 
 by his one idea to be deterred by Van Kirk's pres- 
 ence, approached Lydia once more, much more of 
 authority than of supplication in his manner. 
 
 She thrust her hands out in a repellent gesture. 
 
 " Nora, leave us," she exclaimed, scandalized at 
 the thought of her maid's overhearing the stranger's
 
 MISS BAGG'S SECOND PROPOSAL. 55 
 
 addresses. The girl obeyed reluctantly. " Doii't 
 come near me," she said then to Wilkins, excitedly. 
 " Horrible man, you swore when the bird bit you. 
 I do not care about your debts, and I abhor you. 
 Oh ! " turning to Max desperately, " whoever 
 you are, whatever you are, can you be this per- 
 son's friend ! Won't you protect me ? " 
 
 Max grinned at the disconcerted Wilkins. " Of 
 course I will," he answered. " Here, Miss Bagg, 
 you look tired. Sit down in this rocking-chair. 
 Good-morning, Wilkins," with a debonair nod. 
 " It is my turn now." 
 
 " Don't listen to him," exclaimed the baffled 
 suitor, shaking his fist at his laughing friend. 
 " Don't let him come around you. Jotham Bagg 
 showed what he thought of him. He showed his 
 opinion plainly enough by cutting the fine young 
 man off without a shilling. His handsome mother, 
 too. No doubt she thought " 
 
 " Hold your tongue," thundered Max. He had 
 worn his amused smile all through the first of the 
 enraged Wilkins's speech, but now his face was as 
 serious and far more wrathful than Miss Bagg's 
 own. "You are beside yourself," he continued 
 quietly. "You have exhausted Miss Bagg's pa- 
 tience and had better be off ; but if you mention 
 my mother again, I shall save you the trouble of 
 going out by the door." 
 
 Van Kirk came from behind the rocking-chair, 
 and looked so powerful and angry as he towered 
 above his choleric friend that Lydia emitted a 
 frightened little squeak.
 
 56 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 Wilkins gave one red glance at the ex-lieutenant. 
 " I will go, madam," he said, turning to his hostess, 
 " provided you will give me an interview when you 
 come up to town." 
 
 " She won't promise you anything. Be decent 
 and go," said Max, taking a step nearer, "or 
 else " - 
 
 Miss Bagg started up, and clasped one of his big 
 arms between both her thin, little hands. " Oh, 
 don't touch him," she cried, "he is just going." 
 
 " Ah, I see," said Wilkins sardonically. " You 
 have your own little game to play. Well, I wish 
 you joy ; " and he left the room, slamming the door 
 behind him. 
 
 Miss Lydia sank into the nearest chair, and 
 began to sob into her handkerchief. Max strode 
 to the window, and looked gloomily out at the bare 
 bushes and moist dead leaves. The varying states 
 of mind through which this young gentleman had 
 passed since the evening of the late Mr. Bagg's 
 dinner-party can perhaps be accurately imagined 
 by the sympathetic reader. 
 
 His grief at his old friend's sudden end had been 
 sincere. Such graciousness as was in Jotham 
 Bagg to show had always been displayed toward 
 him as boy and then as man. The rich speculator 
 had taken trouble for him, had shown constant care 
 of him, had apparently made him one of the few 
 deep and abiding interests of his life. Max Van 
 Kirk had every reason to believe in the old man's 
 regard, even affection, for him. He had believed
 
 MISS BAGG'S SECOND PROPOSAL. 57 
 
 in it, and still believed in it down to the present 
 day. When it became certainly known that Mr. 
 Bagg had died intestate, the shock had been great 
 to the" young man and had nearly bereft his mother 
 of reason. She fought to the last possible minute 
 against tho facts, adding by her rage and resent- 
 ment to the burden her son had to bear. 
 
 He had laid down his commission. The action 
 was irrevocable. A deep sting in the circum- 
 stances lay in the fact that his reason for taking 
 the step was generally known among his acquaint- 
 ances. Had the property come to him, as every- 
 body but the fatuous Wilkins believed it would do 
 from the moment Mr. Bagg requested the young 
 officer to leave the army, general approval and 
 admiration would have followed him. As it was, 
 it drove the hot blood to Van Kirk's face to realize 
 the remarks that would be made regarding him 
 and his position, until his acquaintances found 
 some newer topic of interest. The situation held 
 plenty of practical difficulties, keen disappoint- 
 ment, and the necessity for readjusting all his 
 thoughts and expectations, but the mortifying 
 phase of the affair was hardest for the proud young 
 fellow to bear. 
 
 Distracted between the chaos of his own tor- 
 menting thoughts and his mother's frenzy, the 
 position was one to show what metal he was made 
 of, and that the self-control he exhibited was some- 
 thing astonishing even to Mr. Bagg's lawyer was 
 evident to Ida Fuller, who happened to hear the
 
 58 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 respectful expression of sympathy which Mr. Gal- 
 braith made to the young man when the last hope 
 of discovering a will had been given up. 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk's wits had all been driven wool- 
 gathering by the catastrophe. No help was to be 
 expected from her, and it was Mrs. Fuller who by 
 some adroit suggestions to the lawyer set wheels 
 in motion which led to Maxwell's appearance in 
 Ashley on his present errand. 
 
 As he waited now by the window, he was as 
 uncomfortable as a man need be. He turned and 
 regarded the brown calico figure, quite pathetic, 
 topped by its bowed head and the quivering, faded 
 bunch of curls. Had he felt impatience or even 
 hatred of this insignificant woman who had usurped 
 his place, it would not have been astonishing. 
 Every detail of the room bore evidence to her 
 poverty. Ten thousand dollars would have made 
 her rich. This half-alive little town limited her 
 horizon. It was hard that such an one should have 
 the administering of such wealth. 
 
 But Max did not hate her. He felt a very real 
 compassion for the slender, shaken little figure, 
 mixed with hot impatience at the remembrance of 
 Wilkins. 
 
 He was suddenly surprised by the Judge's deep 
 bass. 
 
 " You you rascal ! " exclaimed the parrot, 
 with great emphasis and a lisp on the s which 
 made the visitor smile. 
 
 " You have a wise bird," said Van Kirk, coming
 
 MISS BAGG'S SECOND PROPOSAL. 59 
 
 forward. " The way matters have gone, I do feel 
 like a rascal to have come here and added to your 
 annoyance this morning. I certainly had no idea 
 Mr. Wilkins was coming, or I should have staid 
 away." 
 
 Miss Bagg put up a deprecating hand, and slowly 
 emerged from her handkerchief. " Don't say 
 that," she returned chokingly. " What should 
 I have done without you ? I do thank you. Indeed, 
 I do. Excuse me for crying, but I have been so 
 upset and shocked and frightened!" and to 
 Max's great discomfort she relapsed into the hand- 
 kerchief. 
 
 " I ask your pardon for letting him in to disturb 
 you so, for I suspected that he had been drinking, 
 but the fact is, he was so outraged to discover me 
 on the train on the same errand as himself, and 
 clamored so loudly in defense of his right to see 
 you first, that I was anxious to show him that I 
 had no desire to interfere with him. The conse- 
 quence was that I sat in your hall during Mr. 
 Wilkins's visit, and had great difficulty in persuad- 
 ing your servant to remain there with me until he 
 could have his say out." 
 
 " Then you knew what he was going to say ! " 
 exclaimed Miss Bagg reproachfully. 
 
 " Not at all. I saw he was angry and disap- 
 pointed about the will, and I dare say he threat- 
 ened to sue you." 
 
 " Threatened to ! He did sue me, if one could 
 call that suing. The rough, wicked creature ! "
 
 60 MISS BAGG'S SECBETART. 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " He wanted me to marry him," said Miss Lydia, 
 so excited at the memory that she forgot she was 
 talking openly to a man. " Oh, if money brings 
 trouble like this, I don't wonder the love of it is 
 called the root of all evil ! " 
 
 Van Kirk smiled broadly, Miss Lydia's face 
 being again buried, at the picture her words evoked. 
 He sat down near her. " Don't mind it," he said 
 soothingly. " Wilkins's disappointment was too 
 much for him and he is a little crazy for the time 
 being." 
 
 Miss Lydia shook her curls and shuddered. 
 " Well well excuse me, Mr. " 
 
 " Van Kirk." 
 
 " Mr. Van Kirk, I have not asked you what you 
 wish with me." She sat up with an effort at her 
 customary self-possession, and put her handker- 
 chief in her pocket. Meeting her visitor's eyes, 
 she realized for the first time that she was talking 
 to an extraordinarily handsome man. She forgot 
 her gray hair, poor little Lydia, and the wish that 
 she had on her best dress sprung as naturally in 
 her bosom as though she had been eighteen. 
 
 "My errand is nothing that will not keep," 
 began Max, " if you are too tired and would pre- 
 fer to see me at another time." 
 
 Miss Bagg looked at him with a sudden idea. 
 " You are one of Uncle Jotham's relatives. That 
 creature said " 
 
 " Yes," the young man nodded.
 
 MISS BAGG'S SECOND PROPOSAL, 61 
 
 " And you are not angry with me ? " Miss Lydia 
 asked it so innocently and wistfully that Max quite 
 liked her from that moment. 
 
 " Not so angry as to demand that you marry 
 me," he returned, his brown eyes laughing into 
 hers, while Miss Bagg smiled faintly and blushed 
 painfully. 
 
 " It hurts my feelings and disappoints me to 
 find that Uncle Jotham did not think of me, nor 
 wish to make me his heir," she said sadly. 
 
 " Oh, no matter about that," replied Van Kirk, 
 " since such good luck has come to you. You 
 know Uncle Jotham was not noted for his affec- 
 tionate disposition." 
 
 " Did you call him Uncle Jotham, too ? " asked 
 Miss Lydia curiously. 
 
 " Yes, although the relationship was in fact not 
 a near one. He has taken an interest in me ever 
 since I was a little chap, and has done a great deal 
 for me. I believe my grandmother was answer- 
 able for the fact that he never married." 
 
 " I want to know," returned Miss Lydia. " Your 
 grandmother," she repeated, suddenly feeling that 
 Max did not belong even to her generation, and 
 that the brown calico would do quite as well as 
 anything else. 
 
 " Yes, I suppose his attachment for her accounts 
 for his kindness to me." 
 
 " Do you call it kindness to do as that person 
 said he did cut you off without a shilling? " 
 
 " Oh, that was a that is all right," replied
 
 62 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Max shortly. His endurance would not carry him 
 to the pitch of telling his story to this stranger. 
 
 u You knew Uncle Jotham, then ? " said Miss 
 Bagg. " I am not tired. I can hear your errand 
 now as well as at any time." 
 
 Van Kirk nodded. " It will not take long. I 
 am sent by your lawyer as a sort of general utility 
 man. Mr. Galbraith asked me to come here and 
 see you, thus saving his time, and if you desired 
 it to help you close up your affairs here and move 
 to New York." 
 
 " Move to New York ! " repeated Miss Lydia, 
 aghast. " You don't mean for me to live there for 
 good and all ? " 
 
 " Tut, tut ! That is n't pretty," remarked the 
 Judge in Miss Bagg's gentle, high voice, and then, 
 as his mistress and her visitor both laughed, he 
 laughed too, holding his breath and gasping in a 
 way he had learned from Nora in her hilarious 
 moments. 
 
 " Why, yes," returned Max, " we all supposed 
 that a small country place would not give you hori- 
 zon enough now' 
 
 "Oh, dear, I hadn't thought I must do that," 
 sighed Lydia, looking off into space. 
 
 " Nor must you," said Van Kirk kindly. " You 
 are quite free, gloriously free." 
 
 Miss Bagg looked at him wistfully. " Would 
 you do it, if you were in my place? " she asked. 
 
 Involuntarily the young man looked about the 
 shabby little room and out to the village street
 
 MISS BAGG'S SECOND PROPOSAL. 63 
 
 along which no one had passed, to his knowledge, 
 since his arrival. 
 
 kk Well yes," he replied, smoothing his mustache, 
 " I would. There is a great deal to do and to see 
 in the world, Miss Bagg, and you will have every 
 facility for enjoying all that wealth can purchase. 
 Can you consider shutting your money up in a 
 vault and yourself in a forgotten little place like 
 this?" 
 
 His words set Miss Lydia's heart to beating. As 
 her visitor was in person and dress a complete 
 novelty in Ashley, no doubt he was a type of grand 
 and beautiful things which she now possessed the 
 golden key to unlock in the great city. Yet no 
 young robin hesitating and teetering on the edge of 
 its nest was ever more timorous than Miss Lydia 
 now. 
 
 She looked into Van Kirk's eyes doubtfully, 
 and clasped her hands with their needle-pricked 
 finger-tips. 
 
 " If I should decide to go to New York to live, 
 would you stand by me," she asked in an unsteady 
 voice, "just until I got a little used to it? " 
 
 Max manfully repressed a smile. " I would," 
 he replied briefly, and Miss Bagg breathed an un- 
 conscious sigh of relief. 
 
 " I have a feeling as though I could trust you," 
 she said. " And I would somehow so much rather 
 have your help than this lady's." As she spoke, 
 Miss Bagg, with great simplicity, slipped her hand 
 into her pocket and drew forth the two letters,
 
 64 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 which had never left her since their reception. 
 Choosing the one she wished him to read, she 
 passed it to Max, who opened it and perused its 
 contents. 
 
 As he did so a flush mounted slowly to his tem- 
 ples. 
 
 "Clever, quick-witted," he muttered, as he 
 reached the signature. 
 
 "Do you know that lady?" asked Miss Lydia, 
 as she received her letter again. 
 
 *' Yes, I do," returned Van Kirk, and Miss 
 Bagg noticed that he looked even handsomer than 
 before. 
 
 " Did she expect the money, too ? " she asked, 
 anxiously. 
 
 Max looked very serious. " No a not di- 
 rectly," he answered. 
 
 " Well, I would rather have you," continued his 
 hostess, " if you really have some time, and would 
 be kind enough to be bothered with me." 
 
 " Why not keep me indefinitely ? " asked Van 
 Kirk suggestively. 
 
 His companion's heart leaped. She stammered 
 in genuine bewilderment. " Keep keep " 
 
 "Yes; Mr. Galbraith's main idea in sending 
 me down here was to offer myself to you " 
 
 The maiden heart bounded again. 
 
 " As your private secretary. You will need 
 one." 
 
 Miss Bagg looked involuntarily at the spindle- 
 legged bookcase against the wall.
 
 MISS BAGG'S SECOND PROPOSAL. 65 
 
 "I don't quite understand." 
 
 " No, you do not quite understand yet what re- 
 sponsibilities are about to come upon you. You 
 will have a great many letters every day. beg- 
 ging letters, business letters, all sorts of letters, 
 and they will have to be answered. Your accounts 
 will be complicated. You will want somebody to 
 keep them. In short, there are a number of situ- 
 ations in your new life in which you will want a 
 right-hand man." 
 
 Miss Bagg looked over at her writing-desk, 
 where she had laboriously begun the letter to her 
 lawyer and advanced no further than " Respected 
 Sir." Manifestly, if she were going to receive a 
 large number of business letters, it would be a 
 heavy burden to her to answer them. 
 
 "Of course, if you had a husband," pursued 
 Max, " he would assume these cares for you." His 
 companion hesitated, and he added, smiling: 
 " There you have your choice, you see, Wilkins 
 or me." 
 
 Miss Bagg shuddered, and held out her hand 
 involuntarily. 
 
 Max took it. " Then I am engaged to you ? " 
 
 Miss Lydia blushed, and withdrew her hand. 
 " You do use such odd terms," she complained. 
 
 " Well, then, if you prefer it, you have engaged 
 me as your servant, your private secretary. Is 
 that a fact?" 
 
 Miss Bagg looked at her calico gown, her shabby 
 little room, and then at the fine gentleman whose
 
 66 MISS BAGG'S SECEETARY. 
 
 inposing presence made all the surroundings look 
 meaner than ever. 
 
 " I am like one in a dream," she said, with a 
 pitiful sort of wistf ulness. " You my servant ! It 
 is the most absurd thing I ever heard of in my 
 life." 
 
 " I shall try to be so good a one that you will 
 not think you can dispense with me," replied Van 
 Kirk soberly. 
 
 Miss Lydia looked at him with thoughtful ad- 
 miration. " One thing you will have to do," she 
 said. " You will have to see to paying yourself 
 enough." 
 
 Max nodded. " We will get Mr. Galbraith to 
 help us about that," he replied gravely. 
 
 At this juncture there came a soft knock on the 
 parlor door. 
 
 " Miss Bagg, Miss Bagg," whispered a voice 
 hoarsely. 
 
 " Come in, Nora," replied her mistress. 
 
 The girl entered, and peered carefully around. 
 
 " The rid gintleman, the little turkey-cock man, 
 (a he gone, mem ? " she asked at last. 
 
 " Oh, yes, some time ago." 
 
 " And ye 're all right, mem ? " continued Nora, 
 looking suspiciously at Max. 
 
 " Quite right We are talking business, Nora." 
 
 " All right, mem. I 'm just ferniust in the 
 dinin'-room, if ye should want me ; " and with a 
 parting glance at Max, intended to constrain him 
 to continue his good behavior, she left the room.
 
 MISS BAGG'S SECOND PROPOSAL. 67 
 
 " I see you have one servant much attached to 
 you," said Van Kirk. " Will it be necessary for 
 her to follow your fortunes ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed. Nora goes wherever I do ; and 
 the Judge, of course," turning toward her pet. 
 
 " Ah, so that is the Judge, is it? " queried Max, 
 rising and approaching the cage. 
 
 " Scratch," said the parrot, lowering his head at 
 the young man invitingly. 
 
 " You 'd better not," put in Miss Lydia hastily. 
 " The Judge is treach changeable sometimes." 
 
 " I think not, my gray friend," said Max, shak- 
 ing his head. " You have sampled Uncle Jotham's 
 possible legatees sufficiently this morning. Thank 
 you, I think I won't."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 
 
 VAN KIRK was somewhat staggered when he 
 realized what would be the first proof Miss Bagg 
 would exact of his willingness to " stand by her " 
 in her new life. The labor of conveying troops 
 from one point to another on the frontier sunk 
 into nothingness when compared with the difficulty 
 of escorting to the metropolis Uncle Jotham's heir- 
 ess, her Irish girl, and her parrot, along with cer- 
 tain not-to-be-relinquished personal effects. Before 
 he parted with his new employer that day, a com- 
 promise had been decided upon. Miss Bagg's re- 
 luctance to leave her home definitely was met by 
 Max's suggestion that she should go alone with 
 him to New York, see her lawyer, look about her, 
 and decide whether or not she would make the city 
 her future home. 
 
 " For that matter, you know, Miss Bagg, you 
 need never give up your cottage," he said. " You 
 can retain it for a country house ; " here he 
 smoothed his mustache. "Why, you can run on 
 here every few weeks, if you become homesick, and 
 take a look at things." 
 
 Miss Lydia gazed at him with wide eyes. 
 " Run on here from where ? "
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANTS SHOPPING. 69 
 
 " Xew York. It is nothing to do. You will see 
 that. A pretty ride of six hours in a pleasant 
 parlor." 
 
 " But the expense ! " exclaimed Miss Bagg, feel- 
 ing that this was indeed a most giddy and reckless 
 adviser. 
 
 Max sighed unconsciously. "That is some- 
 thing," he said slowly and impressively, ""which 
 never during your life you need consider again. 
 Do you understand me ? " 
 
 Lydia caught her breath, and lifted her hand to 
 her forehead as though bewildered. One comfort- 
 ing, comprehensible consideration she could grasp. 
 She looked around the room. " Then I need n't 
 sell the house, even if I do not live here. My 
 grandfather built it. It is not," looking at Max 
 with a glimmer of pride, " it is not a cottage. 
 There is an upstairs to it." 
 
 Her secretary caressed that very convenient mus- 
 tache of his again. 
 
 " You need not even rent it. You can hire some 
 one, if you like, to keep it clean and well-aired, 
 ready for you to occupy it a week or a month at 
 any time you feel disposed." 
 
 Miss Bagg gazed at the speaker, and smiled 
 slowly in childlike pleasure. 
 
 " You make it very easy for me," she said. 
 
 " That is what you have engaged me for. I 
 am to stand between you and trouble henceforth, 
 so far as I can." 
 
 Miss Bagg's grateful eyes answered him.
 
 70 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " I think you had better arrange to go on with 
 me to-morrow," he continued. 
 
 "Oh, to-morrow?" 
 
 " Yes. You come into Boston in the morning, 
 and we will take the afternoon train." 
 
 It required some minutes to gain Miss Lydia's 
 consent to the expedition under the new arrange- 
 ment, as she did not like to disappoint Nora ; but 
 when Van Kirk bade her farewell, the matter had 
 been amicably settled, and Nora had accepted the 
 postponement of her anticipated travels. 
 
 At the door, as Miss Lydia was seeing her 
 visitor out, he turned suddenly. 
 
 " Oh, by the way, Miss Bagg, have you plenty 
 of money ? " 
 
 She colored and gave an embarrassed little 
 laugh, but drew herself up with a dignity born of 
 the consciousness of freedom from debt. 
 
 " I have plenty of money for my journey, Mr. 
 Van Kirk," she replied primly. She did not 
 think it necessary to tell her new friend that plans 
 for laying her hands on the requisite cash had 
 been busily maturing underneath her curls for the 
 last ten minutes. 
 
 " Oh, well," he said carelessly. " I will leave 
 you a little something. Some need may come up 
 between now and then." He took twenty-five dol- 
 lars from his pocket-book, and laid the bills in 
 Miss Bagg's thin hand. 
 
 One more sunshiny smile, and he was gone, while 
 the calico-clad heiress, unconscious of the chill
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 71 
 
 wind, watched him, as with erect, soldierly bearing 
 he moved down the garden path. At the gate, see- 
 ing her still standing there, he raised his hat again. 
 
 Miss Lydia mechanically waved her hand. The 
 bills fluttered in the breeze and brought her to her- 
 self with a start. She closed the door and looked 
 at the money, counted it, folded the bills, and put 
 them in her bosom. She stood for a minute with 
 her back against the door, and wondered if she 
 could be dreaming. There was a flavor of unre- 
 ality already about the splendid young man who 
 handed out greenbacks as though they were but 
 paper ; who looked kindly into her eyes and stated 
 that henceforth his business was to stand between 
 her and trouble ; who called himself her servant ; 
 whose time belonged to her her, Lydia Bagg. 
 
 She roused herself with an effort. If she were 
 indeed awake, there was plenty to do between now 
 and her early start in the morning. The situation 
 was bewildering, intimidating, intoxicating, all in 
 one. It was fortunate that Nora's garrulousness 
 caused Miss Bagg's wits to keep pace with her 
 busy hands. 
 
 The following day Miss Lydia took a solemn 
 farewell of her family, after enjoining Nora to 
 strict secrecy as to her errand. 
 
 " Be patient with the Judge," she warned, hav- 
 ing many misgivings as to how the two would 
 get on with no peace-maker to arbitrate between 
 them. " Judgie-boy, take good care of Nora," she 
 said affectionately, and the. parrot's yellow eyes 

 
 72 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 looked innocently back at her as he dropped his 
 head to one side in a sentimental attitude. 
 "Nora," she added solemnly, turning to the girl, 
 " I am going to trust you with two dollars." She 
 slowly held out the bill, and her maid took it with 
 due respect and awe. " You are to buy fruit for 
 the Judge and any little thing you may either ol 
 you need. I leave it to your judgment how to 
 spend it. I have spoken to the butcher, and you 
 are to have meat charged until I get back. I shall 
 write to you every day, and I am sorry I can't tell 
 you now where to write to me. Good-by, Nora." 
 
 The girl kissed her mistress' offered hand affec- 
 tionately. " Ye do look that nice, Miss Bagg, the 
 folks in the city ull all be woirderin' who ye are. 
 Good-by, and the saints bless ye and bring ye safe 
 home." 
 
 " No tears, Nora ; no tears. I shall soon be 
 back." And Miss Bagg went bravely forth, quak- 
 ing a good deal internally, even at some moments 
 almost to the extent of wishing that Uncle Jotham 
 had made a will. Had she suspected that in that 
 case her secretary would have been the heir, it is 
 probable that she would heartily have wished it, so 
 great was her admiration for that princely young 
 man. 
 
 She could hardly believe, in spite of all that had 
 gone before, that he would really be waiting for 
 her in the station at Boston, yet there he was, 
 looking bigger and stronger than ever, and able to 
 fend off trouble from any number of slight little
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 73 
 
 Lydia Baggs. The one who owned him greeted 
 him gladly, and he took her heavy old valise, of 
 antediluvian pattern and rubbed to a nondescript 
 color, in his gloved hand. 
 
 " You ought to have had this checked," he said 
 pleasantly. " I am certain you can hardly lift it. 
 Is it all the baggage you brought ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am sure it will be enough for such a 
 short stay as I shall make." 
 
 Max looked at her thoughtfully. " Oh, yes," 
 he replied. " Let us go to the ladies' room a 
 minute and make our plans." 
 
 The truth was, he wished to gain time. It was 
 as difficult for Miss Bagg's private secretary to ad- 
 just his ideas to an appreciation of her primitive no- 
 tions as for her to expand hers to a generous plan 
 of luxurious living. Her valise and her costume 
 had suddenly confronted him with new difficulties. 
 He had thought he wanted Ida Fuller in those 
 days before Uncle Jotham's death had temporarily 
 driven all romance out of his head, but never in 
 his most infatuated moments had he longed for 
 that clever young woman as he longed now. It 
 had been instinctively repugnant to him to find 
 that she had written so promptly to Miss Bagg, 
 offering her services. Now he told himself that 
 as a woman she had grasped the situation, and 
 understood how necessary such an experienced per- 
 son as herself would be to the newly rich. If she 
 would only walk into this waiting-room now and 
 take charge of Miss Bagg until they were en route
 
 74 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 for New York ! But no such thing could happen, 
 and here was Van Kirk, and here was Miss Bagg 
 looking at hitn trustingly, and as unconscious of 
 her queer bonnet and her queer cloak as though 
 she had been five instead of fifty. Van Kirk him- 
 self, with a truly masculine vagueness in such mat- 
 ters, did not know what was the matter with these 
 garments, but he knew something was so seriously 
 wrong as to require heroic treatment. Time was 
 flying and precious. He would begin on familiar 
 ground, with the valise. 
 
 With a mental exhortation to himself to brace 
 up, he began audaciously : 
 
 " There is an hour or so before lunch, time to 
 buy your new valise. I presume you were intend- 
 ing" He paused and looked blandly at Miss 
 Bagg, whose face expressed astonishment and hesi- 
 tation. 
 
 " That was pa's. It is good and strong yet," 
 she ventured. 
 
 "Yes, those things are astonishingly long-lived 
 when they are well made," returned Max glibly ; 
 then he strode to the door of the waiting-room and 
 signaled to a hackman. The latter hurried into 
 the room, took up the deceased Mr. Bagg's travel- 
 ing companion, and started off with it. Van Kirk 
 followed with Miss Lydia. He handed her into 
 the carriage, and, after giving an order to the 
 driver, took his place beside her. 
 
 " Are you familiar with Boston ? " he asked, as 
 the horses started. Miss Bagg replied in the neg-
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 75 
 
 ative, and he continued : " I have not been here 
 myself since I was a child. I received my educa- 
 tion in New York city and at West Point, and you 
 know they keep one pretty close at the latter 
 place." 
 
 " Yes, indeed. I know something about that, 
 for there was a boy went there from our town. 
 It made quite an excitement in Ashley when he 
 received the appointment. Why," Miss Bagg 
 looked at her companion with new interest, 
 " why, are n't you in the army, then ? " 
 
 "I have been until recently. I only tendered 
 my resignation this year." 
 
 " You did n't like the life ? " 
 
 " Not in all respects." 
 
 " You are not likely to like any life in all re- 
 spects," observed Miss Bagg. She had at once in 
 her imagination dressed her secretary in a highly 
 composite but glittering uniform, and she liked 
 the effect so well that she was quite displeased 
 with him for relinquishing it. 
 
 " I shall try life now for a while, at any rate, in 
 your service," he returned. "Here we are," as 
 the carriage drew up by the sidewalk. 
 
 Van Kirk helped Miss Bagg out, and together 
 they entered a large trunk store, where the young 
 man asked to see valises. He questioned Miss 
 Bagg and suggested, but, seeing that it was hope- 
 less to induce her quickly to make up her mind to 
 pay the price for such articles as Max offered for 
 her inspection, he selected one and ordered it sent
 
 76 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 out to the carriage. Then, choosing a small, silver- 
 mounted hand-bag of alligator-skin, he gave it to 
 mute Miss Lydia, and paid for the whole out of 
 his own pocket. 
 
 Next he gave an order to the driver to take 
 them to a large dry-goods establishment, and then 
 followed his companion into the carriage. 
 
 " I have some money," remarked Miss Bagg, 
 and Van Kirk noted that her voice was not quite 
 steady. 
 
 " Of course you have, my dear madam," he re- 
 plied respectfully. " That was your money I paid 
 with. I did it to save time. Pardon me, if I did 
 wrong." 
 
 " Oh, no," said Miss Lydia faintly. " You did 
 quite right. What a pretty bag this is," looking 
 at the handsome little affair whose price had nearly 
 taken away her breath. 
 
 " Yes, you will find it convenient. When you 
 repack your clothing at the hotel there may be 
 some little conveniences that you would like to 
 have with you on the train. We will check the 
 large bag." 
 
 " You think of everything," said Miss Lydia. 
 
 " I try to, of course, and that is why I am going 
 to venture to advise you to indulge in a warmer 
 coat. We are going to choose it now." 
 
 " Oh, my cloak is warm enough," exclaimed Miss 
 Bagg decidedly. 
 
 Her secretary felt desperate. " You do not 
 know the New York climate," he returned.
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 11 
 
 " I Ve always heard it was warmer than ours," 
 said Miss Lydia. 
 
 " Well, I am a New-Yorker born and bred. 
 Take my advice and don't go to that city in this 
 cloak. It is not suited to the place, I give you my 
 word." 
 
 "Well," returned Miss Bagg meekly, feeling 
 that she was indeed embarked upon such strange 
 seas that it behooved her to be thankful that she 
 had a pilot, and to heed his advice. 
 
 In a few minutes the carriage stopped again, 
 and soon the oddly assorted pair of shoppers were 
 confronted with the exceedingly " well-set-up " 
 young woman, who would be happy to sell them a 
 lady's wrap. 
 
 To her polite inquiries as to what description of 
 garment Miss Bagg stood in need of, Miss Lydia 
 turned a questioning look upon Van Kirk, who 
 stood by, waiting. In his absolute ignorance on 
 the subject, his one soothing thought was that 
 whatever they selected would be at least modern. 
 
 " Try something on her," he said vaguely, to 
 the saleswoman, who followed Miss Bagg's lead in 
 mutely referring to him. " Something suitable for 
 traveling," he added, under the influence of a bril- 
 liant inspiration. 
 
 " Oh, yes, something in cloth ; " and skillful fin- 
 gers at once set about divesting Miss Bagg of the 
 roomy cloak which had been highly respected in 
 the Ashley Congregational church for many win- 
 ters.
 
 78 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 The wraps Miss Lydia tried on ! The ordeal 
 fairly made her head giddy, and her fastidious 
 companion was at last pleased with a long, finely- 
 braided garment which entirely hid her gray gown, 
 and had its neck and sleeves finished with rich 
 fur. 
 
 Van Kirk nodded as Miss Bagg turned about in 
 it, and the saleswoman's practiced eye discerned 
 his approval before he expressed it. 
 
 " I don't think your mother could have anything 
 nicer or more stylish than this," she said glibly. 
 " It fits her so well, too," etc. 
 
 His mother ! Van Kirk thought of his mother, 
 and of the awful eyes she would turn upon this 
 comely young person could she have overheard the 
 latter's mistake. 
 
 Poor Lydia turned crimson. Maxwell cut short 
 the fluent encomiums of the clerk. " I think you 
 had better decide upon that, Miss Bagg," he said 
 with great distinctness. 
 
 It was the saleswoman's turn to be embarrassed, 
 but she busied herself in unfastening the garment. 
 
 Van Kirk inquired its price. 
 
 " Fifty dollars," she replied. 
 
 " Oh " protested the lay-figure faintly. 
 
 " That is about what you wanted to pay, I be- 
 lieve, Miss Bagg," said her secretary with prompt 
 bl; i nd ness. "And now if you" turning to the 
 young woman " will be kind enough to show us 
 where we can find bonnets." He turned back to 
 Lydia. " You know how one thing leads on to
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 79 
 
 another," he said, in a low tone. " One new gar- 
 ment necessitates another to match it." 
 
 Miss Bagg looked at him, half-bewildered, half- 
 distressed. "My bonnet was new last winter," 
 she replied. 
 
 " Well, if you can find one any prettier, it is 
 your right to have it," said this subtle young man. 
 " It won't do any harm to look at them, you 
 know." 
 
 During this low-spoken colloquy there were 
 many curious glances sent at the pair, and curios- 
 ity was heightened before the millinery question 
 could be settled. 
 
 At last a bonnet was set above Miss Bagg's 
 tuft of curls which was very becoming to her slen- 
 der face. She smiled involuntarily as she caught 
 sight of herself in the glass, but all the same it 
 gave her what she herself described as " a turn " 
 to hear her reckless companion agree to pay eigh- 
 teen dollars for it. 
 
 " Where shall I send these things ? " asked the 
 milliner. 
 
 " The lady will wear them," returned the well- 
 dressed man, whose relation to the countrified lit- 
 tle woman was such an enigma to the onlookers. 
 
 " Then your other bonnet and cloak ? " asked 
 the clerk from the cloak department, who had ac- 
 companied the pair on their millinery quest. 
 
 " Do you care to keep them, Miss Bagg?" asked 
 Van Kirk. 
 
 Care to keep them I Lydia looked with horror-
 
 80 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 stricken eyes at her secretary. Less than one de- 
 cade ago the beaver cloth in that cloak had been 
 bought as first-class material in this city. Was 
 the man mad ? 
 
 " Of course I care to keep them," she returned 
 somewhat severely. 
 
 " Then you might send them home to Ashley," 
 suggested Max. 
 
 " Dear me. Nora would be frightened to death 
 to see my clothes coming home without me. That 
 would never do." 
 
 Van Kirk looked at his watch. " Write her a 
 note to send with them. We have time." He 
 looked more critically than before at Miss Bagg's 
 gray dress. He knew it was not a pretty dress, 
 and though he did not know that it was long 
 on the shoulders and shapeless in the matter of 
 " darts," he saw that it was somehow all wi-ong, 
 but he did not feel himself equal to the strain of 
 undertaking anything further in the way of femi- 
 nine apparel. When the heiress walked abroad 
 she would be wholly presentable in the garb they 
 had selected, and while she was in the hotel he 
 \vould see that her meals were served in her rooms 
 until Ida Fuller could take his uncongenial task 
 off his hands. Never since he abandoned a mili- 
 tary life had Miss Bagg's secretary so fretted at 
 civilization, so yearned to feel a good horse be- 
 tween his knees and to see a boundless prairie 
 before him, as while he sat martyr-like on a velvet 
 euair and watched Lydia try on bonnets. Now,
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 81 
 
 while she indited her reassuring note to Nora, he 
 took the opportunity to move away to a window, 
 where he could at least see the daylight. He felt 
 caged and stifled. It seemed to him he had en- 
 dured existence in that buzzing emporium during 
 an infinite period. 
 
 "When Miss Bagg had finished her writing, the 
 young lady who had sold her the cloak took charge 
 of the letter, and Miss Lydia told her how to send 
 the express package, and took out her purse to 
 prepay the charges. 
 
 " And the new cloak and bonnet ? " asked the 
 girl politely. "Will you pay for them, or have 
 them charged ? " 
 
 This question found Miss Bagg 011 unfamiliar 
 ground. She looked around wildly for that splen- 
 did living bulwark who had promised to stand be- 
 tween her and trouble. He was not in sight. For 
 a minute Miss Lydia felt actually faint. Sudden 
 and awful suspicions overwhelmed her. The long 
 monotony of her life had been followed by so much 
 excitement and novelty crowded into forty-eight 
 hours that it is not wonderful that her nerves were 
 on the surface, as the saying is. Where was Mr. 
 Van Kirk ? More than that, who was Mr. Van 
 Kirk ? The lawyer had not in his letter heralded 
 or authorized him in any way. What a strange 
 story he had told ! What young man would resign 
 his honorable commission in the army and float 
 about ready for such an odd situation as the one 
 he had accepted with her ? How gullible she had
 
 82 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 been ! If the statement that he had been in the 
 army contained a grain of truth, he was, no doubt, 
 a deserter, and now pursuing the calling of a confi- 
 dence man. Of what a confidence man might be 
 Miss Bagg had but a hazy comprehension ; but she 
 knew the fraternity practiced upon country people 
 solely. Miss Lydia did not stop to consider what 
 advantage the plausible young man could gain by 
 his transactions with her up to the present hour. 
 She was the victim of a momentary unreasoning 
 panic, in which she feared that she had been 
 trapped, that he had disappeared and deserted her, 
 and that she was about to be disgraced before these 
 civil young women ; that if she were not accused 
 of fake pretenses and arrested, that Mr. Galbraith, 
 the unknown lawyer, would reproach her for her 
 course. Indeed, it would take too long to relate 
 all the distracting thoughts which possessed Miss 
 Bagg in the long half-minute that followed the 
 saleswoman's query. 
 
 " You are not well," said the latter, perceiving 
 her pallor. "Sit down. I will call the gentle- 
 man." But even as the young woman spoke, Miss 
 Bagg saw something which drove color back to 
 her face and remorse to her heart. It was the 
 tall figure of her secretary walking toward her. 
 
 " I am quite well. Don't say anything," she 
 exclaimed in a hurried, low tone. 
 
 Again Van Kirk produced what to Miss Bagg 
 began to seem a Fortunatus's purse, and while he 
 paid for her finery she dressed herself in it. When
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 83 
 
 they next entered their carriage, such is the magic 
 effect of fine feathers, there was no external in- 
 congruity in their companionship. 
 
 They drove to the Adams House, and there 
 Miss Bagg was installed in a pleasant room, where, 
 Max told her, after she had rested for half an hour 
 a lunch would be served to them. 
 
 She spent the half hour while he left her alone 
 in scolding herself for her temporary distrust of 
 him ; yet from time to time up would spring an- 
 other question, as to why, if he were respectable, 
 he should have been free to offer himself to her 
 service ; and following this would come the thought 
 that perhaps she had now seen the last of him. 
 
 The fine new valise stood in a corner of the 
 room, beside that of her father. 
 
 " I am the most absurd, foolish woman in the 
 world," she declared, half-aloud, as she looked at 
 it, " and the most ungrateful." She rose from the 
 lounge where she had been lying, and, crossing 
 the room, inspected herself in the glass, examining 
 for the first time her gray hairs and the fine 
 wrinkles which, though inconspicuous, were still 
 wrinkles. 
 
 " The young woman thought I was his mother," 
 she reflected. " To think I might be the mother 
 of a fine man like him ! He must be twenty-five. 
 If this is really I, and that cloak and bonnet and 
 valise and bag and private secretary are really 
 mine, I ought to show myself a woman of some 
 strength of mind, and not let my heart go jumping 
 about so. "
 
 84 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Miss Lydia dropped her face in her hands, and 
 breathed a very heartfelt little prayer for strength. 
 So far her change oif fortune had brought her 
 more excitement than happiness, and anticipation 
 of the coming days in New York weighed upon 
 her mind. 
 
 At the appointed time Van Kirk allayed her 
 teasing doubts of himself by putting in an ap- 
 pearance at her door. His quick eye perceived the 
 worn look in her face. 
 
 "I am afraid you have not rested," he said 
 kindly. 
 
 " I am really too excited to rest much," acknow- 
 ledged Miss Bagg apologetically. " I," with a 
 little, nervous laugh, "I have a horror of lawyers, 
 Mr. Van Kirk." 
 
 " Yours is an exceedingly pleasant man to deal 
 with," returned Max reassuringly. " Do not give 
 him a second thought, yet. Any time spent in 
 dreading an interview with Mr. Galbraith is 
 wasted, I assure you. Besides, shall I not be with 
 you, and you are getting a little accustomed to 
 me, I hope ? " 
 
 The look of good-will with which the young man 
 accompanied this smote Miss Lydia with such con- 
 trition as killed out all her suspicions. 
 
 " Mr. Van Kirk, you don't know how ashamed 
 I am of myself," she said, her voice unsteady with 
 feeling. 
 
 " Oh, no need of that," returned Van Kirk in a 
 cheery, off-hand manner. He could not know the
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 85 
 
 workings of the little woman's mind, and her voice 
 sounded so alarmingly tearful that he welcomed a 
 knock at the door which signified that their lunch- 
 eon was served. 
 
 " You have no idea how much better you will 
 feel after a good lunch," he said. "You must have 
 had to take an early start this morning." 
 
 " Yes, indeed ; breakfast at half past six," re- 
 plied Miss Bagg, watching the laying of a little 
 table with the well-ordered meal. She knew that 
 meals served in the room were extra, and her 
 habit of mind protested against the proceeding. 
 Fortunately for her, she did not suspect the reason 
 for this new extravagance of her secretary, and as 
 they sat down to the table she could not regret 
 their privacy, for he, seeing that she was rather 
 depressed, exerted himself to entertain her, with 
 perfect success. 
 
 Miss Bagg refused the glass of sherry he offered 
 her, but enjoyed a comforting cup of tea. She 
 did not know she was hungry when she sat down, 
 but the food was tempting, Van Kirk's easy talk 
 amusing, and she ate heartily. 
 
 In one of the young man's anecdotes of army 
 life he mentioned his mother and Mrs. Fuller as 
 being his guests the summer before. 
 
 " That Mrs. Fuller who wrote to me ? " asked 
 Miss Lydia. 
 
 "Yes. She is the daughter of my mother's 
 brother, and will be a good and useful friend to 
 you, Miss Bagg."
 
 86 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Ah ! your cousin, then." 
 
 " Yes, and a favorite niece of my mother's." 
 
 " I shall be glad to know your mother," said 
 Miss Lydia timidly. 
 
 Van Kirk felt moderately certain that the ac- 
 quaintance would be the reverse of pleasant, but he 
 only said : 
 
 " You may not see her at once. She has not 
 been well lately." 
 
 " Have you a father, too ? " asked Miss Bagg. 
 
 " No. I scarcely remember him, I was so young 
 when he died. Uncle Jotham was the only father 
 I ever knew." 
 
 Lydia looked at the speaker pensively. "He 
 ought to have provided for you," she said, " but 
 perhaps you are well off." 
 
 " I consider myself so in being engaged by you," 
 returned Van Kirk, with that inscrutable smile 
 which had a silencing effect, for all its brightness. 
 " Now," pushing his chair back from the table, 
 "I will leave you once more while you attend 
 to your packing. I suppose you will want the old 
 valise sent back to Ashley ? " 
 
 " Yes, and I will write another note to go in it 
 to poor Nora." 
 
 " Very well. When you are ready we will drive 
 about a little and see something of the city before 
 train time, if you would like to do so." 
 
 Of course Miss Bagg would like to. She had 
 that whole-souled reverence for Boston common to 
 the residents of her State.
 
 THE EX-LIEUTENANT'S SHOPPING. 87 
 
 The middle of the afternoon found a little lady, 
 richly but soberly dressed, seated in a parlor car 
 in the Boston and Albany depot. A new and ele- 
 gant hand-bag reposed in her lap, and in the chair 
 next her was seated a man of imposing proportions 
 and presence. As the train pulled smoothly out of 
 the depot he caught her eye and smiled. 
 
 " Good-by to the old life," he said. 
 
 The lady looked startled, and the eyes that 
 gazed at him grew moist. 
 
 He shook his head slowly, still smiling. " No, 
 nothing to be afraid of," he continued. " Every- 
 thing to anticipate. I wish you joy."
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 
 
 THE following morning Mr. Van Kirk ran up 
 the steps of a house in New York, and gave his 
 card to the servant who answered his ring. 
 
 " If my mother is not well, ask Mrs. Fuller if 
 she will see me." 
 
 He passed into the reception-room and waited. 
 Almost immediately a light step sounded on the 
 stairs, and Ida Fuller entered the room with out- 
 stretched hand. 
 
 " What news ? " she asked eagerly. 
 
 " It is all right," returned Max, pressing her 
 hand. " I brought her, and have her safely cor- 
 raled at the Fifth Avenue." 
 
 " What is she like ? " again eagerly. 
 
 " She is a lady," said Van Kirk briefly. 
 
 " So much the better," returned Mrs. Fuller 
 with an air of satisfaction. " Won't you sit 
 down?" 
 
 " Is n't mother going to see me ? How is she ? " 
 
 The young widow smiled carelessly. " She is 
 well in body ; much to her disgust, I think, for 
 mentally she is still much disturbed. I really do 
 not know whether she is ready to see company, for
 
 MOTHER AND SON. *$ 
 
 when the servant told me you had come I was so 
 eager to see you that I hurried down without going 
 to Aunt Elinor's room." 
 
 The visitor's eyes shone. " Were you ? " he 
 began, and leaving his chair at a little distance 
 from her sofa, he seated himself beside her. 
 
 " Yes," she interrupted hastily. " I was very 
 curious to learn the outcome of your errand." 
 
 The young man's face lost its brightness. " Miss 
 Bagg showed me a note from you," he said. 
 
 Mrs. Fuller smiled and flushed a little. " Yes, 
 I wrote that before your sudden departure was 
 decided upon." 
 
 " It seemed hardly strange to be confronted 
 with your handwriting," continued Max, his eyes 
 still fixed seriously upon her. " I had been think- 
 ing of you on my way. You know, Ida, do you 
 not, that in all the experience I have passed 
 through, the chief pang to me has been in the 
 thought of you ? " 
 
 " Don't think of me, then, I beg," she returned 
 flippantly, smiling into the grave eyes. 
 
 He took her hand. " I hoped to have so much 
 to give you," he said, his voice vibrating. " I 
 hoped to make you a queen in station as you are 
 by nature." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller's thin lips compressed themselves, 
 and she tried to withdraw her hand. A slight 
 frown contracted the fair forehead. " This is 
 uncousinly sort of talk, Max," she answered. 
 
 He gazed at her, perplexed and incredulous.
 
 90 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Uncousinly ! Had the glances, the smiles, the 
 songs, the half -formed phrases with which she 
 had flattered him been cousinly? But her face 
 expressed something very like impatience. He 
 dropped her hand. She immediately flashed an 
 upward glance at him and spoke in a changed 
 tone. 
 
 " You have no need to tell me. I know you to 
 be the most generous fellow in the world," she 
 said with fervor, and was gone. 
 
 In less than five minutes he heard her summons 
 from the head of the stairs. He ascended, and 
 walked into the large, comfortable, rose-scented 
 room where his mother was nursing her injuries. 
 Mrs. Fuller followed him. 
 
 " Well, mother," he began heartily, approach- 
 ing the easy-chair from which his parent, envel- 
 oped in a voluminous silk wrapper, made no effort 
 to rise. 
 
 " Well, my son," she returned, with a sepul- 
 chral dignity which he dreaded. 
 
 He kissed her. " I am glad to hear from Ida 
 that you are feeling well again." 
 
 It was an unfortunate beginning. Mrs. Van 
 Kirk bent a cold glance upon her niece. " In- 
 deed? Ida is very kind to be so hopeful about 
 me. Do you think it helped me to recover, to 
 hear that you had demeaned yourself by going 
 down into the backwoods in search of that woman, 
 who is to live in your house and spend your money 
 while you delve for your daily bread ? "
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 91 
 
 Max seated himself. " I did n't think it worth 
 while to bother you with plans before I went," he 
 replied. " I knew you were n't up to the discus- 
 sion of details." 
 
 " It strikes me," continued Mrs. Van Kirk, 
 with an air of outraged dignity, " that Mr. Gal- 
 braith would have shown better taste and more 
 courtesy to have gone himself, or chosen some one 
 besides you you of all people to send on such 
 an errand." 
 
 " Oh, I had nothing else to do," said Max 
 carelessly. " I was knocking about, a nuisance to 
 myself and everybody else. I was just the man 
 for the undertaking. At least, I flatter myself 
 that I carried it out very well." 
 
 " You found the creature ? " asked Mrs. Van 
 Kirk. 
 
 44 Yes, found her without any trouble, for, Mr. 
 Galbraith having taken all precautions to identify 
 her, I knew, of course, where she was." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk waved her hand haughtily. 
 "The whole affair is too outrageous to discuss," 
 she said. 
 
 44 Very well, we won't discuss it. I must go on 
 now to Mr. Galbraith's. I stopped here first, not 
 knowing but that you were quite recovered and 
 would like to drive over to the hotel and call on 
 Miss Bagg." 
 
 44 Maxwell Van Kirk ! " in awful tones of sur- 
 prise. "Did you bring that woman back with 
 you?"
 
 92 MIS8 BAGG'S SECEETAEY. 
 
 " Certainly ; that was my errand/' 
 
 " And you thought I would call on her, would 
 recognize her ? " 
 
 "I supposed you would, of course, under the 
 circumstances." 
 
 " Max says she is a lady," remarked Mrs. 
 Fuller. 
 
 " Absurd ! " exclaimed Mrs. Van Kirk, her nos- 
 trils dilating. 
 
 " I must tell you," continued her son, " that I 
 have gone into business relations with her. We 
 have agreed that I shall be her secretary." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk looked in blank indignation and 
 amaze from him to his cousin and back again. 
 " Maxwell, I cannot believe you," she said, sitting 
 erect now and speaking with nervous energy. 
 "Where is your pride? What were you think- 
 ing of?" 
 
 " Delving for my daily bread, as you remarked 
 a minute ago. I have the vaguest notion as to 
 what delving may signify, but I am pretty certain 
 that I shall not find any better opportunity for 
 getting into harness than this." 
 
 " Any other way would be better ! " exclaimed 
 his mother. 
 
 " I think he has done wisely. Mr. Galbraith 
 thinks so, too," said Ida Fuller unguardedly. 
 
 " Then you knew of it ! " Mrs. Van Kirk's 
 face flamed. " It is a plot." 
 
 " Mother, my dear mother," Max rose impa- 
 tiently " for pity's sake don't be melodramatic.
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 93 
 
 Find me a better position than the one I have 
 taken with Miss Bagg and I will accept it gladly 
 after a while. I have promised to see her 
 launched into her new life." He looked from his 
 mother to his cousin. " Let me comprehend the 
 situation. Do I understand that you both intend 
 to cut Miss Bagg ? " 
 
 " I do not, by any means," replied Ida dis- 
 tinctly. " I shall call on her immediately, if you 
 think best." 
 
 " Curry favor with her, if you like, Ida Fuller," 
 said Mrs. Van Kirk angrily ; " but let me tell you 
 I am ashamed of my brother's child when I find 
 she is capable of such an action." 
 
 " Mother, you pass all limits," said Van Kirk 
 wearily. " Do you believe I am currying favor 
 with Miss Bagg? " 
 
 The angry woman looked into the honest eyes, as 
 clear now as when their beauty had thrilled her 
 heart as her baby looked up from her breast. 
 
 " Oh, my boy, no," she replied distractedly. 
 
 " It is a kindness in Ida to visit her," he went 
 on. " She is a woman of perhaps fifty, who has 
 lived an obscure life in the country, and she is 
 overwhelmed by the change in her circumstances. 
 She has n't the right clothes to appear in. She 
 needs a woman's help. I give you my word I 
 had an awful time getting her a new bonnet in 
 Boston." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller burst into laughter, and Mrs. Yau 
 Kirk, after one final stare, followed suit.
 
 94 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Max had not intended to be amusing, but lie 
 knew it was a point gained to have made his 
 mother laugh. 
 
 " I did," he continued, " and I bought her a 
 cloak or a coat or something of the kind, too ; 
 but she needs a dress. I haven't said anything 
 about it. It was all I could do to insist upon the 
 other things without hurting her feelings. Ida is 
 just the one to befriend her. Put on your hat 
 now, Ida, if you can spare the time, and come and 
 meet her." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller rose and left the room. Mrs. Van 
 Kirk composed her features. " Well, all I can say 
 is, it is a very odd state of affairs that this woman 
 should have impoverished and crushed us all, and 
 that we should turn around and take care of her in 
 this fashion. I can tell you that it is n't the way 
 of the world. What caps the climax, though, is 
 that you should accept service under her, service, 
 that is what it is. Why evade it ? " 
 
 " Why, indeed ? " asked Van Kirk. " Look the 
 situation in the face. I was completely afloat 
 completely at a loss. Where and how was I to 
 set about getting something to do ? I slipped into 
 this position easily, and hope to fit it as the square 
 peg fits the square hole. I hope you will think 
 better of your determination not to meet my em- 
 ployer." 
 
 " Ugh ! " Mrs. Van Kirk lifted her shoulders 
 in repugnance, and now Mrs. Fuller returned, 
 equipped for her errand.
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 95 
 
 Max looked at her with admiring eyes. Her 
 ensemble was elegance itself. " Ready so soon ? 
 You are a model woman, Ida," he said in sur- 
 prise. 
 
 They took leave of Mrs. Van Kirk and set out 
 in the raw, dull weather. They went first to Mr. 
 Galbraith's. 
 
 The lawyer greeted them kindly, addressing the 
 young man with especial warmth. 
 
 " All has gone well, Mr. Galbraith," said Max 
 cheerfully, when they were ushered into his office. 
 " Miss Bagg is in the city, and if you will make 
 an appointment I will bring her here." 
 
 The lawyer passed his hand over his strong, 
 smooth-shaven chin. " How does she take her 
 good fortune ? " he asked. 
 
 " Oh, with some excitement and natural bewil- 
 derment. By the way, Mr. Galbraith, I want to 
 request you to say nothing to her of my former 
 expectations. I did not mention the circumstances 
 to her, and it will be better for that knowledge not 
 to intervene between us ; for behold in me " 
 Max smote himself lightly on the breast " Miss 
 Lydia Bagg's private secretary." 
 
 " Indeed ? " said Mr. Galbraith with interest. 
 
 " Yes. I offered myself and was accepted." 
 
 " At a liberal salary, I hope ? " 
 
 " We agreed to take you into the conclave which 
 should decide my salary." 
 
 The lawyer bit his lip and looked thoughtfully 
 at the young man. Ida Fuller's bright gaze rested 
 on the lawyer.
 
 96 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " How would ten thousand dollars a year suit 
 you, Mr. Van Kirk ?" asked the latter, at last. 
 
 " I could n't earn it," replied Max shortly. 
 
 " Nonsense ! " burst irrepressibly from Mrs. 
 Fuller's scarlet lips. 
 
 Mr. Galbraith drummed slowly and rhythmic- 
 ally with his fingers on his desk. " I want to say 
 to you, Mr. Van Kirk, what I have never said 
 before to anybody. I am certain that Mr. Bagg 
 intended to leave the bulk of his fortune to you. 
 He never said so in terms, but the hints he let fall 
 were unmistakable. The last will which he made, 
 and which I drew for him, left you a large prop- 
 erty. That will cannot be found. It is my sin- 
 cere belief that he destroyed it, intending to draw 
 another which should be still more largely in your 
 favor. The hints and remarks which I referred 
 to lead me to believe this. He trusted you more 
 and more as years went on. He took means to 
 discover how you lived when you were far from 
 him. He watched you, not in the spirit of a spy, 
 but in order to learn if you were indeed as he 
 hoped you might be, a fit person to bear the re- 
 sponsibility of the burden of gold which shortly 
 must drop from him. When he had satisfied him- 
 self, he recalled you from the army. Now, he 
 would not have done that, had he not intended to 
 give you something in place of your military pros- 
 pects." 
 
 " No," agreed Max, " I believe he did so intend. 
 I have always believed it."
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 97 
 
 " Then why hesitate to accept as large a salary 
 as Miss Bagg is willing to pay you ? Will she be 
 inclined to be generous, think you ? " 
 
 " She will take what you and I say as law and 
 gospel," replied Max. " She is very simple and 
 unsophisticated. Anything above a hundred dol- 
 lars will seem so large to her that one amount will 
 sound about like another in her ears." 
 
 " Indeed, indeed," said the lawyer thoughtfully. 
 "Poor Mr. Bagg. What would he have said 
 could he have foreseen this and known himself 
 helpless to prevent it! Well, Mr. Van Kirk, in 
 the light of what I have told you, you need not 
 hesitate to accept ten thousand a year, you see." 
 
 " In fact, it would be wrong wrong to Cousin 
 Jotham for you to refuse that or even much 
 more," added Mrs. Fuller earnestly. 
 
 Van Kirk shook his head. " Oh, don't talk 
 about such a sum as that," he said. " I don't 
 aspire to any very fine-spun ideas of honesty, but 
 I should like to continue to eat and sleep with 
 Tnyself with a certain degree of complacency. I 
 don't believe the position is worth such a salary. 
 After a while Miss Bagg is bound to become 
 worldly wise, and I should not wish her to waken 
 some fine morning to the suspicion that she was 
 being robbed." 
 
 " You are doing wrong wrong ! " said Mrs. 
 Fuller bitterly. Her eyes sparkled, and Max was 
 surprised at the feeling she displayed. 
 
 '* I am doing as right as I know how, Ida," he
 
 98 MISS BAGG'S SECRET Mi Y. 
 
 replied simply. " Wait, I am not going to ac- 
 cept a starvation salary. Tell me, Mr. Galbraitb, 
 not speaking as my friend, but as Miss Bagg's Li\v- 
 yer and in the interests of your client. You know 
 better than I what work her secretary will have 
 to perform. What ought she to pay him ? " 
 
 The lawyer looked with his sharp eyes straight 
 into the questioning ones bent upon him. " Ten 
 thousand dollars would not be an unreasonable 
 salary," he said. " The duties of a secretary will 
 expand largely in your case, but I think she could 
 get the work well done for six thousand." 
 
 " Very well, I will take six thousand," answered 
 Van Kirk. He turned to his cousin with a humor- 
 ous look. "It is more than the pay of a second- 
 lieutenant in the United States army," he added. 
 
 Ida gave him no answering smile. This was 
 not a laughing matter to her. She loved this 
 man's beauty and strength with the admiration of 
 which she was capable, but it had not been the 
 second-lieutenant whom she caressed with her 
 glances. They had been for the probable heir to 
 millions. Now he was voluntarily repulsing the 
 last chance of winning his way into her favor. 
 She was furious with him, and had great ado to 
 conceal her wrath. It sparkled from her eyes and 
 lay in the twitching of her thin lips. 
 
 "Well, you must do as you think right, of 
 course," said the lawyer with a sigh. " It is a 
 sorry business, but we must make the best of it." 
 
 " And when will you meet Miss Bagg ? " asked 
 Max, as he rose.
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 99 
 
 "This afternoon at three, if it suits her." 
 
 Van Kirk and his fair companion came out 
 again into the air, the former quite unconscious of 
 the emotion seething in the breast so near him. 
 Ida's clever wits were working fiercely. One hope 
 was left. She would, when the right time came, 
 disregard her cousin's request for secrecy she 
 had promised nothing and lay the facts before 
 Miss Bagg, trusting to the latter's honor to make 
 such restitution as she might to the wronged young 
 man. Failing in accomplishing anything by this 
 means, she would hope by the influence she meant 
 to gain over the heiress to advance her own inter- 
 ests to the highest possible point, leaving Max on 
 the low ground he seemed determined to occupy. 
 
 "You won't forget her dress, Ida," said the 
 unconscious Van Kirk anxiously, as they neared 
 the hotel. 
 
 " I should imagine from what you tell me of her 
 that it would be difficult to forget it," returned 
 Mrs. Fuller crisply. 
 
 "It is a kind of dusty color," observed Max 
 reminiscently, " and the sleeves well, I wonder 
 what is the matter with the sleeves. Ought they 
 to be gored nowadays ? " 
 
 Ida smiled reluctantly. 
 
 *' Well, if sleeves ought to be gored now, Miss 
 Bagg's are not, and if they ought not to be, Miss 
 Bagg's are. See ? " 
 
 " I shall see shortly, for here we are. "Will you 
 go first and announce me ? "
 
 100 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " No ; she has a parlor, where I am sure she 
 will be ready to receive us." 
 
 Ready and eager to see her secretary Miss Bagg 
 was indeed, for the morning had seemed long to 
 her. She hurried to the door at the sound of his 
 voice, but the pleasure died from her face and 
 anxiety took its place when she perceived beside 
 him a slight, elegant woman, dressed in a close-fit- 
 ting, black cloth suit, with a hint of golden color 
 here and there, and black ostrich tips with touches 
 of yellow clinging close to her jet-black hair. 
 
 " I have brought my cousin, Mrs. Fuller," said 
 Max, and Ida came forward with outstretched 
 black-gloved hand and a cordial smile. 
 
 " I have introduced myself already to you, Miss 
 Bagg," she said, " in the letter I wrote before I 
 knew Mr. Van Kirk was coming to you. Of 
 course, as soon as I heard you were to have his 
 efficient assistance, I knew you would have no need 
 of me ; yet I wanted to be among the first of your 
 new-found relatives to greet you." 
 
 " Relatives ? " repeated Miss Bagg meekly, into 
 whose eyes Ida's black ones had been gazing, 
 while she held Lydia's hand and poured forth the 
 above. 
 
 " Why, of course, we are relatives," said Mrs. 
 Fuller, moving into the room side by side with 
 Miss Bagg. " It does n't do to inquire into the 
 relationship too closely, but it is there, Miss Bagg ; 
 take my word for it ; it is there." Ida laughed 
 pleasantly. " When poor Cousin Jotham was alive
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 101 
 
 we never tried to work out the cousinly problem, 
 but accepted it as an agreeable fact. You and 
 Mr. Van Kirk and his mother and I belong to one 
 another; that is enough to know." And Mrs. 
 Fuller nodded engagingly and took the chair Max 
 placed for her. He was as much amused as agree- 
 ably surprised at this extreme cordiality, for he 
 knew this was a rare ebullition for the proud Ida. 
 
 Miss Bagg looked at the latter, fascinated. " I 
 have had no relatives for so long," she said slowly, 
 the agreeable glow brought her by this novel idea 
 counteracted by the vague constraint she felt in the 
 presence of this assured and handsome woman. 
 
 " Well, you will have to submit to them now. 
 You have inherited them. Cousin Jotham claimed 
 us, and now we claim you. You must try to like 
 us." 
 
 " I like Mr. Van Kirk," said Lydia simply, look- 
 ing at her secretary, who after seating her had 
 himself taken a chair, completing the semi-circle 
 around the cheerful, glowing, open fire. 
 
 " Then you will like us all," declared Mrs. 
 Fuller, with graceful audacity, "for we are so 
 nearly related we must be similar. By the way, 
 perhaps my cousin has told you that his mother 
 is ill. She was very sorry to be unable to call 
 upon you at once, but she sent her compliments 
 and best wishes." 
 
 Max regarded the speaker with open astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 " What pleasant apartments you have," con- 
 tinued Ida, looking about her.
 
 102 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Oh, yes. Mr. Van Kirk knows how to make 
 things pleasant and comfortable," replied Miss 
 Bagg gratefully. " There never was such a man 
 for thinking of everything." 
 
 Ida sent a little satirical smile across at Max. 
 She felt like rallying him on his evident conquest. 
 Lydia seemed to her so quaint and old-fashioned 
 and simple. Although Mrs. Fuller had given her 
 as yet little opportunity to speak, she had jumped 
 to the conclusion that the rustic maiden would 
 be very easy to manipulate and very grateful for 
 guidance. Already she exulted in the power she 
 should be behind the little woman's throne, and 
 congratulated herself upon her own prompt ap- 
 pearance in the field of action. 
 
 " How have you passed the morning, Miss 
 Bagg?" asked Max. 
 
 " Well " she hesitated. " I have I tried 
 to read the story you gave me, but " 
 
 "But your own story was more interesting?" 
 suggested Van Kirk with a smile, as she stopped. 
 
 Miss Lydia squeezed her thin hands together in 
 her lap. " I don't know. I got to thinking about 
 the lawyer." 
 
 " How pleasantly surprised you will be when 
 you meet Mr. Galbraith," said Max with hearty 
 reassurance, " and that will be this afternoon at 
 three." 
 
 " Yes ? " returned Lydia, an excited color creep- 
 ing up into her cheeks. " You will come with me, 
 won't you ? "
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 103 
 
 " You have only to order it, you know," replied 
 Max, with a wave of his hand. " Am I not your 
 servant ? " 
 
 Miss Bagg turned to Ida. " I cannot get used 
 to that, you know," she said naively. 
 
 " He has n't the air of being anybody's servant, 
 has he ? " returned Mrs. Fuller, with a little laugh. 
 It caine over her with a sudden rush of anger and 
 amaze, how much this ill-dressed, faltering, insig- 
 nificant old maid had deprived her of. 
 
 It was true, Mr. Galbraith had said it, that 
 Jotham Bagg meant to give his wealth to this man 
 who needed only the glory of gold to shine above 
 all men that she had ever seen. 
 
 It was true, Max had said it, that he had meant 
 the treasure to be hers so soon as it should come 
 into his hands. 
 
 Anger, even momentary hatred of unconscious 
 Lydia, filled the poor soul as the realization of it 
 all assailed her. She felt that her lips trembled, 
 and she rose and moved to a window. 
 
 " Yes, I shall go with you, of course," continued 
 Max, " but first let us invite Mrs. Fuller to remain 
 and take lunch with us." 
 
 " Oh, yes. I hope your cousin will stay," said 
 Miss Bagg politely, and Mrs. Fuller turned from 
 the window with a smile and murmur of accept- 
 ance. 
 
 " Come into the bedroom, won't you," added 
 Lydia, rising, " and lay off your bonnet ? " 
 
 " Meanwhile I will go and order luncheon," said
 
 104 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Max, also rising, and as he left the room he met 
 his cousin's eye with a glance which conjured her 
 not to forget what he had brought her there for. 
 Mrs. Fuller felt somewhat hysterical. There was 
 something ridiculous in the situation, but she 
 turned from its humorous aspect with decision. 
 She meant to make it a serious and serviceable 
 situation for herself. 
 
 Miss Bagg led her into the sleeping-room ad- 
 joining, and stood by while the young woman re- 
 moved her bonnet. 
 
 " Do you mean to make the Fifth Avenue your 
 home for the winter ? " asked Ida. 
 
 " No, no, indeed. That is, I have n't thought 
 anything about it. Of course I don't know, but 
 it never seemed to me that one could have a home- 
 feeling in a hotel." 
 
 " You are quite right, I am sure. Have you 
 been accustomed to housekeeping?" 
 
 " Yes. I have kept house ever since my sister 
 died, fifteen years ago. I don't think I could be 
 contented to board. I have been very happy in 
 my little home." Miss Bagg breathed an un- 
 conscious sigh. The uncertainty and uneasiness 
 which always assailed her in these new surround- 
 ings when Max was out of sight was not lessened 
 by the presence of this fine lady whose rings 
 sparkled beautifully as she pulled off her gloves. 
 Oh, peaceful Ashley ! When would she again 
 behold it ? 
 
 " Then you are not alone in the world," hazarded
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 105 
 
 Ida, with a sensation of disappointment. Strangely, 
 it had not occurred to her that this spinster might 
 have near and dear ones who would enter with her 
 into her kingdom. Why had she not thought to 
 question Max about this ? 
 
 " No, indeed," returned Miss Bagg. " I have 
 Nora and the Judge. How they are missing 
 me ! " 
 
 The mention of the Judge was even more dis- 
 concerting to Mrs. Fuller than it had been to Mr. 
 Wilkins. A man other than Max in connection 
 with Miss Bagg's affairs would be surely subver- 
 sive of the enterprising widow's plans. She looked 
 blank for a moment, but quickly recovered her- 
 self. 
 
 " Oh, well, you have a pleasant set of duties be- 
 fore you," she said brightly, " shopping and house- 
 hunting ; and I flatter myself that I can really be 
 of service to you in both lines. Do you think you 
 will prefer a house, or an apartment ? " 
 
 Miss Bagg looked at her with patient inquiry. 
 " Oh, I don't believe I would try to live in one 
 room," she said. " It would n't be necessary 
 that is, Mr. Van Kirk said I could afford " 
 , "Ah! pardon me. I meant to suggest a flat. 
 For a very small family say, of three one 
 can find a great deal of comfort in a well-chosen 
 flat." 
 
 " Oh, is that it ? A flat," echoed Miss Bagg 
 thoughtfully. " I will think about it." 
 
 They returned to the other room and sat down
 
 106 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 before the fire, Mrs. Fuller, as her hostess pre- 
 ceded her, bending a scornful and scrutinizing g:ize 
 on the gray gown which was influencing the heir- 
 ess' secretary to have their luncheon served in her 
 parlor. 
 
 " I suppose, Miss Bagg," she began archly, 
 " you have enough of woman's weakness to have 
 counted upon selecting some new gowns as one of 
 the pleasures of coming to New York ? " 
 
 " No, indeed, I did not. I did not count upon 
 any pleasure in coming to New York ; that is," 
 afraid she had been ungracious, "this is a 
 business trip, you know." 
 
 "Yes, but when you have seen Mr. Galbraith, 
 and business is quite off your mind, you must let 
 me show you some of our shops. We are very 
 proud of them, I assure you." 
 
 " We were in an elegant store in Boston," ob- 
 served Miss Bagg. " Mr. Van Kirk did n't think 
 the cloak I had was suited to this climate, he is so 
 thoughtful, and we bought another and a bonnet. 
 I shall never go shopping with him again, though," 
 added Lydia with a little laugh. " I should n't 
 dare tell you what we paid for those things." 
 
 " I dare say," remarked Mrs. Fuller, smiling at 
 the fire. " A man cannot be expected to have 
 much judgment in such matters. Let me help 
 you about your dresses, that is, if you will ac- 
 cept my help. I think two heads are better than 
 one in every case ; I know I cannot bear to select 
 a gown alone."
 
 MOTHER AND SON. 107 
 
 " I had n't thought of needing a new dress," said 
 Lydia doubtfully. 
 
 " But, dear Miss Bagg," exclaimed Mrs. Fuller, 
 gently, " you will, of course, wish to go into 
 mourning." 
 
 " I have been thinking of that," admitted Lydia. 
 " You see my new bonnet is all black." 
 
 " Yes, but that coat and bonnet are not mourn- 
 ing. I will help you " 
 
 " I do not believe in crape," declared Miss Bagg, 
 so decidedly that Ida could not continue. " I 
 think it would be respectful, though, to Uncle 
 Jotham for me to wear a black dress." 
 
 "You could hardly do otherwise. Your posi- 
 tion, Miss Bagg, will demand certain changes and 
 concessions which, of course, you will be glad to 
 make." Ida's impressive tone and vague sugges- 
 tions were discomforting to Lydia. " What did 
 very well for you a month ago will not do for you 
 now, believe me," continued the widow. " Mr. 
 Van Kirk will tell you the same thing. Ah, I 
 think I hear his step now." 
 
 Max knocked and entered. Mrs. Fuller at once 
 addressed him. 
 
 " Miss Bagg and I are planning a little shop- 
 ping expedition for to-morrow morning," she an- 
 nounced. 
 
 " Very well," he returned, " and now I hope 
 you both have good appetites, for luncheon will 
 be served at once,"
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. 
 
 NOT even the hasty notes of reassurance and 
 explanation which Miss Bagg sent home with her 
 discarded possessions could inspire perfect con- 
 fidence in Nora that all was well with her beloved 
 mistress. There was a certain gruesomeness 
 about the collapsed valise, whose sides she had re- 
 cently beheld so importantly full, and a mournful 
 significance in the limp cloak and the bonnet, 
 which she had long been accustomed to respect 
 whether reposing in state on the shelf in the spare- 
 room closet, or adorning Miss Bagg on solemn or 
 festive occasions. How eloquent of the absent 
 one was every button and bow ! Nora handled 
 the articles with awe, and gave her head many a 
 shake as she restored them to their closet, feeling 
 when she had closed the door as though there had 
 been a funeral in the house. 
 
 " Sure I wish her safe home," she muttered. It 
 seemed to her the Judge had never been so prone 
 as now to loud and discordant laughter, to bark- 
 ing, mewing, cackling and otherwise comporting, 
 himself unlike a Christian. His lack of sympa- 
 thetic feeling constrained Nora to keep the door
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. 109 
 
 closed between his part of the house and hers as 
 much as possible. 
 
 Neighbors dropped in in numbers when it be- 
 came noised abroad that Miss Bagg had done so 
 unprecedented a thing as to go on an unannounced 
 journey. Her sister- women felt justly incensed 
 that she had not confided in any one, nor shared 
 her anticipations with a single soul. There were 
 rumors afloat of a strange man who had been ob- 
 served going to and from the Bagg dwelling, and 
 other rumors that, subsequent to Miss Bagg's clan- 
 destine departure, large, mysterious parcels had 
 arrived for Nora at the express office. When it 
 was discovered that no amount of neighborly drop- 
 ping in and questioning could elicit more from the 
 Irish girl than that her mistress had gone away on 
 business, and when argus eyes perceived Nora's 
 depression, some even claiming to have observed 
 her furtively wiping away tears, tongues wagged 
 furiously, and it was unanimously decided that 
 whatever might be the outcome and explanation of 
 Lydia Bagg's conduct, for the present it did not 
 look well ! 
 
 At last Miss Bagg had been gone six days, and 
 her neighbors, having given up the hopeless task of 
 interviewing Nora, were in a feverish state of curi- 
 osity. The girl could not be induced to disclose 
 even the contents of the tantalizing packages. 
 
 She had been so cunningly cajoled and plied 
 that she felt at bay, and scowled when on Satur- 
 day morning she heard the door-bell ring. Still
 
 110 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 frowning, she opened the door, and beheld no less a 
 personage than Mrs. Judge Spencer, who lived hi 
 Boston a part of every year, and whose visits were 
 matters held in high esteem even by Miss Bagg, 
 whose position every one knew had always been 
 unimpeachable in Ashley society, in spite of the 
 fact that she was willing often to accommodate her 
 neighbors by doing some of their family sewing. 
 
 " Good morning, Nora," said the great lady 
 pleasantly. " I was driving by, and I stopped to 
 ask a few questions." 
 
 The giiTs lips tightened. It would be serious 
 business to oppose Mrs. Spencer, but the faithful 
 soul knew no compromise. 
 
 " I have been hearing all sorts of crazy stories 
 about Miss Bagg," continued the visitor. " When 
 did she leave town ? " 
 
 " Last Monday, mem. She went on business, 
 mem." 
 
 " Is she in any trouble ? " Mrs. Spencer looked 
 into the girl's eyes with a different expression 
 from that which Nora had lately observed in the 
 faces of her interlocutors. Something in the ques- 
 tioner's directness and sympathy touched the soft 
 heart. 
 
 " I guess not, mem." Nora's eyes moistened. 
 " I had a short letter from her this mornin', mem, 
 and she said she was nervous and busy, but she 
 did n't say she was n't well, nor she did n't say 
 she was in trouble." 
 
 " That is good. She is naturally nervous and
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. Ill 
 
 busy at such a time. It must all be very exciting to 
 her. Did she tell you before she went away of any 
 change, a great change which has come to her ? " 
 
 Nora looked at the visitor with quick suspicion. 
 Perhaps this was but a new manner of effort to 
 extract her knowledge from her. 
 
 Mrs. Spencer smiled. " I see you do know," she 
 added, " and I dare say you have been greatly cross- 
 questioned. I know all about it, as the lawyers 
 applied to my husband for help in the matter." 
 
 Nora breathed freely. " I 'm glad ye do know, 
 mem," she replied, with evident relief. 
 
 " We are likely to see a change in Miss Bagg's 
 way of living. I wanted to say to you, Nora, that 
 if circumstances separate you from Miss Bagg I 
 shall have a place for you in my house. I know 
 you have been well trained." 
 
 " Oh, mem, I could n't leave her," exclaimed 
 poor Nora, in wide-eyed dismay. 
 
 " And I hope you will not have to ; but in case 
 circumstances make it necessary, why, come to me. 
 Good-by, Nora;" and Mrs. Spencer departed to 
 her phaeton, leaving Miss Bagg's maid in a con- 
 siderably more lachrymose condition than before. 
 Happily the arrival of Miss Lydia herself that 
 afternoon cut short Nora's fiery trial from inquis- 
 itiveness without and depressing apprehensions 
 within. 
 
 She had just been mending the parlor fire to a 
 running accompaniment of the parrot's irrelevant 
 comments, when, turning around, she saw her mis* 
 tress open the gate.
 
 112 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " It' s her! It' s her I " exclaimed the girl with 
 sudden delight, and she ran to open the door, and 
 flew down the path, waving her arms and express- 
 ing jy * n every feature. Miss Bagg smiled, as 
 well she might, submitting to have her gloved 
 hands clasped and kissed with fervor. 
 
 " And ye 're all right! Ye 're all right ! " cried 
 Nora, beaming, as she followed Miss Bagg into the 
 house. 
 
 " Yes, I am all right, and how is the Judge ? 
 How are you, Judgie ? " Miss Lydia entered the 
 parlor and advanced to the cage, where the parrot 
 bit the wires and climbed and chattered, showing 
 in his way as much excitement as Nora. 
 
 Lydia began to take off her gloves, and turned 
 back to her maid. 
 
 " I gave you a surprise, did n't I ? I feel as if I 
 had been gone a year." 
 
 The girl stared at her in curious, admiring, 
 dumb amazement. It was as though the discarded 
 habiliments over which she had wept had indeed 
 been a husk, out of which Miss Bagg had slipped, a 
 transformed creature. 
 
 " Ye look iligant," she said at last, touching 
 her mistress' rich furs with one reverent red fin- 
 ger. " Mrs. Spincer has n't got the like o' thim." 
 
 " How strange ! How strange ! " said Miss 
 Bagg, looking about her. " Is this the room I left 
 one little week ago ? " 
 
 " Why, what 's wrong with it, mem ? " asked 
 Nora anxiously.
 
 3//.S.S BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. 113 
 
 " It is a very little room," said Lydia pensively, 
 " and it is very shabby, indeed. Yet shall I be 
 any happier ? Who knows ? " 
 
 " Happier how, Miss Bagg ? " 
 
 " To leave it all and live in New York." 
 
 " Will ye do that, mein ? " cried the girl ap- 
 prehensively. 
 
 " Yes, I expect to do that." 
 
 " Oh, take me, take me, Miss Bagg ! Don't ye 
 lave me, oh, don't! Mrs. Spincer wants me, but 
 I '11 die without ye. Oh, take me with ye, do take 
 me ! " begged Nora, wild and trembling with ex- 
 citement at her mistress' changed appearance and 
 the vague wonders in the air. 
 
 " Why, you poor silly child, of course I shall 
 take you. What idea has possession of you ? 
 What is this about Mrs. Spencer ? Sit down and 
 tell me about it." 
 
 At this Nora began to control her sudden sob- 
 bing, and, obediently seating herself, gave her mis- 
 tress an account of the excitement her departure 
 had caused in town, ending with the interview of 
 the morning between herself and Mrs. Spencer. 
 
 " You have been a good, faithful girl," said 
 Miss Bagg approvingly, when the story was fin 
 ished. " Mrs. Spencer meant very kindly, but I 
 could n't think of giving you up." 
 
 She gazed into her maid's flushed, grateful face. 
 " New York is a big, lonely place, Nora. I want 
 you with me there." 
 
 " Whin are we go'ne, mem ? " smiles and 
 eagerness now taking the place of woe.
 
 114 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Very soon. As soon as we can. I am going 
 to explain things to you, Nora," said Miss Bagg, 
 slipping her fingers between the wires of the bird's 
 cage in response to the beseeching " Scratch " 
 which had succeeded to a violent parody on Nora's 
 sobs. 
 
 " I had a rich uncle in New York, and now that 
 he has died his property has become mine. The 
 gentleman who came to see me here, Mr. Van 
 Kirk, is going to help me manage the property. 
 He and the lawyer think it would be better for me 
 to live in New York. He has a cousin there, a 
 Mrs. Fuller, who came to call on me and was very 
 kind. She went around with me a great deal, 
 hunting for a good place to be my home ; but we 
 found the search a difficult one. At last the 
 lawyer said : ' Why not, for this winter at least, 
 live in your uncle's house ? It is old-fashioned 
 but comfortable, and the housekeeper is still there 
 taking care of it.' Well, we went to see it, and I 
 decided, although it is a very large place I de- 
 cided to use it." 
 
 " It 's your house, thin, Miss Bagg ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is my house," replied Lydia, feeling 
 the strangeness of it all very keenly as she sat 
 there in the old home talking with Nora. " Mr. 
 Van Kirk will live with us for the greater con- 
 venience of managing my affairs. I did not like 
 the idea of living under the rule of that house- 
 keeper, so Mr. Van Kirk promised to give her 
 some money, which he says she ought to have, and
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. 115 
 
 to send her away. Mrs. Fuller has undertaken to 
 get my cook and an experienced girl to take care 
 of the rooms." 
 
 " Sure an' ain't I yer cook, Miss Bagg ? " asked 
 Nora, again dissatisfied. 
 
 " You and I must both become new people 
 now," replied Lydia kindly. " Mrs. Fuller said 
 I must have a maid, some one to help me dress, 
 and do my little errands, and brush my dresses. 
 I told her I had one." Miss Bagg smiled be- 
 nignantly into the honest, freckled face. Mrs. 
 Fuller would have smiled, too, with a different ex- 
 pression, could she have surveyed Nora now as a 
 candidate for such a situation. 
 
 " And ye meant me ? " exclaimed the delighted 
 girl. " I '11 be 'round wid ye more than iver. 
 Hooroo ! " 
 
 " Yes. All you will have to do will be to take 
 care of the Judge and me." 
 
 The following day being Sunday, Miss Bagg 
 created a great sensation by her appearance at 
 church. The story of her good fortune had be- 
 come known, and sped from eager mouth to mouth. 
 Before another Sunday came around the little 
 house which had known her for half a century 
 was deserted and closed. She had made her fond 
 adieus to Ashley. 
 
 Guided by Mr. Van Kirk, even in a matter so 
 important as the disposition of the Judge, Miss 
 Bagg had had a box made for his transportation by 
 express to his new home. In this she had placed
 
 116 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 oranges, bananas, and other delicacies, finally plac- 
 ing within, the astonished Judge himself, who 
 whispered soliloquies in the darkness, in great 
 perplexity of spirit. 
 
 Nora rapped on the outside of his box. 
 
 " Come in ! " cried the Judge, with prompt dis- 
 tinctness. 
 
 "Oh, the poor bir'rd. Niver moind, Joodgie," 
 said Nora, too kind-hearted to triumph over her 
 trapped foe, " I can't come in, but ye '11 be there 
 to meet us." 
 
 " I do hope and pray he may," exclaimed Miss 
 Bagg, quite pale. " It does seem very cruel, 
 Nora." And when Miss Lydia and her maid, the 
 latter quite presentable in the garb her mistress 
 had bought her in Boston, arrived one Saturday 
 evening in New York, the first words Miss Bagg 
 addressed to her secretary, who was in waiting at 
 the Forty-second Street depot, were relative to the 
 well-being of the parrot. 
 
 "He is right as a trivet," replied Van Kirk. 
 " Have you been anxious about him ? I ought to 
 have telegraphed." 
 
 " Oh, no ; that would have been a needless 
 ex " began Miss Lydia hastily, but halted. She 
 was commencing to learn the difficult lesson that 
 nothing which might possibly add to her comfort 
 would in this new world be considered a needless 
 expense. 
 
 Max had handed her and Nora into a car- 
 riage, and now seated himself opposite. The door 
 slammed, and the horses started.
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. 117 
 
 " Well, Mr. Van Kirk," sighed Miss Bagg, " I 
 feel as though I had burned my bridges behind 
 me." 
 
 " Did you sell the house ? " 
 
 Miss Lydia's face in the darkness expressed re- 
 proach at the lightly put question. 
 
 " No, indeed, but I have given away or packed 
 up everything, and the poor little place looks so 
 lonely. I could n't help feeling guilty as I turned 
 the key at last, as though I were voluntarily de- 
 serting old friends for new." 
 
 " Yes ; that is because you are tired," answered 
 Van Kirk kindly. " Well, Nora, what do you 
 think of coming to New York to live ? " 
 
 " I think 't is foine, sir." Nora was gazing from 
 the window at the panorama of lights, full of 
 amaze and delight at thus resting upon the soft 
 cushions of the carriage and whirling through the 
 novel scene. " I can't think 't is me at all, sir," 
 she added. 
 
 " Nora never rode in the cars until to-day," ex- 
 plained Miss Bagg. " She has enjoyed it very 
 much. She is only seventeen, and can take a child's 
 pleasure in everything." 
 
 The rest of the drive was accomplished in silence. 
 Miss Lydia was tired. The last week had been 
 even more full of excitement and emotion than the 
 one preceding it. She was glad to lean her head 
 back in the corner of the carriage and relinquish 
 all care. Nora continued her rapt gaze from the 
 window. Van Kirk gave himself up to thoughts
 
 118 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 of his cousin Ida, whose baffling and tantalizing 
 behavior had, despite his late preoccupation with 
 novel duties, continued to perplex and bewilder 
 him more than ever as to her real sentiments. 
 Keluctant as he was to believe it, he could not 
 conceal from himself the fact that her manner had 
 changed toward him since Mr. Bagg's death. 1 le 
 made apologies for her. He did not admire her 
 less because she was ambitious. In fact, it would 
 be impossible to separate ambition from the fair 
 widow's identity. Even though she loved him, the 
 blow to the expectations she had had the right to 
 harbor in connection with him would have been 
 sufficiently severe to alter her manner. Van Kirk 
 was eager to explain and excuse her conduct. He 
 clung to the belief that her regard for him was 
 deep and would triumph over her disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 " I think we shall find Mrs. Fuller here," he said, 
 as the carriage stopped before Jotham Bagg's old 
 home. 
 
 u Indeed ! " exclaimed Miss Lydia. 
 
 " Yes ; I believe she meant to stay and give you 
 a welcome." 
 
 " She is very kind, I am sure," replied Miss 
 Bagg, hoping her true sentiments had not been 
 expressed in that first unguarded exclamation. 
 
 During the week she spent in New York the 
 pretty young widow had been constantly at her 
 elbow. Without her it would have been impossible 
 for Lydia to accomplish what she did and accom-
 
 MISS BAGG IS TEANSPLANTED. 119 
 
 plish it so well ; but she had not been able to rid 
 herself of a sense of constraint and lack of ease in 
 the experienced young woman's society. The lat- 
 ter gave her a sense of being goaded and pressed 
 on to unaccustomed action which was confusing 
 and fatiguing. It did not occur to Miss Bagg to 
 blame Ida for this. She had no doubt that she 
 herself was stupid and at fault, but she felt in- 
 tuitively the need of being at her freshest and best 
 in order to meet Mrs. Fuller. To-night she would 
 have been glad to enter a dimly lighted house 
 and creep quietly to bed. That was not to be. 
 No , Fifth Avenue, was, they found, ablaze with 
 light from roof to cellar. As Miss Bagg descended 
 from the carriage the hall door was thrown open. 
 Mrs. Fuller, becomingly dressed in some soft, light 
 costume, appeared in the doorway, and when Lydia 
 had ascended the steps she seized her hands and 
 kissed her on both cheeks. 
 
 " Welcome home," she said pleasantly. " I 
 could n't endure the thought that there would be 
 no one here to greet you, so 1 excused myself from 
 a dinner." 
 
 " You are very kind," replied Miss Bagg, look- 
 ing and feeling very small in the great hall with 
 its old-fashioned high ceiling. A strange man 
 standing near bewildered her, and she was not 
 soothed when Mrs. Fuller half-turned toward him 
 saying : " Banks, this is your new mistress." 
 
 A white-capped, pleasant-looking woman, who 
 had been standing behind the young widow, here
 
 120 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 came forward respectfully and offered to take 
 Miss Bagg's little satchel. 
 
 "Yes, Martha," said Mrs. Fuller, "you may 
 take that to Miss Bagg's room. Woirt you let 
 Martha take your wrap and your bonnet ? Come 
 with me, and supper will be served at once. 
 Banks ! " 
 
 The man bowed and moved away immediately. 
 " I do not want any supper," replied Miss Bagg. 
 " A cup of tea is all. Nora and I have both had 
 supper." 
 
 At this Mrs. Fuller bent a curious glance upon 
 Miss Bagg's companion. Nora's face expressed 
 the most dazed and wide-eyed wonder. Her new 
 hat, bought this morning in Boston, was rakishly 
 askew. 
 
 She leaned toward her mistress. " Air we go'ne 
 to stay all night to this hotel, Miss Bagg? " she 
 inquired in a loud whisper. 
 
 Lydia smiled. " This is n't a hotel, Nora," she 
 said quietly, "this is home." Upon which the 
 Irish girl's mouth fell open and she stared through 
 the spacious doorway into the depths of the draw- 
 ing-room, more wonder-smitten than before. 
 
 Suddenly her face changed with a look of intel- 
 ligence and she smiled, showing the set of sound 
 white teeth which for some years now Miss Lydia 
 had kept as clean as her morals. 
 
 " I hear the Joodge, mem. Oh, lave me up to 
 see the Joodge ! " 
 
 " Where is the Judge ? " inquired Lydia, turn- 
 ing to Max, who had just come in.
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED.' 121 
 
 " I will show you," replied Ida. " I do not 
 believe Max knows. The parrot is in your own 
 sanctum, Cousin Lydia. There ! it slipped out. I 
 did not mean to call you that until I had asked 
 your permission ; but really, as I have been in and 
 out of dear Cousin Jotham's house the last week, 
 preparing it for your reception, it has been impos- 
 sible for me to think of you as Miss Bagg." She 
 gave Lydia a winning smile, and slipped her fine 
 white hand through the latter's arm. 
 
 " Why, of course, I shall be very happy," mur- 
 mured Lydia, really pleased. 
 
 "Then mind you call me Ida. Don't forget, 
 now. We will have some tea brought upstairs. 
 Martha, you may give the order." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller kept her light hold on Miss Bagg's 
 arm as they moved up the staircase, followed by 
 Nora and then Van Kirk, and Ida led her charge 
 into a charming, bright room which, could old Jo- 
 tham have revisited it, he certainly would not have 
 recognized as belonging to his former menage. 
 
 Mrs. Fuller had not put love for the future 
 occupant into the refurnishing of this floor of 
 the great house, but she had put into it a love of 
 spending money carte blanche, a love of beautiful, 
 luxurious things, and a large amount of good taste ; 
 and the result, while Miss Bagg's inexperience 
 made her incapable of fully appreciating it, was 
 gratifying in the extreme. She stood in the door- 
 way of the charming flower-bestrewn boudoir, with 
 its open fire, in speechless admiration. " What is
 
 122 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY, 
 
 this ? What is this ? " she said at last. " I saw 
 no such place as this when I was here before." 
 
 " Ida has done it all," said Van Kirk, looking 
 with proud admiration at his cousin. " Thank 
 her." 
 
 " I do indeed thank you," exclaimed Lydia 
 gratefully. "Hojv very, very kind you have 
 been." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller received the simple, heartfelt words 
 with a smiling little bow. " I enjoyed doing it," 
 she replied, with a stricter honesty than she usu- 
 ally found it necessary or convenient to employ in 
 her speech. 
 
 Meanwhile Nora had advanced to where between 
 two silk-hung windows a fine golden mansion stood 
 upon a pedestal. The Judge had also evidently 
 come into a fortune. In the brilliant artificial 
 light he was gyrating nimbly, quite as discontented 
 as his mistress had at first been with all this un- 
 seasonable parade. He would have vastly pre- 
 ferred the darkness of the parlor at Ashley. What 
 did he care for bowls of " American beauties," 
 silk and velvet furnishings, screens and chiming 
 clocks ? 
 
 As Nora approached, he looked at her viciously. 
 She well knew the meaning of that swift-varying 
 dilation and contraction of the pupils of his golden 
 eyes. 
 
 " Sure ye 're glad to see me, Joodgie," she said 
 coaxingly. " 'T was n't me shut ye up in the box." 
 
 " Shut up ! " quoth the Judge.
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. 123 
 
 " He 's mad at me ag'in, Miss Bagg," said Nora 
 resignedly. " He thinks 't was me doon it." 
 
 Miss Lydia crossed to her pet. " My, my, 
 Judgie ! what a beautiful house ! " she said. 
 
 For answer, the parrot bit his bars vindictively, 
 then struck one of them smartly with his beak. 
 " Come in," he cried, in response to his own sum- 
 mons. 
 
 " That is the most amusing thing he does," said 
 Ida, laughing. " The Judge and I have been get- 
 ting acquainted the last two days." She did not 
 add that the acquaintance, so far as she was con- 
 cerned, had been the reverse of pleasant. " They 
 told me at Holden's that no finer cage was pro- 
 curable than that." 
 
 " Oh, how kind you have been ! " exclaimed 
 Miss Bagg, "you have thought of everything." 
 She slid her toil-worn little hand between the golden 
 bars, a fearless behavior toward the excited bird 
 which astonished all but Nora. The Judge bent 
 his head down and she gently grasped it. He 
 gave his neck a sudden twist and seized her fin- 
 gers in bis beak. 
 
 She smiled at him placidly. How wicked his 
 eyes looked ! 
 
 " Tut, tut, Judge, not too hard," she said quietly, 
 for his pressure all but cut her. He certainly 
 looked as though it would give him satisfaction to 
 close his beak upon her bones. 
 
 " Do be careful, Miss Bagg," said Van Kirk, 
 " those fellows can bite through sole leather."
 
 124 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Yes, I know they can," replied Lydia simply. 
 " It is very dangerous for anybody to trifle with 
 them who does not love them very much. I love 
 this poor bird. He was such a pet of my father's, 
 and now I think he has transferred all his affec- 
 tion to me. There is n't the least danger." 
 
 The restless feathered head was again nestled in 
 her caressing hand. " He is very uneasy," she 
 said at last, as she turned away from the cage. 
 " He does n't like light at this hour." 
 
 " No, I have learned that," replied Mrs. Fuller. 
 " I was at work in here last evening, and suddenly 
 he began to make a noise like a pistol shot, or like 
 the cracking of a huge rock, over and over again. 
 I flung a shawl over the cage, and in ten minutes 
 I found he had bitten as many holes in it." 
 
 " Dear me ! A nice shawl ? " 
 
 " Oh, it was no matter," said Ida carelessly, 
 " but we must make some arrangement, for you 
 will often want to use this room in the evening, 
 and the Judge's domicile is too heavy to move 
 about. They will help us out at Holden's. I 
 thought there might be some wire adjustment that 
 we could slip on the cage at night, which would 
 hold the cloth out of his reach, then we could 
 have the covering as nice as we liked." 
 
 Miss Bagg looked at the speaker admiringly. 
 " How pleasantly you arrange everything," she 
 said. Mrs. Fuller shrewdly perceived that no 
 part of the energy she had put forth would bring 
 her such returns as her care for the Judge.
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. 125 
 
 "Look in this way," she said, and led Miss 
 Bagg into such a sleeping-room as she would have 
 liked for herself, but among whose numerous luxu- 
 rious appurtenances Lydia would for a time wan- 
 der bewildered. The use of one article Miss Bagg 
 knew, and that was the richly clothed bed. She 
 wished she were already reposing between its 
 snowy sheets. Nora entered, expressing her awe 
 and admiration in her own mute and round-eyed 
 manner. 
 
 Mrs. Fuller looked at her disapprovingly. 
 "You call this girl Nora, I believe," she said 
 coldly. " Shall I ring for Martha to show her her 
 room ? " 
 
 " I will look at Nora's room, too, I think," re- 
 plied Miss Bagg. 
 
 "Then I will show it to you myself," replied 
 Mrs. Fuller after a moment of surprised hesitation. 
 
 She rung and Martha appeared. "This is a 
 girl Miss Bagg has brought with her. Where are 
 you going to put her for the night ? " 
 
 The neat woman in white cap and apron looked 
 Nora over from head to foot, quick to take her cue 
 from Mrs. Fuller's careless manner. 
 
 " If she is here for one night I can make up a 
 bed on the floor for her in one of those empty 
 rooms, I suppose," she said. 
 
 " Is it your intention to keep the girl ? " asked 
 Mrs. Fuller of Miss Bagg, whom amazement had 
 rendered mute. 
 
 " Keep her ? Keep Nora ? " she returned.
 
 126 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 There was plenty of spirit in Lydia when it was 
 aroused, and this suggestion roused her mightily. 
 The idea of sending Nora among strangers in this 
 great city set her blood to coursing swiftly. 
 
 " Evidently I did not make you understand 
 about Nora," she continued quietly ; then she 
 turned toward Martha. " Show me the rooms 
 that are not in use. I need not trouble you to 
 come with us," again addressing Ida. 
 
 "No trouble at all. Let me help you select," 
 replied Mrs. Fuller suavely, inwardly railing at 
 herself for having lost a point. 
 
 " Nora, just help me off with this," said Lydia, 
 and, having removed her outside garments, she 
 followed Mrs. Fuller, who dismissed Martha with 
 a word, thereby losing another point with Miss 
 Bagg, whose roused sensitiveness found the pro- 
 ceeding rather high-handed. 
 
 " I think Martha had better come with us," she 
 said. " I may need her to help Nora." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller swallowed another sensation of as- 
 tonishment and led the way upstairs. 
 
 " Mr. Van Kirk is expecting to occupy the 
 other large room on the same floor with yours. 
 The front and back rooms here are guest cham- 
 bers, and this little room " opening one at the 
 head of the stairs, " I thought with the bed moved 
 out Mr. Van Kirk might like for a quiet writing- 
 room." 
 
 " This will be the very room for Nora," said 
 Miss Bagg deliberately.
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. 127 
 
 " I was going to show you the servants' i-ooms. 
 This room Mr. Van Kirk " 
 
 " Mr. Van Kirk will be supreme in the library," 
 said Miss Bagg, with a firmness that astonished 
 herself. " I shall never disturb him there, but 
 this room I will use for Nora." 
 
 Perhaps the rough little hand that was holding 
 her by the sleeve gave the mistress of the mansion 
 courage. At all events, she knew nothing of these 
 city-bred servants, and no dew-spangled shamrock 
 was ever purer and simpler than this young girl 
 she had taught. She was quick to remember, 
 however, that this preference might make Nora 
 unpopular with the other girls. She turned to 
 Martha. 
 
 " I need to have Nora near me. I want her 
 here for my convenience. Please show her where 
 she can find bedding and help her to put the room 
 in order for her use." 
 
 Then Miss Bagg went downstairs. Her heart 
 was beating pretty fast, but she was confident that 
 she had done right, and glad she had had sufficient 
 firmness to break through Mrs. Fuller's subtle, 
 constraining influence. 
 
 The latter was too clever to show mortification 
 or offense. She served tea charmingly in the 
 flowery boudoir to Miss Bagg and her secretary, 
 after which she bade the lady of the house a pleas- 
 ant farewell and set off for home, escorted by 
 Max, who had kept the carriage waiting for the 
 purpose.
 
 128 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 As soon as they were alone and the horses had 
 started she fell into a silent mood, her explanation 
 of which was that she was tired. 
 
 "You have done too much," said Van Kirk 
 tenderly. " It is a great deal to have accomplished 
 in so short a time. Very few women could have 
 done it." 
 
 " I like to do it. I should like to go on so to 
 the end of my life, attaining object after object 
 which pleased me, reckless of its cost ; to say 
 imperiously, ' That I will have, I will go there, 
 I will do this,' as though no force could oppose 
 itself to my will. That is to live ! " 
 
 Van Kirk looked moodily out into the darkness. 
 " I always said you were born a queen," he re- 
 plied. 
 
 Ida continued with subdued excitement : " The 
 woman who is on my throne will fill it uneasily. 
 Her level seems to be about that of the freak she 
 has brought with her from the country." 
 
 Van Kirk laughed. " It is rather rough on 
 poor Nora to call her a ' freak.' She is a bright 
 enough little girl." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller smiled scornfully. " Fancy having 
 such a hobbledehoy about one as a maid. Really, 
 Max, I do not envy you your prospective life in 
 that museum of curiosities." 
 
 This was false, for nothing under the present 
 circumstances would have pleased Ida better than 
 to be asked to domesticate herself in Miss Bagg's 
 family. She felt certain of her power ultimately
 
 MISS BAGG IS TRANSPLANTED. 129 
 
 to possess herself of the reins and govern matters 
 to suit her own lavish ideas. 
 
 Meanwhile Miss Bagg, with a deep sigh of re- 
 lief, had repaired to her own room, soon, she 
 hoped, to forget all turmoil of thoughts and im- 
 pressions in sweet slumber. 
 
 A gentle knock on her door disturbed her. She 
 opened to Nora. 
 
 " Can I do anything to help, mem ? " 
 
 " No, Nora, not to-night. Have you made your 
 room comfortable ? " 
 
 "It's iligant, mem, and the woman ye called 
 Martha, her in the cap, mem, she was very kind 
 and civil. Sure it 's a palace we live in now, mem." 
 
 " Yes, Nora. * Thus far the Lord hath led me 
 on.' Don't forget to say your prayers." 
 
 "I won't, mem." Nora's religious observances 
 were of rather a varied character, owing to the hab- 
 its of her childhood grafted upon by Miss Bagg's 
 orthodox teachings, but her heart was right. 
 
 She kissed her mistress' hands, a grateful habit 
 she had always had from the time Lydia took her 
 in, which, dreadfully embarrassing to Miss Bagg 
 at first, now seemed a matter of course. 
 
 " Good-night, Nora. Sleep well."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 MISS CARLYLE'S CONSTITUTIONAL. 
 
 BESIDE Mrs. Van Kirk and her niece there was 
 no one who felt more vital an interest in the 
 strange turn taken by events after Jotham Bagg's 
 death than Olive Carlyle and her mother. They 
 were too far out of the current of the Van Kirks' 
 life to know what was going on among them, but 
 they heard the wondrous news of Maxwell's dis- 
 appointment, and that the property had gone to a 
 nearer relative. Who or what she was they knew 
 not. Motives of delicacy restrained them from 
 returning Mrs. Van Kirk's call and thereby learn- 
 ing all they would have liked to know. They 
 could very well imagine the resentment of Cousin 
 Elinor, and they did not wish to intrude upon 
 her. 
 
 Not all of Olive's speculations were expressed 
 in words. Her thoughts were often busy as she 
 sat at her work, recalling the sentiment which she 
 was sure she had discovered existing between Max 
 and Ida. The subject had a fascination for her 
 which was not strange. Ida was an attractive 
 young woman, Max physically an ideal hero. 
 Olive had, except rarely on the stage, never be-
 
 MISS CARLYLE'S CONSTITUTIONAL. 131 
 
 fore beheld a potentially romantic young couple 
 of their station. No wonder she entertained herself 
 with their probable doings and sayings in the un- 
 expected set of circumstances in which they now 
 found themselves. 
 
 No healthy girl can live in New York without 
 having considerable variety in her life, even though 
 her little purse be as empty as Miss Carlyle's. 
 Olive had grown up in wholesome contentment, 
 too busy to lapse often into envy or covetousness, 
 with a devout belief in and passionate love for her 
 indefatigable mother, and up to the evening of 
 Cousin Jotham's dinner-party she had never har- 
 bored a doubt which questioned or resented her 
 own obscurity and the uneventfulness of her life. 
 That evening, however, was a turning-point to her. 
 She did not realize it, her mother did not per- 
 ceive it, but the stream of thought which swept 
 through the pretty head before the easel in the 
 dingy back parlor was turned ever afterward into 
 new channels. New vistas were opened in the 
 realm of the girl's imagination. 
 
 Even when she walked abroad, familiar scenes 
 had for her a new aspect. She peopled the houses 
 on the handsome avenues with young, well-dressed 
 people, where most of the men resembled Max 
 Van Kirk and most of the women his cousin Ida. 
 While the freshness of her novel impressions re- 
 mained, life was no longer humdrum, and her own 
 thoughts were more entertaining than the novel- 
 ist's art. Mrs. Carlyle was not the woman to
 
 132 MISS BAGG'S SECRET Mi Y. 
 
 strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. She did 
 not reach out with all her energies to help the 
 shop-girls and allow her own daughter to read and 
 live as she listed, unobserved. Olive Carlyle's 
 exquisitely innocent and intelligent face was in 
 her case the actual type of an unsullied mind. 
 It was an active mind, and, as has been said, since 
 Cousin Jotham's dinner-party, had been largely 
 given up to the weaving of romances. 
 
 One fine afternoon in early January, when the 
 sun had sunk too low to admit of crayon work in 
 the back parlor, Olive started out for a brisk con- 
 stitutional. Her steps gravitated unconsciously 
 toward the house where she had seen what to her 
 was an alluring glimpse of society, and as she 
 walked, so many charming ideas dawned upon her 
 of what life might be that the pleasant notion oc- 
 curred to her that she might write a book herself. 
 She did not like Ida Fuller very well, but it would 
 be impossible for one with any artistic perception 
 not to admire her. Her heroine, then, should 
 have Ida Fuller's body and the sweetest soul Olive 
 could imagine. The story should open in Cousin 
 Jotham's house, the desolate home which, to think 
 of, vast and empty, gave her a shudder. At last 
 she was approaching it. There it stood, tall, gray, 
 forbidding. In Olive's book Cousin Jotham should 
 die and leave no will, just as had in fact taken 
 place, only in her closing chapter there should 
 occur the striking novelty of the discovery of the 
 missing document; the desperately unfortunate
 
 MISS CARLYLE'S CONSTITUTIONAL. 133 
 
 hero should be made happy, and be united for- 
 ever to the faithful heroine. 
 
 The hero well, he should be a much finer and 
 loftier character than any man Olive knew, but 
 her firm, long, light steps were drawing very near 
 now to the Bagg mansion, and the sight of it 
 brought vividly back the memory of Max, hand- 
 some and confident as he stood that night under 
 the chandelier yes, the hero of her book could 
 not do better than to look like 
 
 The massive door of the great house opened, and 
 Miss Bagg's secretary ran down the steps. Miss 
 Oarlyle started consciously and blushed delight- 
 fully. Mr. Van Kirk saw her and came forward, 
 his hat off, to shake her hand. 
 
 " You look as much surprised as though you 
 did not know I was in this part of the world," he 
 said, rather piqued by her astonishment, and won- 
 dering in the same breath how he could have so 
 completely forgotten such a radiant creature as 
 she was now, even in her worn black jacket and a 
 hat of last winter. 
 
 " I did not know whether you were in this part 
 of the world or not. You never condescend to 
 make calls on your relatives, you know, Mr. Van 
 Kirk," was the gay response. 
 
 i4 When have I had opportunity ? " returned the 
 ready young man. " Where are you going ? for I 
 am going there, too." 
 
 " How good of you ! " returned Olive, her eyes 
 and lips laughing. For her at that moment it was
 
 134 MISS BAGWS SECRETARY. 
 
 a joy to live. The frosty air, so congenial to her 
 perfect vitality, the clear sky, the smooth pave- 
 ment under her feet, were all adjuncts to the cor- 
 dial admiration in Van Kirk's eyes, which gave her 
 the crowning gratification of the moment. " Per- 
 haps, since I am only walking idly, I had better be 
 the one to go where you are going," she added 
 brightly. 
 
 " It amounts to the same thing. I am on my 
 way to call on my mother. I wish you wotdd come 
 with me." 
 
 " I will, part of the way," said Olive, turning 
 back with him. " How is Cousin Elinor ? I have 
 not seen her since since that night." 
 
 " She has been ill. She has not left the house 
 for a long time. I wish why have n't I thought 
 before to ask it ? I wish your mother would go 
 and see her. I remember when I was a youngster 
 Cousin Mary was a great comforter in time of 
 trouble. I suppose you know the last month or 
 two have been troublous ones for us more for 
 my mother, perhaps, than for me." 
 
 Olive met his look seriously. " Yes, we knew 
 about it vaguely. I was very sorry indeed for 
 your disappointment, Max." The frank words 
 sounded very pleasant in the soft voice. " I was 
 sorrier than mother. She pitied you intensely," 
 added the girl, with a droll light in her eyes, 
 " when she thought you were going to be a mil- 
 lionaire. She was not sure that you were strong 
 enough to bear it."
 
 MISS CARLYLE'S CONSTITUTIONAL. 135 
 
 " Indeed ! " said Max, with an answering smile. 
 ** Well, you see I had not to bear it." 
 
 " Yes, and that makes mother sure you were 
 not ready for it." 
 
 " Well, a comfortable philosophy." 
 
 " The only philosophy, she believes, with which 
 one can go through this life other than miserably. 
 Of course I don't know, for I have never had any 
 trouble, that is, any to speak of." Olive cor- 
 rected herself, remembering with a warm uprising 
 in her cheeks the day that Cousin Jotham re- 
 turned the rejected portrait. She believed that 
 on that occasion she had known crushing trouble. 
 
 Van Kirk looked at her with interest, conscious, 
 as she easily kept pace with him, that it was a 
 privilege to behold her before trouble had come to 
 dim one detail of her fresh charm. 
 
 " How old are you, Olive ? " he asked. 
 
 " Nineteen next time." 
 
 He shook his head. " You are very young, my 
 child." 
 
 She gave a spontaneous little laugh. " Well, 
 I like that," she said. 
 
 " So do I," he returned promptly, looking at her 
 as though he were sincere. 
 
 " What are your plans now ? Are you going to 
 stay here ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes. I have to, you know. I have lost 
 my chance in the army." 
 
 " I never heard of anything more provoking," 
 exclaimed Olive warmly.
 
 136 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 "Is that sympathy for my lost commission, or 
 disapproval of my remaining here ?" 
 
 The girl smiled. " Your remaining here is no- 
 thing to me, you know. I shall never see you." 
 
 " Why, I think we ought to walk together every 
 day. Do you observe how well we suit one 
 another ? " 
 
 " I must have a military gait, then." 
 
 " Yes. You should have been the daughter of a 
 regiment." 
 
 " Is Cousin Jotham's house kept open ? I was 
 so surprised to see you emerge from there ! " 
 
 " Certainly. The heiress is living there. I too. 
 I have undertaken to manage her business affairs 
 for her." 
 
 " Indeed ? " Miss Carlyle's large eyes looked 
 very wide. Supposing the hero of her tale should 
 prove insubordinate. Might he not fall in love 
 with this new actress in the drama or be mercenary 
 enough to marry her money ? " We heard she was 
 a single lady," she said aloud. " How I should like 
 to see her." 
 
 " She would like to see you, too. It is a part of 
 my general remissness that I have not called upon 
 you and your mother and asked you to visit her. 
 She is a total stranger here. Ida has been the only 
 one of the clan, as she calls it, to befriend her. My 
 only excuse is great occupation. My mind has 
 been full of other things." 
 
 " I dare say. Is n't it rather ironical in fate 
 to place you in the position of assistant to the 
 usurper ? "
 
 MISS CAKLYLE'S CONSTITUTIONAL. 137 
 
 " It is certainly the kindest turn fate could do 
 me, under the circumstances." 
 
 " Of course, it is the best thing that could hap- 
 pen, or it would n't have taken place. I will say it 
 for mother, as she is n't here. Well, now I must 
 say good-by ; " and Olive paused as they reached a 
 corner. 
 
 " You must n't say anything of the sort. I told 
 you I was going wherever you were. If you will 
 not come to see my mother, I shall have to go 
 home with you." 
 
 " It is too late for me to visit Cousin Elinor 
 to-night. It will be quite dark in half an hour." 
 They moved on together down the cross street, 
 going farther and farther away from the haunts of 
 the characters in Miss Carlyle's incipient novel. 
 
 A face, leaning forward in a close carriage, at- 
 tracted their attention. Max had barely time to 
 remove his hat after recognizing it before the per- 
 fectly appointed equipage passed. 
 
 " That was Ida, was n't it ? " asked Olive. 
 
 " Yes, and I suppose Miss Bagg was with her. 
 Did you notice what a neat little brougham that 
 was ? Ida selected it for Miss Bagg." 
 
 " Why, is her name Bagg?" 
 
 " Yes, she is Uncle Jotham's brother's daughter." 
 
 " What is she like ? " 
 
 " I refuse to gratify your curiosity, because I 
 want you to visit her." 
 
 When they drew near the brick house, the cen- 
 tre of a block, which was Olive's home, Van Kirk 
 looked about him curiously.
 
 138 MISS BAGG'S SECRETAEY. 
 
 " It must be a good many years since I was 
 here," he observed. 
 
 " A nice record. Are n't you ashamed to admit 
 it ? " asked the girl, a picture of glowing beauty 
 in the biting air as she set her foot on the lowest 
 of the flight of steps and turned. 
 
 " You know it is not my fault but my misfor- 
 tune." 
 
 " Well, you are coming in now ? " 
 
 " I cannot. I have not seen my mother for a 
 couple of days, and she is very low-spirited." 
 
 " You had better come in. We will give you 
 some tea and bread and butter, which will not in- 
 terfere with your dinner in the least. Of course 
 we should be charmed to have you spend the even- 
 ing," added the girl, her eyes sparkling. " It is 
 our reception night." 
 
 " Oh, have you an evening ? " asked Van Kirk 
 seriously. 
 
 " Certainly. You did not suppose we lived in 
 New York and had no ' evening ' ? " 
 
 " I did n't know," returned the young man, very 
 much in the dark as to her meaning. 
 
 The house door opened and Mrs. Carlyle ap- 
 peared. 
 
 " I thought it was you, Max," she said. " I 
 caught a glimpse of you from the window. You 
 are coming in ? " 
 
 Van Kirk ran up the steps, took her hand, and 
 led her inside. 
 
 " Only while I speak to you a moment. I am
 
 MISS CARLYLE 'S CONSTITUTIONAL. 139 
 
 on my way to see my mother, and, meeting Olive, I 
 walked home with her." 
 
 " Well, dear boy," Mrs. Carlyle, still holding 
 his hand, looked into his face scrutinizingly with 
 her soft eyes, "I have n't seen you before to 
 congratulate you." 
 
 " To congratulate me ! Well, I have been re- 
 ceiving very few congratulations of late." 
 
 " You have mine, heartily given, Max. It did 
 not devolve upon you, with your youth and inexpe- 
 rience, to be steward of all that wealth. You are 
 gently allowed to do easier work than that." 
 
 Van Kirk stared. His mother, Ida, the world, 
 had been ringing other changes in his ears. 
 
 " There," said Olive, who had followed them into 
 the house, " you see some people think you are 
 very young. Take it humbly, Max." 
 
 " I wish you could stay," continued Mrs. Carlyle, 
 dropping his hand, " but to-night our girls come. 
 We could not have an undisturbed visit." 
 
 " Olive said this was your reception evening," 
 replied the young man tentatively. 
 
 " Yes, there are a lot of young girls without 
 many other friends who come here on Wednesdays. 
 Come and see us some evening, if you ever have 
 leisure. I am much interested to know what you 
 decide to do, Max. You have been put in a hard 
 place ; yet it is easier than the other would have 
 been. Plow does the mother bear it ? " 
 
 " Not very well. Go and see her if you can, 
 Cousin Mary, but do not tell her that I am to be
 
 140 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 congratulated." Van Kirk shook his head with a 
 significant smile. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle nodded. " I only wanted to know 
 that she would like to see me." 
 
 " She is not well pleased with what I have de- 
 cided to do, which is to be general utility man to 
 Uncle Jotham's heiress ; but I consider myself in 
 great luck." 
 
 " Well, I like to hear you say that." 
 
 " I have been telling Olive that I hope you will 
 both call on Miss Bagg. She is a little strange 
 yet to her environment. Now I must be off. 
 Good-by, Olive." He stretched out his hand and 
 she gave him hers. " I hope we may soon meet 
 again, if you take daily constitutionals. Good-by, 
 Cousin Mary." 
 
 He departed, and Mrs. Carlyle gazed at her 
 daughter with a pensive look which seemed to see 
 beyond her. 
 
 " I declare I am surprised," she said at last. 
 " That is not the kind of son I expected Elinor 
 Van Kirk to have. That is a remarkable young 
 man, Olive. He has sustained a heavy blow with- 
 out being crushed. I am so happy, for his mother's 
 sake, that he should prove himself a hero. Poor 
 Elinor ! This may turn her eyes in a better direc- 
 tion again."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MRS. CARLTLE MAKES A FRIEND. 
 
 MRS. CARLYLE determined to call upon Mrs. 
 Van Kirk the following day, and as she had some 
 purchases to make in the way of winter clothing, 
 she decided, Mrs. Van Kirk's boarding-place being 
 rather remote, not to go home between the two er- 
 rands, but to take her noon meal in the lunch-room 
 of the large dry-goods establishment where she 
 found herself at that hour. The place had not 
 become crowded, and she seated herself at a little 
 empty table and ordered the rolls and coffee which 
 always composed her luncheon when she indulged 
 in the unwonted extravagance of eating it outside 
 her own house. 
 
 Women and children flocked into the place. 
 Before Mrs. Carlyle's coffee arrived nearly every 
 table was full. The clatter of moving chairs and 
 clashing crockery became every moment more dis- 
 agreeable. At last there remained only the empty 
 place opposite Mrs. Carlyle. A slender woman, 
 dressed in black cloth and fur, entered the room 
 and came forward anxiously, and yet with some 
 hesitation. She looked rather timidly at Mrs. 
 Carlyle, and it was not among the possibilities for
 
 142 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 that lady to receive such a look without returning 
 an answering smile. 
 
 She half-inclined her head, and the new-comer 
 sat down in the vacant place, taking a second look 
 at her vis-a-vis. She observed the gray shawl with 
 its black border and the black felt bonnet which 
 Mrs. Carlyle wore, and Mrs. Carlyle also took note 
 of her neighbor's garb. Its richness was the only 
 obstacle which deterred her from continuing by 
 words the reassurance which the smile had given. 
 
 At this moment the waitress brought her coffee 
 and rolls. The stranger looked at the cup. 
 
 " I believe / will have some coffee," she said to 
 the girl, and again she sent Mrs. Carlyle that un- 
 consciously questioning and timid glance which set 
 the latter's ever-ready loving-kindness to overflow- 
 ing. 
 
 " The coffee is very good here," she remarked. 
 " Would you like to see the card ? " 
 
 The stranger thanked her as she accepted it, 
 and shook her head as she ran her eyes over the 
 contents. 
 
 "What terrible prices," she remarked, and 
 again her eyes sought Mrs. Carlyle's. 
 
 " The old story," thought the latter. " The 
 more money, the greater reluctance to spend it." 
 
 Her neighbor gave her order, and began taking 
 off her gloves. Her hands when revealed puzzled 
 Mrs. Carlyle more than what had gone before. 
 They looked like hard-working hands, and the fin- 
 gers had evidently been needle-pricked for years.
 
 MRS. CARLYLE MAKES A FRIEND. 143 
 
 " Ah, probably a well - to - do dressmaker, who 
 prefers to invest her property in adornment for her 
 own person," decided Mrs. Carlyle. It was an ex- 
 planation of the fact of finding such luxurious 
 garments in this unfashionable resort of a busy 
 middle class. 
 
 The stranger's next remark confirmed her in 
 this belief. 
 
 " This is the first meal I ever took in a New 
 York restaurant," she said. 
 
 " You are from out of town, then." 
 
 " Yes. I come from a place in Massachusetts, 
 only half a day's ride from Boston. Have you 
 ever been in that part of the country ? " added 
 the stranger, so wistfully that Mrs. Carlyle took 
 pleasure in replying : 
 
 " Oh, yes. I am a Massachusetts woman myself." 
 
 " I am so glad I spoke, then. I have longed 
 so to see somebody from Massachusetts. It has 
 seemed to me that it would do me so much good 
 to talk with a woman from there. I have the feel- 
 ing " the speaker leaned confidingly toward her 
 neighbor " that nobody in New York cares for 
 my soul." 1 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle's eyes and lips gained their sweetest 
 expression. " Then I presume you will not remain 
 long in a place which impresses you with a deso- 
 late feeling. I know very well what you mean." 
 
 " Yes," replied the other, with a sad accent, " I 
 Lave made up my mind to stay the winter here." 
 
 The waitress brought the stranger's luncheon.
 
 144 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 She had ordered rather a generous meal, despite 
 the disconcerting prices. 
 
 " My husband was a Boston man," said Mrs. 
 Carlyle. " We lived there until eighteen years 
 ago; then he changed his business and came to 
 New York. Mr. Carlyle never liked this great 
 city any more than you do." 
 
 " Carlyle ? " repeated the other. " Carlyle, liv- 
 ing in Boston ? " 
 
 " Yes ; perhaps you know some of them." Mrs. 
 Carlyle looked up with interest. Always living 
 her doctrine that every spot of God's earth should 
 seem like home, and all His children akin one to 
 another, she had a love for discovering community 
 of interests with all whom she met. 
 
 Her vis-a-vis looked at her reflectively, her 
 heavy cup raised half-way to her lips. "One of 
 the Carlyles married a Bagg," she remarked. 
 
 " Yes, indeed." The gray eyes were beamingly 
 benevolent behind the steel-bowed spectacles. 
 "My husband's mother was a Bagg. Do you 
 know any of the Baggs ? " 
 
 The heavy cup was set down untouched. " I 
 am a Bagg," cried the little woman eagerly. 
 " Now, I want to know ! " 
 
 It was hard to tell which of the faces gazing at 
 one another across the table expressed the more 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Then I dare say we shall discover a family 
 connection," returned Mrs. Carlyle. "My hus- 
 band's mother was cousin to Mr. Jotham Bagg, so
 
 MBS. CARLYLE MAKES A FRIEND. 145 
 
 well known in this city. He was your relative, 
 too, perhaps." 
 
 " My uncle," exclaimed Lydia, much gratified. 
 
 " Then you " began Mrs. Carlyle, and stopped., 
 The truth suddenly dawned upon her. Her head 
 fell a little to one side and she studied her opposite 
 neighbor, still smiling, but with a new interest in 
 the latter's timidity and homesick sensations of 
 strangeness. " You are Cousin Jotham's heiress," 
 she said, after the pause. 
 
 "Yes," replied the other, looking excited and 
 glad, "and you are one of the connections and 
 you 're from Boston. Why has n't somebody told 
 me about you ? I thought Mrs. Fuller and Mrs. 
 Van Kirk were all there were." 
 
 " Max was at our house a minute yesterday," 
 said Mrs. Carlyle, " and he asked my daughter 
 and me to come to see you. He apologized for 
 not having done so before, saying he had been too 
 busy to remember it." 
 
 " Well, to think I was led right into this restau- 
 rant and up to this very table ! Do have lunch 
 with me ; do ! I can never eat all this," continued 
 Miss Bagg, feeling more content and happy than 
 at any time since that fateful morning in Ashley 
 when Mr. Galbraith's letter arrived. The look in 
 Mrs. Carlyle's face and the tones of her voice, the 
 very plainness of her attire, had sunk into Lydia's 
 heart as gratefully as refreshing -rain into the 
 parched earth. She felt vivified throughout, and 
 enriched by her discovery. She called for a fork
 
 146 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 for her new friend, and was made happy by Mrs. 
 Carlyle's acceptance of some of her dishes. 
 
 " I am so glad I ran away ! " she said naively. 
 
 " Did you run away ? " asked Mrs. Carlyle. 
 
 Lydia blushed at her own admission. *' I have 
 not been around alone to any of the stores before," 
 she answered. " Mrs. Fuller usually goes with me. 
 This morning I thought I would like to see how 
 it seemed not to ride in the carriage, but to go on 
 the elevated railway, so I put on my things and 
 came down-town without saying anything to any- 
 body. When I found it was noon, it occurred to 
 me that it would be a change to come in here and 
 eat my lunch, although I felt quite sure Mrs. Ful- 
 ler would not approve of it. She does not like to 
 come into this store. It is too crowded with what 
 she calls common people. Perhaps you know 
 Mrs. Fuller?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed. I have known her from a child ; 
 not seeing her very often, however. She is an in- 
 teresting woman." 
 
 " Yes, and knows so much of what one should 
 do and should not do in my position," answered 
 Miss Bagg, with a little unconscious sigh. " That 
 is what I meant by running away. I felt quite 
 sure Cousin Ida would not like me to ride on the 
 elevated road. Perhaps she might not object, but 
 I thought I would come out early, by myself, be- 
 fore she arrived. She is very kind. She always 
 gives me her advice in the kindest way," added 
 Miss Bagg hastily.
 
 MBS. CABLYLE MAKES A FBIEND. 147 
 
 ** Ah ! She comes every day, does she ? " 
 
 " Usually. There is almost always something 
 that I need to be told about, she thinks there is. 
 She is very kind." 
 
 " How do you find Mrs. Van Kirk ? " 
 
 " Oh, she has been sick ever since I came," re- 
 plied Lydia. " I have n't seen her at all. Cousin 
 Ida brings me kind messages from her quite often. 
 I shall be glad to know her for her son's sake." 
 
 " You like him ? " 
 
 The care-worn little lines that had been deepen- 
 ing in Miss Bagg's forehead, as she talked, 
 smoothed, and a cordial light brightened her eyes. 
 " I know you won't misunderstand me, Mrs. Car- 
 lyle, if I say to you that I love that young man," 
 she said emphatically. " I love him. I 'm old 
 enough to be his mother, and I only wish he were 
 my son. He has been everything to me that a 
 son could be from the time all this excitement and 
 change began. Always so thoughtful, always so 
 kind, in little and great things alike." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle's face wore an answering glow of 
 pleasure and interest. " That is fine fine to 
 hear," she replied. " Good for Max. He is a 
 noble man. I should not have expected it." 
 
 " You would n't ? " asked Lydia in surprise. 
 " Then I suppose you do not know him well." 
 
 " No, not very well of late years, of course, for 
 he had been away all the time ; still, I meant I 
 should not expect it of any young man under 
 circumstances of such great disappointment. Few
 
 148 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 would be generous enough to keep in mind your 
 entire innocence." 
 
 Miss Bagg stared at the speaker blankly. 
 " What disappointment ? " she asked, after a mo- 
 ment. " Oh, do you mean about the money ? No, 
 no. It was not Mr. Van Kirk ; it was another 
 man, a dreadful man;" she shuddered. "His 
 name is Wilkins, and he has gone to Europe, Mr. 
 Van Kirk tells ine, or I should not have an easy 
 day." 
 
 " Yes, I dare say he was disappointed, too. He 
 had believed in his own claims, but no one agreed 
 with him. Why, is it possible you know nothing 
 about it? " Mrs. Carlyle again dropped her he-ad 
 to one side, and regarded Lydia benignantly. If 
 the good lady had a weakness, it was the difficulty 
 she experienced in realizing that facts ever should 
 be kept secret. Many women of far less unselfish 
 habit of mind would have understood now that, if 
 the heiress had been kept in ignorance of the 
 story of Cousin Jotham's protege, it had probably 
 been of intention ; but Mrs. Carlyle thought only 
 of raising Max higher still in Miss Bagg's regard. 
 
 " No, indeed," returned Lydia earnestly. " No 
 one has told me anything about Mr. Van Kirk's 
 having a disappointment." 
 
 " Well, he had one, I assure you, and you will 
 see that he merits the warm regard you feel for 
 him." Then Mrs. Carlyle began at the beginning 
 and told Max's story. 
 
 " I want to know ! " ejaculated Lydia, when
 
 MRS. CABLYLE MAKES A FRIEND. 149 
 
 the tale was finished. She frowned and looked 
 thoughtful. " I wonder if that is what made his 
 mother ill ? " 
 
 " I think it likely," said Mrs. Carlyle. " I am 
 glad to hear that she sends you kind messages. 
 It shows that she is coming to take a right view 
 of the case." 
 
 " I suppose that is because Mr. Van Kirk gets 
 a large salary for managing things for me," said 
 Lydia, brightening. " He is to have six thousand 
 dollars a year. Of course he could never spend 
 all that." 
 
 " It is a good salary," replied Mrs. Carlyle. 
 " He could marry on it." 
 
 " Oh, that will be the next thing," exclaimed 
 Miss Bagg dismally. " I shall dread to have him 
 get married. Do you know," she leaned across 
 the table confidentially, " he admires his cousin 
 Ida very, very much ? I 'm sure of it." 
 
 " Seriously enough for marriage, do you think ? " 
 
 " Seriously enough for anything. I don't know 
 somehow or other, it does n't seem to me quite 
 the thing. I 'm not partial to cousins marrying, 
 and I may be mistaken, but she seems older than 
 he is." 
 
 " She is, a little ; not much." 
 
 Having finished their luncheon, the two friends 
 rose from the table. 
 
 " I must go home, or they will think that I am 
 lost," said Lydia. " You will come to see me 
 soon, won't you ? " She gave Mrs. Carlyle's hand
 
 150 Miss HAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 a warm clasp. " I am so glad I found you," she 
 added earnestly. 
 
 Her companion returned a cordial answer, prom- 
 ising to visit her soon ; then they parted. 
 
 Arrived at Mrs. Van Kirk's boarding-place, 
 Mrs. Carlyle found a welcome awaiting her. 
 
 " Maxwell encouraged me to hope you would 
 come to-day," said the semi-invalid, whose face 
 still bore the imprint of martyrdom. " Why 
 have n't you been here before ? " 
 
 " Simply because I was not sure you wished to 
 see visitors," replied Mrs. Carlyle, taking the of- 
 fered chair in Mrs. Van Kirk's pleasant bay-win- 
 dow. 
 
 " Not visitors, of course, Mary. I had no heart 
 for that, but it was cruel in you to stay away at 
 such a time. What we have passed through ! " 
 The speaker pressed her handkerchief to her eyes. 
 
 " And how beautifully you have come out of it 
 all ! " was the cheery reply. " I just happened to 
 meet Miss Bagg in the oddest way, and we struck 
 up an acquaintance. It would do your heart good 
 to hear the way she speaks of Max." 
 
 "Yes," returned Mrs. Van Kirk, in a hollow 
 tone. " After robbing him of his patrimony, she 
 has robbed me of my boy. He lives in her house. 
 He is too busy with her affairs to give his mother 
 more than hurried calls. There never was a wo- 
 man who was called upon to make such sacrifices 
 as I have always made," continued Mrs. Van 
 Kirk, nearly in tears. " When he was a child,
 
 MRS. CARLYLE MAKES A FRIEND. 151 
 
 Max had ever to be subject to Uncle Jotham's 
 beck and call. When he was a youth, it was de- 
 manded of me to give him to the government. 
 After that academy swallowed him up, I had no 
 more right to see him or to control his movements 
 than if I had been an utter stranger ; then he 
 went into the army, and now look at the situation. 
 He disregards my advice, and toils early and late 
 to further the prosperity of one whose wealth is al- 
 ready a burden." 
 
 " Yet you try to feel kindly toward her," replied 
 Mrs. Carlyle cheerfully. " She told me herself 
 of the pleasant messages she receives from you." 
 
 " Pleasant messages ! " Mrs. Van Kirk dropped 
 her hands and stared at her visitor. At this mo- 
 ment Mrs. Fuller entered the room, her soft house- 
 dress trailing over the carpet behind her and cling- 
 ing close to her lithe figure. " Ida Fuller, have 
 you been concocting messages and carrying them 
 from me to that woman ? " she exclaimed, turning 
 to face her niece. 
 
 The young widow advanced to the visitor and 
 presented her cheek to be kissed. " Cousin Mary, 
 have you been telling tales out of school?" she 
 asked calmly. 
 
 " No, my child, it is not possible. What do 
 you mean, Elinor ? " 
 
 "I mean that I never sent a message to that 
 woman. I would scorn to do it. How did you 
 dare, Ida ! " 
 
 The young woman laughed, and took a low seat,
 
 152 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 where, with her soft dress in folds about her feet, 
 she made a graceful picture as she leaned against 
 the casement. 
 
 " It did not take much daring," she replied. 
 " I knew you would thank me later." 
 
 " Never. If you and Max choose to make slaves 
 and spectacles of yourselves I do not, and never 
 shall." 
 
 "You need not be spectacular or slavish, but 
 you will surely call upon her soon," said Ida. 
 
 " I will not," shortly. " I could not, without 
 expressing to her my righteous indignation at 
 what my precious boy has suffered, and Max is 
 determined she shall never know. He has laid 
 most imperative orders requests, he would call 
 them upon Ida and me," finished Mrs. Van 
 Kirk, looking aggrievedly at her visitor. 
 
 " Then I have made a mistake, and I hope Max 
 will forgive me," said Mrs. Carlyle promptly, 
 *' for I told her all about it this morning." 
 
 Instantly Ida changed her relaxed posture and 
 leaned forward with a concentrated gaze. " What 
 did she say ? How did she take it ? " she asked 
 with sudden eagerness. 
 
 " She was a good deal impressed with the narra- 
 tive, I think. It made her appreciate more than 
 ever the nobility and kindness Max has shown her ; 
 but I think she feels that the arrangement they 
 have made must be a satisfactory one to him. She 
 thinks he receives a very large salary." 
 
 " A very large salary ! " Mrs. Van Kirk and Ida
 
 MES. CAELYLE MAKES A FEIEXD. 153 
 
 repeated the phrase in a union of scornful emphasis. 
 Then Mrs. Fuller laughed, and leaned back again 
 in an easy position against the casement. 
 
 " That is it," said Mrs. Van Kirk triumphantly. 
 " There you see the mean and sordid spirit which 
 one must expect in a woman of such antecedents.' 
 
 " Oh, I assure you you are mistaken in that 
 judgment of her," answered Mrs. Carlyle, with 
 pained earnestness. . 
 
 " Let me suggest something," said Ida in her 
 low, slow tones. " Let us three agree not to tell 
 Max of this. It will annoy him." 
 
 " Indeed, I want to tell him," said his mother 
 excitedly. " He will forgive his Cousin Mary 
 easily enough, and I want him to know his em- 
 ployer for what she is." 
 
 " Let me persuade you, Aunt Elinor," urged Ida, 
 " at least for the present. Max will only defend 
 Miss Bagg if we assail her, and I should think, 
 proud as you are, you would respect your son's 
 pride, and not place him in the position he will hold 
 after he knows this. You are just the one to realize 
 how the knowledge would trammel him." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk wavered. 
 
 " Miss Bagg is a modest, timid little woman," 
 put in Mrs. Carlyle earnestly. " I do wish, Eli- 
 nor, you would consent to make her acquaintance. 
 She is homesick in a strange land. It would touch 
 you, Ida, to hear her expression of gratitude for 
 your kindness. It is a temptation, I know, dear, 
 for you to desire to give her pleasure, but don't, 
 don't tell her untruths, for your own sake."
 
 154 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Mrs. Fuller smiled. " Not even those innocent 
 little white lies ? " she said. 
 
 " Ah, my child, white lies cast a black shadow 
 on the soul, and, believe me, it is even better that 
 the truth should be spoken at all times than that 
 anything else should ever be spoken." 
 
 The gaze of the loving eyes behind the specta- 
 cles brought a flush to Ida's cheeks, although she 
 smiled on. 
 
 " Well, promise me you won't tell Max of your 
 disclosures," she persisted. 
 
 " I will try not to speak of it," said Mrs. Car- 
 lyle. " Dear boy, I should be loath to add to his 
 burdens. I suppose, though, that Miss Bagg will 
 tell him." 
 
 " I imagine she will not," returned Ida. " She 
 seems to have spasms of shyness. I fancy that is 
 a thing she will not speak of." 
 
 " Shyness ! " repeated Mrs. Van Kirk, with im- 
 mense scorn. " Say she will be ashamed to speak 
 of it. I dare say she will be." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle looked into the excited face. " Poor 
 Elinor. I do feel sorry for you," she said, with 
 such a sincere ring in her tone that her hostess' 
 handkerchief was again brought into requisition. 
 
 " Not because Max lost the money, but because 
 you are allowing the fact to embitter your life." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk looked up at the speaker in some 
 surprise. " It is very well for you to talk that 
 way, Mary. I know that your disposition is so 
 entirely different from mine it is impossible for 
 you to enter into my feelings."
 
 MBS. CARLYLE MAKES A FKlEND. 155 
 
 " Oh, I have seen many times in my life when it 
 has been very hard for me to content myself, but 
 I could generally succeed at last simply by counting 
 my blessings. You try it, Elinor, when next you 
 are alone. You will find it occupy you grandly." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk wiped her eyes. Real tears had 
 sprung in them. 
 
 " In the old days," continued Mrs. Carlyle 
 gently, " when our hearts were fresher than they 
 are now, we used to talk sometimes of these things 
 together. Do you remember, dear? There can 
 be no peace for any of us until we admit that a 
 Divine Providence guides our affairs ; and after we 
 have admitted that, nothing seems hard after we 
 have been given time to stop and think. All we 
 wish to do, then, is to find out what the Lord wants 
 us to do, and to do it. Life becomes something 
 like the children's game of Magic Music. We are 
 to use all our faculties and to work as intelligently 
 as we can in the affairs of daily life, and we come 
 to feel the gentle guidance which indicates in our 
 failures and successes that one thing is right for us 
 to do or to possess and another wrong. The thing 
 that is hardest to learn is that we are to be as 
 thankful for the failures as for the successes ; but 
 that will come at last, and when it does come, 
 happiness is gained indeed." 
 
 A silence followed which would have been awk- 
 ward for a person more self-centred than Mrs. 
 Carlyle ; but one could not look into her face 
 without seeing that her thoughts were entirely and 
 lovingly bent upon the woman she was addressing.
 
 156 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " I would give a great deal to be as steadily 
 content as you are, certainly," said Mrs. Van Kirk 
 at last, lifting her face, but speaking woefully. 
 
 " You need to take a longer view, Elinor. Your 
 gaze stops too soon. This world is not all of life. 
 You are right in thinking that I do not deserve 
 credit ; I think I was born under a hopeful star, 
 for whichever way I turn my kaleidoscope there is 
 always something that shines out with promise for 
 the next time. I love to rest in the thought that ' a 
 hand divine shall lead them on,' and to think that 
 if one will, he can gather compensations dearer than 
 gold from experiences the Father allows." 
 
 The speaker looked into Mrs. Van Kirk's eyes, 
 which had grown rather sullen, then at Ida, who 
 was still leaning against the casement and regard- 
 ing Mrs. Carlyle with a faint smile which, had the 
 latter been sensitive to ridicule, would have been 
 disconcerting. The visitor felt no tinge of embar- 
 rassment. She had said what it occurred to her to 
 say to this woman who it seemed to her was seek- 
 ing satisfaction in such mistaken ways, and that 
 was all she could do at present. 
 
 " I must be going now," she said, rising after 
 the moment of silence. The others rose too. 
 
 " Thank you for your visit, Mary," said Mrs. 
 Van Kirk. " Come and see me when you can, for 
 the sake of old times, even if we do not look at 
 things just alike." 
 
 " Whenever you want me, dear," returned Mrs. 
 Carlyle, taking her hand, " and don't stay any
 
 MRS. CABLYLE MAKES A FRIEND. 157 
 
 longer in this room. Go out-of-doors. Come to 
 see me. And, Elinor, it is old-fashioned advice, I 
 know, but believe me, it is a very steadying thing to 
 read your Bible. Try it. Read it until you love 
 it. ' Great peace have they who love Thy law,' and 
 peace is what you want. 'Nothing shall offend 
 them,' think of that ! " 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk returned the pressure of her 
 hand faintly. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle said good-by to Ida and departed. 
 
 " To think that that unhappy woman lives in a 
 land that flows with milk and honey, if she only 
 knew how to make it flow," she reflected, as she 
 hurried along the street. 
 
 Mrs. Fuller, when the caller had gone, looked at 
 her aunt and smiled. " Don't you feel as though 
 we had received a visit from the Salvation Army ? " 
 she asked. " Really, Cousin Mary grows worse 
 and worse." 
 
 " If we were no worse than she is we should do 
 well," returned Mrs. Van Kirk shortly. " With 
 her ideas she certainly has the best of it here, and 
 if there is any world to come she will have the best 
 of it there ; but one thing I want you to understand, 
 Ida. I will not be misrepresented by you any 
 longer to that woman. I will go to her and say all 
 that is in my mind as to her inheritance, unless you 
 promise me." 
 
 Ida shrugged her shoulders, and cast a glance 
 toward the ceiling. " Oh, poor Miss Bagg ! I 
 promise."
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A BROKEN IDOL. 
 
 As a rule, Miss Bagg had finished breakfast 
 before her secretary was ready for his, but on the 
 morning after her meeting with Mrs. Carlyle she 
 waited for him to come down before she seated 
 herself at the table. He had not dined at home 
 the night before, and she had had no opportunity 
 to tell him of the new acquaintance which gave her 
 so much pleasure. 
 
 Max, seeing that she had waited for him, laid 
 aside the morning paper, which was his usual break- 
 fast companion, and gave his whole attention to 
 the narrative which Lydia, with unusual spirit, 
 related to him. 
 
 When she had finished, he nodded. " That is 
 as it should be," he said, " and it is all my fault 
 that you have not met her before this. Cousin 
 Mary is one of the salt of the earth, and her daugh- 
 ter Olive is " he stopped and smiled thought- 
 fully a moment " well, Olive is a surprise." 
 
 " An unpleasant child, do you mean ? It is n't 
 possible with that mother ! I made up my mind 
 about that woman in the space of five minutes." 
 
 " Not at all. Olive is a young lady and a charm.
 
 A BROKEN IDOL. 159 
 
 ing one. The surprise is in the way these children 
 grow up. Olive Carlyle is a beauty, and does n't 
 seem to be oppressed by the fact ; " and Van Kirk 
 smiled again at his own thoughts. 
 
 Miss Bagg was watching him, many new con- 
 siderations in her mind. She had lain awake hours 
 of the night thinking over what Mrs. Carlyle had 
 told her, and wishing she might in some degree 
 make up to her favorite his loss. 
 
 " Mrs. Carlyle thinks a great deal of you," she 
 said at last. 
 
 " Does she ? All the better for me. It proves 
 her forgiving spirit, though. I used to go to her 
 house from school to my lunches when I was a 
 small boy, as it was nearer than my own home, 
 and I know I made life a burden to her." 
 
 " She says you could marry on your salary," re- 
 marked Lydia irrelevantly, and Van Kirk, looking 
 up in surprise, saw that his companion had forgot- 
 ten her breakfast and was gazing at him pensively. 
 Her face changed as she saw his expression. 
 
 " I suppose it was n't just the thing for me to 
 tell her how much you have," continued Miss Bagg, 
 in hasty apology. She began beating the table 
 gently with her unused fork, the fine lace around 
 her wrist trembling. Lydia's breakfast costume 
 had changed since the days when the faded brown 
 calico used to rub in neighborly fashion against 
 the Judge's battered old cage in the dining-room 
 at Ashley. " Perhaps I ought not to have spoken 
 of it at all," she went on, " but we fell into con- 
 fidential talk, and it came about naturally."
 
 160 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " No matter," replied Max, returning to his 
 breakfast. " It is of no consequence if Cousin 
 Mary knows. Of course, I feel a man's ordinary 
 distaste for having my affairs ventilated." 
 
 " Well, I want to talk to you a little about your 
 salary. Is it large enough ? " asked Lydia, very 
 full of her own train of thought. 
 
 " Certainly. We discussed that, you know." 
 
 " No, I never discussed it. I simply assented," 
 replied Miss Bagg. " It sounds large to me, but I 
 know very little of the cost of living here. I was 
 thinking about it in the night, and I have so much 
 more than you." 
 
 Van Kirk laughed. " Of course you have, else 
 you could not afford to pay me." 
 
 " But, my dear sir," when Lydia was suffi- 
 ciently excited to have a little color in her cheeks, 
 and for her knot of curls to quiver, she sometimes 
 addressed her secretary as " my dear sir," " I 
 have my reasons for wanting to understand very 
 clearly about this. Let us not have any false 
 modesty on either side. You have had some expe- 
 rience in your new duties since the amount was 
 settled upon. Do you still think it enough ? " 
 
 " I do, Miss Bagg," replied the young man, with 
 that half-deferential, half -protective air whit-h he 
 had always employed toward her, and which, with- 
 out analyzing, Lydia felt to be one of the most 
 valuable of her new possessions. " I believe you 
 can employ many a man better qualified than J 
 for the work at the same price."
 
 A BROKEN IDOL. 1G1 
 
 Miss Lydia aimed a gesture at him with the 
 fork. "Can you marry on it?" she asked 
 impressively. 
 
 " Are you in a hurry to be rid of me ? " 
 
 " Don't evade, Mr. Van Kirk. Answer me 
 truthfully." 
 
 " Women do marry men who have no more than 
 six thousand a year. I dare say I can compass 
 it." 
 
 " But perhaps you have your eye on a woman 
 who would require more. Do not be offended 
 with me, Mr. Van Kirk ; you know idle curiosity 
 would never tempt me to talk to you like this." 
 
 Max met her earnest gaze. What a frail little 
 creature she was to be able to wield such power. 
 With a stroke of her pen she could make him 
 master of that which would give him his heart's 
 desire. It was a humiliating thought that the 
 woman he loved could be won only with money. 
 It was a fact which he did not yet credit. He 
 flung the idea from him while he returned Miss 
 Bagg's look. 
 
 u Then she must wait until I can earn more," 
 he replied. " Thank you sincerely for your inter- 
 est in me, but now that you know that I believe 
 myself well paid, you may set your mind at rest." 
 
 But it was not so easy to set Miss Bagg's mind 
 at rest. Long after Van Kirk had gone into the 
 library, where he always did some work before 
 going to his down-town office, she wandered about 
 the great house like an uneasy spirit. The old
 
 162 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 piaiio was still in the drawing-room, and Lydia 
 often entertained herself by sitting before it and 
 playing over some of the hymn-tunes she had 
 learned on the melodeon at home ; but this morning 
 music had no charms to soothe her. She left the 
 piano with a sigh and went up to her own cheerful 
 sitting-room, where Nora had just finished house- 
 cleaning the Judge's cage. This operation was 
 never accomplished without a wordy war, and as 
 Miss Bagg approached she heard Nora sneezing 
 and the Judge mocking her with exaggerated em- 
 phasis. 
 
 " All right fer you, Joodgie," Nora exclaimed, 
 much aggrieved. " Ye might have a cold yersilf 
 one o' these days ! " 
 
 " Nora," said Miss Lydia, entering, " I think 
 Mrs. Fuller will be here this morning, as I did not 
 see her yesterday. When she arrives I want her 
 to be shown up here." 
 
 " Is annything wrong, mem ? " asked the girl, 
 for her mistress' nervousness was visible to her 
 loving eyes. 
 
 " No, I think not ; but I need to see Mrs. Fuller 
 on some business before I can settle down to real 
 comfort again." 
 
 Nora shook her neatly brushed head. " She 'd 
 niver be no comfort to me, mem," she remarked 
 sententiously, as she proceeded carefully to dust 
 the ornaments of a cabinet. 
 
 " Tut, tut, tut, Nora," returned Lydia mechani- 
 cally.
 
 A BROKEN IDOL. 163 
 
 " But Mr. Van Kirruk, mem, he thinks his very 
 eyes of her, don't he, mem ? " 
 
 "I really believe he does," returned Miss Bagg 
 thoughtfully, standing by a window and looking 
 down into the street. 
 
 Nora advanced on tiptoe, very neat in her 
 gingham dress and white apron. 
 
 " I seen him kiss her hand once," she declared 
 in a loud whisper, and as Miss Bagg gave a star- 
 tled look into the round eyes the girl nodded her 
 head energetically. 
 
 " You should n't have seen it, Nora." 
 
 " I could n't help it, mem. They was by the 
 door, and I was jest ferninst on the stairs." 
 
 " You might have been mistaken." 
 
 " It was no mistake at all, mem." Nora shook 
 her head emphatically. " If it had been bitin' her 
 he was, she would n't 'a' looked near so pleased. 
 It 's lots less than bitiu' '11 make her eyes snap." 
 The girl looked about cautiously. " Sure they '11 
 be gittin' married some day, mem," she finished in 
 a lowered voice. 
 
 "Well," said Miss Bagg, "that will be all 
 right." 
 
 " Will she come here to live with us, mem ? " 
 asked Nora apprehensively. 
 
 "Oh, no, I think not," replied Miss Lydia 
 hastily. 
 
 " I 'm glad o' that, thin, mem, though it '11 be 
 lonesome without Mr. Van Kirruk." 
 
 At this juncture Lydia gave a little start, for
 
 164 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 she caught sight from the window of the figure she 
 was awaiting. 
 
 " There comes Mrs. Fuller now," she said. " Go 
 down, Nora, and ask her to walk up here, and see 
 that we are not disturbed for a little while." 
 
 Shortly afterward Ida entered the room, grace- 
 ful, gracious, smiling. " Good-morning. I found 
 you had flown when I called yesterday," she said, 
 coming forward breezily to kiss Miss Bagg. 
 
 " Yes, I had a fancy to see if I could find my 
 way about a little, alone, and I succeeded so well 
 that I discovered a new friend, a connection of 
 the family, too, a Mrs. Carlyle." 
 
 " Oh, yes. Mrs. Carlyle is an old acquaintance 
 of mine." 
 
 " So she said. Lay off your coat and bonnet, 
 Cousin Ida ; I want to see you particularly this 
 morning, for I must talk to you about something 
 she told me." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller obeyed with inward exultation. She 
 had little doubt as to what was weighing on Miss 
 Bagg's mind, and considered it a most favorable 
 sign that she should incline to choose herself for a 
 confidante. 
 
 Miss Bagg closed the door, and they sat down 
 before the open fire, where the crackling of fra- 
 grant logs added the crowning charm to the cheer- 
 fulness of the room. 
 
 "Mrs. Carlyle told me the story of Mr. Van 
 Kirk's career," began Miss Bagg. 
 
 " Yes ? " responded Ida, throwing into the mon- 
 osyllable much plaintiveness.
 
 A BROKEN IDOL. 165 
 
 " It was a total surprise to me." 
 
 " Oh, believe me, we always knew it," replied 
 the widow, with touching earnestness. " Even 
 Maxwell's mother knew it. We knew you never 
 dreamed of the misery you unwittingly caused." 
 
 " Misery ? " exclaimed Lydia faintly. 
 
 " Why, of course, it could not be otherwise. 
 Knowing, as you do now, the whole story, you can 
 conceive of Max well's humiliation before all his 
 acquaintances, his commission gone, his hopes 
 dashed, his future a blank, himself the butt of 
 general ridicule, ah, poor Max ! What he suf- 
 fered ! So young, so proud, so hopeful ! " 
 
 She clasped her hands, sank back in her chair, 
 and with drawn forehead gazed at the leaping 
 flame, apparently unconscious of Lydia's nervously 
 interlaced fingers and quivering curls. 
 
 " Poor young man," exclaimed Miss Bagg, in 
 heartfelt tones ; " how nobly he has behaved ! " 
 
 " Ah, you may well say so," murmured Ida. 
 
 " His mother, too," went on Lydia feelingly. 
 " Worthy mother of such a son, to send me kind 
 messages under the circumstances." 
 
 " Cousin Lydia, forgive me." Ida sat up and 
 turned her palms out in a pretty gesture of candid 
 appeal. " I have deceived you, though with the 
 best motives. Aunt Elinor has been too crushed, 
 too unnerved, to send you messages. Max was so 
 desirous you should not be troubled, that all heart- 
 burnings should be kept from you, that I aided 
 him in keeping up appearances. Of my own trials
 
 166 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 in this matter I say nothing. The heart knoweth 
 its own bitterness." Ida rolled up her eyes, closed 
 them, and leaned back again in her chair, leaving 
 Miss Bagg in a more chaotic and wretched state 
 of mind than ever. No criminal could feel more 
 confounded and guilty than she did now. 
 
 " But I protest against all this, " she said at 
 last, brokenly. " I wish to make things right. 
 No one can prevent me, I presume, from giving 
 away my own. " 
 
 Ida did not unclose her eyes at once. She was 
 too stunned with delight at this sudden climax of 
 her hopes to trust herself. 
 
 "What do you mean?" she said finally, while 
 her heart thumped in her breast. 
 
 " Why, what do I want with more money than 
 I can possibly use ? " cried Lydia, rising and be- 
 ginning to walk to and fro. " I do not want it. I 
 have n't the judgment to use it. Uncle Jotham 
 loved dear Mr. Van Kirk and cared nothing for 
 me. Now that I know how his plans went astray, 
 it is the plainest of plain duties for me to set 
 things straight. Why was this kept from me ? " 
 
 " Max " began Mrs. Fuller, almost too faint 
 with joy to speak. 
 
 " Yes, I know his high honor and generous heart, 
 but he might have given me credit for some honor 
 too. Let me go to him. He has not left the 
 house yet." 
 
 Ida rose, and grasped the excited woman's arm. 
 " Let me go first. Let me go first," she exclaimed
 
 A BROKEN IDOL. 167 
 
 breathlessly. " You come in a few minutes. Bless 
 you, Miss Bagg, for your noble generosity ! " She 
 fled from the room and down the stairs, pausing 
 outside the library to still the beating of her heart 
 and regain her self-control. At last she turned 
 the handle of the door and went in. Max was 
 seated at the desk with his back to her. 
 
 " I want to see you a minute, Miss Bagg," he 
 said, without turning his head. 
 
 Ida floated across the room and laid her hands 
 lightly across his eyes. The delicious, elusive per- 
 fume he associated with her struck his senses. 
 With a start he seized her hands and, still holding 
 them, swung about in his chair and gazed eagerly 
 up into her radiant face. She had never been so 
 happy and she had never looked so handsome in 
 her life. 
 
 " Ida ! " was all he could say, and he kissed the 
 hands, first one and then the other, while she still 
 regarded him with the triumphant smile in her 
 eyes, and did not as usual withdraw herself. 
 
 " What is it that makes you look so radiant ? " 
 he asked rapturously, bewildered by her novel 
 manner. 
 
 " I have been listening to praise of you," she 
 answered slowly. 
 
 He rose and took her in his arms. " Then you 
 do love me, Ida? You have tested yourself and 
 me long enough. You do love me ? " he exclaimed 
 in a low voice. 
 
 She yielded passively to his embrace, and looked
 
 1G8 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 up into his shining eyes. " It is Cousin Lyclia 
 \vho has been sounding your praises," she said 
 softly. 
 
 " I care not who it was, so they found an echo 
 in your heart, my darling." 
 
 " She knows all your story. Cousin Mary Car- 
 lyle told her yesterday." 
 
 " Yes ? " The young man's thoughts flashed to 
 the breakfast-table conversation, and he vaguely 
 understood why Miss Lydia had talked in such a 
 novel fashion; but he had little interest in that 
 now. 
 
 " You do love me, Ida? " he repeated ; "you will 
 be my wife ? " 
 
 " Yes," she answered softly, aud he pressed his 
 lips to hers. 
 
 It was at this moment that Miss Bagg, consider- 
 ing that she had waited quite long enough, sud- 
 denly opened the door. At the tableau she beheld, 
 she uttered an irrepressible little squeak and 
 started back, crimsoning to the roots of her hair. 
 
 "Come right in, Miss Bagg," said Van Kirk 
 radiantly. "Congratulate me. Mrs. Fuller has 
 consented to be my wife." 
 
 " I am not one bit surprised," replied Lydia, 
 making the best of the situation and advancing to 
 give a hand to each. " I have believed that I saw 
 this coming ever since my first day in New York. 
 There is no one in the world who will hope more 
 for your happiness than I do. Cousin Ida has 
 been a kind friend to me right along, and as for
 
 A BROKEN IDOL. 169 
 
 you, Mr. Van Kirk," Lyclia freed her hand 
 from Ida's to press it upon Maxwell's, which she 
 already held, " you are like my own. I could 
 not be happy unless I knew you to be so. Ida 
 has doubtless told you that I intend to right the 
 wrong you have suffered, so far as a woman may." 
 
 " No," said Mrs. Fuller, " I have left that for 
 you to do ; but I have told him that you know all 
 he has concealed." 
 
 Miss Bagg released the strong hand, but contin- 
 ued to look affectionately into her secretary's face. 
 
 " How soon can we go to Mr. Galbraith's ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 Van Kirk's brain was too heated to guess her 
 meaning at once. " What have you to do there ? " 
 he asked, again slipping his arm around Ida. 
 
 " I have to carry out Uncle Jotham's wishes," 
 replied Lydia simply. 
 
 " What is this ? " asked Max, beginning, but only 
 in a half-interested way, to perceive her meaning. 
 
 " Why, I intend that you shall have your rights, 
 of course," answered Miss Bagg. 
 
 Van Kirk gazed at her, half-smiling. " You wish 
 to give me your money ? " 
 
 , " Not all of it, of course," said Ida, and her 
 lover could feel her heart begin to quicken under 
 his hand. 
 
 " No, of course, not all of it," added Lydia. 
 " I know you too well to propose that. I shall 
 keep a plenty for my every wish. The rest I de- 
 sire and intend to give to you."
 
 170 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " And do you really think I could take it ? " 
 
 "Maxwell, of course you will take it," exclaimed 
 Ida, looking up at him, her cheeks burning. " It 
 is only right. It burdens Miss Bagg. To be rid 
 of it will relieve her, and for you to receive it will 
 restore harmony to your mother, to you, and to me, 
 perhaps even to Cousin Jotham, who knows ? 
 Mr. Galbraith will second Miss Bagg strongly. If 
 you love me, do not dream of refusing! " 
 
 Her intense tone, Miss Lydia's earnest gaze, 
 enlightened Van Kirk and made havoc of his 
 dream of happiness. Every high hope was sud- 
 denly paralyzed. A merciless chill succeeded to 
 his rapture. He seated himself in the chair by 
 the desk, and turned pale as he stared at the 
 carpet. The moment was pregnant with sickening 
 disappointment, a thousand times greater in in- 
 tensity than that had been which proved to him 
 the loss of his guardian's fortune. 
 
 The women thought he was considering Miss 
 Bagg's generous offer. As a matter of fact, he 
 was perceiving in pitiless clearness the cause of 
 Ida's sudden graciousness, and receiving the death- 
 blow to his obstinate belief in her truth and 
 womanliness. 
 
 " Sit down, Miss Bagg. Take a chair, Ida," he 
 said, breaking the short silence and speaking with- 
 out excitement. " I am sorry I have kept my 
 promise and done my work so poorly, Miss Bagg, 
 that you should feel burdened with anxiety." 
 
 Lydia flushed with eagerness. " Nothing of
 
 A BROKEN IDOL. 171 
 
 the sort, my dear sir, nothing of the sort," she 
 replied, " only you could work in a more unham- 
 pered fashion, if it were your very own business, 
 your own property, you were handling. I think 
 you know that I trust you implicitly. Tell me 
 you do, Mr. Van Kirk." 
 
 Max met her anxious gaze with grave eyes. He 
 nodded. " I am glad to hear you say so," he re- 
 plied quietly. " If you trust Mr. Galbraith and 
 me implicitly, can't you discard the sensation that 
 your wealth is burdensome ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am getting quite used to it," replied 
 Lydia, simply, " only when Mrs. Carlyle and Ida 
 told me so much of what you had been through, I 
 naturally wanted to make things right." 
 
 " Fool ! " ejaculated Mrs. Fuller, with none the 
 less heat that the exclamation was mental. 
 
 *' I should admire to give you most of the 
 money," continued Miss Bagg. " I am old-fash- 
 ioned and plain, and you are young ; your friends 
 are all fashionable people, and you have use for 
 money ; but the greatest reason of all is that Uncle 
 Jotham wished it." 
 
 " We have no proof of that," declared \ an Kirk 
 shortly. 
 
 " How can you say such a thing ? " demanded 
 Ida. 
 
 Miss Bagg lifted a deprecating hand. " I can 
 tell what he must have felt for you by my own 
 feelings," she said. *' He knew you and watched 
 your progress from childhood. I have known you
 
 172 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 for months only. Do not refuse me, dear Mr. 
 Van Kirk." 
 
 In his sickness of heart Max gave perhaps in- 
 sufficient weight to the speaker's earnestness. The 
 fact of Ida's cupidity was so overpowering that the 
 possession or non-possession of the money became 
 immaterial by comparison. Now that he knew that 
 wealth would buy her and that wealth was attain- 
 able he would not have it. If she were to grow 
 cold toward him when the hope of it was with- 
 drawn, he preferred to know the truth and bear the 
 pain. 
 
 " I must refuse you, Miss Bagg," he began. 
 
 " Beware ! " cried Ida, her eyes kindling. " I 
 warned you, as you loved me, not to refuse. Do 
 you go on, regardless of that ? " 
 
 Miss Bagg regarded the excited woman with 
 amazement. 
 
 Max looked at his fiance'e, and spoke with quiet 
 self-control. " The subject of love has no connec- 
 tion with this business matter," he replied deliber- 
 ately. 
 
 " You are behaving cruelly, selfishly ! " ex- 
 claimed Mrs. Fuller, very white. " Will you dash 
 happiness from my lips a second time ? " 
 
 Van Kirk winced visibly. 
 
 Miss Bagg's slight form seemed to dilate. " As 
 you speak thus before me, Mrs. Fuller," she said, 
 with righteous indignation, " I take the liberty to 
 remind you that there are many things in this 
 world that money will not buy. The love of a
 
 A BROKEN IDOL. 173 
 
 prince among men is one of them. You are the 
 one who should beware lest you throw it away." 
 She rose. " I will leave you now ; but first, Mr. 
 Van Kirk, let me tell you seriously that I feel that 
 you have a moral right to Uncle Jotham's money. 
 This subject may be reopened between us at any 
 time you like, and you will find me always of the 
 same mind I am in to-day." 
 
 Van Kirk rose, and as she gazed at him he took 
 both her hands. " Thank you, my good friend," 
 he answered. " Circumstances make me firm in 
 my intention to refuse your offer. I used to be- 
 lieve that wealth would bring me happiness. I do 
 not believe it now ; I thank you, though thank 
 you with all my heart." 
 
 There were tears in Lydia's eyes as she passed 
 out of the door and closed it behind her. As soon 
 as she was gone Van Kirk advanced and stood be- 
 fore Ida, who returned his look hardily. 
 
 "What is going to be done about this?" he 
 asked. 
 
 She smiled ironically, and her hands grasped a 
 chair-back behind her. " I suppose you are going 
 on, a grubbing clerk, for the rest of your days ? " 
 she replied. 
 
 "And a grubbing clerk is an individual with 
 whom you wish to have nothing to do ? " 
 
 She looked into the wretched eyes that contra- 
 dicted the smile on the pale lips. The two gazed 
 at each other in silence for a moment, then the 
 hard look melted from Ida's face, and, bursting
 
 174 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 into tears, she flung herself on the broad breast, 
 and the man's arms closed naturally around her. 
 
 " What does this mean ? " he asked. 
 
 "I cannot give you up," she sobbed. "Why 
 will you be so cruelly obstinate ? " 
 
 " If you cannot give me up, we shall be happy," 
 he answered firmly. " Listen to your heart, and 
 nothing else." 
 
 " And will you sacrifice nothing of your pride 
 and obstinacy for me ? " she asked, clinging to him. 
 
 " I will not sacrifice my self-respect for you ; for 
 if you ask it you do not love me, and if you do not 
 love me I must live my life without you." 
 
 She pushed him farther from her, and her tears 
 ceased. " Your ideas of love and mine differ," she 
 said. " I will leave you to think these matters 
 over. I cannot believe you will prove obdurate. 
 Take a little time to choose between your Quixot- 
 ism and me. No, do not speak. I love you. I 
 shall never love any other. I never have loved 
 any other. Max," she glided back close to him 
 and kissed him ardently, " show that you love 
 me." 
 
 Hastening then from the room, she closed the 
 door behind her and, sending for her wraps by a 
 servant, left the house without again seeing Miss 
 Bagg. 
 
 Van Kirk sat down at the desk and supported 
 his head between his closed hands. Hours passed 
 away ere he changed his attitude, and the house 
 was as still as a house of mourning.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 OLIVE MEETS THE JUDGE. 
 
 WHEN he finally stirred from his cramped posi- 
 tion, it was to touch the spring of a secret drawer 
 in the desk before him, and to take therefrom a 
 little bundle of letters. It was a package which 
 Mr. Galbraith had found among Mr. Bagg's 
 effects and had given to Max, who returned it to 
 the secret drawer which had been its home for 
 many decades. He had never examined these let- 
 ters, and now some fresh feeling of tenderness for 
 the old man led him to take them out of their 
 wrapping and gaze at them curiously. They were 
 rather loosely tied with a bit of twine, and were all 
 folded and addressed in the fashion which pre- 
 vailed before envelopes were invented. The ad- 
 dresses were written in a fine hand, and had faded 
 almost to illegibility. Max untied the package 
 and ran the letters over, counting them idly. On 
 one he observed that across the address there were 
 lines written blackly in Mr. Bagg's well-known 
 hand. There was a date in the corner, that of his 
 last dinner-party. How long, long ago it seemed 
 as Max looked back ! 
 
 This is what he read in the old man's writing :
 
 176 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " There has been a girl here to-night with your 
 name, singing your song in a voice nearly as sweet 
 as yours. The old times came back to me. I have 
 been reading this, your last letter, again. I was 
 wrong, all wrong. I wonder if you have forgiven 
 me ? I have done what I could for Max, but 1 will 
 do more. For your sake I have just destroyed my 
 will, and to-morrow I will make another, leaving 
 him everything. My dear boy, all that I have of 
 you now. He must possess all that is mine to 
 give. I wonder if you will know ? " 
 
 That was all. A moisture crept into Van Kirk's 
 eyes as he finished. In his present mood this 
 revelation of his guardian's heart and the adjective 
 applied to himself touched him deeply. He slipped 
 the one of his grandmother's letters bearing the 
 message into his pocket-book ; then after thought- 
 fully turning the others over once more he carried 
 them across the room to the open fire and laid 
 them on the red coals, where with a sudden bril- 
 liant blaze all the record of girlish joys and sorrows 
 that filled their pages vanished forever. So here 
 was proof in black and white of his old friend's in- 
 tention toward him. How nearly the glory of this 
 world had been within his grasp ! Had he been 
 older, or had the ten years of his youth and man- 
 hood been spent in different surroundings, the idea 
 might have been more intoxicating to him. As it 
 was, the longing for this wealth had shown those 
 nearest and dearest to him in a degrading light. 
 His mother had collapsed mentally and physically
 
 OLIVE MEETS THE JUDGE. 177 
 
 
 
 in sheer anger and mortification at its loss. His 
 dainty, graceful, beloved cousin he could not 
 bear the thought of her recent looks and words. 
 
 As he stood watching the shriveling, blackening 
 paper on the hearth, there came to him the story of 
 a king, who, demanding of a philosopher a phrase 
 which should alike modify too violent joy and con- 
 sole in the deepest affliction, received for his an- 
 swer : " This, too, will pass." 
 
 " This, too, will pass," thought the young man. 
 " Some day somebody will burn my letters and 
 give me a wondering, compassionate thought." 
 
 Then he looked at his watch. It was half past 
 three. He must go to the office. As he passed 
 through the hall he met Miss Bagg, who started at 
 sight of him. 
 
 " Mr. Van Kirk ! Have you been in the house 
 all this time ? Why? you have had no lunch." 
 
 " True. I forgot it. I must hurry down-town 
 now. I will get something." 
 
 He passed out, leaving Lydia in deep trouble of 
 mind. She gave free rein now to the intuitive 
 shrinking from Mrs. Fuller which she had fought 
 against ever since they first met. 
 
 A great man has vigorously said : " Don't talk* 
 What you are thunders so loudly above what you 
 say that I cannot hear you." 
 
 No matter to Miss Bagg henceforth what the 
 young widow might say ; a look in her eyes, a 
 tone in her voice, there in the library, were im- 
 pressed upon Lydia's memory iueffaceably. She
 
 178 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 1 
 
 wondered if the lover had seen and heard with her 
 eyes and ears. She wondered what had occurred 
 after she left the room, and while timidly and ten- 
 derly compassionating the young man's sorrow, 
 she hoped most heartily that the tie which bound 
 him to his cousin had been severed, no matter how 
 rudely. She walked up and down the hall after 
 Max had disappeared, deep in thought Suddenly 
 she stopped and clasped her hands. " I have 
 been a fool ! " she exclaimed. " It would be ruin- 
 ous if I should give him the money. I see it now. 
 She would marry him then, of course. If his love 
 for her is strong enough to force him to change 
 his mind, and he should come to me and say so, I 
 must be firm. I must take back my promise. I 
 must break my word. She is so unworthy of him. 
 She will never marry him without the money, and 
 she shall never marry him for it, for I will hold 
 on to every cent every cent! " 
 
 Lydia began to walk up and down again, en- 
 grossed in her exciting thoughts, when a latch- 
 key turned in the lock of the hall door, which 
 opened, revealing her secretary followed by two 
 ladies. 
 
 M I met these people on the walk and came 
 back to see that they found you," he said, and 
 stood aside for Mrs. Carlyle to pass and receive 
 Miss Bagg's cordial greeting. He turned to Olive 
 under cover of their words. 
 
 " Do you remember singing * Mary of Argyle ' 
 the last time you were in this house ? " he asked.
 
 OLIVE MEETS THE JUDGE. 179 
 
 " Indeed I do, and how it amazed me that Cou- 
 sin Jotham liked it." 
 
 " Liked it so much that he made a memoran- 
 dum of the occurrence on a bit of paper which I 
 just found in ins desk." 
 
 " It excited you to find it. You are pale," said 
 the girl. 
 
 " Yes, it was like a message from another world, 
 but I thought you would be pleased to know." 
 
 " So I am," she answered, and her innocent eyes 
 dwelt upon his wonderingly. It was a new 
 thought to her that Max had really loved the old 
 man so much. His face was quite changed. But 
 her mother was speaking : 
 
 "This is my big, little girl," she was saying, 
 and Olive instantly came forward to make a con- 
 quest of Miss Lydia's heart. 
 
 " This is your daughter," exclaimed Miss Bagg, 
 taking the girl's hand and gazing at her loveliness 
 with deep pleasure. 
 
 " And I am so glad to meet you," said Olive, 
 returning her look with frank interest. 
 
 " Are you, my dear ? I hope we shall be 
 friends." 
 
 " I will say good-by once more," said Van Kirk, 
 seeing that all was likely to go easily without him. 
 
 The three turned and nodded as he passed out. 
 
 " Now I am going to take you right up to my 
 room," announced Miss Bagg. " No drawing-room 
 visits with you. We shall just have a cosy sit- 
 down together. You will see I have the nicest
 
 180 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 room for it in the world, thanks to yes, to Mrs. 
 Fuller. Come up." 
 
 They followed her upstairs, where the lovely 
 apartment burst upon the Carlyles' view, and 
 elicited exclamations of admiration which Lydia 
 scarcely heard. 
 
 "You are going to take your things off ? " she 
 said, with such evident anxiety that they should 
 consent, that mother and daughter smiled and 
 glanced at one another. 
 
 " Oh, you must," added the hostess insistently. 
 " Ever since I met you yesterday, Mrs. Carlyle, I 
 have been making the most of our connection in 
 my mind. Did your mother tell you ? " turning 
 to Olive. 
 
 "Yes, it was quite an adventure, even for 
 mother, who is always having adventures." 
 
 A maid with red hair, who had been sitting in a 
 corner of the room mending, here came forward 
 and took Mrs. Carlyle's bonnet as she removed it. 
 
 " These ladies are kinsfolk of mine, Nora," said 
 Miss Bagg, and by her sprightly tone Nora knew 
 that this visit pleased her mistress exceedingly. 
 
 She gazed at Olive with the most candid admi- 
 ration. 
 
 " Sure I 'm glad they 've found ye, mem," she 
 said. 
 
 " So am I," added Olive. " I never saw such a 
 pretty room in my life." 
 
 " Neither had I before I came here," remarked 
 Miss Bagg ; " but then I had seen very little."
 
 OLIVE MEETS THE JUDGE. 181 
 
 " It did not look like this in Cousin Jotham's 
 lifetime," said Olive. 
 
 Miss Lyclia regarded her with interest. " If he 
 was Cousin Jotham, I am Cousin Lydia," she re- 
 marked. " Do you think you can make a cousin 
 of me at short notice ? " 
 
 Olive smiled and colored, looking prettier than 
 ever. 
 
 " Thank you for letting me try," she answered. 
 " I imagine it will come very naturally. Oh, you 
 have a parrot." 
 
 She had removed her hat and jacket, and in her 
 best dress of rough, dark material moved across 
 the room. Nora simply gazed after her, forgetting 
 the wraps with which her arms were laden. 
 
 "Oh, you funny Polly," said Olive, standing 
 by the cage looking at the Judge, who, perhaps in 
 ironical recognition of the despised name, looked 
 at her sentimentally, puffing out his cheeks and 
 allowing his beak to part slightly, giving the effect 
 of an insipid smile. " Does she talk, Miss Cou- 
 sin Lydia ? " 
 
 The Judge suddenly laughed in his deep bass, 
 and the visitor followed suit in her girlish treble. 
 
 " Oh, what a voice ! " she ejaculated, and Nora 
 came forward like an animated hat-rack. 
 
 " Indade he can talk, mem," she said eagerly, 
 for Miss Bagg was busy with Mrs. Carlyle, whose 
 attention had been attracted by a fine etching. 
 " He knows iverything, the Joodge does." 
 
 " I wish she would talk, then," replied Olive.
 
 182 MISS BAGWS SECRETARY. 
 
 " 'T ain't a she at all, mem. His name is Joodge, 
 mem, an' he knows it jest like a Christian, mem," 
 replied Nora volubly. 
 
 " Oh ! Have you had him long ? " 
 
 " Miss Bagg has had him always, mem. Sure, 
 I guess they miss him in Ashley, where we did 
 live before we carne here. Iverybody knew the 
 Joodge." 
 
 " Is n't he wise-looking ? See him stare at 
 me." 
 
 "He's that wise, mem, ye wouldn't belave it. 
 Our house in Ashley was half-way up a hill, mem, 
 an' in the summer-time, whin the Joodge hung 
 outdoors, mem, he was after drivin' the fanners 
 wild, mem. Whin they was ridin' by with a 
 heavy-loaded wagon, jest as they 'd be passin' our 
 house the Judge would holler out ' Whoa ! ' an' 
 the horses would stop, an' niver a bit could they 
 get the load up the hill, mem, till the driver 'ml 
 come to me an' shake his fist an' tell me take that 
 bir'rd in." 
 
 Olive laughed. " You naughty bird," she said. 
 
 The Judge looked at her. " Come, kiss me," he 
 said, following the invitation by realistic oscula- 
 tion. 
 
 " He '11 talk fast enough, mem, whin he hears 
 the rest o' yez talkin'," said Nora, becoming con- 
 scious of her burden and bearing it away to the 
 adjoining room. 
 
 This visit of the Carlyles was the first of many. 
 Lydia grew very fond of mother and daughter and
 
 OLIVE MEETS THE JUDGE. 183 
 
 they of her. She spent many a Wednesday even- 
 ing at the house in Twenty-fourth Street. Lydia 
 was eager to help in Mrs. Carlyle's good work, and 
 her personal interest was added to the open purse 
 with which she aided that lady in her schemes, 
 while Van Kirk dispensed the regular sums which 
 were applied for, for more conventional charities. 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk and Mrs. Fuller left the city 
 and repaired to some Southern resort in the effort 
 to restore the former's health. Miss Bagg could 
 not discover on what terms Max and his cousin 
 had parted. She did not even know whether their 
 engagement continued. Her secretary's manner 
 told her little. He seemed to have lost a certain 
 boyish gayety which in the first days of their ac- 
 quaintance had frequently belonged to his manner ; 
 but that might be due to the engrossing nature of 
 his novel business cares. She saw little of him 
 except at meals. He seemed glad to know of the 
 pleasure she experienced in her intimacy with the 
 Carlyles, and was uniformly courteous and polite 
 to her, but so far as she could discover he did not 
 go into society at- all and lived a life absorbed in 
 business duties, which dissatisfied her. 
 
 The winter wore away, and spring, which is 
 often truly " lovely spring " in New York, took its 
 place. Flowers, if not to be plucked from the 
 stone pavements, were to be had for small price at 
 every corner, and bloomed in shop-windows and in 
 the buttonhole of nearly every passer-by. 
 
 How Olive Carlyle enjoyed the drives which she
 
 184 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 took with Miss Bagg in Central Park ! The grati- 
 tude and delight of the fresh young girl gave Miss 
 Bagg some of the keenest satisfaction she had ever 
 known. Olive's fondness for her was genuine, and 
 Lydia felt it with lively pleasure. 
 
 One day when the latter entered the now famil- 
 iar parlor on Twenty-fourth Street, the girl drew 
 aside the portiere and led her friend to the easel, 
 where, draped about with soft silk, Miss Bagg be- 
 held a life-size crayon portrait of herself. It was 
 delicately done and very truthful. The little curls, 
 the slender nose, the thin lips, were all portrayed 
 with a nice touch. 
 
 Lydia looked at it half a minute in silence, then 
 suddenly burying her face in her hands she burst 
 into uncontrollable tears. 
 
 "Dear Cousin Lydia," exclaimed Olive, dis- 
 tressed, throwing her arms around her, " why do 
 you cry ? Tell me." 
 
 "It is so si-si-silly," sobbed the little woman. 
 " I 'm ash-sh-shamed." 
 
 " Dear me," returned poor Olive. " I did not 
 think you would take it this way. I was wrong to 
 surprise you." 
 
 " Forgive me," said Miss Bagg, speaking thickly, 
 but regaining her self-control. " I am ashamed to 
 tell what made me so foolish ; but I must tell you 
 or you will misunderstand." She wiped her eyes. 
 " My first thought was of the beautiful work you 
 have put into that portrait ; my second, that it 
 was a pity that there was nobody in the world to
 
 OLIVE MEETS THE JUDGE. 185 
 
 care for such a great picture of me ; and that 
 made me feel so lonely that. I I cried. It 
 was so selfish and silly that I am disgusted with 
 myself. But, oh, Olive," she took the girl's 
 hand and drew her closer, " get married, dear, 
 and have children to love you and think there is 
 no one in the world like mother. It is hard to be 
 alone." 
 
 The girl kissed her cheek. " You are not alone. 
 I '11 not let you say it. Whom did you suppose 
 this picture was for ? " 
 
 " Why, I supposed," replied Miss Bagg, tim- 
 idly, " that you made it for me. Did n't you ? " 
 
 "No, I did not do anything of the kind. I 
 don't make pictures for fun ever. That was an 
 order. That is mother's picture. She wants to 
 hang it in the parlor for our own benefit and also 
 where the girls can look at it Sunday and Wednes- 
 day nights. They are beginning to regard you as 
 their patron saint, you know. I ought to charge 
 her full price for it, but she says if I do she will 
 send me a board bill, so I refrain." 
 
 " Oh ! " Miss Bagg crossed her hands before 
 her, and regarded the portrait with a thoughtful 
 smile. " It is a beautiful picture of a homely 
 woman," she said after a while. 
 
 " Of a dear woman," added Olive, emphasizing 
 the correction with a little hug. 
 
 " You do make lovely pictures," continued Ly- 
 dia. " Do you know, I 've thought sometimes as I 
 have watched you at work that I would like to 
 have a portrait of Mr. Van Kirk. "
 
 186 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 "Apollo with a mustache?" suggested Olive, 
 stepping forward and rearranging the silken dra- 
 pery. 
 
 " Could you do it for me ? " 
 
 " Well, Miss Bagg, I dare say I could." 
 
 "Right off?" 
 
 " If you can give me the photograph. There 
 was a perfect one in Cousin Jotham's album." 
 
 " Do you like to be paid in advance ? " asked 
 Miss Bagg. 
 
 Olive laughed. " Oh, no. No satisfaction, no 
 pay, is my unalterable rule. In this case it ought 
 to be no pay at all. You give me so much plea- 
 sure." 
 
 "Not half so much as you give me," replied 
 Lydia sincerely. " It is only right I should pay 
 
 you." 
 
 So far in their acquaintance, though constantly 
 visiting, or driving, or dining in their company, 
 Miss Bagg had not given Olive or her mother a 
 present of any sort. Their simple, plain way of 
 living and dressing seemed as comfortable to her 
 as her own. From her long habits of economy it 
 simply did not occur to her to spend money for 
 what she did not see to be necessary. They knew 
 she was not stingy. That was evident in the will- 
 ing, even eager, alacrity with which she gave to 
 the needy when she found them through Mrs. Car- 
 lyle; but this state of things made it the easier 
 for Olive to enter into a business arrangement 
 with her now.
 
 OLIVE MEETS THE JUDGE. 187 
 
 " You know you said you never do pictures for 
 fun," added Miss Bagg, smiling. 
 
 " But that one would be fun," answered Olive, 
 her softly curved cheeks warming. 
 
 " All the better for you. You should have a 
 good subject now and then." 
 
 "You never suspected why I begged you to 
 have your picture taken," said Olive gayly. 
 
 " No, indeed. How should I ? Now, I am going 
 to drive right home and see if I can get that pho- 
 tograph, and we will surprise Mr. Van Kirk." 
 
 "Not unless he promises not to burst into 
 tears," replied Olive saucily. 
 
 " Ah, there are plenty to care for his picture," 
 said Lydia plaintively. 
 
 "But Ida Fuller will probably claim it," re- 
 turned the girl quickly. Miss Bagg stopped as 
 she was crossing the room and looked full at 
 Olive. 
 
 "What do you know about that?" she de- 
 manded. 
 
 " Nothing," responded the other with lively in- 
 terest. "What do you?" 
 
 " Oh, I thought they were mutually interested," 
 replied Miss Bagg cautiously. The day she left 
 the engaged couple in the library, she registered a 
 wise mental vow to say nothing to any one of rela- 
 tions which seemed so suddenly to become strained. 
 
 As days went by and Mr. Van Kirk did not 
 allude to his cousin, she was strengthened in this 
 determination. It was often a hard trial to keep
 
 188 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 silence to the Carlyles, since she was so truly at- 
 tached to the young man under her roof, and now 
 she had hoped Olive might know something of the 
 matter. Evidently she did not ; but the girl nodded 
 her fair head wisely. 
 
 " I am sure they are mutually interested," she 
 said. " I think he has been dismally blue ever 
 since she left town. I am often tempted to say 
 something saucy to him when he comes here. Why 
 should he expect us to console him ? " Then, after 
 a pause : " Where has he been lately ? He has not 
 been here for more than two weeks." 
 
 " Don't ask me. The poor fellow works too 
 hard, but he is coming now, on paper, as fast as 
 horses can bring him," returned Miss Bagg briskly, 
 " so good-by for a time. In Uncle Jotham's album, 
 you said ? "
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ME. VAN KIRK'S PARABLE. 
 
 THE wife of Judge Spencer, the great lady of 
 Ashley, had kept 'up her interest in the woman 
 whom Dame Fortune had snatched from that little 
 hamlet. Her occasional letters with their bits of 
 home news had been eagerly welcomed by Lydia 
 throughout the winter, and were a valued link con- 
 necting her with the old life. 
 
 It was about the middle of May when a letter 
 from Mrs. Spencer arrived, and was handed to 
 Miss Bagg one evening at the moment when she 
 was about to sit down to dinner. Sometimes this 
 meal was a solitary one, but on this occasion her 
 secretary took his place opposite her. 
 
 Miss Bagg felt that all was not well with this 
 young man. A line had come in his forehead 
 since he had been under her roof. He never 
 laughed any more. The boy had changed to a 
 man before her eyes. There was no hope of pen- 
 etrating his reserve, of helping him in any way. 
 His courtesy to her continued unfailing, but his 
 manner did not invite sympathy. Miss Bagg was 
 forced to make indifferent conversation, or to keep 
 up her own part in it, when her kind heart was
 
 190 MISS BAGG'S SECEETABY. 
 
 longing to help him with all its resources. The 
 Carlyles were a blessing to her as furnishing sub- 
 jects in which she could take unaffected interest, 
 and which sometimes struck an answering spark 
 from Max ; and to-night as she tore open her let- 
 ter to give an anticipatory glance over its contents 
 before the deliberate reading, some words caught 
 her eye which reminded her that here, too, was 
 something that she could share with Van Kirk. 
 
 " You know I was telling you," she said, looking 
 at her vis-a-vis and slipping the letter back into its 
 envelope, " that a boy from our place entered the 
 academy at West Point some two or three years 
 ago. This Mrs. Spencer who writes to me is his 
 mother. Such a time as there was when he passed 
 the competitive examination and then was admitted 
 to the academy ! The judge was delighted ; but 
 poor Mrs. Spencer nearly cried her eyes out. She 
 never wanted him to go, and if ever there was a 
 boy that was homesick and miserable, I guess 
 Ralph Spencer was that boy the first year he was 
 there." 
 
 " Not an unprecedented experience," remarked 
 Max as she paused. 
 
 " Were you homesick ? " asked Lydia. 
 
 " I believe I was," returned Van Kirk. Miss 
 Bagg was glad to see him smile, and determined to 
 make all the capital possible out of her subject. 
 
 " I judge from what little I saw in the letter 
 that Ralph is nearly through there," she contin- 
 ued.
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PARABLE. 191 
 
 " Then his homesickness is a thing of the past, 
 and all he pines for now is freedom." 
 
 " I guess so. He was home last summer for the 
 first time in two years, and he bad one or two of his 
 classmates with him ; I did n't see him, but was n't 
 Mrs. Spencer a proud and happy woman, and 
 did n't those young men make a stir in that quiet 
 little town ! They only staid a short time, then 
 they all went off somewhere together ; the judge, 
 Mrs. Spencer, Baby, and all." 
 
 "The young men could have dispensed with 
 Baby, no doubt," remarked Van Kirk. 
 
 "Oh, she and her brother are devoted to one 
 another. No, indeed ; if anybody was to be left 
 behind it would n't be Baby. That is what seems 
 to be the matter now," said Miss Bagg, taking the 
 letter from her pocket. " Some disappointment to 
 Baby is troubling her mother. It is about West 
 Point, so I '11 just read it : 
 
 " ' A great disappointment has befallen Baby. 
 This year Ralph goes into his first-class camp, and 
 it is a time they have looked forward to as a great 
 occasion for Baby to visit him. Now my poor 
 sister has decided to submit to an operation which 
 will give her her only chance for life. It must 
 take place in June. If she lives, I could not think 
 of leaving her, and if she does not, Baby would 
 have but a sad visit, for of course she could not 
 enter into the gayety of the post. I wish I could 
 hear of some one going there for the graduation 
 exercises who would be willing to take my poor
 
 192 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 child under her wing and let her have another sight 
 of her brother before anything occurs to sadden 
 us.'" 
 
 Miss Bagg paused and looked up. 
 
 " From all of which I gather that Baby is some- 
 what more mature then her name would signify," 
 remarked Max. 
 
 "Yes: I suppose she is about eighteen or so. 
 It is a nickname." 
 
 " Well, your friend is not above giving you a 
 broad hint." 
 
 " Me ? You don't suppose she wants me to go 
 as as" 
 
 " As nurse-girl ? Yes, it looks like it." 
 
 " Why, I never thought of such a thing. What 
 in the world should I go to West Point for ? " 
 
 " For the same reason that scores of other peo- 
 ple go, to see one of the prettiest places in the 
 country. What sort of a creature is the a 
 young person ? Inclined to suck her thumb and 
 behave in a generally inoffensive manner? " 
 
 "I am not much acquainted with Baby," an- 
 swered Lydia. " She has been away at school ever 
 since she entered her teens. I feel that she has 
 grown entirely away from me." 
 
 " What had you thought of doing for your sum- 
 mer outing ? " asked Van Kirk. 
 
 " I had n't thought of taking any." 
 
 " Oh, you will have to go somewhere, of course. 
 You can't stay in town in the heat." 
 
 " Then I shall ask the Carlyles what they are
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PARABLE. 193 
 
 going to do. Perhaps they will let me go with 
 them." 
 
 Max shook his head. " I doubt if they do any- 
 thing beyond going to Coney Island occasionally 
 for a day." 
 
 " Then why can't I do the same ? " 
 
 " You can, if you like ; but there is no reason for 
 it. The Carlyles would take more of a vacation if 
 they could." 
 
 "Oh," said Lydia again. Her mind did not 
 move quickjy, and while she grappled with this 
 new idea Max looked at her and smiled with more 
 of his old expression than she had seen for many 
 a day. 
 
 " You remind me of a canary which my mother 
 once brought home from a bird-store. She had 
 bought a roomy cage for its accommodation, and 
 she removed two of the rods in the side of the tiny 
 wooden prison which had been the creature's home 
 hitherto, and drove him into his new one. Hop- 
 ping in, the bird stood on the floor of the large 
 cage, and, although looking all about him, did not 
 attempt to fly up to the perch so comparatively far 
 away. Instead of that, he turned around and 
 around in the same spot, unable for some time to 
 believe that he was able to make any other than 
 the circumscribed movements which he had been 
 so long accustomed to. Do you read my para- 
 ble?" 
 
 " Mr. Van Kirk ! " exclaimed Lydia, hiding her 
 delight to see him regard her with something of
 
 194 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 the old spirit under a tone of mock severity, " I 
 shall go to Europe, if you are not careful ! " 
 
 " All in good time," rejoined Max ; " but first I 
 advise you to go to West Point, and take Olive 
 Carlyle with you." 
 
 " Why, you don't say so," ejaculated Miss Bagg. 
 
 " Yes. It would be giving the girl such a treat 
 as she never had in her life, and you would have a 
 pleasant companion." 
 
 " I suppose it would oblige Mrs. Spencer very 
 much," said Lydia slowly. 
 
 " Let the infant be an after consideration. It 
 would be a good trip for you and Olive in any 
 case." 
 
 " Oh, of course if I went I should take Baby," 
 answered Miss Bagg decidedly. 
 
 " Very well, then. Shall we consider it settled ? 
 If you wish to go up there in time for graduation, 
 as your friend desires, I must see if you can get 
 rooms ; for the hotel is always crowded." 
 
 " Well, well. Not so fast. Not so fast," ex- 
 claimed Miss Lydia. " I must consult Mrs. Car- 
 lyle and Olive first." 
 
 " Oh, there will be no trouble about that. Three 
 weeks will give Olive time enough to get her 
 finery." 
 
 " Finery ? What does one want of finery to en- 
 joy scenery in ? We shall not mix with whatever 
 fashionable people there may be at the hotel." 
 
 " No, but there are other features at the post to 
 be taken into consideration besides the Highlands
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PARABLE. 195 
 
 and the river, features which will be pretty 
 sure to take Olive into consideration. The girl 
 must have the right kind of things to wear." 
 
 " Then I am afraid the expense will stand in 
 the way," replied Lydia earnestly. "You know 
 very well the Carlyles " 
 
 She paused, because Max was looking at her 
 with such a quizzical smile. "Doesn't the bird 
 dare yet to try its wings ? " he asked at last. 
 *' Strike out. Soar a little, Miss Bagg. You will 
 find you do not encounter any obstacle." 
 
 " I should like to know what you are driving at 
 now ? " asked Lydia, somewhat on the defensive. 
 
 " Why, it occurs to me that if I were a woman 
 I should not ask for a handsomer doll to dress than 
 Olive Carlyle." 
 
 "What an idea! " exclaimed Miss Bagg, won- 
 dering, yet pleased both with the notion and her 
 secretary's interest. 
 
 "Yes. Don't do the thing by halves. Tell 
 Mrs. Carlyle you want her daughter's company, 
 and so you ask the privilege of preparing her for 
 the trip as well as taking her." 
 
 " Well, well, well ! " Miss Lydia thought a 
 moment. " You 've been there," she said finally, 
 " you know the place. What would Olive need ? " 
 
 " Oh a oh " Max leaned back in his chair 
 and laid down his knife and fork, looking vainly 
 about for an inspiration. " You know those thin 
 things those mosquito-netting things girls wear 
 to parties ? " he said finally, " with frills and 
 all that?"
 
 196 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Indeed I don't," declared Miss Bagg, gazing 
 back at him. 
 
 They looked at one another earnestly and anx- 
 iously. There was not even a waitress present to 
 sympathize in their quandary. Miss Bagg always 
 dismissed the servant early in the dinner. It made 
 her nervous, she said, to have her standing about. 
 
 After a minute of helpless silence, the expres- 
 sion of Van Kirk's face changed. The horizontal 
 line returned to his forehead, and he went on with 
 his dinner. " If Ida were here, she would know 
 exactly what to say. As it is, you had better 
 leave it to Olive. Visitors at West Point sit or 
 ramble about out-of-doors by day, and dance by 
 night." 
 
 " My dear sir," exclaimed Lydia. " I can't 
 dance, and I would n't if I could." 
 
 " No, but Olive doubtless can and will. You 
 will have your bands pleasantly full to chaperon 
 her." 
 
 " Especially with Baby, too," returned Lydia, 
 looking rather dubious and apprehensive. 
 
 But her apprehensiveness did not last long. 
 Olive's delight when the plan was proposed, Mrs. 
 Carlyle's calm and Mrs. Spencer's fervent gratitude 
 gave Miss Bagg a comforting sense of being in 
 the way of her duty, and she yielded herself fully 
 to the novel and pleasant experience of dressing 
 a beautiful young girl. 
 
 It was hard to tell which of the two most en- 
 joyed those visits to the dressmaker. Olive's
 
 MB. VAN KIRK'S PARABLE. 197 
 
 good sense did not desert her in these intoxicating 
 days. She knew what was fashionable in dress 
 quite as well as though she belonged to the Four 
 Hundred, and she knew beside what was artistic 
 and graceful. Moreover, she was very careful not 
 to impose upon Miss Bagg's generosity. The re- 
 sult was that Miss Carlyle was, for the first time 
 in her life, the possessor of half a dozen new gowns 
 at once, all made by a fashionable dressmaker, 
 who did not often have so perfect a lay figure 
 upon which to hang her creations. 
 
 Olive laid these costumes out upon the bed when 
 they had all come home, and worshiped. More 
 than that, she called upon her mother to worship, 
 and Mrs. Carlyle surveyed their crisp freshness 
 through her spectacles and patted the folds admir- 
 ingly, standing back and drooping her head to one 
 side in an attitude of thoughtful appreciation. 
 
 Olive laughed merrily. " Precious mother ! " 
 she exclaimed, slipping an arm around her. " She 
 does not care one snap of her finger for anything 
 in the matter except your kindness, Cousin Ly- 
 dia," for Miss Bagg was attending the exhibition, 
 and looking on with much innocent satisfaction. 
 
 " Yes, I do," returned Mrs. Carlyle, taking her 
 daughter's hand within her own thin one and giv- 
 ing it gentle little pats to punctuate her words. 
 " I should have been sorry to have your life all 
 one color, dear. You are going to have a real 
 young-lady's good time. That should come once 
 in a girl's experience."
 
 198 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Well, I should be perfectly miserable, if you 
 were n't coming for the second week," rejoined 
 Olive. "As it is, I am as happy as a princess. 
 What a good fairy godmother you are, Cousin 
 Lydia." 
 
 " Think of my living to be a fairy godmother to 
 anybody," said Miss Bagg simply. " I ought to 
 own it, it would n't be honest of me to take the 
 credit, Mr. Van Kirk was the one to suggest this 
 West Point plan in the first place." 
 
 " Why, how nice of him," answered Olive 
 brightly. " You can give him as much credit as 
 you like. There will still be enough left to gild 
 you all over. Look at those dresses, there are 
 eight, really, for the black and the white evening 
 gowns have each two bodices, which make four 
 dresses of them." 
 
 " Yes, even the dresses," declared Lydia, rather 
 reluctantly, it must be confessed ; she found the 
 young girl's gratitude very sweet, and would have 
 liked to monopolize it. " He even suggested the 
 dresses; I must own it. I am so slow and old- 
 fashioned I should ii't have realized what you 
 needed." 
 
 Olive bit her lip and looked at the speaker, her 
 deep blue eyes shining with a look that was not 
 wholly pleasure. 
 
 " It seems to me that was rather out of Max's 
 province," she said quickly. 
 
 " Nothing is out of his province that he can do 
 to help somebody else. That is a wonderful young
 
 ME. VAN KIRK'S PARABLE. 199 
 
 man," replied Miss Bagg, with devout earnestness. 
 " I won't say he was any great assistance after the 
 first general suggestion," she continued, in a differ- 
 ent tone. " I did n't have any idea of what you 
 ought to have, and all the help I got from him 
 was ' frills and mosquito-netting.' " Lydia smiled, 
 and the cloud cleared from Olive's brow as she 
 joined in her mother's laugh and looked with re- 
 stored satisfaction at the daintily simple wardrobe. 
 This included three precious hats, two parasols, 
 and a box of gloves, and its concrete loveliness 
 haunted her dreams by night. 
 
 " I must tell Mr. Van Kirk just what we have," 
 said Lydia thoughtfully, "and see if he has 
 any" 
 
 " No, indeed ! " exclaimed Miss Carlyle, with 
 astonishing suddenness. "Please don't tell him 
 one thing about it." 
 
 Miss Bagg looked at her in mild surprise. 
 " Why, he might have something else to suggest," 
 she said. 
 
 " We do not want his suggestions. I have ev- 
 erything heart could wish except a pair of evening 
 shoes, and those I am going to get myself." 
 
 " Olive Carlyle. Why have n't you been honest 
 with me ? " asked Lydia seriously. " Is there 
 anything else, Cousin Mary," turning to Mrs. 
 Carlyle, " is there anything else this child ought 
 to have ? " 
 
 " Don't ask me," replied Mrs. Carlyle with a 
 repudiatory gesture. " You are both of you way 
 beyond my depth already."
 
 200 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Olive," Miss Bagg looked up into the tall 
 girl's face with the fiercest gaze of which she was 
 capable, " tell me straight off everything you 
 can think of, or, as true as I live, I will give Mr. 
 Van Kirk a full list of what we have, and make 
 him give his whole mind to the situation. As he 
 says, if Cousin Ida were here, she could answer 
 every question." 
 
 Miss Carlyle tossed her yellow-brown waves of 
 hair. " I know just as well as Ida Fuller what I 
 want," she said defiantly. 
 
 " Then tell me at once, you naughty girl. 
 Shoes ? " Miss Bagg touched her thumb, and 
 prepared to check off the remaining requirements. 
 " What else ? " 
 
 "A fan," admitted Olive, her cheeks pink. 
 Lydia grasped her first finger. " What else ? " 
 
 " Go on, Miss Aladdin," laughed Mrs. Carlyle. 
 * It is not every day you will have the wonderful 
 lamp in your grasp." 
 
 " Nothing else," answered Olive. 
 
 " Nothing ? " persisted Miss Bagg. " Think." 
 
 The girl laughed. " I have thought. My head 
 has been in the most upset state of frivolity for 
 weeks. I am only thankful there has n't been a 
 pane in it, so mother could see in. No, even 
 my cup will be full when I have some shoes and a 
 fan." 
 
 " Get your things on," said Miss Bagg briefly. 
 " The brougham is at the door." 
 
 Here was still a new experience for Lydia,
 
 ME. VAN KIRK'S PARABLE. 201 
 
 Heretofore shoes had been shoes to her. Durable 
 leather, sensible heels, had been all she looked out 
 for. She was bewildered by the dainty articles 
 which the shopman produced for Olive's pretty 
 foot, and it was so amusing to see her doll in one 
 and another of the delicate, glove-fitting, embroid- 
 ered or buckled slippers and shoes, that Miss Bagg 
 bought three pairs before she knew it, and then 
 was delighted at her own perspicacity in discover- 
 ing that this purchase necessitated an additional 
 outfit of hosiery ; and in great spirits she drove off 
 with the jubilant young girl to make the final pur- 
 chases for their laboriously planned fortnight's 
 outing. 
 
 " It is proverbial that people who go to West 
 Point for two weeks stay six," said Van Kirk 
 oracularly, when Miss Bagg told him for how long 
 to engage her rooms. 
 
 " Two weeks will be enough, I am sure," replied 
 Lydia firmly. " Mrs. Spencer could not ask more 
 of me." 
 
 "I have arranged matters in such a way that 
 you can stay as long as you like," her secretary 
 told her some days afterward. " It is only a part 
 of your good luck that some people who had ex- 
 pected to attend graduation have been obliged to 
 change their plans; otherwise there would not 
 have been a foothold for you at the hotel."
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT. 
 
 THE second week in June drew on apace. Olive 
 finished the crayon head of Van Kirk, to Miss 
 Bagg's great satisfaction. The girl had enjoyed 
 the work more than any previous experience, but 
 that, she thought, was easily explained. She had 
 accomplished the picture entirely under the in- 
 spiring anticipation of her trip. As she penciled 
 the short, crisp hair, or put in the droop at the 
 outer corner of Maxwell's eye, her fancy reveled in 
 the girlish finery which she knew was developing 
 under the direction of the fashionable modiste, or 
 she saw in perspective the Highlands of the Hud- 
 son, which once in her father's lifetime she had 
 looked upon with childish non-appreciation. 
 
 " 1 could not have endured to work on an ugly 
 face just now," she thought, leaning back and re- 
 garding the noble curves and harmonious lines in 
 her handiwork. As it was, the head before her 
 seemed to embody the poetry, the charm of life, of 
 which she was to have her first, no, her second 
 taste. Up to the present time she still harbored 
 the belief that Cousin Jotham's dinner-party was 
 a very happy experience. 
 
 " And the old gentleman liked my song," she
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT. 203 
 
 reflected. " Yes, he liked it better than Ida's, a 
 hundred times better than Ida's. Do you hear ? " 
 leaning forward and gazing at the averted eye 
 of the profile picture. Had the eye been gazing 
 at her, she could not have challenged it so boldly. 
 
 Days passed by ; the crayon head had gone to 
 the f ramer's ; anticipation was about to be merged 
 in fruition ; the happy hour of departure drew on. 
 Olive's trunk was packed when one of Miss Bagg's 
 servants came to the house with a note for Miss 
 Carlyle, which stated that Miss Spencer had tele- 
 graphed the hour of her arrival. Would Olive 
 come to dine with Miss Bagg that evening and 
 meet the young lady who was to be their traveling 
 companion ? " Your brown dress will do," added 
 Miss Lydia, for well she knew that the precious 
 festal garments were packed, ready for an early 
 start the next morning. 
 
 "Do! I should think it would do," thought 
 Olive, viewing her tailor-made reflection in the 
 glass. The serene satisfaction bestowed by a 
 knowledge that one's gown is correct to the small- 
 est detail filled her for the first time in her life. 
 
 " It is nonsense to preach against the folly of 
 dress, mother," she said to her silently contempla- 
 tive parent. " When a girl knows that her gown 
 is right, she can give all her thought to more im- 
 portant things. It is a great economy of nerve 
 force. Remember that, mother dear," patting 
 Mrs. Carlyle's shoulder with a huge assumption of 
 patronage which struggled with radiant smiles.
 
 204 HflSS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Good-by, Olive ; be a good girl," said her 
 mother. She had used those words at every part- 
 ing with her daughter for sixteen years. 
 
 " I don't know whether I am a good girl, but I 
 am a happy one, the happiest girl in New York," 
 replied Olive, turning the full light of her eyes 
 into her mother's, softly beaming. 
 
 " I shall know you are good so long as you are 
 happy, because I know you," returned Mrs. Car- 
 lyle. Then she watched from the window to see 
 her daughter's trim figure move down the street. 
 
 " It is really the first flight out of the nest," she 
 mused, " and she is a very beautiful bird. I am 
 glad Cousin Lydia invited me for one of those 
 weeks. She has never flown far herself. I do not 
 know how she will guard my dove." 
 
 As Miss Carlyle walked toward her destination 
 she found it not so easy to turn her thoughts to 
 more important things than her costume. She 
 luxuriated in its fit. At each of her long steps 
 she knew that the flat folds of her skirt opened to 
 just the right depth. There was not a threadbare 
 nor a shabby spot upon her from her faultless hat 
 to her neat boots. So far, she had not bestowed 
 much thought upon the girl whom she was now in- 
 vited to meet. Curiosity regarding the stranger 
 grew as she approached the Bagg residence. Be- 
 ing completely ready for her trip, she could now 
 take up the idea of this potential friend with epi' 
 curean pleasure as the next course in her feast of 
 good things.
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT. 205 
 
 
 
 Entering the house with the privilege of an in- 
 mate, she ran up the stairs to Miss Bagg's sanc- 
 tum and softly opened the door a little way. The 
 high, gentle tones of Miss Bagg's voice repeating 
 
 " Mary had a little lamb " 
 
 assured her that the parrot was giving an exhibi- 
 tion of his most remarkable performance. She 
 paused in order not to disturb him. Admiration 
 of the Judge was an emotion Olive quite shared. 
 She believed him to be the brightest bird in the 
 world, and she had been much interested in Miss 
 Bagg's account of her instructions to him in this 
 respected rhyme. 
 
 The voice went on with complacent preciseness : 
 
 " His fleece was white as snow, 
 And everywhere that Mary went 
 The lamb would go." 
 
 Perhaps Miss Bagg's nursery days were left so 
 far behind that her memory was defective. At all 
 events, the Judge gave the last line in this shorn 
 style. In the next verse Lydia had told Olive 
 she had been much annoyed by the slovenly and 
 indistinct manner in which the parrot for some 
 time persisted in slipping over some syllables of 
 the third line ; thus : 
 
 "It made the children lup'n play." 
 
 Miss Bagg had wrestled faithfully with this 
 lapse of the Judge's tongue, and had corrected it. 
 This is what Olive now heard, a most reproachful 
 accent on the emphasized words :
 
 206 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " He followed her to school one day, 
 Which was against the rule, 
 It made the children laugh and play t 
 At school." 
 
 Somebody laughed in the room, a laugh in 
 which the Judge joined, drowning the human 
 voice in his apparently immoderate merriment, 
 ending with a long-drawn " Oh, dear." 
 
 Olive knocked loudly. 
 
 "Come in," exclaimed the Judge, abandoning 
 his lady-like voice for a ponderous bass. 
 
 Miss Bagg came to the door, and greeted the 
 girl affectionately. " The Judge was just saying 
 some poetry for Baby," she said, drawing the 
 visitor into the room. 
 
 " Come, boy," remarked the parrot, as he saw 
 the new-comer, " come, kiss me." 
 
 A young lady sitting by the fire rose. " This is 
 Miss Carlyle, Miss Spencer," said Miss Bagg. 
 
 The two girls looked at one another with veiled 
 curiosity. We know what Miss Spencer saw. 
 Olive's quickly withdrawn gaze took in the view 
 of a piquant face, whose whiteness was striking, 
 framed as it was in black hair carried rather 
 loosely back and fastened in a coil by a silver 
 arrow. 
 
 Miss Bagg regarded the pair with complacency. 
 
 " What is prettier than a young girl ? Two 
 young girls," she said to herself, paraphrasing an 
 ancient conundrum. 
 
 "I have been so anxious to meet you, Miss
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT. 207 
 
 Carlyle," said Miss Spencer, while she mentally 
 pronounced enthusiastically upon Olive's beauty. 
 " I wanted some one to help me sing Miss Bagg's 
 praises. Is n't she good to me ? " 
 
 " I don't know. Is she ? She has been so good 
 to me that I have n't had time to think of any- 
 thing else," replied Olive, nodding with a smile to 
 Nora, who approached from the next room to take 
 her hat and jacket, that jacket with the smart 
 lapels ! 
 
 " Then we shall have one emotion in common," 
 said Miss Spencer, " from the beginning of our ac- 
 quaintance. Miss Bagg, you are ' the link that 
 binds.' " 
 
 " I am very happy to be that, Baby." 
 
 The young girl shook her dark head. " Not 
 that name," she said ; " Bertha." 
 
 " Oh, I keep forgetting," replied Miss Bagg, 
 " although you have told me half a dozen times." 
 
 " No ' old man of the sea ' ever equaled a nick- 
 name," continued the girl. " I wish parents would 
 remember that and pause in time." 
 
 " Bertha is a pretty name. I do not wonder 
 you wish to claim it," remarked Olive, as she took 
 a chair. 
 
 Miss Bagg examined her from head to foot with 
 kindly interest. The doll she had dressed was 
 highly satisfactory. 
 
 " Well, Olive," she said, " don't you notice any- 
 thing ? " At this vague suggestion the girl looked 
 first at Bertha, questioningly.
 
 208 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 The latter returned her gaze curiously, as 
 though Miss Bagg's question was not surprising. 
 Miss Carlyle's eyes roved about the room ; and 
 soon the color came into her cheeks. 
 
 " Oh," she exclaimed, rising. " What a nice 
 frame ! " for she had found the crayon portrait of 
 Van Kirk hanging in a place of honor on the wall. 
 
 " Are n't you proud of your work ? " asked Ber- 
 tha. "Miss Bagg has been telling me you did 
 that." 
 
 " I can't wait to hear what Mr. Van Kirk will 
 say to it," remarked Lydia. 
 
 " Has n't he seen it yet ? " exclaimed Olive. " I 
 don't want to be here when he first sees it." 
 
 " Are you afraid he will behave as badly as I 
 did ? " asked Lydia, laughing. " I cried when I 
 saw a picture she did of me." 
 
 " If the original of that weeps it will be for joy," 
 remarked Bertha. " It looks like an ideal head. 
 I don't see how you had the conscience to cater so 
 to your cousin's vanity, Miss Carlyle. You see I 
 know all about your relationship." 
 
 " Then you have solved a very complex prob- 
 lem," returned Olive, while she was thinking how 
 foolish she should feel to have her handiwork ex- 
 hibited to Max in her presence, and wishing she 
 could think of some escape which would not seem 
 more foolish still. 
 
 " Does he really look like that ? " asked Bertha. 
 " Excuse me, Miss Carlyle, but an artist must be 
 tempted to flatter sometimes."
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT. 209 
 
 " I am not an artist. I only copy photographs, 
 and they are generally truthful, you know." 
 
 Bertha shrugged her shoulders. " Well, I would 
 like to have seen him when he was a cadet," she 
 remarked. 
 
 " Oh, I see ; Cousin Lydia has been telling you 
 at least a part of his history. You have a brother 
 at West Point, I believe." 
 
 Miss Spencer looked at her new acquaintance 
 with astonished eyes. Was it possible Olive did 
 not know all about Ralph ? Why were they going 
 to West Point, if it was not to see Ralph ? 
 
 "Yes," she answered, after a moment of half- 
 offended hesitation. 
 
 " Have you ever been there ? " pursued Olive. 
 
 " Several times, but only for flying visits. The 
 first summer after my brother entered I was 
 traveling in Europe, so I lost his yearling camp, 
 and it did seem unbearable to think of losing this 
 too. That is why I feel so grateful to Miss 
 Bagg. Two weeks will be ever so much better 
 than nothing." 
 
 " Do you sketch ? " asked Olive. 
 
 It seemed to Miss Spencer an entirely irrele- 
 vant question, but she replied in the negative. 
 
 " I am so sorry. I hoped you could. I am go- 
 ing to try. All those places along the Hudson 
 must give such lovely opportunities." 
 
 Bertha looked into the beautiful face curiously. 
 u West Point does give all sorts of opportunities," 
 she replied, then, after a pause, she added : " You 
 are going there for the scenery? "
 
 210 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Of course," replied Olive ; " I am not so 
 lucky as to have a brother to visit. I suppose he 
 eclipses the Highlands entirely in your anticipa- 
 tion." 
 
 Miss Spencer only smiled her slight, pensive 
 smile ; but she felt that there was a broad gulf 
 between herself and this girl who felt so trifling 
 and impersonal an interest in the haven of her 
 own eager desires. She looked upon Olive with a 
 sense of alienation, and postponed her opinion of 
 their possible congeniality until she should find 
 how Miss Carlyle responded to enlightenment of 
 her present painful ignorance. Just how dense 
 this was she determined to discover. 
 
 " Did n't you go to West Point at all while your 
 cousin was there ? " she inquired. 
 
 " No, not once." 
 
 " Not to see him graduate ? " 
 Olive shook her head. "No, I never even 
 thought of such a thing." 
 
 " Your own cousin ! " exclaimed Bertha irre- 
 pressibly. 
 
 " He is not my own cousin," returned Olive, 
 amused at the other's evident disapproval. " My 
 mother was his mother's bridesmaid." She 
 laughed, for Miss Spencer looked mystified. " The 
 relationship is a little nearer than that, however," 
 she added. " His father was some connection of 
 my father's, but had it not been that our mothers 
 were very fond of one another as girls, we should 
 hardly have counted the relationship."
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT. 211 
 
 The Judge, who had been standing on one foot, 
 the other clasping his forehead and beak in a re- 
 flective mood, here began to march up and down 
 his perch, grasping it hand over hand. He stopped 
 suddenly. " Mr. Van Kirk ! Oh, Mr. Van Kirk ! " 
 he called. 
 
 " Yes, he is coming," said Miss Bagg. " How 
 quickly the Judge distinguishes his step ! " She 
 rose and hurried from the room. 
 
 " I was so afraid you would not come home," she 
 said to Max, standing at the head of the stairs as 
 he ascended. " We have guests." 
 
 "Indeed? Who?" 
 
 "Olive and Miss Spencer. Coine into my room 
 when you are ready." 
 
 "I will." 
 
 Miss Bagg reentered the room, beaming. " He 
 does not always come home to dinner, and I was so 
 afraid he might not come to-night, not knowing 
 you would be here," she said to the girls. 
 
 Miss Carlyle devoutly wished that Miss Lydia 
 might have been disappointed, but she took up her 
 post by the parrot's cage and gave her whole at- 
 tention to him, leaving Miss Bagg to question her 
 guest about affairs at Ashley. 
 
 In less than half an hour Miss Lydia opened 
 the door to Van Kirk, who entered and was pre- 
 sented to Bertha, and greeted Olive with a cordial 
 shake of the hand. 
 
 Miss Spencer's white face gained spirit and 
 glow as he seated himself near her.
 
 212 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " I am so glad to hear that you are a West- 
 Pointer," she said. 
 
 Van Kirk smiled as he returned her interested 
 gaze. Evidently the visitor considered that this 
 fact constituted a bond of fellowship between 
 them. He felt impelled to come up to her expec- 
 tations, and cudgeled his brains to remember what 
 Miss Bagg had told him of her brother. 
 
 "You are going up for the graduation exer- 
 cises ? " he said tentatively. He could not for the 
 life of him remember to which class her brother 
 belonged. 
 
 " Yes. I am glad we are going to be there in 
 time. I suppose there are always some great men 
 to hear speak." 
 
 " You will have a more personal interest another 
 year?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed. Next year." 
 
 " Ah. Your brother goes into first-class camp 
 this summer. A great time for him, equal to 
 furlough, a local proverb hath it. A great time 
 for his sister, too. I suppose you know that you 
 will receive enough attention to turn your head." 
 
 " I don't know," replied Bertha innocently, but 
 she blushed. " I have never been there in sum- 
 mer." 
 
 "I see a proof that you are not wholly a stranger," 
 remarked Max, looking steadily at a little bunch of 
 three bell-buttons which depended from the slim 
 chain which held Miss Spencer's watch. Each 
 button was engraved with a monogram.
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT. 213 
 
 She took the bright little globes in her hand. 
 " No, indeed ; I feel that I have lived the life of 
 the academy by proxy, and I have met many of 
 Ralph's classmates." 
 
 Miss Bagg had been listening to this exchange 
 of amenities rather restlessly. She took advantage 
 of the little pause that followed Bertha's last re- 
 mark. 
 
 " Mr. Van Kirk, I have something here I want 
 to show you. No, you need n't move. Just look 
 up there." 
 
 Max did move when he caught sight of the por- 
 trait. He pushed his chair back a little and 
 stared at it, quite as completely surprised as Lydia 
 could have asked. 
 
 " What is that for? " he asked rather curtly. 
 
 " Me," responded Lydia more curtly, but with 
 evident triumph. 
 
 The picture displeased Van Kirk. He had 
 always been vastly ungrateful for that classical 
 profile which had gained him the sobriquet of 
 " Beauty " at the academy. To have the photo- 
 graph which had been taken at old Jotham's 
 command thus brought into life-size evidence was 
 instinctively distasteful to him ; but Miss Bagg's 
 beaming satisfaction repressed any expression of 
 his sentiments. Before he could decide on a safe 
 comment she spoke again, while Miss Carlyle 
 winced. 
 
 " Olive did it," added Miss Bagg exultantly. 
 
 " Olive," repeated Van Kirk, moving his chair
 
 214 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 again so as to confront the coloring face by the 
 parrot's cage, " I did not know you did that sort 
 of thing." 
 
 " That is not wonderful," returned Miss Carlyle 
 nonchalantly. " I do not go about with a list of 
 iny accomplishments pinned to me." 
 
 " I never saw better crayon work," said Max, 
 thankful that he had not injured two sets of feel- 
 ings by an involuntary revelation of his own. 
 
 " How very good of you," returned Olive, with- 
 out looking at him. 
 
 " You have paid me a great compliment, Miss 
 Bagg," declared Max, gathering himself together. 
 
 " I think the world and all of it," returned Ly- 
 dia simply, gazing at the picture with much satis- 
 faction. 
 
 Miss Spencer waited to see if the subject of the 
 portrait was disposed of, and then returned to the 
 matters near her own heart. It was so agreeable 
 to find some one who was familiar with the spot 
 where she so often dwelt in spirit. 
 
 " I am particularly glad that we shall get to 
 West Point in time for the graduation hop," she 
 said. " My brother was so afraid I should miss 
 it." 
 
 " Yes, that is always a very gay crush. You 
 will be sure to enjoy it," replied Van Kirk ; " but 
 poor Miss Carlyle ! " looking at that preoccupied 
 young lady. " You ought to have gone a little ear- 
 lier so that she would have a partner, too. Olive, 
 I wonder if it would do any good for me to sing
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT. 215 
 
 ' Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight ; ' 
 Make me a cadet again just for that night 
 
 so I could take you ? " 
 
 " I have arranged that," announced Bertha sol- 
 emnly. She looked at Olive as though hopeless 
 that she would appreciate the magnitude of her 
 good fortune, and resentful beforehand of such 
 ingratitude. " My brother Ralph is making up 
 Miss Carlyle's card," she added, still more im- 
 pressively. 
 
 Olive looked, as she felt, astonished and mys- 
 tified. 
 
 " Say ' Thank you ' to the lady, Olive," said Max 1 . 
 " You little know what politeness that shows in Mr. 
 Spencer. He is giving up escorting any of the 
 charming girls he has a soft spot for, and engages 
 to take you to the hop, ' sight unseen,' and secures 
 all your partners for you for the evening." 
 
 Miss Carlyle looked from the smiling face to 
 Miss Spencer's, preternaturally grave. 
 
 " I wish he would n't," she said simply, rather 
 bewildered. 
 
 Max laughed outright. " Forgive her, Miss 
 Spencer. After the hop she will fall on your neck 
 and thank you. She does n't know the customs of 
 our alma mater. How should you like to see a 
 dance in progress, Olive, and yourself sit against 
 the wall?" 
 
 " I should n't like it," admitted Miss Carlyle. 
 
 " Well, that horrible fate is what Miss Spencer's 
 foresight has saved you from ; and " turning to
 
 216 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Bertha and lowering his voice "I think your 
 brother will find that virtue is its own reward, 
 don't you?" 
 
 Bertha nodded, and softened sufficiently to give 
 her delicate smile. 
 
 " I thank you very much, I am sure, Miss Spen- 
 cer," said Olive tardily. 
 
 She made her excuses rather early that evening. 
 She had a few things left to do, she said, regarding 
 her packing. 
 
 Max drove home with her. He found her dis- 
 inclined to talk on the way, but his own thoughts 
 were so ready to stray that when he handed his 
 companion from the carriage before her house he 
 was entirely surprised to have her pause on the 
 sidewalk and face him. 
 
 " I want you to realize, Max," she said, low and 
 hastily, " that I could not know that you disliked 
 life-size portraits when I took Miss Bagg's order 
 for yours." 
 
 "I I do not dislike them," returned Van 
 Kirk, even more amazed at her manner than at 
 her words. 
 
 " I am very sorry," she pursued, unheeding him. 
 " Nothing would have induced me to make the pic- 
 ture, had I known. As it was it is my business. 
 No matter about saying anything polite," she added 
 hurriedly, as he started to speak. " Many peo- 
 ple feel as you do. Good-night. Thank you for 
 bringing me home." 
 
 She ran up the steps and into the house with
 
 MR. VAN KIRK'S PORTRAIT. 217 
 
 such swiftness that Van Kirk stood and looked 
 into space, bewildered, for half a minute. 
 
 This was a new Olive, as new as her tailor- 
 made clothes. His straying thoughts, half leaning 
 toward business and half given to the vague ache 
 that had become chronic somewhere in the organ- 
 ism of his mind, were reined up and concentrated 
 with a sharp turn. He gave a long, low whistle 
 before he re entered the brougham. 
 
 As for Miss Carlyle, she went into the house a 
 little consoled by what she had said ; somewhat 
 vindicated from self-accusations of the pleasure 
 with which she had made Maxwell's picture. 
 With her whole soul she now resented the plea- 
 sure. It had seemed to her that Max must suspect 
 that she had done the work con amore.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WEST POINT. 
 
 THE following morning Mrs. Carlyle accompa- 
 nied her daughter to the boat, and bade the travel- 
 ers good-speed. Her appearance was more con- 
 ventional than usual in new garments which Miss 
 Bagg and Olive had declared it imperative for her 
 to have. She had yielded meekly to their wishes, 
 and Olive felt very proud of her mother as she 
 introduced Bertha and saw the latter come under 
 the spell of Mrs. Carlyle's sweet eyes and voice. 
 
 " You are not going, Max ? " asked the latter, 
 in surprise, as the young man spoke, reminding 
 the party that the time for adieus was up. 
 
 " Yes, I am going to see them safely settled," 
 replied Van Kirk, " but I shall probably be back 
 to-night." 
 
 "Only one little week, mother," whispered 
 Olive fondly, as she kissed her. 
 
 The boat drew away from the dock, in the sweet 
 June morning, and the much anticipated trip had 
 begun. The wind was fresh, but even Miss Bagg 
 refused to go inside. She tied a veil over her hat, 
 wrapped a shawl about her shoulders, and, Van 
 Kirk having found a comfortable spot for her, she
 
 WEST POINT. 219 
 
 drew her chair near the rail and gave her attention 
 to the varied panorama which began to unfold. 
 The young man's companions soon found that he 
 was a complete guide to its beauties and could 
 answer all their questions. 
 
 He had thought Olive's manner a little conscious 
 when they first met this morning, but in her pres- 
 ent pleasure all constraint vanished. The cares 
 and disappointments of life seemed to Max to slip 
 away as the boat ploughed through the water. 
 The cheerfulness of his companions and especially 
 Olive's silent gladness stimulated him, and lifted 
 him out of the rut where he had been plodding. 
 
 The very gight of the girl was inspiring. Her 
 softly brilliant eyes, with their shadowy lashes, the 
 satisfying curves and coloring of her face, which 
 grew only nearer to perfection in the unsparing 
 daylight, formed a feast for the eye to enjoy. 
 Bertha Spencer could not forbear an honest sigh 
 of envy at the way Olive's hair turned to gold in 
 the sunshine, every loose lock dancing into a little 
 ring when the wind seized it. 
 
 The half patronizing, half indifferent sentiments 
 which Max had experienced all his life toward 
 little Olive Carlyle had sensibly changed for the 
 first time during that minute last evening when 
 she had paused on the dark sidewalk and uttered 
 her words of self-justification. They revealed that 
 he had hurt her, and he, in trying to recall on his 
 way home the precise amoiint of ungraciousness 
 that he had shown concerning the portrait, be-
 
 220 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 stowed more continuous thought upon the girl than 
 he had ever given her, wondering with the curi- 
 osity of a discoverer to find her an individual of 
 heart and spirit whom he could never again ignore 
 nor flatter; and he regarded his mental picture 
 with a mixture of surprise, amusement, and pique 
 such as he might entertain toward a person who 
 had stolen a march upon him. 
 
 As he regarded Olive now, he found a distinct 
 satisfaction in the fact that she unconsciously owed 
 it to him that she was standing here by the boat's 
 rail with that eager delight in her eyes. He could 
 not address her in the off -hand manner which 
 twenty-four hours ago would have been the only 
 natural one, and as Miss Spencer put to him many 
 questions and comments he gave his attention 
 chiefly to her as the boat sped on. 
 
 Those who have taken that trip up the Hudson 
 know what our party enjoyed of beauty and va- 
 riety of scenery between the Palisades and the 
 Highlands, and those who have not beheld those 
 enchanting vistas could not be made to see them 
 by any pen-picture which might be introduced 
 here. 
 
 At last the bell of the steamer uttered its signal 
 to land at the broad dock, which to Bertha con- 
 stituted the most welcome bit of view they had 
 seen since they left New York. Her white cheeks 
 took a pink tinge that was not all due to the river 
 breeze, and her heart beat with joyful excitement. 
 
 " At last ! " she exclaimed under her breath.
 
 WEST POINT. 221 
 
 aud Olive smiled for sympathy with the radiance 
 iu her dark eyes. Van Kirk was smiling, too, at 
 reminiscences of his own. The last time he had 
 left a boat at the West Point dock it had been 
 when returning to " jail " from furlough. How 
 infinitely, hopelessly long the two remaining years 
 had looked to him then in prospective. How 
 short they and the four succeeding them seemed 
 now as he looked back. He had thought that day, 
 when restively resenting the return to rigid law 
 and system, that all joy lay in the one word 
 freedom. He philosophized a little, moving along 
 now with the stream of passengers, on the elusive 
 character of this same freedom. Mankind were 
 all slaves, he thought, if not to " taps " and " re- 
 veille," then to something else. 
 
 He was recalled from his reflections by the in- 
 evitable " Step along lively " with which the Hud- 
 son River official speeds his guest, howsoever 
 lively said guest may be in crossing the gang- 
 plank. 
 
 Van Kirk had ordered a carriage to meet his 
 party, and when they were ensconced the horses 
 moved slowly up the hill. 
 
 " What a lovely place ! " exclaimed city-bred 
 Olive, her eyes resting upon the jagged, rocky 
 height, with its masses of trees and foliage, which 
 bounded their road on the left. 
 
 " Of course," replied Miss Spencer, her whole 
 expression betokening that she had reached para- 
 dise, and that no development of its charms could
 
 222 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 in any way surprise her. " Oh, Miss Bagg, is n't 
 it hard that I don't know when I shall see Ralph ? 
 He said he could n't promise anything, but that I 
 was to expect him when I saw him." 
 
 " I wonder why that is," replied Lydia. " I 
 supposed he would meet us at the boat." 
 
 " You must be prepared to wonder at a great 
 many things for the next week, Miss Bagg," re- 
 marked Max. " You are at a military post now, 
 a little world by itself, and you will find 
 things different in many ways from anything you 
 are accustomed to." 
 
 " Yes. I saw two or three soldiers down there 
 at the boat when we came in," replied Lydia. 
 
 " Officers, Miss Bagg, officers," returned Van 
 Kirk, smiling ; " which reminds me of the captain 
 who was in court for some reason, and, the lawyer 
 for the defense referring to him as ' this soldier,' 
 the captain hotly bade him to remember that he 
 was an officer, after which the lawyer referred to 
 him carefully as ' this officer who is no soldier.' 
 There are a couple of soldiers now," as two men 
 in brown overalls passed the carriage. 
 
 " Where are their uniforms ? " 
 
 " They do not require them for this work, which 
 is keeping the roads in order. No one is employed 
 here except enlisted men. You will see plenty of 
 soldiers in uniform, however. There " as the car- 
 riage turned and they passed a long, low building 
 half covered with clinging vines " there is the 
 riding-hall, where cavalry drill is held in winter."
 
 WEST POINT. 223 
 
 " Yes," exclaimed Bertha, leaning forward, " and 
 how glorious it is to see them ride in there ! " 
 
 " The soldiers ? " asked Olive. 
 
 Miss Spencer looked at her half impatiently. 
 
 " I have pictures of all these places, Olive," said 
 Van Kirk. " I ought to have shown them to you 
 and explained matters, so that you would be as 
 much at home here as Miss Spencer. The cadets 
 have their riding-drill in this hall. I am sorry 
 you will not see any of it. The summer is not the 
 season for that. They become very expert horse- 
 men, and attract enthusiastic audiences to see their 
 skillful exploits. Some of them enjoy it immensely, 
 and some, down to the last day of the course, never 
 conquer the distaste which grew out of the nu- 
 merous mishaps they endured during their first 
 lessons." 
 
 " I suppose you liked it, since you joined a cav- 
 alry regiment," remarked Olive. 
 
 " Yes ; riding was the greatest pleasure I had 
 here." 
 
 " Let me understand," said Miss Bagg impress- 
 ively, " just what is a cadet ? " 
 
 "A student in the military academy of the 
 United States," replied Max. "Being lucky 
 enough to pass his examination, he bids farewell 
 to home and mother, and takes an oath of loyalty 
 and service to the government, which government 
 then proceeds to get him into shape to be a pre- 
 sentable and competent servant. This process is 
 a severe one, and many cannot stand the strain.
 
 224 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Tests are constantly to be endured along the course 
 which eliminate all but the strongest specimens 
 physically and mentally ; therefore each first class 
 of the academy may be regarded and respected as 
 a survival of the fittest. We are now about to re- 
 gard and respect Miss Spencer's brother in that 
 light." 
 
 "To say nothing of Mr. Van Kirk," added 
 Olive mischievously. 
 
 " Oh, let bygones be bygones," he replied good- 
 naturedly. 
 
 " Why, what do they want to make it so hard 
 for ? " asked Miss Bagg. 
 
 " It is right they should. It has been estimated 
 that each cadet the United States graduates costs 
 the government from eight to ten thousand dollars. 
 Naturally this outlay must be employed to fit the 
 strongest men. There is the library, Miss Bagg. 
 We are proud of the library." 
 
 Even as Van Kirk used the pronoun, he felt a 
 twinge of regret. He had, of course, thought 
 twice before deciding to come here, where it was 
 certain that he would meet acquaintances who 
 knew of his mortification ; but the very suggestion 
 of shrinking decided him to come. He would not 
 submit to allow such thoughts to hamper his move- 
 ments. 
 
 Miss Spencer gazed eagerly at the academic 
 building and the barracks before tne carriage 
 turned into the road dividing the two plains, and 
 approached the hotel.
 
 )VEST POIXT. 225 
 
 The stretch of green grass on the left, the majes- 
 tic old trees with their rich fans of foliage, the glo- 
 rious hills, and the sparkle of the river caused 
 a throbbing of excited delight in Olive's throat 
 which forced a moisture into her eyes. The air 
 was the very breath of June ; the sky azure, with 
 downy puffs of cloud floating beneath the blue. 
 The impression of the moment was one she never 
 forgot. 
 
 Her involuntary glance met Van Kirk's, who ex- 
 ulted again at having been the means of bringing 
 such a look into her face. Of such scenes Olive 
 had known as little as the blade of grass which 
 stretches to- the light between two cobblestones in 
 a New York pavement. 
 
 Miss Bagg looked up at the hills, and took a 
 deep breath in enjoyment of the welcome, spacious 
 quiet after the confined din of the city. " This is 
 a beautiful place, I must say," she remarked, in 
 tones of hearty satisfaction. 
 
 The carriage stopped at the hotel, and Van Kirk 
 assisted the ladies to alight. There were a few 
 people on the piazza, among them an officer, who 
 started at sight of Max and stepped forward, only 
 restraining himself as he saw the two ladies. 
 
 Van Kirk met him with outstretched hand. 
 " Gary, I remembered that you were here." 
 
 "Van Kirk, old man, delighted to see you ! " ex- 
 claimed the other, returning the cordial grip. 
 
 " I '11 be back in a minute ; " and Max ushered 
 his companions into the house, where they were
 
 226 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 shown to their rooms. These commanded what 
 Bertha pronounced " such heavenly views " that the 
 three could hardly tear themselves from the win- 
 dows. At last Bertha and Olive could come into 
 full agreement, and Miss Carlyle was so entirely 
 happy that Bertha forgave her for the dual crime 
 of not having anticipated seeing Ralph nor studied 
 his surroundings. 
 
 A good dinner added to the well-being of the 
 party, and afterward the feminine portion of it de- 
 voted themselves to unpacking. This operation 
 was, at least in Bertha's case, interrupted by such 
 frequent excursions to the windows that it be- 
 came a matter of length. 
 
 " Oh, I think this academy is the cruelest in- 
 stitution ! " she exclaimed at last. " I can't help 
 keeping my ears and eyes strained for news of 
 Ralph, and I think " A knock at the door in- 
 terrupted her, and Van Kirk's card was handed in. 
 Olive took it and read the penciling on the back. 
 
 " He says if we come down in ten minutes we 
 can see the light battery drill. I 'd like to know 
 what that is." 
 
 " Oh, hurry ! " exclaimed Bertha joyfully. " I 
 wonder if Ralph is in it. Pin up your hair, Miss 
 Carlyle. These dresses will do. Do you like can- 
 non, Miss Bagg ? " 
 
 " Cannon ! Mercy, no, Baby." 
 
 " Yes, you do," said Bertha coaxingly. " At 
 any rate, you like the circus, don't you ? " 
 
 Miss Bagg was considerably bewildered by this
 
 WEST POINT. 227 
 
 mixture of ideas, but she yielded to the excited 
 girl's admonitions to hurry, and when the ten min- 
 utes were over the three joined Van Kirk in the 
 parlor. With him was the lieutenant who had 
 spoken to him when they arrived. He introduced 
 him as a friend who belonged to his old regiment, 
 and who was now detailed at this post as an in- 
 structor. 
 
 Miss Bagg regarded the officer's shoulder-straps 
 with much respect. 
 
 " What do you instruct in, Lieutenant Gary ? " 
 asked Bertha, buttoning her gloves. 
 
 "T-ictics," he replied. 
 
 She gazed at him. Here she was actually speak- 
 ing with one of those awful beings known as tac- 
 tical officers ; one of those creatures who rejoice in 
 making life a burden to the innocent cadet. He 
 was shameless enough to avow his calling, and yet 
 his face was not that of a villain. 
 
 Miss Bagg was speaking again. " Mr. Gary, 
 does light battery really mean light ? Bab Miss 
 Spencer said something about cannon." 
 
 " They do make a good deal of noise," replied 
 the lieutenant, " but the exhibition drills are always 
 interesting. How would it be to go over on the 
 library steps, Van Kirk ? " 
 
 " I am not sure I want to see it," said Miss 
 Bagg, hesitating. 
 
 " Oh, yes, you do," replied Max. " We will 
 take it at a little distance. You would not miss it 
 for anything."
 
 228 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 They set forth from the hotel, Max and Miss 
 Bagg ahead, while Gary followed with the young 
 ladies. 
 
 " What kind of an officer is he ? " asked Lydia. 
 "What rank?" 
 
 " A lieutenant." 
 
 " I did n't know what to call him." 
 
 "You did right. 'Mister 'is accounted quite 
 good enough for a lieutenant." 
 
 " You must give me some lessons in shoulder- 
 straps," said Miss Bagg, " so I shall know who is 
 who. What were you ?" 
 
 " J was a second lieutenant. My shoulder-strap 
 was precisely like that of a general only lacking 
 the star." 
 
 Van Kirk's little joke was quite lost upon Miss 
 Bagg, who was intent upon information. 
 
 "And Mr. Gary's is the same, I suppose," she 
 said. 
 
 " No, he is a first lieutenant. You will see that 
 he boasts a bar in his field." 
 
 A s they reached the chapel and turned east, Miss 
 Lydia observed a uniformed young fellow carrying 
 a bayonet and walking slowly along the sidewalk. 
 
 " Is that a cadet ? " she asked. 
 
 " No, that is a soldier a sentinel." 
 
 "What is the matter with him?" asked Miss 
 Bagg, for, as they approached, the sentinel brought 
 his heels together, swung his body about, backed 
 about three steps, looked rigidly before him, chan- 
 ging the position of his rifle in a couple of jerky
 
 WEST POINT. 229 
 
 motions, while Lyclia gazed, much mystified. 
 " What ails him? " she whispered. 
 
 " Gary," returned her escort briefly. " He was 
 saluting an officer," explained Max as soon as they 
 had passed. 
 
 " Oh ! " Miss Bagg turned around for an invol- 
 untary, wondering glance at the lieutenant. 
 
 " This will be a very good place," said Gary as the 
 party seated themselves on the library steps. " You 
 will get a bird's-eye view, and distance will lend 
 enchantment for Miss Bagg." 
 
 " I think it would be ever so much nicer over 
 there in the crowd," sighed Bertha, " where we 
 could see their faces." 
 
 ."No, indeed," exclaimed Miss Bagg nervously; 
 "you might get shot. Stay right here with me. 
 Oh, look at that ! " 
 
 For now the cavalry plain began to fill. 
 
 "Look at those men all in snow-white," ex- 
 claimed Lydia, as horses in teams of four, each 
 span driven by a mounted soldier, drew the cais- 
 sons and cannon about the field. The caissons 
 were manned by white-clothed cadets, who sat mo- 
 tionless with folded arms. Gadet officers mounted 
 on prancing steeds gave orders. Miss Bagg was 
 reminded of an ancient engraving of a Roman 
 chariot race she had seen at Ashley, as the horses 
 galloped around the plain in a circle, the dust 
 rising from the wheels. At last a halt was called. 
 Instantly the statuesque figures became nimble. 
 Descending from their perches with precisely unan-
 
 230 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 imous movements, they fired the cannon, the re- 
 verberations echoing among the hills. Then as 
 swiftly reascending, they assumed a motionless 
 posture with folded arms ; off galloped the horses 
 to a new position ; then came the signal to halt, 
 and the explosions again awoke the echoes. This 
 was repeated with many varying manffiuvres. 
 
 Around and around rumbled the heavy wagons. 
 The dust flew in clouds, the guns boomed, some- 
 times singly, sometimes with simultaneous roars 
 from six deep mouths. The smoke rolled up 
 and away against the mountains, fading in feathery 
 mist. The thud of the horses' feet, the grinding 
 of heavy wheels, the notes of the bugle, the sharp 
 explosions, the alertness of the white-clothed fig- 
 ures, made a thrilling series of sounds and sights 
 against the marvelous background. 
 
 After the first fire Miss Bagg forgot to cry out, 
 and as for Bertha and Olive, they were absorbed 
 in interest. 
 
 When it was over Max looked at Miss Bagg. 
 " Well, would you have missed it ? " 
 
 " Not for anything," she replied, drawing a deep 
 breath. " I feel as if I had been in a battle." 
 
 " Where West Point gets ahead of other shows 
 is that Nature stages things as nobody else can," 
 remarked Van Kirk. " Now, I suppose, Cary, if 
 we want to see parade it behooves us to hurry in 
 order to get seats." 
 
 " It does, indeed. See, some have gone over 
 already."
 
 WEST POINT. 231 
 
 They arose and moved away. The sentinel again 
 showed spasmodic symptoms at their approach, 
 jerked through his evolutions, and passed into a re- 
 spectful trance, and Miss Bagg began to be so in- 
 fected with the martial spirit that she walked very 
 straight as she passed him, and felt a share in the 
 attention. Gary was just ahead of her this time, 
 and she saw him return the salute. 
 
 " If you had n't left the army the sentries would 
 have to do that to you, would n't they ? " she said 
 wistfully to her secretary. 
 
 " Yes. I shall have to put a guard on my right 
 hand, or I shall be responding to some of these 
 fellows, cit as I am. I have n't been out of the 
 habit long enough. It gets to be entirely uncon- 
 scious. A friend of mine, who has been in the 
 army about ten years, told me he went to the circus 
 one day, and when the clown came into the ring 
 and saluted, he responded." 
 
 They were walking quickly along the path 
 which edges the infantry plain, and IVJax looked 
 with curious sensations across at the window of his 
 old room in the barracks. 
 
 Miss Bagg's attention was suddenly attracted 
 by a novel figure. It was that of a young man 
 whose uniform of matchless gray and pure white 
 revealed the symmetry of his strong, compact 
 form. He carried his head erect, his shoulders 
 back, and walked with an elastic, measured tread. 
 The golden buttons on his wrinkleless coat glit- 
 tered richly. As he advanced, he fixed his eyes 
 on Lieutenant Cary with a keen gaze.
 
 232 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " What kind of a soldier is that ? " asked Lydia, 
 as, Gary looking up, the young man raised his hand 
 to his cap in a dignified salute. 
 
 "That, Miss Bagg, is an embryo officer. At 
 last you have an object lesson in what a cadet is ; 
 and you will not forget Hello ! " and Van Kirk 
 looked with interest as the cadet stopped, lifted 
 his cap, and seized the hand that Bertha Spencer 
 offered him. 
 
 "Mr. Hemenway." 
 
 " Miss Spencer." 
 
 Each was evidently delighted to see the other. 
 
 "Where is Ralph?" exclaimed Bertha. "I 
 have been here hours. Miss Carlyle, let me in- 
 troduce Mr. Hemenway. Mr. Hemenway, Miss 
 Bagg ; Mr. Van Kirk. Where is Ralph ? I will 
 never forgive that wretched boy ! " 
 
 " Oh, yes, you will," returned the young man, 
 after acknowledging these hasty introductions. 
 " He received your telegram too late to get a per- 
 mit to go to the hotel, and he is over there looking 
 for you among the crowd at the present moment. 
 The seats are filling, and I will not detain you. I 
 will find Ralph and bring him over." 
 
 Our party moved on. Bertha walked on air. 
 " I have n't seen my brother for a year," she said 
 to Gary. "Do you blame me for being impa- 
 tient ? " 
 
 "No, indeed, and West Point is a rare place 
 for trying the patience of mothers and sisters." 
 
 " I should think so. We have n't any rights at 
 all," replied Miss Spencer aggrievedly.
 
 WEST POINT. 233 
 
 They walked on beneath the fine old trees, and 
 succeeded in getting good seats fronting the pa- 
 rade ground. Bertha kept her eyes strained for a 
 glimpse of Ralph, and at last she was rewarded by 
 the sight of two tall gray and white figures, step- 
 ping like one man, in one of whom she recognized 
 har brother. She started to her feet. A minute 
 more and her hand was in his, her eyes, a little 
 moist, met his own. Perhaps he felt as glad, even 
 as affectionately sentimental as she ; but he only 
 squeezed her hand after kissing her, and said in a 
 low tone : 
 
 " This is immense, Babe, is n't it ? So glad you 
 could come." 
 
 " That is n't Ralph Spencer ! " exclaimed Miss 
 Bagg. 
 
 " Don't tell me you 've forgotten me," said the 
 cadet, coming forward to shake Lydia's offered 
 hand. 
 
 " Why, I should n't have known you. I should 
 not, indeed," declared Miss Bagg, regarding his 
 erect and elegant figure. "Why, you look so 
 much bigger, and don't you remember how you 
 used to stoop over f " 
 
 " Did I ? " asked the young man, not altogether 
 relishing these personalities because of a girl in 
 brown who was watching him, an unconscious 
 smile touching the corners of her mouth. This 
 was the season when new relays of summer girls 
 spring up each morning at the Point like fresh 
 daisies on the plain ; and Mr. Spencer, like his
 
 234 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 companions, was used to their arrival and expected 
 it ; but it is not often given to cadet-kind to see 
 such a face and form as Olive's, even in that haunt 
 of lovely maidens. 
 
 Under the circumstances, Miss Bagg's reminis- 
 cences made the young fellow's dress-coat feel 
 even warmer than usual, and when his sister laid 
 her hand on his arm to introduce him to Miss Car- 
 lyle, he experienced a double pleasure in the relief 
 from Lydia's comments and the discovery that 
 this beauty was the individual for whose behoof 
 he had made a fraternal sacrifice of his hop-card. 
 If virtue always recompensed its followers as 
 promptly and handsomely as it had done in this 
 case, he thought life would be well worth living. 
 
 " Where were you during the drill ? " he asked 
 of his sister, who read the surprise and approval 
 in his eyes with secret amusement and satisfaction. 
 
 " Over on the library steps. We were lucky 
 that Miss Bagg did not insist upon our viewing it 
 from across the river," replied Bertha. " Ralph, 
 I want to introduce you to Mr. Van Kirk. He 
 graduated from here four years ago." 
 
 " Does n't it make you homesick to come back, 
 Max?" asked Olive. 
 
 The ex-lieutenant shook his head. 
 
 " Do you think any one would like to go through 
 this mill twice, Miss Carlyle ? " asked Ralph, with 
 the smile which his sister thought the most beauti- 
 ful that ever illumined a man's face. 
 
 " Why, it is the loveliest place I ever saw," re-
 
 WEST POINT. 235 
 
 plied Olive. " I think you are very much to be 
 envied." 
 
 Spencer shook his head in his turn. " I believe 
 it is generally admitted that a bird does n't like 
 his cage any better because the bars happen to be 
 gilded," 4ie answered. 
 
 " I think you are very ungrateful," said Olive, 
 and as all comment from lips like hers is flattery, 
 Ralph would have liked to linger and enlighten 
 her, but his friend Heinenway laid a hand on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Worse than ungrateful, Miss Carlyle," he re- 
 marked ; " Mr. Spencer is growing poetical, and 
 with him that always means getting a ' late' a little 
 further on. Come, Ralph." 
 
 " All right." Spencer turned to his sister. " I 
 am not sure, Babe, that I can see you this evening ; 
 I '11 try to make it ; but if anything prevents, why, 
 I will see you at guard-mounting in the morning." 
 
 The two friends made their adieus and set off 
 down the path toward barracks. They were both 
 tall, and nearly of a height ; their white trousers 
 swung forward in steps of exactly the same length. 
 Their faces, the instant they ceased talking, wore 
 a dignified and unsmiling, almost stern expression, 
 which seemed to betoken that they had found life 
 a serious affair, as, indeed, they had, at least for 
 three years. There was an alert and concentrated 
 gaze in the keen eyes, which had been trained 
 never to overlook anything, including the ubiqui- 
 tous instructor, who is to be saluted even from afar,
 
 236 MI8S BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 or else a fate befalls which in the cadets' classic 
 vernacular is described as being " skinned for not 
 worshiping an officer." 
 
 Miss Lydia and her two girls looked after their 
 retreating forms admiringly. They saw them lift 
 their right hands to their caps in an unbending sa- 
 lute to Gary, who had drifted down the path to 
 talk with some friends. 
 
 " If I could walk like that," declared Miss Bagg, 
 regarding the two erect figures, " I would n't do 
 anything, seems to me, but just walk up and down 
 in front of a looking-glass. This is where you 
 learned how," she added simply, looking up at 
 Van Kirk. " I have noticed you never put your 
 hands in your pockets and slouch." 
 
 " Those young men certainly can't indulge in 
 anything so unsoldierly," replied Max, "for they 
 haven't any pockets." 
 
 " What ? No pockets at all 1 " 
 
 " Not one." 
 
 " But their handkerchiefs," exclaimed Miss 
 Bagg. 
 
 " They carry those up their sleeves." 
 
 " Well, it 's a wonder the government lets them 
 have anything so comfortable as sleeves," said 
 Lydia. It was a remarkably sarcastic speech for 
 her, but she was beginning to feel the infection of 
 sympathy for the cadet and the defensive attitude 
 toward Uncle Sam which by some occult law seizes 
 a woman soon after she sets foot in this fair corner 
 of our native land.
 
 WEST POINT. 237 
 
 Max smiled. "The cadets could not look as 
 though they had been inelted and poured into their 
 uniforms otherwise," he said. " Don't be too hard 
 on the powers that be. You see they turn out an 
 article of very military appearance by their meth- 
 ods." 
 
 He looked at Miss Carlyle, whose expressive 
 face showed her intense interest in every feature 
 of her novel surroundings. "Glad you came, 
 Olive? " he asked, after the pause during which 
 he had watched her. 
 
 She lifted her eyes to his. " I was just think- 
 ing," she returned slowly, "how glad I am that I 
 am alive." 
 
 " Did it never occur to you before to appreciate 
 that?" 
 
 " I believe not. I never heard birds sing like 
 this before. Why don't all these people stop talk- 
 ing, so one can hear the notes better ? " 
 
 " There you see the objection to living," re- 
 marked Max. "One has to grin and bear so 
 many things." 
 
 "Thank you for the allusion to my graceful 
 manner of endurance," returned Olive, " but I can 
 afford to be very compassionate of an unfortunate 
 who must tear himself right away from this en- 
 chanting spot." 
 
 " You are not rid of me yet. Gary says he can 
 put me up, and he won't hear of my leaving to- 
 night. I think I will stay over a day."
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE REVIEW. 
 
 " GUARD mounting, Miss Carlyle." Bertha woke 
 her friend the next morning with these words, and 
 the alacrity with which Olive came to her senses 
 and grasped the situation planted her more firmly 
 than ever in Miss Spencer's good graces. The 
 parade the evening before had aroused much en- 
 thusiasm in our trio, and nowthey were eager for 
 a new phase of the military spectacle, and, dressing 
 themselves quickly, left the quiet house and came 
 out into the brilliant June morning. 
 
 The river sparkled, the hills wore their morning 
 fairness, the towering elms arched above the ave- 
 nues, and bird songs trilled and fluted across the 
 expanse of the peaceful plain. Miss Bagg and 
 her girls looked toward the turreted gray pile on 
 the other side as they sauntered along, pausing at 
 Trophy Point to drink in new draughts of pleasure 
 from the view. 
 
 But Cro' Nest, Storm King, and the other fa- 
 mous guardians of the beautiful river had more 
 than one rival in Miss Spencer's heart. " Come," 
 she said practically, " the view won't run away and 
 the cadets will."
 
 THE REVIEW. 239 
 
 Even as she spoke, her averted eyes caught sight 
 of two military figures on the path opposite Pro- 
 fessor's Row. " Ah, there they come now," she 
 added. 
 
 The three hastened to meet the young men, who 
 greeted them cordially. 
 
 Bertha fell behind with Mr. Hemenway, as her 
 brother gravitated naturally to Olive's side. 
 
 " The weather is very good to us," observed 
 Hemenway, looking extremely content with his 
 situation as he took his companion's parasol and 
 held it over her. 
 
 " Dear me," returned Miss Spencer, " have you 
 been at West Point three years and can't talk 
 about anything but the weather? " 
 
 " Give me time," said the cadet, naturally in- 
 jured. 
 
 " Especially in June," continued Bertha ruth- 
 lessly. " If the weather deserves credit for being 
 pleasant in June, when may we expect anything 
 of it?" 
 
 " I only mentioned it because I was so glad you 
 could come out," replied the young man, with the 
 meekness which even members of the war-school 
 will sometimes display when the enemy has a dim- 
 ple in each cheek and says insolent things in a 
 sweet voice. 
 
 " Yes, we had to come without our breakfasts," 
 remarked Bertha. " It is all very nice for you, 
 who have had your coffee. It seems that hard- 
 ships are in the very air here."
 
 240 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 "You might talk about hardships, if you had 
 to march to breakfast by moonlight, as we do lots 
 of times." 
 
 " They could n't make me," returned Miss Spen- 
 cer, with a little grimace of defiance. " I have 
 always understood that getting up early in the 
 morning was equivalent to cleverness. I am cured 
 of that idea." 
 
 Mr. Hemenway knew it was not safe for him to 
 inquire into the cause of this disillusion, yet he 
 rushed upon his fate with the valor of his calling. 
 
 " How is that ? " 
 
 " I think with a very ordinary degree of bright- 
 ness you might have found me us during light 
 battery drill yesterday." 
 
 " Now, Miss Baby," the first-sergeant chev- 
 rons on Mr. Hemenway's sleeve flashed in the sun- 
 light as he brought one hand down in an earnest 
 gesture. 
 
 " Oh, what is the use of saying anything about 
 it ? " interrupted the clear, sweet voice. " If you 
 had wished it " 
 
 " I did wish it," ejaculated the badgered young 
 man in tones nearly as stentorian as those in which 
 he announced to the adjutant at parade that Com- 
 pany C was " present or accounted for." 
 
 " Then you would have done it. We were 
 there," declared Miss Spencer iucontrovertibly. 
 "You can't think," she added in a different tone, 
 her dark eyes looking straight up into her com- 
 panion's, " how I was longing to see Ralph all
 
 THE REVIEW. 241 
 
 the while. I was so impatient as time went by 
 that I nearly mentioned the Dutch hotel." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " Why, the Dutch hotel. Did n't I ever tell you 
 about it ? But I ought not to. I have no right to 
 come up here out of the wicked world and attack 
 the morals of a ' cadet and a gentleman.' " 
 
 " Go on. Tell me." Mr. Hemenway took 
 heart of grace to smile for the first time. 
 
 " You won't report me ? Well, summer before 
 last, when we were in Holland, I happened to see 
 the advertisement of a hotel. The name of it was 
 Dam!" 
 
 Miss Spencer's velvety eyes again met those of 
 her escort in an impressive gaze. He made a 
 broader display of his white teeth. 
 
 "Oh, wait. It is no laughing matter. The 
 advertisement read: 'Hotel Dam. At Hoekdam 
 in Edam, between Amsterdam and Volendam.' 
 When I had finished reading that card I felt as 
 wicked ! " 
 
 Mr. Hemenway's laugh caused the trio before 
 them to look around. 
 
 " We may as well sit here," suggested Ralph, 
 stopping at a seat midway of the plain. 
 
 Miss Bagg looked anxiously about. " I am 
 afraid Mr. Van Kirk is going to miss it," she 
 said. 
 
 " He has seen guard-mounting before," remarked 
 Ralph. 
 
 " Look, look, Miss Bagg," cried Bertha, for the
 
 242 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 gayly uniformed band appeared on the crest of the 
 hill at their left and marched silently across the 
 plain. The sun gleamed from their brasses as their 
 measured tread fell upon the soft green turf. 
 
 The bird -notes still rang clearly through the 
 morning hush. There was no sign of life in the 
 houses that lined the farther side of the avenue, 
 and but few spectators were seated under the great 
 trees. 
 
 " There they come, look down toward bar- 
 racks," said Mr. Spencer. 
 
 Six eager eyes were immediately turned toward 
 the broad sally-port, through which rows of bay- 
 onets began to gleam. The thrushes and robins 
 were overpowered by stirring strains from the 
 band, and the gray and white figures of the cadet 
 guard came through the heavy stone arch and 
 moved in " double time " out upon the plain. 
 Their evolutions to the rhythmic music made so 
 pleasing a spectacle that it seemed a marvel to 
 Miss Bagg that any one within a mile was willing 
 to miss seeing the display. 
 
 She came to herself as the silent band marched 
 back again across the road toward their barracks, 
 to find her quartette of young people chattering. 
 
 " We would like to take Miss Spencer and Miss 
 Carlyle around Flirtation Walk this morning," 
 said Mr. Hemenway to Lydia, as in a few minutes 
 they all paused at the hedge before the hotel. 
 
 Miss Bagg looked scandalized. " I would pre- 
 fer they should not go," she replied quickly.
 
 THE REVIEW. 243 
 
 Bertha looked distressed. " Why, we must see 
 it, Miss Bagg ; everybody goes." 
 
 " Say no more about it, Baby," said Lydia, with 
 determination. " I will take you myself some day, 
 if it is a proper place." 
 
 " Oh, there is an embarrassment of riches in the 
 way of picturesque spots about here," remarked 
 Ralph carelessly. " I suppose you will have no ob- 
 jection to the Chain Battery Walk, Miss Bagg?" 
 
 Lydia looked at him thoughtfully. " I should 
 say certainly not," she replied. " It sounds as if 
 it might be quite educational." 
 
 " One of the most educational institutions we 
 have," he declared promptly, in his frank, engag- 
 ing manner. 
 
 " I know the whole town is full of historic inter- 
 est," agreed Miss Bagg heartily. 
 
 The cadet smiled upon her. 
 
 " I must begin your military training, I see. 
 West Point is a post and not a town." 
 
 Lydia looked into his bright face, and, thanking 
 him, gave him her hand to shake. She was grate- 
 ful to him for accepting so pleasantly her veto 
 upon the morning plan. W r hat charming brown 
 eyes and what well-cut, aristocratic features the 
 young fellow had. As he paused that moment 
 with his cap lifted and she remarked the waves of 
 short, dark hair above his forehead, she felt sorry 
 for the mother who could not be here to see and 
 glory in him. 
 
 Osborn Hemenway stood like a gray monument,
 
 244 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 waiting. Strength was expressed in every line of 
 his face and figure. His lips twitched now in a 
 boyish smile, pleasant to see on his young face. 
 
 He was the first to speak when, after making 
 their adieus, the two cadets turned away. 
 
 " Miss Bagg is evidently inclined to do the 
 dragon business thoroughly," he said, as they 
 struck off across the plain with that gait and car- 
 riage which a spectator at West Point feels to be 
 a criticism on the average human being. 
 
 " Yes, and after Ashley precedents. It is of no 
 use to argue with such people," replied Spencer 
 airily. 
 
 " So I perceived that you thought," returned 
 his companion, with a grin of appreciation. 
 
 "Miss 'Bagg is a good little woman," said 
 Ralph, " and a mighty lucky one. Miss Carlyle 
 appears to be part of her good fortune. She calls 
 her ' Cousin Lydia.' I don't understand it. She 
 seems to be a howling swell ; but I can only be 
 grateful that Miss Bagg inherited her. By Jove, 
 how bewitching she looked this morning ! " 
 
 " Yes," responded Hemenway, with such evi- 
 dent preoccupation that Ralph laughed him to 
 scorn. 
 
 " Confess, now, you are jealous of my good for- 
 tune." 
 
 " What good fortune ? " 
 
 " Oh, no nonsense. To think I am her partner 
 for to-night." 
 
 " That is all right," returned Hemenway equa-
 
 THE REVIEW. 245 
 
 bly. " You seem to have forgotten that I take 
 your sister." 
 
 " That is a fact," admitted Spencer with tardy 
 brotherly appreciation, " and I will say for Babe, 
 if she is n't a goddess, she gets there just the same 
 when it comes to a matter of dancing." 
 
 " Fairies are ahead of goddesses every time in 
 the ball-room," remarked Hemenway. " I '11 tell 
 you what I '11 do with you. I '11 give you one of my 
 dances with Miss Carlyle for one of yours with 
 Miss Baby." 
 
 " Done. You won't go back on it when you 
 find that Miss Carlyle dances like a feather ? " 
 
 " No." The reply was brief and quiet, but 
 Hemenway's chin was of that contour which did 
 not suggest a habit of "going back on " anything 
 that he had said. 
 
 It was about eleven o'clock that day when Van 
 Kirk's card was brought to Miss Bagg's room, 
 where she was engaged in unpacking and arrang- 
 ing her own and Olive's effects. 
 
 She came down to the parlor, and her secre- 
 tary was glad to see a new vivacity in her face. 
 
 "Great place, is n't it?" he said, smiling, as 
 they shook hands. 
 
 " I never saw anything like it," she responded. 
 " Why did n't you come out this morning and see 
 the guard do things ? " 
 
 " Well, I 've seen the guard ' do things ' quite 
 frequently ; but the fact is, Gary and I talked 
 most of the night and we slept late. I thought
 
 246 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 you and your maidens might like to go for a walk 
 about now." 
 
 " The girls have gone with Ralph and Mr. Heni- 
 enway, but I should admire to. I want to learn 
 the pretty places." 
 
 " Yes, and you could not have a better day than 
 this to see Flirtation. Put on your bonnet, Miss 
 Bagg, and let us go." 
 
 Lydia, who had risen, paused. " What is this 
 Flirtation ? " 
 
 " Come and see." 
 
 " It does n't seem as if I ought to, for I would n't 
 let the girls go. I did n't like the sound of it, and 
 I feel a great responsibility in the care of those 
 girls." 
 
 " Well, come and learn the way ; then you can 
 take them yourself." 
 
 With this reasoning. Lydia soothed her con- 
 science, and putting on her wrap and bonnet sal- 
 lied forth with her escort. 
 
 Going down the flight of steps at the back of 
 the hotel, they immediately became embowered in 
 the leafy labyrinth through which the narrow path 
 threads its way. 
 
 Max had as a cadet done his full share of ram- 
 bling through this historic walk. His companions 
 hitherto had been younger than Miss Bagg, but it 
 is safe to say that not one of them had been so 
 alive to the beauty which nature with a lavish hand 
 has scattered in this favored spot. 
 
 Flowers, wild strawberries, ferns, mosses, high
 
 THE REVIEW. 247 
 
 granite walls, and soft, interlacing foliage ; now a 
 broad glimpse of river and hills, again a green, 
 shadowy glade in the dense depths of forest. 
 Miss Lydia enjoyed and wondered at it all, long- 
 ing, as each new vista entranced her gaze, for the 
 moment when those dear, defrauded girls should 
 revel in this nearness to nature's heart. All her 
 enjoyment was tinged with a slight guilt. 
 
 " Listen," said Max. Miss Lydia, following his 
 example, stood still. The mysterious murmur of a 
 rushing underground brook contrasted with the 
 bird-calls in the trees. All about them was the 
 June freshness of a wild woodland scene. 
 
 Miss Bagg looked at her escort. " Oh, those 
 poor girls ! " she exclaimed, unable longer to keep 
 silence ; and even as she spoke, two couples ap- 
 peared around a curve in the path, sauntering at a 
 leisurely pace. 
 
 They were two young ladies and two immacu- 
 late, tall cadets. 
 
 " Why, Miss Bagg, I am so glad you are here," 
 cried the first girl, who was Bertha Spencer, with 
 unmistakable sincerity. " Good-morning, Mr. Van 
 Kirk. Is n't this heavenly ? " 
 
 Mr. Spencer, who was following with Olive, be- 
 gan to redden. It was one of the moments which 
 try men's souls. 
 
 Miss Lydia had selected him as the target for 
 her bewildered, offended gaze, and he came for- 
 ward. " I am glad you decided to try it for your- 
 self, Miss Bagg," he remarked cheerfully.
 
 248 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Van Kirk gazed at him rather superciliously. 
 What right had this young sprig to be carrying 
 Miss Carlyle's closed parasol through forbidden 
 paths ? Olive's sailor hat was perilously becoming. 
 Her whole costume had something in its effect 
 which heightened Spencer's presumption in Van 
 Kirk's eyes. 
 
 " You see it is a lovely spot," added Ralph. 
 
 " I said the girls could not come here," declared 
 Miss Bagg. " Girls, why did you disregard me ? " 
 
 " Why, Cousin Lydia," exclaimed Olive ear- 
 nestly, " you said we could come." 
 
 " I said you could go on some kind of a chain 
 walk," returned Miss Bagg severely. 
 
 " The Chain Battery Walk ; yes," said Bertha 
 glibly. " This is it. Where did you think we 
 were ? " 
 
 " Did n't you say this was Flirtation Walk ? " 
 asked Miss Bagg of her escort. 
 
 He nodded, and could not repress a smile at the 
 determined expression on Ralph Spencer's coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 " You can pay your twenty-five cents and take 
 your choice of either name for it," replied Max, 
 and his smile broadened. The others laughed, 
 all but Miss Bagg. 
 
 " Ralph Spencer, you have played me a trick," 
 she said. 
 
 Bertha came forward and shook a finger at lu-r. 
 "What have you played us?" she asked, her 
 merry eyes sparkling. " Told us we must n't walk
 
 THE REVIEW. 249 
 
 around Flirtation, and as soon as our backs were 
 turned, made for the very same spot yourself with 
 a young man. Oh, Miss Bagg ! " Lydia bit her 
 lip and tried to look stern, but did not wholly suc- 
 ceed. " However, we '11 forgive you," continued 
 Bertha magnanimously. " This walk is a rose that 
 could not smell other than sweet under any name. 
 We came in at opposite ends, did n't we ? You 
 have the most adorable places still before you. Be 
 sure and take her out on Gee's Point, Mr. Van 
 Kirk." 
 
 There really did not seem much for Miss Bagg 
 to say. After her first natural resentment at be- 
 ing outwitted, she could not help being glad that 
 the girls were sharing her pleasure. 
 
 "Forgive me this once," said Spencer auda- 
 ciously, coming near to her and speaking caress- 
 ingly. " Stratagem is one of the arts of war, you 
 know. It is a matter of conscience with me to 
 practice when opportunity offers. Have to show 
 my gratitude to the Government so far as that, 
 you know." 
 
 " You are a scamp," announced Lydia ; but the 
 corners of her lips were not very firm. 
 
 Heinenway could not have coaxed with such in- 
 fectiously mischievous eyes ; but Heinenway would 
 not have put himself in such a dilemma. Subter- 
 fuge never even occurred to his straightforward 
 and literal mode of thought. 
 
 The whole party were smiling when they sep 
 rated and went their opposite ways.
 
 250 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Van Kirk's thoughts dwelt for a long time upon 
 Olive as she looked, standing there in the sun- 
 pierced, leafy bower, with the earnest, anxious ex- 
 pression in her face. 
 
 " I think you are all going to have a pleasant 
 time up here," he said at last. 
 
 " Yes, it is such a pity you cannot stay. Now, 
 I want you to plan to be here all you can. You 
 will, won't you, Mr. Van Kirk ? You need a 
 change as much as anybody. All work and no 
 play makes Jack a dull boy. You have been a 
 dull boy of late compared to what you used to be." 
 
 " Yes, I know it. I have had good reason." 
 
 Miss Bagg grew alertly attentive. If her be- 
 loved secretary wished to confide in her, she would 
 be only too glad to receive his confidences ; but 
 he said no more. They strolled on at a very lover- 
 like gait, he keeping sombre eyes on the ground. 
 
 " What is the news from your mother ? " 
 
 " Very good. She is much better. They are 
 coming home soon. I do not know yet where they 
 intend to go during the summer." 
 
 " Perhaps you will want to spend your vacation 
 with them," hazarded Miss Bagg. 
 
 " I am not in need of a vacation," he answered. 
 " Here is Gee's Point. Would you like to sit 
 down a minute ? " He led his companion out to a 
 seat among the rocks, where nothing intervened 
 between them and the broad sweep of the river. 
 
 " If it had not been for you, I should have lost 
 all this," said Lydia, as a white-winged yacht cut
 
 THE REVIEW. 251 
 
 through the rippling water within a stone's-throw 
 of them, its sails outlined against the picturesque 
 banks beyond. 
 
 " I shall get you well trained into accepting my 
 advice," returned Max, leaning back in his end of 
 the settee and baring his head to the exhilarating 
 breeze. 
 
 " Indeed you will, if you continue to prescribe 
 such delightful things as West Point. I shall 
 come to believe that you know ever so much better 
 what I want than I do myself." 
 
 Van Kirk looked at the speaker, who was revel- 
 ing in the view, unconscious of his gaze. Lydia 
 still wore her little tuft of curls, and her gray hair 
 was curly about her forehead. She was extremely 
 well dressed in a quiet and tasteful fashion, and 
 her easy, pleasant life had agreed with her so well 
 that Max contrasted her appearance with that of 
 the stranger he had visited one morning in Ashley 
 and felt a pride in the change ; for, after all, he 
 had never rid himself of the idea which she herself 
 impressed upon him, that she was more his protegee 
 than his employer. He smiled at his paradoxical 
 thoughts, but the smile was followed by a deep, 
 involuntary sigh. 
 
 " To know, ourselves, what we want is quite an 
 art," he remarked. " You know one says as the 
 explanation of the petulance of a child that he 
 does n't know what he wants. I think in the case 
 of restlessness of children of a larger growth the 
 explanation might often be the same."
 
 252 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 "Aha, my young friend," thought Miss Bagg, 
 with a furtive look into his averted face, " if you 
 have come to the place where you are not so sure 
 what you want, there is a point gained." 
 
 But a sudden, disconcerting idea damped her 
 exultation. Supposing her secretary were hinting 
 at a change in his attitude of mind regarding the 
 money. Perhaps he was paving the way for an 
 announcement that he wished now to avail himself 
 of the offer which she had assured him would al- 
 ways remain open. 
 
 Poor Miss Bagg ! She felt that it would be so 
 difficult to refuse him that her cheeks reddened, 
 and surely none of the maidens who had preceded 
 her as Van Kirk's companion in this favorite re- 
 sort ever endured such agitation of the heart as 
 now attacked her ; but her determination did not 
 waver. She would save the young man from him- 
 self. Whether or no he lived to thank her did not 
 matter. 
 
 " Do you find you know better what you want 
 as time goes on ? " she asked, the line of her lips 
 growing thin and firm. 
 
 " I know less and less," he replied moodily, and 
 Lydia relaxed in every emotion and muscle. 
 
 The deep report of a cannon struck upon her 
 ears. Miss Bagg bounded to her feet like the 
 war-horse who scents the battle from afar. " An- 
 other drill," she ejaculated. 
 
 " No, wait a minute." 
 
 Soon a second signal reechoed among the hills. 
 Then another and another.
 
 THE REVIEW. 253 
 
 " Some dignitary has arrived," said Max. " All 
 the better for you. You will be likely to see some 
 extra show." 
 
 " Then let us go back," returned Miss Bagg, 
 with alacrity. 
 
 They returned to the woodland path, which 
 from here is an arbor of arched and interlacing 
 branches, and soon emerged into the sunshine near 
 Battery Knox. 
 
 When they reached the hotel they found Olive 
 and Bertha on the piazza with their escorts. 
 
 " The Secretary of War has arrived," announced 
 Bertha, as they drew near. 
 
 " And now we shall probably be reviewed," 
 added her brother in disgusted tones, as he rose 
 and drew forward a chair for Miss Bagg. 
 
 "I wish his excellency had staid at home," 
 ejaculated Hemenway. " The idea of wasting this 
 beautiful afternoon." 
 
 " All the cadets will be reviewed on the plain," 
 exclaimed Olive. "Think of it. I am ever so 
 much obliged to the great man for coming." 
 
 " I did n't suppose you could be so heartless," 
 observed Mr. Spencer reproachfully. " Wait till 
 you see how little fun it is for the victims. Such 
 a bore to stand there in the hot sun ! " 
 
 "It will be very interesting," remarked Miss 
 Bagg calmly, " and if the sun blazes down on you 
 with double power, Ralph Spencer, it will be no 
 more than you deserve." 
 
 " Now, Miss Bagg," returned the self-possessed
 
 254 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 youth, " that joke was on you, you know it was ; 
 but I will promise never to twit you with it." 
 
 " I shall be on the lookout for you after this," 
 declared Lydia. " I am forearmed now." 
 
 That afternoon a large crowd gathered under 
 the trees fronting the parade ground. Seats were 
 at a premium. Double lines of gay and delicate 
 summer costumes, flower-bestrewn hats, and rain- 
 bow tints of swaying parasols enlivened the scene. 
 The air was full of an incessant, pleasant din of 
 talk and laughter. 
 
 Van Kirk and an officer named Long stood be- 
 hind the camp-stools where Lydia and her girls 
 were seated. Olive's fluffy parasol of cream white, 
 as it rested on her shoulder, framed her face when 
 she occasionally turned to speak to one of the men, 
 and each time she did so, Max wished more heartily 
 that he were going to stay to-night and see her in 
 the ball-room. 
 
 He was alert to observe the glances of admira- 
 tion that rested upon her. He saw, without hear- 
 ing, the remarks with which one called upon an- 
 other to regard her. 
 
 " They will spoil her unconsciousness before the 
 two weeks are over," he thought regretfully, " if 
 the dressmaker has n't done it already," he added 
 with a dubious glance at the gown she wore. It 
 was silky as a dove's plumage, and had such soft- 
 ness in its coloring ; but Van Kirk thought with 
 an uneasy sense of humor that the subtlety of the 
 serpent might for all that lurk in its folds.
 
 THE REVIEW. 255 
 
 " I would n't have the expression of Olive Car- 
 lyle's eyes changed for all the treasures of the 
 world," he thought, and then it occurred to him 
 that the circumstances did not warrant such inten- 
 sity of sentiment. 
 
 Those eyes suddenly looked up at him from un- 
 der a distractingly becoming hat, shaded with full, 
 white ostrich plumes. Their gaze was warmly ex- 
 pressive, and as the girl was mute he suddenly 
 eagerly lowered his head. 
 
 "I do not forget that I owe all this to you," 
 she said in a soft tone. His gaze drank in the 
 beauty of hers under the protection of her slanted 
 parasol. 
 
 " To me ? " he repeated. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Bagg told me. If it were not all so 
 very delightful here, I dare say I should n't have 
 thought of it again. As it is, I have a grateful 
 nature." She smiled, and when Olive smiled the 
 deep corners of her lips curved exquisitely, and one 
 dreaded a change even to the loveliness of their 
 repose. " I have been thinking how Ida Fuller 
 would enjoy being here," she added. 
 
 The name stung her hearer with hot pain. He 
 sprang erect, murmuring some reply. The green 
 plain seemed to him to wave, for the blood pressed 
 in his temples. The passivity of his waiting atti- 
 tude of mind was past. 
 
 His cousin's proud face rose before him. It 
 wore no mask. She had not deigned to conceal or 
 to assume anything. Why had it ever fascinated
 
 256 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 and tantalized him ? What was there in it a man 
 wanted in his home, by his fireside, in the mother 
 of his children? He shrank from the brutality 
 of his own tardy, just estimate. He despised him- 
 self in the old weary fashion of the disillusioned. 
 What had captured his fancy in the dark-eyed 
 widow had been so superficial that not the pain 
 of discovering the unsubstantiality of her charm 
 equaled his humiliation in realizing that such as 
 >t was it had been sufficient to excite the ardor of 
 feeling within him which had incited him to such 
 pleading and profession. If he still loved her, he 
 felt that he could retain his own self-respect even 
 mingled with self-pity; but there remained no- 
 thing but ashes from the transient flame. Recall- 
 ing her face stirred no feeling in him but wea- 
 riness, and sensitiveness as of a partially healed 
 wound. 
 
 He beheld the pageant which began to move 
 upon the greensward as one in a dream. He 
 heard Lydia's soft exclamations; he knew that 
 Long stooped and was answering her questions. 
 
 "Mr. Burton has not yet been relieved from 
 duty," he heard him say, " otherwise I should be 
 sporting a red plume out yonder." 
 
 " Who is that fine-looking man with the white 
 mustache ? " asked Miss Bagg. 
 
 " That is the Commandant of Cadets. You will 
 not often see him in all his paraphernalia, but he 
 and his whole staff of tactical officers take part in 
 the ceremony to-day."
 
 THE REVIEW. 257 
 
 Lydia gazed at the hundreds of gray and white 
 figures ranged in long lines and absolutely motion- 
 less. They stood too far away for their faces to 
 be distinguishable, even had the chin-straps of 
 their caps not disguised them. 
 
 " They are so exactly alike," observed Miss Spen- 
 cer, " that one comes to feel that they have no in- 
 dividuality, after one has looked a little while." 
 
 " Unless one has had occasion to observe them 
 during these gala days of extra liberty," replied 
 Long with a smile. " They are very individual 
 as they hold parasols over pretty girls and stroll 
 about in this vicinity. The parasol is to the cadet 
 what the fan is to the Spanish lady." 
 
 " llow interesting," said Bertha innocently, the 
 ruddy color of her own sunshade reflected in her 
 cheeks. " Do go on talking, Mr. Long. It is 
 such a privilege to learn from one who has had 
 experience." 
 
 " Yes, this is a great time for the young 
 fellows," continued the officer good-temperedly. 
 " They simply overrun the place, indoors and out. 
 A professor's wife with a pretty daughter and a 
 crowd of girl-guests confided to me yesterday that 
 she should be thankful when the men went into 
 camp. She said she had n't been able to turn 
 around in her parlor for days without stepping on 
 a cadet." 
 
 " Well, they 're not overrunning anything just 
 now," observed Miss Bagg. " I should be thank' 
 ful to see one of them move a muscle."
 
 258 MISS BAGG'S SAY 7; AT. 1 AT. 
 
 " Just forget they are alive ; that is the best 
 way," said Bertha. If the lieutenant had ven- 
 tured to make such a suggestion, how quickly the 
 full battery of her indignant glances would have 
 withered him ! 
 
 '' They look precisely like stuffed men," re- 
 marked Miss Bagg. " How tired they must be ! " 
 
 " I suppose those plumed knights won 't allow 
 them to stir," said Olive. 
 
 " No," replied Long. " There is a tradition 
 that a spider once crawled into a cadet's ear when 
 he was standing at inspection, and, he remaining 
 rigidly immovable, the insect crept so far that the 
 victim lost his life from the effects." 
 
 " What Spartan could outdo that ! " exclaimed 
 Miss Lydia, in horror and admiration. 
 
 The officer smiled. " Who dares suggest that 
 the Spartan ever lived whose endurance could sur- 
 pass that of a free-born American ? " 
 
 " Oh, I wish you had n't told me," said Miss 
 Bagg. Ralph Spencer had doubtless behaved rep- 
 rehensibly, but she drew the line at torture being 
 inflicted upon him ; and she wondered which of 
 those round-chested, white-belted heroes he was, 
 and whether the sun did feel very hot and uncom- 
 fortable. 
 
 " There is the Secretary of War," said Long. 
 
 A civilian walked out upon the plain, and at- 
 tended by the superintendent strolled past the im- 
 movable figures. His costume was the ordinary 
 Prince Albert suit and silk hat ; but its effect as
 
 THE REVIEW. 259 
 
 well as that of his gait became extraordinarily 
 neglige, contrasted with the rich uniforms of his 
 subordinates and the exactitude of military elegance 
 which awaited his approval. Presently the scene 
 changed. Not a cadet in the corps was more re- 
 lieved than Miss Bagg when the band struck up an 
 inspiring measure and, the long lines breaking into 
 small companies, the battalion marched in " dou- 
 ble-time " around the plain. They moved in a 
 measured run, in which the officers, even to the 
 stately commandant, joined. The white-gloved 
 closed right hand of each man rose and fell rhyth- 
 mically at every step. It was as though hundreds 
 of snowballs played through the air. 
 
 " Well, that is the prettiest thing I ever saw in 
 my life! "exclaimed Miss Bagg. 
 
 The vari-colored stripes and plumes of artillery, 
 cavalry, and infantry, the glitter of bayonets, 
 swords, and bell-buttons, the companies of strong, 
 graceful figures running in perfect time to the gay 
 and rhythmic music, might well rouse enthusiasm, 
 especially as the spectacle was staged, as Van Kirk 
 had truly said, " as only nature can do it." 
 
 " Oh, Miss Bagg," said Long, with mock resig- 
 nation, " I begin to see symptoms. I am afraid 
 you are contracting cadet fever. It attacks almost 
 every visitor at the post, but occasionally one meets 
 a woman who escapes, and who is able to feel a 
 gentle glow for the officers. Such glorious excep- 
 tions are rare, though." 
 
 The companies were now retreating toward the
 
 260 MISS BAGG'S SECRET AEY. 
 
 barracks. Olive's eyes sparkled. " I want to fol- 
 low the band," she said, starting up and facing 
 Van Kirk, the halo of her parasol encircling her 
 vivacious face. 
 
 He gazed at her and made no response. She 
 blushed vividly, for she thought he considered her 
 effusive. 
 
 *' I wish I could stay to-night and see you dance, 
 Olive," he said after a pause. 
 
 " Oh, are you going ? " she asked, and her face 
 sobered. 
 
 " Yes, I am going." 
 
 " But of course you will come back." 
 
 " Oh, occasionally, to see how you behave. I 
 don't think I ever longed quite so much to take 
 a vacation as I do just now. The perversity of 
 human nature, I suppose, is at the bottom of it, 
 but I should like to lie around here a few days." 
 
 " If I tell Miss Bagg that, she will make you do 
 it. Is n't she your commanding officer ? " 
 
 Van Kirk looked at the speaker a moment in 
 silence. The blue fire of her eyes was vivifying. 
 
 " If you do tell her, I shall take it as an indica- 
 tion that you would like to have me come. May 
 I, Olive?" 
 
 Van Kirk had been spending so poignantly bad 
 a quarter of an hour that this question was a bold 
 bid for a bit of consoling flattery. But with the 
 quickness of thought Olive was on the defensive. 
 Why or against what she knew not, but nothing 
 could have been more candid than the surprised 
 air with which she replied : .
 
 THE REVIEW. 261 
 
 " Why, did you think we did n't want you ? We 
 are not such monopolists. Besides, you need not 
 judge others by yourself. I like family parties, 
 you know. Too bad you must go. Give my love 
 to mother, if you see her."
 
 CHAPTER XViL 
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 
 
 BY the time the lines of tents gleamed among 
 the elms near Fort Clinton, Miss Bagg had made 
 up her mind that two weeks at West Point were 
 not enough. The girls were, of course, delighted 
 with her decision. The " board of visitors " and 
 several others of the guests had left the hotel ; but 
 many of the residents of the post called upon our 
 trio, thanks to the fact that they were connections 
 of Van Kirk, who had acquaintances among the 
 professors, and also because the young people of 
 the place are always hospitably inclined toward 
 the visiting girl, and especially toward a relative 
 of their cadet friends. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle arrived at the appointed time, 
 and then followed a season of pure happiness for 
 Olive, when, her arm within her mother's, they 
 strolled about the immaculately kept avenues, the 
 girl constituting herself cicerone. 
 
 " You have read about riotous honeysuckle and 
 roses ? " said Olive, triumphantly, calling her mo- 
 ther's attention to the wealth of bloom straying 
 thickly over fences and climbing to the second sto- 
 ries of the houses. " There you see them."
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 263 
 
 " I don't wonder any longer that Cousin Lydia 
 looks young," commented Mrs. Carlyle. "This 
 place should give one new life." 
 
 The strains of " The Army Blue," performed by 
 fifes and accompanied by drums, reached their 
 ears. 
 
 " We are just in time to see the cadets come to 
 dinner," said Olive. She drew her mother to the 
 edge of the road, whence they could see the lines 
 of marching figures advancing under the arching 
 elms. 
 
 " So they even have to march to meals, do 
 they?" 
 
 " Certainly. They march to everything, even to 
 dancing and swimming lessons. The whole atmos- 
 phere here is so military that I dare say their roast- 
 beef is served to them from the end of a bayonet ; 
 but I have n't asked anybody." 
 
 " What fine figures, and what strong faces ! " 
 remarked Mrs. Carlyle as the marching lines drew 
 nearer. 
 
 Olive smiled. "You too?" she said. "Just 
 say that to Cousin Lydia, and you will give as 
 much pleasure as though you complimented a fond 
 mamma. She has adopted the whole battalion. 
 She enters into everything so energetically that I 
 do not know which of us is having the better time. 
 Her simple, earnest ways make her a favorite with 
 everybody." 
 
 " Max did a good thing for us all, did n't he ? " 
 said Mrs. Carlyle as, the last cadet having joined
 
 264 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 the noisy crowd within Mess Hall, the two contin- 
 ued on their way toward the hotel. 
 
 " Indeed he did. Too bad he cannot take a 
 large dose of his own prescription. Have you 
 seen him recently ? " 
 
 " Why, yes. Do you know, that boy has come 
 to see me twice during the week ? I had no idea 
 he would miss Cousin Lydia so much, but I sup- 
 pose it must be the loneliness at .home that has 
 brought him. He did not seem to have any special 
 errand either time." 
 
 " Oh, you need not make any excuses for him," 
 replied Olive, squeezing the arm she held. " I 
 would have visited you twice myself the last week, 
 if I could." 
 
 " But Max is not an infatuated being," returned 
 Mrs. Carlyle, regarding a sentinel curiously as he 
 passed them. 
 
 " I wish we had an officer with us," said Olive, 
 " so you could see that soldier gyrate. I quite re- 
 sent the indifferent manner in which they permit 
 me to pass when I am alone. No, Max is not infat- 
 uated," she added, after a moment, " not even " 
 in a gratified tone " with Ida Fuller, I believe." 
 
 " What makes you think so ? " 
 
 "The way he looks at the mention of her 
 name." 
 
 " Are you interested in their love affair ?" asked 
 Mrs. Carlyle. 
 
 " Yes, indeed." Olive gave a little laugh. " I 
 nearly thought out a story once, with Max for the
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 265 
 
 hero. He is so impressive and so fine. I see now 
 why. He is always a commander, only out of uni- 
 form. To think he went through all this disci- 
 pline, all this education, here in this beautiful* 
 place, so near us, and we saw nothing of him, knew 
 nothing of it. Still, of course, I was too young," 
 added Olive, in a tone which made her mother 
 smile. 
 
 " Yes, and too poor and too various other 
 things. That was not a part of what is yours. 
 We have always what is our own, the very best 
 thing possible for us." 
 
 Miss Carlyle gave her mother's arm another 
 squeeze. " Is n't it perfectly delightful to forget 
 poverty and West Twenty-fourth Street and the 
 roomers and all care and dirt for a little while ? " 
 
 " Indeed it is a great thing. How clean every- 
 thing is ! How spacious and airy and how full of 
 this God-made perfume of flowers ! Every sense 
 is rejoiced up here. It makes me so glad that the 
 girls are to have a glimpse of sky and sea, too. 
 Miss Bagg has made it easy for me to give each 
 one a little outing." 
 
 " I am very glad for them, and gladder for 
 you," replied Olive, " for I think you need a vaca- 
 tion as much as they do, and you would not enjoy 
 yours unless they had one." 
 
 " Young things need to frolic sometimes," said 
 Mrs. Carlyle. 
 
 "Then you are glad I am frolicking, aren't 
 you?"
 
 266 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Decidedly glad," responded her mother, smil- 
 ing. 
 
 " I feel a little fraudulent." declared Olive. 
 ** I know the people here believe I am a wealthy 
 New York girl. They often say things which show 
 it. I answer them honestly, but I don't go into 
 particulars and tell them I have an angel of a mo- 
 ther who took a hideous house years ago, and that 
 she rents rooms and we do not keep a servant so 
 that we can save money to help friendless girls ; 
 and that this mother and I wore dreadful gray 
 shawls and threadbare jackets before the fairy 
 godmother touched us." 
 
 " My poor little girl," said her mother, smiling. 
 
 " Even Bertha does n't know," added Olive. 
 
 " No matter," returned Mrs. Carlyle placidly. 
 " We can tell her whenever the time comes for 
 it." 
 
 Her daughter did not look as though this sug- 
 gestion elated her. 
 
 "What I want you to consent to, dearest, is 
 that we shall give up the house," she said cajol- 
 ingly. " Let us live in the simplest way, we two 
 together. Cousin Lydia's help in your charities 
 alters the complexion of things. Admit that it 
 does." 
 
 " Yes, it does." 
 
 " You are too thin, and you grow too tired," 
 continued Olive. " I warn you that I have given 
 the matter a great deal of thought, and I am pre- 
 pared to meet all your objections ; but don't bring
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 267 
 
 them up now, for here we are at the hotel, and I 
 hope you are as hungrily ready for dinner as I 
 am." 
 
 It was indeed an exhilarating change for Mrs. 
 Carlyle from the city house in a block to the pi- 
 azza of the West Point Hotel. She took a long, 
 luxurious nap in her room after dinner, and after- 
 ward came out on the piazza with her friends and 
 enjoyed the charm of hills and water as one can 
 only after a monotonous and laborious city life. 
 
 The expression of her face as she sat there in 
 silence, her hands folded in her lap, touched Miss 
 Bagg profoundly, and gave her one of the deep 
 thrills of gratitude for her changed fortune which 
 stirred her at times when her mone} r wrought a 
 blessing in her sight. 
 
 "How glad I am to have you here, Cousin 
 Mary," she said affectionately. 
 
 " It is a great gift," answered the other with 
 quiet heartiness. 
 
 44 1 am sorry you could not have been present 
 at the graduating exercises, Mrs. Carlyle," added 
 Bertha. ' 4 It was very interesting to see each man 
 rise to receive the diploma he had been through 
 so much to gain. When the first name was called 
 and the cadet who stood highest in his class came 
 forward, what a proud moment it must have been 
 for his people ! The Secretary of War said to him : 
 * I congratulate you less upon this triumph than 
 upon the hard work you have been able to do to 
 gain it' Oh, I thought, if I could live to see my
 
 2G8 MISS BAGG'S SECEETAEY. 
 
 brother in that place, hearing such words ! After 
 General Sherman and others had spoken, the grad- 
 uates, looking as happy as was consistent with 
 their tremendous dignity, filed out, the battalion 
 formed, and marched away toward barracks headed 
 by the band, which played ' A uld Lang Syne ' 
 and ' Good-bye, Sweetheart.' It was thrilling. 
 Was n't it, Olive ? " 
 
 " Indeed, it was, but go on. Bertha has n't 
 reached the most thrilling part to her." 
 
 Miss Spencer raised her dimpled white chin. 
 " Oh, I am not so very proud of it," she declared. 
 
 " Her brother, during the ceremonies that fol- 
 lowed, was announced to be adjutant," continued 
 Olive. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle looked very benevolently through 
 her spectacles, but took this news calmly. 
 
 Her daughter laughed. "It would have been 
 all the same to mother if I had said brigadier-gen- 
 eral," she remarked. Then she continued mis- 
 chievously : " And Bertha's dearest friend, Mr. 
 Hemenway, was created a captain." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle regarded Bertha pleasantly. " Cap- 
 tain sounds very important," she answered. 
 
 " You must n't mind anything Olive says," re- 
 turned Miss Spencer calmly. " It amuses her to 
 teas"'- me about Mr. Hemenway, but I am twenty, 
 and scarcely one of my friends in Ralph's class is 
 over twenty-two. Well, anybody knows how infi- 
 nitely older a woman of twenty is than a man of 
 twenty-two."
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 269 
 
 " Oh, that goes without saying," observed Miss 
 Carlyle. 
 
 " Of course, for chits like Olive," continued 
 Miss Spencer, " the attentions of these youths may 
 be serious." 
 
 Miss Bagg here consulted her watch. 
 
 " It is time for us to be thinking about parade,'* 
 she declared. 
 
 Olive laughed. " It has been time for that for 
 Cousin Lydia all the afternoon, I am sure. I will 
 get your bonnet, mother, and then we will go and 
 let Cousin Lydia show you her toys. You never 
 saw a child like to play soldiers as much as she 
 does." 
 
 " I like to go in time to get the seat I prefer," 
 said Miss Bagg seriously, " and I want you to see 
 the whole thing, Cousin Mary." 
 
 As the quartette sauntered across from the hotel, 
 the camp looked very picturesque with its per- 
 fectly aligned tents facing the four broad company 
 streets, the green parade ground before the camp, 
 and the whole surrounded by embowering elms. 
 
 " A beautiful playground," declared Mrs. Car- 
 lyle, regarding the scene with interest. 
 
 " Yes, and look behind you, mother," said Olive. 
 " When we first came, all the evolutions were per- 
 formed on that great plain. I am sorry you will 
 see nothing there ; but now the graduates are gone 
 and one class is away on furlough, so but two 
 classes are here in camp until the new fourth class 
 is ready."
 
 270 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 They passed the guard tent, and Mrs. Carlyle 
 looked curiously at a cadet sentinel marching up 
 and down. 
 
 " Why, that is Mr. Bradley," said Olive to Ber- 
 tha. " I never dare look at a man when he is on 
 duty for fear I shall get him put in confinement 
 for something or other. I think it is a shame for 
 a first-class man to have to do guard duty." 
 
 "So it is; but they won't have to after the 
 plebes are taken into the battalion. They are so 
 short of men now." 
 
 "Rather monotonous business for the young 
 gentlemen, I suppose," remarked Mrs. Carlyle. 
 
 " It is all monotonous for them," said Bertha. 
 " Everything that looks so interesting to us is a 
 hackneyed story to them. There is no respite 
 from the iron rule and discipline and attention to 
 details that make up their life. Well, yes, there 
 is some respite to my class this summer, I admit. 
 They have some privileges and pleasure, but they 've 
 a hard winter before them." 
 
 " You identify yourself with them, do you ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed. I entered with them. I was a 
 plebe with them and suffered like a plebe, and I 
 have gone right on. I shall graduate next June. 
 Miss Bagg is taking a great deal of care of the 
 candidates that have been examined the last few 
 days. Her heart is over there in barracks at the 
 present moment, although you would n't suspect it." 
 
 Miss Lydia sighed. "Those poor boys! Let 
 us not think about them now. Sit here, Cousin
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 271 
 
 Mary," indicating one of the front row of seats 
 facing the parade ground. 
 
 Spectators in twos and threes began approaching 
 camp from all directions. Mrs. Carlyle observed 
 a cadet in a plumed hat with a crimson sash across 
 his breast, who advanced from one of the cleanly 
 swept company streets. 
 
 " That is one of my class," said Bertha ; " Mr. 
 Le Roy." 
 
 At the same moment the sentinel near the guard- 
 tent shouted : 
 
 " Turn out, the guard. The officer of the day." 
 
 The young officer saluted. 
 
 " Never mind the guard," responded the sentinel. 
 
 " That always seems so needless," laughed 
 Olive. 
 
 " Nothing that they do is needless," said Miss 
 Bagg seriously. " I used to think it all looked 
 like a play, but Colonel Mackenzie has made me 
 understand that it is all business." 
 
 The young officer of the day advanced to the 
 sentinel, who immediately saluted his superior, and, 
 the plumed cadet speaking to him, he presented 
 arms as he replied. 
 
 " There," said Bertha, " those two men that you 
 see are both first-class men, yet one must be so 
 subordinate to the other simply because of the rel- 
 ative position they hold to-day. If that sentry 
 should omit one respectful detail from his manner, 
 it would be Mr. Le Roy's duty to report him." 
 
 "What are they talking about, do you sup-
 
 272 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 pose ? " inquired Mrs. Carlyle, watching the two 
 cadets. 
 
 " They are not talking," replied Miss Spencer 
 with a smile. " Mr. Barlow is giving Mr. Le Roy 
 an official account of all that has happened to him 
 since he last reported. Oh, it is all business. Mr. 
 Barlow is thinking that it is high time for a man 
 of his dignity to be relieved if the young ladies are 
 beginning to gather for parade, but he will reserve 
 his complaints for an unofficial ear." 
 
 Cadets in immaculately fresh duck trousers be- 
 gan hastening up from the tents and along the 
 lines of seats in search of their friends, bearing 
 about them the refreshing suggestion of frequent 
 and recent "tubbing," which inasmuch as it is 
 obvious in his appearance at every hour of the 
 day, distinguishes the West-Pointer from his aver- 
 age American brother. 
 
 Many masculine eyes roved toward Bertha and 
 Olive, but one of the girls was on each side of a 
 strange lady in spectacles, and seemed engrossed 
 with her. 
 
 " What pretty uniforms ! " said Mrs. Carlyle. 
 " But they 're not alike. Some have gold braid on 
 their sleeves." 
 
 " Those are the cadet officers," explained Olive. 
 " Those stripes are of far higher value than mere 
 gold, I assure you. Cousin Lydia will let you join 
 her in her study of chevrons. She learns every 
 morning what the different bars mean, and forgets 
 by evening."
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 273 
 
 "I sha'n't again," returned Miss Bagg seri- 
 ously, " for last night at the dance Ralph told them 
 to me once- more and I wrote them down." 
 
 '" Oh, that is what Ralph and you were about, 
 sitting off in a corner," said Bertha. " You have 
 to thank Mr. Le Roy for that. He persuaded 
 Ralph to give up one of his dances with me." 
 
 " I like Mr. Le Roy very much, anyway," re- 
 turned Lydia. " He is always so obliging about 
 telling me things." 
 
 The girls exchanged an amused glance. They 
 had -observed that the cadet-lieutenant good-na- 
 turedly told Miss Bagg what she wished to hear. 
 Lydia was so evidently inclined to idealize the 
 cadet's life that Mr. Le Roy did not, like some of 
 the others, call the good woman's attention to its 
 seamy side, but romanced a little when such a 
 course was conducive to her peace of mind. 
 
 " As a practical housekeeper," observed Mrs. 
 Carlyle, " I am impressed with the fact that all 
 those white trousers must go to the laundry." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," answered Miss Bagg, " and as a 
 cadet must always be spotless, one man frequently 
 wears three pairs a day." 
 
 "How many do they have, then, for pity's 
 sake?" 
 
 "Twenty, thirty, forty pairs apiece. Yes, in- 
 deed," announced Miss Bagg triumphantly, as 
 though she felt the fact to be a matter of personal 
 pride. 
 
 "Now Cousin Lydia is started on her statis-
 
 274 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 tics," said Olive. " She has them at her fingers' 
 ends." 
 
 " My tongue's end, my dear." 
 
 "Miss Bagg is delightful," declared Bertha. 
 " She is penetrating enough to appreciate these 
 youths. The only trouble is, she is apt to permit 
 them to see that she approves of them, and that I 
 find unwise. It is n't wholesome." 
 
 " Just look at a group of them when they are 
 laughing, Mary," said Miss Bagg, wholly unmoved 
 by the girls' comments. " Their teeth are so fine. 
 It is interesting to think they must be so perfect 
 physically and so strong mentally, just as Mr. 
 Van Kirk is, you know." 
 
 " That is it," remarked Olive. " Cousin Lydia 
 considers every one of these young men a future 
 Max Van Kirk. Any one of them can resign 
 from the army later and ask her for a position 
 and get it. Here comes one of the perfect beings 
 now," as Mr. Spencer advanced, the unbroken 
 crease down the front of his trousers giving ap- 
 parent substantiality to the rumor that the man- 
 ner of assuming these immaculate garments is to 
 jump into them from a table. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle looked at him benignly as he was 
 introduced to her, and his presence seemed to 
 break the invisible ice which had protected the 
 party from its usual assault of admirers. 
 
 Gray coats began to gather about Bertha and 
 Olive, the former of whom had already gained the 
 reputation of being the most popular girl at the
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 275 
 
 post. A number of names were repeated to Mrs. 
 Carlyle, a number of dandified and scrupulously 
 brushed heads were bared in her honor, and a tor- 
 rent of light chatter and laughter began to flow. 
 Mr. Hemenway was late, and had time only for 
 a word with Miss Spencer before the summons 
 called the men back to camp, 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle, under Miss Bagg's instruction, 
 looked down the clean-swept streets and observed 
 the preparations for parade. Hats were brushed, 
 white gloves drawn on. Cadet officers, slipping 
 one end of their long crimson sashes over a 
 wooden peg, walked to the full length of the soft 
 silk, and then gravely began turning around and 
 around, "winding themselves up," as Miss Lydia 
 said, until the requisite length was left to tie and 
 fall at the back of the hip. These officers, with 
 their dress hats adorned with tall plumes of cock 
 feathers, their snowy breast-belts, shining buckles 
 and swords, crimson sashes, and rich gold chev- 
 rons added to the regular white and bell-buttoned 
 gray of the cadet, were gorgeous beings. 
 
 The rows of seats were now filled with specta- 
 tors. Carriages which had brought visitors from 
 a distance waited along the avenues. Men in 
 yachting costume, having anchored their craft in 
 the river below, were present with their parties. 
 Evidently Miss Lydia was only one of many who 
 were alive to the fascination of dress parade at 
 West Point. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle turned around to look at the
 
 276 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 mountains against the afternoon sky. The silent 
 beauty of their ever-changing lights and shadows 
 was something she could not turn her back upon 
 for long at a time. 
 
 " Here comes a band," she said, " and a very 
 gay one." 
 
 " Yes, it is a perfect afternoon, and the drum- 
 major has on his go-to-meeting hat," replied 
 Bertha, also turning. " You should see his feath- 
 ers when the weather is threatening. They look 
 as though they might have been sent as a delicate 
 attention from Job's turkey." 
 
 The companies were forming in the four streets 
 of camp, and cadet officers were inspecting the 
 arms of their men to see if a speck of dust or rust 
 on a rifle bore witness to its owner's carelessness. 
 The band was in its place. An artillery officer 
 in full dress, whom the girls recognized as Mr. 
 Long, took his position near them with his back to 
 the spectators, and folded his arms. 
 
 " It is the first time he has received the parade," 
 said Bertha with interest. " There comes Ralph," 
 as the adjutant and the sergeant-major left the 
 company street and took their stand in front of 
 one of the tents. 
 
 Spencer, looking straight before him, lifted one 
 white-gloved hand. The bugles in response 
 sounded the adjutant's call, then the band broke 
 into an inspiring march. The cadets emerged 
 from the streets and ranged themselves in line. 
 
 The drum-major convoyed his gay company up
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 277 
 
 and down the green, the music discoursing in lively 
 fashion. Returned to their places, the bugles 
 sounded the retreat, the sunset gun waked the ech- 
 oes, and far across the plain where the stars and 
 stripes had floated, the flag was lowered as 
 promptly as though what Bertha gravely stated 
 was indeed the case, namely, that the cannon-ball 
 had severed the rope. 
 
 This ceremony over, the adjutant gave his sev- 
 eral orders and, advancing up the path with the 
 military haste which appears to belong to his of- 
 fice, saluted the officer in charge with his bright 
 sword. 
 
 "Sir, the parade is formed," he announced, in 
 the strong and clear voice which had helped to 
 make him the successful candidate for his impor- 
 tant and showy position. 
 
 " Take your post, sir," answered the officer ; 
 then, while Spencer continued his quick march up 
 the path and took his stand facing the battalion, 
 the long line of cadets executed the manual of 
 arms with wonderful precision and unanimity of 
 movement in response to Long's orders. 
 
 It was an interesting performance. Mrs. Car- 
 lyle watched the swift, clicking, kaleidoscopic 
 changes with sufficiently pleased attention to suit 
 even Miss Bagg. 
 
 " What a fine training ! " she said. 
 
 " Yes," answered Lydia, " and besides all this 
 they must ride and dance and swim and fence to 
 perfection. Then you should hear a description of
 
 278 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 their studies. It makes one's head ache to think 
 of what those poor fellows must master." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle nodded. " It behooves us to re- 
 sjxvt an army officer, doesjoH it? Tlicse young 
 men are n't all so handsome as your brother, my 
 dear," she added, turning to Bertha, " but the 
 plainest of them look distinguished with their 
 clean-shaven faces and fine bearing. There goes 
 Mr. Spencer back again." 
 
 The adjutant paused midway of the parade- 
 ground to read the orders to the now motionless 
 cadets. In the midst of the announcements, given 
 volubly in a monotonous tone, Bertha started. 
 
 " What did he say ? " she exclaimed. " I think 
 he said Cadet Hemenway, officer of the day." 
 
 She looked in resentful dismay at the young 
 captain standing immobile, with drawn sword, in 
 front of his company. " I was going with him to 
 the hop to-morrow night," she added, aggrieved. 
 
 " Too bad," murmured Olive. " Now you must 
 notice this, mother ; it is the prettiest part of pa- 
 rade, I think." 
 
 The adjutant marched down the path until di- 
 rectly in front of the battalion he faced about, and 
 the other cadet officers from either side approached 
 and faced in line with him. Their gay uniforms 
 were effective thus conjoined. With one unani- 
 mous movement their sword-points rose to the 
 scabbard, then exactly simultaneously fell into the 
 sheaths. 
 . "Forward, guide centre, march," ordered the
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 279 
 
 adjutant ; the line swayed forward, and as the 
 first step was taken the music again burst forth. 
 
 The officers advanced until they stood before 
 Lieutenant Long. Here they paused suddenly. 
 As it was the tactical officer's first official appear- 
 ance, instead of the usual salute the cadets re- 
 moved their plumed hats and stood a moment un- 
 covered, until, Long acknowledging the courtesy, 
 the line broke. The bayonets of the four com- 
 panies were soon glittering in a retreat down the 
 streets, and the cadet officers followed them. 
 
 " Now they all range themselves in another line 
 at the back of camp," explained Bertha, " and 
 Ralph will read the delinquencies for the last 
 twenty-four hours out of what they call the ' skin- 
 book.' The cadets call reports ' skins.' Well, 
 was n't it pretty ? Do you blame Miss Bagg for 
 liking her playthings ? " 
 
 " No, indjeed. It is very entertaining." 
 
 " Now I want you to see the other end of this 
 thing, Cousin Mary," said Lydia seriously. 
 
 " Yes," added Olive, smiling. " Cousin Lydia 
 has a painful duty to perform every day about this 
 time. There is a horrible fascination for her in 
 the experiences of those poor candidates. Bertha 
 and I will go to the hotel and wait for you." 
 
 Miss Bagg and her friend walked across the cav- 
 alry plain in the direction of the barracks. There 
 in the stone-paved area of the long gray building 
 was a motley gathering of all sorts and conditions 
 of men, all at present on a dead level of compan-
 
 280 ' MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 ionship in the misery which attends the aspirant to 
 admittance at the National Academy. The daily 
 examinations were not quite finished, yet notwith- 
 standing there was a preliminary course of training 
 of the raw recruits going on, unpleasant enough 
 to console somewhat those whose hopes of entering 
 for the four years' campaign would shortly be 
 crushed. 
 
 Miss Bagg led her companion along the walk 
 on the west side of the Academic Building to a po- 
 sition where they could see the columns of patiently 
 marching youths, who were being sharply directed 
 by cadet corporals detailed for the purpose of drill- 
 ing them. 
 
 There were the sons of rich men and the sons of 
 poor men ; the boy who had been nurtured in the 
 midst of symphony concerts and Browning clubs 
 and the child of the Texan ranger ; the graduate 
 of an important university and the young man who 
 had hungrily picked up an education where and 
 how he could, driving a horse-car for a season in 
 order to pay his expenses to the shrine of his high 
 hopes. When such a one as the latter specimen, 
 after stretching every nerve, fails of admission to 
 the academy, it furnishes one of a variety of lit- 
 tle tragedies, the details of which are sufficiently 
 touching, and happy those penniless and despair- 
 ing victims who find in the superintendent of the 
 institution a friend in need. The recording angel 
 will have that to show at the last day which is 
 perhaps little suspected by the friends of the
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 281 
 
 commander under whose high authority this par- 
 ticular awkward squad was pacing the old flag- 
 stones which have felt the pressure of so many 
 weary feet. 
 
 The marchers, despite their sober faces, pre- 
 sented a ludicrous appearance. Coats manufac- 
 tured by the most shining light among New York 
 tailors presented but h'ttle better appearance than 
 the home-made article of the far-westerner. It 
 might have brought tears to the eyes of the owners 
 of celebrated names inside those collars to see the 
 utter misfit into which their chefs d'oeuvres passed, 
 owing to the strained and unnatural position the 
 wearers were compelled to adopt. To aid this 
 forcing back of the shoulders, the little finger of 
 each hand was pressed to the seam of the trousers, 
 palms turned to the front and thumbs out. In 
 this posture and this only might these " plebes " 
 walk for the next three months, and should one 
 forget himself for a moment he would be reminded 
 of the omission in no very gentle manner by some 
 cadet who had traveled the road before him. 
 
 Back and forth, back and forth, trudged the 
 oddly assorted men in derby hats, straw hats, som- 
 breros, all shading faces of varying expressions of 
 earnestness and endurance, led on by the sharp 
 H Hep Hep" of the stern cadet corporals, who 
 one little year ago had stood in their places, but 
 now ruled the new-comers with a rod of iron. The 
 sharp notes of the fife and the roll of the drum 
 announced that the cadets were marching from 
 camp on their way to supper.
 
 282 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Miss Bagg led her friend to the southern cor- 
 ner of the Academic Building, where they could 
 look through to the street and see the well-drilled 
 companies pass by. When the last row of gray 
 blouses had wheeled toward Mess Hall, the cor- 
 porals in the barracks area began marching their 
 charges toward the same haven. The fierce tones 
 in which some of these yearlings hurled orders at 
 one and another luckless wight whose chin or 
 shoulders aroused their displeasure, and the scowl- 
 ling, savage looks with which they pointed their 
 words, strained somewhat Miss Bagg's utter loy- 
 alty to the wearers of the gray. 
 
 " I suppose they are very hungry and tired them- 
 selves, poor things," she murmured, in extenu- 
 ation. 
 
 Meanwhile the candidates strode by, coats Jiang- 
 ing loosely over their shoulder - blades, chins 
 cramped in, thumbs turned out, their faces, after 
 the difficult examinations of the day, expressing 
 variously sullen endurance, fatigue, determination, 
 discouragement, anxiety, and fear. When one 
 hardy or jovial or over-tired spirit ventured to 
 smile, how quickly a vigilant corporal, in his own 
 words, " jumped on him." 
 
 An angry face was thrust in his. " Wipe that 
 smile off your face and put it in your pocket, 
 sir ! W7iat do you mean by smiling in ranks ? " 
 etc., etc. 
 
 The culprit, having learned that questions from 
 corporals were not intended to elicit answers,
 
 OLD AND NEW CADETS. 283 
 
 maintained a crimson silence, and the "Hep 
 Hep " proceeded. 
 
 Miss Bagg and her friend watched the passage 
 of the martyrs. 
 
 " All I can think of," said Mrs. Carlyle, " is a 
 gang of prisoners being marched off to Siberia. 
 They look so miserable. No wonder that, as Miss 
 Spencer told me, the cadets' name for them is 
 beasts.' " 
 
 " Mr. Le Roy explained to me," said Miss 
 Bagg, deprecatiugly, " that that was a sort of 
 pet name." 
 
 The two ladies came out to the street in time 
 to see the last of the tired company stumble over 
 their own feet into Mess Hall. The corporals re- 
 mained outside, and, the door safely closed, they 
 slapped their legs and doubled up with infectious 
 laughter, which suited their youthful faces much 
 better than the fierce scowls with which they had 
 performed their work. 
 
 At nineteen or twenty the risibles are easily 
 moved, and even though the yearling at the Mili- 
 tary Academy be deeply impressed with all he has 
 himself endured and attained, his dignity is not 
 always proof against the antics of the " cit " dur- 
 ing the latter's initiation into his new life. 
 
 " Well, it is a toughening process," remarked 
 Mrs. Carlyle, as the two spectators turned their 
 faces hotelward. 
 
 " Yes ; Mr. Van Kirk went through it," an- 
 swered Lydia. " What man hath done, man can
 
 284 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 do." She needed to keep her courage up, for 
 various dark and disquieting rumors of the woes 
 of new cadets reached her ears, and sometimes the 
 memory of a pale face haunted her after she had 
 sought her pillow, and she felt moved by a tender 
 sympathy which doubtless the pale-faced one's 
 mother would have thanked her for, though it was 
 not likely to do much practical good.
 
 CHAPTER XVIH. 
 
 THE CONCERT IN CAMP. 
 
 " I CAN'T get out of it," said Hemenway deject- 
 edly. " I thought at first I might make an ex- 
 change, but it is no use." 
 
 It was evening. A concert was in progress in 
 camp. Far away the fireflies hung and shimmered 
 above the plain as though they might have fallen 
 from among the thick stars of heaven. The tree- 
 tops waved in a murmuring breeze, and the strings 
 of violin and 'cello gave forth the soothing strains 
 of Barnby's " Sweet and Low." 
 
 Vague gleams of white showed here and there 
 in the dim light, revealing the whereabouts of a 
 cadet and his fair companion. 
 
 Bertha and her escort had withdrawn to the 
 outskirts of the parade ground, where Hemenway 
 had placed seats under a tree. 
 
 " Did you think I was going to blame you for 
 it?" she asked. 
 
 " I thought it rather more than likely," he re- 
 turned. 
 
 Bertha gave a mischievous little laugh. " Oh, I 
 am not so unjust as that. You stood there looking 
 so stern and motionless, listening to your fate 
 * Officer of the day, Cadet Henieuway ! '
 
 286 MISS BAGG'S SECRET.il! V. 
 
 1 Yours not to make reply, 
 Youra not to question why,' 
 
 and so forth." 
 
 " I should think not," remarked her companion. 
 " I gave up questioning why, three years ago ; but 
 that does n't alter the fact that you are going away 
 now in a few days, and that after to-morrow even- 
 ing perhaps I cannot get another one of your hops. 
 Mentioning the Dutch hotel would have been but 
 a slight outlet for my feelings when Ralph fired 
 that off. I had calculated on one more free day." 
 
 " Be calm," returned Bertha graciously. " I 
 must break it to you gently that we are not going 
 so soon as I expected, on account of Miss Bagg's 
 illness." 
 
 In Mr. Hemenway's countenance satisfaction, 
 surprise, and incredulity were about equally 
 blended. He had seen Miss Bagg and Mrs. 
 Carlyle a few minutes ago on one of the iron seats. 
 
 Bertha amused herself with his expression a 
 moment, then continued : " Miss Bagg has one of 
 the severest cases of cadet fever ever known at 
 the post." 
 
 " Good for Miss Bagg ! " exclaimed Hemenway 
 heartily. 
 
 "If you were gallant, you would congratulate 
 yourself." 
 
 " Oh, it is the best thing in the world for me, of 
 course," responded the young man hastily ; " and 
 won't you say you are a little glad, too, Miss 
 Baby ? " he added in a different tone.
 
 THE CONCERT IN CAMP. 287 
 
 " If you call me by that name I shall not dis- 
 close any of my sentiments," she answered uncom- 
 promisingly. 
 
 " You don't object when Ralph uses it." 
 
 " Of course not." 
 
 " I fail to see any ' of course ' about it." 
 
 " Why, you particularly dull young person ! 
 Is that possible? Then I will enlighten you. 
 I adore Ralph. He may call me anything he 
 pleases." 
 
 This was unanswerable. Those of the young 
 captain's company who considered him a martinet 
 would doubtless have been gratified to see him 
 now, meekly dumb before the small person in 
 white, who regarded the tips of her red shoes de- 
 murely. 
 
 " Ralph is getting spoony about Miss Carlyle," 
 he announced at length. " It is a pity you should 
 waste your adoration on him." 
 
 " How well he has chosen his confidant ! " re- 
 marked Miss Spencer severely. 
 
 " He has n't confided in me. I see it. That is 
 all." 
 
 Bertha laughed appreciatively. "Oh, you are 
 such a penetrating man ! " 
 
 " No, I 'm not, and I know it ; but I have a 
 fellow-feeling for him, confound it ! " 
 
 " Well, upon my word." Miss Spencer raised 
 her eyebrows. " How complimented she must feel, 
 whoever she is ! " 
 
 " She does n't care whether she is complimented
 
 288 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 or not. She has n't any feelings," was the pessimis- 
 tic response. 
 
 " So that is your ideal, is it, a girl without any 
 feelings. Well, you have odd taste." Then, as the or- 
 chestra began another number : " How very pretty 
 that dear old ' Wert thou in the cauld blast ' sounds. 
 It is always so heartfelt and touching." Here the 
 girl began to sing softly with the plaintive violins : 
 
 " ' My plaidie to the angry airt, 
 I 'd shelter thee, I 'd shelter thee.' 
 
 " Oh, if anybody sang such words to me and I 
 had n't heard them murdered a hundred times, I 
 should say " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " Why, I should say, ' You may shelter me, of 
 course. I prefer your plaidie to anybody else's.' " 
 
 " I can't sing I can't even talk when I want 
 to," declared Mr. Hemenway dejectedly. 
 
 " There is no necessity for you to do so, you 
 know," responded Bertha consolingly, " for your 
 ideal has n't any feelings, and such fine sentiment 
 would be thrown away upon her. What an absurd 
 thing for them to play, anyway, this hot night ! " 
 she added hastily, owing to certain alarming symp- 
 toms of returning courage in her companion. 
 "The thought of a plaidie is insufferable. I 
 brought my fan in the hope of raising a cauld 
 blast with it. Do you know, you nearly ruined 
 this fan at the last german ? These stiff feathers 
 were all in little wisps. You always use a fan as 
 though it were a sabre, any way, but I happened to
 
 THE CONCERT IN CAMP. 289 
 
 look out of the window to-day, and I saw a hen 
 dressing her feathers. She drew each one through 
 her beak, you know, and smoothed it all out, and 
 I suddenly had a bright thought, and ran and got 
 my fan and did the same thing, drew each feather 
 between my lips, this way. Don't you think I was 
 clever ? You can feel how smooth it is." 
 
 " I know you are clever," returned Hemenway, 
 with a short laugh. 
 
 " I am glad you appreciate me. Part of my 
 cleverness lies in the fact that I can learn some- 
 thing of everybody, even a hen, which is admit- 
 tedly the stupidest creature in existence." 
 
 " Then you own there is one object in the world 
 stupider than I am." 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Hemenway, the august Osborn! 
 Number one in his class all last year ! Published 
 in the annals of the Army Register as a star cadet ! 
 Asks me now if he has more brains than a hen ! " 
 Bertha shook her head. " This weak hankering 
 after praise pains me in one so young." 
 
 " Say, I wish you would stop one minute, you 
 know," protested her companion plaintively. 
 
 " I won't say another word all the evening, if yo\i 
 wish it. Why, excuse me. I might have known 
 you wanted to enjoy the music ; I will be silent 
 henceforth." Miss Spencer turned so as more 
 nearly to face the knot of players in the middle of 
 the parade ground. 
 
 " Miss Bab Bertha," Mr. Hemenway turned 
 toward her, " your voice is all the music I want,
 
 290 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 and you know it. Tell me," he asked tenderly, 
 " if you learn something of everybody, what do I 
 teach you ? " 
 
 She turned her head, and looked into the eyes 
 so near her. 
 
 " Patience," she answered. 
 
 The prompt reply was delivered so demurely, 
 with such a gentle accent, that some seconds passed 
 before the blood crept stingingly into the young 
 man's ears. 
 
 The worm will turn, likewise the individual at 
 the other extreme of the scale of being, the cadet 
 officer. 
 
 Hemenway made some exclamation, and a soft 
 laugh rippled from his companion's lips. 
 
 " I should think you might learn patience, if it 
 is to be taught by example," he retorted at last. 
 " Job was n't a circumstance to me ; but it is over, 
 you can jeer at somebody else after this." 
 
 " Oh, is that you, Babe ? Say, where is Miss 
 Carlyle ? " Mr. Spencer strode out of the shadows 
 and stood before them, speaking anxiously. 
 
 " You ought to know," returned his sister. 
 
 " Well, I don't. I was detained." 
 
 " Of course. What a lifetime of detentions you 
 have endured. Do you know people are beginning 
 to ask why you are like Mr. Lenox ? " 
 
 " That can be answered briefly. I 'm not like 
 Lenox," returned Mr. Spencer, not relishing com- 
 parison with his predecessor in office. 
 
 " Yes, you are, my dear, for you are the late ad- 
 jutant."
 
 THE CONCERT IN CAMP. 291 
 
 " Now, don't stop to get off grinds on me. 
 Where is Miss Carlyle ? " 
 
 " With somebody that knows how to take care 
 of her, I hope. She is not alone, you may be sure, 
 so just sit down here. Mr. Hemenway is unable 
 to stay any longer and I need you." 
 
 " Why, yes no I I have n't the least in- 
 tention of going away," stammered that gentle- 
 man. 
 
 " Is that all right, Babe ? " queried her brother, 
 not understanding, but yearning to be off and 
 pour forth his apologies where they belonged. 
 
 ' Why, yes, if Mr. Hemenway is quite sure 
 what he wants to do. This whiffling habit of mind 
 is very deplorable." 
 
 Bertha half repressed another laugh, and her 
 brother departed hurriedly. 
 
 " Have n't you been absurdly cross ? " she asked 
 her companion coaxingly. " Here, fan me. Now 
 remember, you 're not cutting off heads in the rid- 
 ing-hall. Deal gently with my plumage." 
 
 Hemenway took the fan and waved it in silence. 
 
 "Let us be the best of friends to-night," she 
 continued, " for as you can't take me to the hop 
 to-morrow night you may as well make a complete 
 thing of it and stay away from me all day. As I 
 am to remain at the Point so much longer, there 
 is danger of our growing tired of one another." 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Spencer was having ill success 
 in his search for Olive. The latter, expecting 
 every minute that he would come for her, had re-
 
 292 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 fused to allow her mother and Miss Bagg to wait 
 longer with her on the hotel piazza, and for some 
 time after they had sauntered away toward ramp, 
 Olive remained sitting on the west side of the 
 house, enjoying the distant music and the sugges- 
 tive harmony of her own thoughts. These diu not 
 concern her expected escort to the concert, nor any 
 other of the young men who had entertained her 
 of late with their flattering attentions. 
 
 " I am afraid I am getting into a habit of think- 
 ing of Max," she admitted to herself. 
 
 It was twilight. The sky was still flushed from 
 the sun's descent, and the mountains loomed darkly 
 against it. The fiery color, half- veiled by elm- 
 branches, shed a last glow upon the broad river, 
 and the dreamy music lent enchantment to the 
 scene. Olive was tempted on to self-communing. 
 
 She looked back to the days after Cousin Jo- 
 tham's dinner, when she found it so amusing to 
 weave romances with Max for the central charac- 
 ter. Ida at that time had served as good a purpose 
 as any one to enact the role of heroine. By some 
 subtle change of sentiment in the dreamer of these 
 dreams, Mrs. Fuller soon ceased to fit the part. 
 Of course Olive did not care whom Mr. Van Kirk 
 married, so long as his choice was a suitable per- 
 son ; but Ida she thought snobbish and calculat- 
 ing. The widow repelled her. She regretted to 
 believe that Ida was Max's fate. 
 
 Then came a time when she began to resent the 
 fact that as soon as she was alone Max's image
 
 THE CONCERT IN CAMP. 293 
 
 should obtrude itself. She was tired of considering 
 
 O 
 
 him in all his various possibilities. Then she came 
 to West Point, and lo ! it was his environment that 
 again confronted her. The barracks rose before 
 her as a place where Max had lived. He had re- 
 cited in the Academic Building, eaten in Mess 
 Hall, attended concerts at the Library. 
 
 From thinking of him as anybody's hero, he had 
 come to be an abstraction so far as women were 
 concerned. Her persistent thoughts wove no more 
 romances. The other day at the review his recep 
 tion of her mention of Ida Fuller had given her a 
 sudden throb of triumph. His subsequent re- 
 mark had caused her a sudden fear, but the fear 
 had been followed by a reaction. Ever since that 
 afternoon, there had been cherished in a secret 
 warm corner of Olive's heart the suggestion more 
 of Van Kirk's tone than of his words. The sweet- 
 est hope found gradually a home in that hidden 
 nook. Sometimes Olive felt with a joyous pang 
 that it was growing ; without nurture, without en- 
 couragement, she felt that it was still obstinately 
 and hardily growing. She did not examine it, she 
 looked away. That was not difficult to do, for 
 she was scarcely ever alone ; yet with whomsoever 
 she was, whatever words her lips might speak, she 
 was conscious always of this " still thing grow- 
 ing," a secret source of unfailing joy. 
 
 She grew frightened as she sat here now so long 
 silent in the gathering shadows. The little hope 
 was importunate of her attention, and its pulsing 
 life set her whole heart to beating.
 
 294 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " I wish Mr. Spencer would come," she mur- 
 mured, and starting up she walked aimlessly to the 
 corner of the house and around toward the door. 
 A man was quickly ascending the steps. Sure 
 that it was the delinquent, she hurried forward, 
 and in an instant confronted not cadet-gray, but 
 tweeds. 
 
 A hand seized hers. " Olive." 
 
 "Max." 
 
 They said no more for a half a minute, and their 
 hands clung together. 
 
 " Has my luck changed, I wonder ? " he said at 
 length. 
 
 Miss Carlyle's breath came quick. She was 
 afraid to speak. 
 
 " To come upon you in this way," he continued. 
 " Are you alone ? What does it mean ? " 
 
 " It means that my people left me a little while 
 ago expecting that Mr. Spencer would be here at 
 once to take me to the concert," answered Olive, 
 recovering her senses sufficiently to withdraw her 
 hand and speak conventionally. " I can't think 
 what has happened to him." 
 
 " Some little obstacle in the way of confinement, 
 perhaps. At all events, I am as grateful to him 
 as though he had purposely absented himself. I 
 saw there was a concert in progress, but thought 
 I would just take a look on the piazzas first. Seri- 
 ously, Olive, to find you here is the first gift for- 
 tune has bestowed upon me in many moons. May 
 I take you over to the camp ? "
 
 THE CONCERT IN CAMP. 295 
 
 " Yes, I think I need n't wait any longer," an- 
 swered Miss Carlyle, and from her tone no one 
 could have guessed how the growing hope was 
 singing. 
 
 They went down the steps together, and thus it 
 happened that when Mr. Spencer raced madly up 
 the same steps five minutes later, no one about the 
 hotel was able to produce Miss Carlyle. 
 
 His unavoidable detention this time had been 
 the combination of a tea and a new girl with a 
 vivacious tongue, whose white hand was very fami- 
 liar with the strings of a banjo. These had be- 
 guiled him beyond the intended hour, and his 
 conscious guilt, added to his admiration for Miss 
 Carlyle, made him extremely warm in mind and 
 body when it was proved that he must extend his 
 quest into camp. 
 
 He did not find her there, either, for Olive and 
 Van Kirk were wandering to and fro in the deep 
 shadow of spreading trees at a little distance from 
 the groups of listeners. 
 
 The orchestra was now performing bits from 
 Wagner and introducing convenient cadences, of 
 which it is to be hoped, in the interests of the im- 
 perial composer's eternal happiness, that he was 
 unaware ; but the music gave Miss Carlyle and 
 her companion an excuse for silence, which they 
 maintained for some minutes. 
 
 At last Max spoke. " Why don't you ask me 
 why I am up here so soon again ? " 
 
 " I do not need that you should give any reason."
 
 296 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " I saw that it would be of no use to wait till 
 you sent for me. I knew you were surrounded by 
 bell-buttons and had an embarrassment of riches 
 in the way of attention." 
 
 Olive smiled. " You saw that just now, I am 
 sure." 
 
 " Oh, well, that was a slip of some kind for my 
 especial benefit. I suppose it was rather presum- 
 ing in me to assume charge of you and carry you 
 off, but there will be other evenings for Spencer, 
 and perhaps no others for me." 
 
 " I find you rather mysterious to-night, Mr. Van 
 Kirk. In fact you are something of an enigma to 
 me anyway. Why are n't you a happier man ? " 
 
 " So I have been wearing my heart on my 
 sleeve, have I ? " 
 
 " I did not think," continued Olive, " that you 
 were going to take events so hard. You seemed 
 jolly enough over it all at first. But now every 
 little while I catch a glimpse of your discontent. 
 Do you wish you were back in the army ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " Do you wish you were a millionaire ? " 
 
 " No, with a very large N." 
 
 " Dear me. He eVen despises money," said the 
 girl, softly smiling. 
 
 " There is just one thing in the world that I 
 want, Olive," continued Van Kirk slowly and 
 thoughtfully, " and that a woman can give me." 
 
 The speaker felt the faintest flutter of the hand 
 resting on his arm, but received no answer.
 
 THE CONCERT IN CAMP. 297 
 
 " If I do not get it " a pause " life will 
 not be worth living." 
 
 His words thrilled his companion from head to 
 foot. The radiant hope was singing so loudly in 
 her ears that the other music seemed far away. 
 For the first time she turned herself fully and 
 blissfully to meet life's gracious possibilities face 
 to face. Her eyes filled with light and her heart 
 with the might of her joy. 
 
 She dared not speak yet ; neither did she wish 
 to do so. With her hero beside her in the sol- 
 emn, beautiful night, she would not hasten the cli- 
 max of that supreme moment which should launch 
 them both into eternity of happiness. Like one 
 in a dream, she leaned lightly on his arm as they 
 slowly passed on. The moment, so joyfully long 
 to her in its wealth of experience, passed. Van 
 Kirk spoke again : 
 
 " I have written to this woman," he said. 
 " Very soon I shall know the worst or the best. 
 I simply could n't stand the waiting down there 
 alone. I never had a sister, Olive. It is so 
 strangely sweet to speak to a woman, tender- 
 hearted, honest, who has a kindly feeling for me 
 and will be lenient to my egotism. I did n't real- 
 ize you were a woman, upon my word, until that 
 last evening in New York, when you spoke your 
 mind to me concerning the picture. I never real- 
 ized before how tall you were, how altogether im- 
 pressive." 
 
 He waited a moment for a response ; then he
 
 298 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 felt suddenly that his companion was shaking with 
 laughter. 
 
 " It was comical," he continued. " You nearly 
 took my breath away." 
 
 Still Olive laughed. Max thought it a little 
 strange that she should be so amused, but he 
 smiled in sympathy. 
 
 " It does seem so absurd as I look back upon it 
 to think I should have been so vexed," she said 
 at last, shivering, and quickly wiping her eyes. 
 " It is odd that such a childish performance should 
 have impressed you with a sense of my dignity. 
 Do you know, I am being guilty of a bit of 
 thoughtlessness now," she added, as seriously as 
 her short breath would permit. " If Mr. Spencer 
 is searching for me, he has probably found mother 
 and succeeded in frightening her completely. Let 
 us go and explain my non-appearance. She is 
 somewhere over there on one of those seats." 
 
 " I see," replied Van Kirk resignedly, " you are 
 weary of the society of a * cit ' who talks about his 
 own woes, when you might have the company of 
 one of these light hearted and headed cadets." 
 
 They turned and moved toward the auditors. 
 
 " Cadets are charming," declared Olive, " and 
 no more light-headed than the rest of us ; besides, 
 I like light-headed people. I 'm not ready for the 
 serious side of life. Hear that wind in the trees," 
 she added, as the music ceased. " I always like 
 that murmur. Don't you ? " 
 
 "Yes. Many a night, when I have been on
 
 THE CONGEST IN CAMP. 299 
 
 guard yonder by Fort Clinton, it has made the 
 time seem less weary," replied her companion. 
 
 "And I dare say you used to compose sonnets 
 by the half-dozen. Did n't you, now ? " 
 
 " I never was much given to rhymes. How you 
 hurry, Olive ! " . 
 
 44 Conscience is driving me." 
 
 44 Oh, Cousin Mary is n't so nervous as all that." 
 
 44 Yes, she is. If Mr. Spencer tells her I am 
 not at the hotel, she will imagine I have drowned 
 myself.* What an attractive place to drown one's 
 self, by the way ! So clean and picturesque ! 
 The only trouble would be to choose the prettiest 
 of the hundreds of eligible spots from which to 
 take a lover's leap." 
 
 44 Wait for the lover before you talk about 
 that." 
 
 44 How do you know I have n't one, pray ? " 
 
 " I well, I don't know, of course." 
 
 ** I should say you could scarcely be sure." 
 
 Olive laughed as she talked in a way not usual 
 with her, rather a silly way Max would have 
 thought it in another woman. 
 
 44 When the man appears," he said seriously, 
 *' whom you care for, Olive, the only lover's leap 
 you need take will be straight into his arms, for 
 he will be the happiest man on earth." 
 
 He felt her hand tighten on his arm. 
 
 44 Very neatly said, Mr. Van Kirk," she replied 
 saucily, 44 but a trifle exaggerated. How can the 
 great unknown be happier than you will be when
 
 300 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 that mysterious being gives you the one thing you 
 crave on earth ? " The soft laughter rippled forth 
 again, and Van Kirk look graver then before. 
 
 " You give me a salutary lesson, Olive," he said 
 shortly. " I had no right to bore you." 
 
 They had now reached the rows of seats, and 
 Miss Carlyle's eager eyes quickly sought out the 
 white zephyr covering she had seen her mother 
 throw over her hair as she left the hotel. Drop- 
 ping Van Kirk's arm and taking a hasty step for- 
 ward, she flung her arms about her mother's neck 
 and clasped her hands together. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle started, and looked around as well 
 as she could in the rigid embrace. " Olive, child, 
 there you are at last. I was just wondering if I 
 ought to go in search of you. Mr. Spencer was 
 here a minute ago in a great state of mind." 
 
 " Yes, we missed each other. Max is here. 
 He brought me." 
 
 Miss Bagg turned alertly and, reaching out her 
 hand, welcomed the new arrival warmly. 
 
 " You will have to come around here to shake 
 hands with me, Max," said Mrs. Carlyle. " Olive 
 has me in a vise." 
 
 " A lovely vise," returned Van Kirk, coming 
 obediently around the end of the seat and taking 
 the offered hand. "You see I have defrauded 
 Olive of the society of one of her admirers to- 
 night, and so I am bound to throw in a compli- 
 ment wherever I see the opportunity, even if it 
 leads me into paradox. The bad penny soon re 
 turns, you see, Miss Bagg."
 
 THE CONCERT IN CAMP. 301 
 
 " I sha'n't like it at all if you don't come often," 
 returned Lydia. " We have been having such a 
 good time, all except the candidates." 
 
 Then she went on to rehearse to Max all she 
 had seen and heard, while Olive, thankful for her 
 volubility, clung to her mother as to an anchor of 
 safety. Her heart ached so heavily from the 
 leaden weight of that mute, slain hope, which in its 
 vigor had made her whole being light and joyous. 
 
 Mr. Spencer came charging back up the path, 
 still on his frantic quest. He paused with a jerk 
 as he was passing her. 
 
 " Miss Carlyle ! " he exclaimed, and lifted his 
 cap. 
 
 She stemmed the tide of glib explanation and 
 apology into which he immediately plunged. 
 
 " Don't say another word," she interrupted 
 sweetly. " I feel that I owe you quite as much of 
 an apology as you do me. My cousin arrived 
 from New York, and I, seeing that you were de- 
 tained, came over here with him, not realizing how 
 much annoyance I might cause you by not giving 
 you a few minutes' more grace." 
 
 "Well, by George! she is the sweetest girl I 
 ever saw in my life ! " thought the much agitated 
 adjutant, with a glow of gratitude such as young 
 women might elicit much oftener than they do, if 
 they would take the sensitiveness out of their self- 
 love. 
 
 Miss Carlyle was not deserving of credit in the 
 present instance. If Ralph Spencer had but
 
 302 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 known it, while she was smiling upon him so gra- 
 ciously he seemed to her to be but the moving 
 figure in a dream. His offense appealed to her 
 consciousness no more than would a pin-prick to 
 the man who had just received a mortal wound. 
 
 He remained beside her after greeting Van 
 Kirk. 
 
 " You won't find me very talkative, I am 
 afraid," she said after a minute. " Your music is 
 so good here, and even if it were much less so, the 
 surroundings idealize it. I like to listen." 
 
 " Olive, you are cold," declared her mother, 
 upon whose breast the girl's hands were still tightly 
 clasped. " I distinctly felt you shiver. I told you, 
 dear, that cobweb dress was not enough. Night 
 air is night air, even in June. I want you to 
 come back with me to the hotel," she added, in the 
 coaxing tone of a parent who expects a parley. 
 
 Miss Carlyle looked up at the adjutant. " Do 
 you always mind your mother, Mr. Spencer ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 " I have n't had a chance for a good while, you 
 know. This stepmother of mine it is the grim- 
 mest sarcasm to call her Alma Mater has about 
 absorbed my capacity for obeying for a few 
 years." 
 
 "She will be minded, will she?" asked Mrs. 
 Carlyle, endeavoring to unlock Olive's cold hands. 
 " What does she do, if you rebel ? Tell me, so I 
 can try it with my daughter." 
 
 " Puts us in ' con,' usually," laughed Spencer.
 
 THE CONCERT IN CAMP. 303 
 
 I 
 " That is confinement, mother," explained Olive. 
 
 " Well, I will adopt the idea right away. Your 
 hands feel as though it were January." 
 
 " Won't it do to get a wrap, or something ? " 
 suggested Ralph. 
 
 " No," replied Mrs. Carlyle decidedly. " I pre- 
 fer to have her go in, and I hope she will learn 
 wisdom by experience." 
 
 " Well, good-night, then, Max," said Olive, " the 
 fiat has gone forth. You will take care of Cousin 
 Lyclia." 
 
 Ralph Spencer accompanied the ladies up to the 
 hotel, followed by the strains of the Lorelei. 
 
 ' ' Ich weiss nicht was soil es bedeuten 
 Das ich so traurig bin." 
 
 " It occurs to me that your cousin must have en- 
 dured some punning on his name when he was a 
 cadet," said Spencer, as they walked on. " ' Max ' 
 means with us a successful recitation or perform- 
 ance of any kind." 
 
 " Well, that was a suitable name for him, I 
 imagine," replied Olive. " I believe that he stood 
 very well in his class." 
 
 " When do those strange boys, the new-comers, 
 join the cadets in camp ? " asked Mrs. Carlyle. 
 
 "In a short time, a week, perhaps," replied 
 Spencer. " I believe the examinations ended to- 
 day. The sooner they come the better for us ; for 
 our limits have been changed for their accommoda- 
 tion. We are not allowed to walk over there while 
 they are in barracks."
 
 304 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Oh, we might molest them," replied the young 
 fellow, smiling. " Of course we should n't, you 
 know, but we might." 
 
 " Is there hazing here ? " 
 
 " Your voice sounds horrified, Mrs. Carlyle. 
 How glad I am to belong to the graduating class. 
 The giddy yearlings do most of whatever hazing 
 is done. That sort of thing is leagues below the 
 dignity of a first-class man, you know." 
 
 " I should hope so, indeed. Such cowardly 
 business ! " 
 
 They had reached the hedge, and Olive gave 
 the cadet her hand, which he clasped cordially. 
 " May I try once more, Miss Carlyle ? " he said. 
 " On Thursday evening there will be a concert on 
 the plain in front of the superintendent's. May I 
 see if I can redeem my character for punctual- 
 ity?" 
 
 " Certainly," replied Olive. " I shall be pleased. 
 Good-night." 
 
 She went into the house with her mother. 
 
 " I am going to give you a good rubbing," said 
 the latter, when they had reached their room. 
 
 " Indeed, I don't need it, dear," the girl an- 
 swered. " I shall be quite warm now ; but I am 
 tired. This life in the outdoor air makes one 
 sleepy ; don't you think so ? " 
 
 She was soon in bed, and seemed to fall asleep 
 immediately. Her mother also retired, in order 
 that the light might not disturb Olive. She had
 
 TI1E CONCERT IN CAMP. 
 
 not been long in bed when she felt the girl trem- 
 ble. 
 
 "I thought you were asleep, dear," she said. 
 " What amuses you so ? " 
 
 " Nothing much. I '11 be asleep in a minute." 
 
 The response, although very faintly given, be- 
 trayed that it was choked with repressed tears. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle suffered a shock of anxiety. Her 
 mind instantly became alert. Olive had some 
 trouble, and it was the first she had ever concealed 
 from her mother. How the latter longed to turn 
 and take that quiet form in her arms ! but she 
 controlled herself. She studied upon what could 
 have occurred since she last saw Olive in her nat- 
 ural good spirits. Could it have been that the 
 child felt deeply mortified by Ralph Spencer's 
 delinquency ? Impossible. Olive was too frank 
 and sensible to brood over such a trifle. Then it 
 was Max. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle knit her brows there in the dark- 
 ness, in the effort to think it all out and to com- 
 prehend what she could not know. She searched 
 the past to find out how Olive regarded Van Kirk. 
 She recalled the triumphant tone in which the girl 
 had declared her belief that he cared nothing for 
 Ida Fuller. 
 
 " Does she love him, and has he told her to-night 
 something that crushes her ? " wondered the mo- 
 ther, her heart wrung by the faint sound of quickly- 
 caught breath on the other pillow. She remem- 
 bered the cold hands that had clasped her so
 
 306 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 desperately, the shivering figure that had nestled 
 close to her, there in cainp, and a fervent prayer 
 rose from the depths of her heart for help to bear 
 this new and great trouble, the secret grief of 
 her child. 
 
 All at once a long-pent sob went shuddering 
 through the form beside her. Mrs. Carlyle could 
 refrain no longer. She turned, and gently took 
 her daughter in her arms. 
 
 At her touch Olive's repressed tears gushed 
 forth. She threw her arm around her mother's 
 neck. 
 
 " Don't don't ask me," she sobbed. 
 
 " Not one word, my sweet one ; only let me be 
 near you." She took the little cold hand and 
 warmed it at her own lips. She smoothed the 
 girl's hair, and finally the sobbing lessened. The 
 patient hand continued the soothing strokes, until 
 at last the nervous breathing became even and 
 Olive slept. 
 
 But the mother waked all the night and pon- 
 dered. The reveille gun crashed through the 
 still, rain-wet morning, and she raised herself and 
 gazed into her child's face. Its beauty smote her 
 with a sense of pathos. 
 
 " There is only weakness where I should have 
 strength to bear your sorrows, my darling," she 
 thought, and dried the tears that blurred her 
 yearning gaze. " Oh, my little lamb, if the Lord 
 loves you better than I do, we must not be anx- 
 ious."
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 MR. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 
 
 IT is to be feared that Miss Bagg's secretary did 
 not hear every word of her descriptions after Olive 
 said good-night. 
 
 His mind kept straying with a sense of humili- 
 ation. Olive had evidently felt the ignorant con- 
 tempt of a heart-whole, inexperienced girl for his 
 darkly hinted trouble. Youth is often cruel, and 
 Van Kirk not only felt that Miss Carlyle had been 
 cruel, but regretted sorely that he had given her 
 the opportunity to show her indifference. 
 
 Her reception of him had at first been so unmis- 
 takably cordial. In his excitement and anxiety, 
 was it any wonder that he had sought consolation 
 from her warm, sweet womanliness ? Surely their 
 intimacy, even though it had come to exist only at 
 spasmodic intervals of years, warranted so much. 
 
 It does not appear precisely why Mr. Van Kirk 
 should have found justification for his confidences 
 in the fact that he could remember himself a boy 
 of seven, feeling rather sheepish because Olive, in 
 a soft, white dress and unsteady kid shoes, en- 
 joyed clinging to his finger during her first labo- 
 rious and eventful promenades around the room ;
 
 308 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 but the fact remains that, in the light of that mem- 
 ory, the later memory of her ironical laughter ap- 
 peared to him now as especially ungrateful. 
 
 He came to himself because Miss Bagg's flow 
 of words suddenly stopped, and some vague echo 
 seemed to tell him that his companion had ap- 
 pealed to him to know if something was not awful. 
 
 " Was it ? Well a " - 
 
 " Why, I tell you, the poor fellow had scarcely 
 anything on," said Lydia earnestly. " He had 
 gone to bed, and they kept him up in that tree all 
 night, just because his father was a general in the 
 army and they thought he might feel a little con- 
 ceited about it. I think such hazing is criminal. 
 If I supposed any such thing would be done to any 
 of these new plebes, I would " She paused, to 
 think of some sufficiently severe threat. 
 
 " I hope you are n't going to say that you would 
 order ine to sleep in camp that I might watch, for 
 I do not believe they would let me." 
 
 " These cadets whom I know must be entirely 
 different from the class who could do such things 
 as that," said Lydia earnestly, " but there may be 
 a few such spirits among them." 
 
 " It is barely possible." 
 
 "You are smiling, Mr. Van Kirk. Don't tell 
 me that you think the subject is amusing. Now, 
 don't." 
 
 " I was n't going to, Miss Bagg. So your visit 
 continues to prove a success, does it? Are you 
 glad you brought Olive Carlyle ? "
 
 MR. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 309 
 
 " Indeed I am. She is just the person to come 
 here, and I enjoy seeing her receive so much no- 
 tice." 
 
 " Don't you think it may be turning her head ? " 
 
 " Not at all. Olive's head is n't that kind," re- 
 plied Miss Lydia decidedly. "She treats them 
 all beautifully, and is just her even self all the 
 time, only brighter, ever so much happier than 
 I ever knew her before. She is a butterfly revel- 
 ing in the summer." 
 
 " Only, wiser than the butterfly, she knows that 
 the winter will come," remarked Max. 
 
 " Yes, she says she is storing up sunshine against 
 the winter." 
 
 "Many a girl has found her fate here," said 
 Van Kirk. " Does Olive particularly favor any 
 of her admirers ? " 
 
 " I can hardly say that. She is more with 
 Ralph Spencer, perhaps, than any one ; and I 
 don't wonder. He is certainly one of the pleas- 
 antest objects to look upon that I ever saw, and 
 his manner is charming, unusually so. Yes, if 
 I were eighteen, I am free to confess that I would 
 not take ' no ' for an answer from Ralph Spen- 
 cer." Miss Bagg smiled placidly from the van- 
 tage-ground of her fifty years. 
 
 "Adjutants are usually a set of jackanapes," 
 responded Van Kirk, so curtly that Lydia looked 
 at him in surprise. It was most unusual for her 
 secretary to use such a tone. 
 
 " You stay here long enough and you will see
 
 310 MISS KAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 that Mr. Spencer is n't one," she returned. " No ; 
 he is a fine young man." 
 
 " So Olive has your blessing, has she, if she in- 
 clines in that direction ? " 
 
 " Yes ; they are very nice people, the Spencers ; 
 but, dear me, this is guess-work, you know. There 
 may be nothing in it, only Olive is such a pretty 
 girl I should think every man who sees her would 
 lose his heart. I never saw any one so beautiful, 
 and her self is lovelier still ; that is why she wears 
 well. She and young Spencer make a very hand- 
 some couple." 
 
 So Miss Bagg went on, innocently, her listener 
 more and more nettled as she proceeded. 
 
 " No good ever comes of match-making, I think," 
 he said at last. 
 
 " Bless you, I 'm not making any matches," de- 
 clared Lydia, laughing. " I am only enjoying be- 
 ing a spectator. I am glad Olive has a mother, 
 and that she is here. I intend to hold on to her as 
 long as I can." 
 
 The next morning when the party gathered at 
 breakfast, it seemed as though the rain that was 
 blotting out all perspective in the landscape had 
 dampened the spirits of each member. 
 
 " I am so disappointed to think you can't see 
 guard mounting, Cousin Mary," said Miss Bagg. 
 
 " Do not worry about me at all," answered Mrs. 
 Carlyle. " A rainy day has plenty of compensa- 
 tions for a person who is making a business of 
 being lazy."
 
 MR. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 311 
 
 " It never ought to rain at West Point," declared 
 Bertha autocratically. " I dare say the heavens 
 are weeping because I can't go to the german to- 
 night, but I could dispense with the attention." 
 
 " You can go," remarked Olive, " as you know 
 very well. There is little Mr. Wild, who has been 
 using every device known to cadet ingenuity to 
 secure you for a hop. It is surprising how, for an 
 elderly person, you suit the yearling taste." 
 
 " Oh, he has a partner for this, of course. Any- 
 way, I would rather not go at all unless with one 
 of my friends. Mr. Van Kirk, why don't you ask 
 me?" 
 
 "You compliment me. Will you take me in 
 tweeds ? " 
 
 " I dare say I shall be obliged to make over my 
 partner to you," said Olive. " As he is your 
 brother, perhaps you will accept him. The fact 
 is, I waked with a headache this morning, and I 
 may not be able to conquer it." 
 
 " It is all the weather," declared Miss Spencer, 
 regarding her friend, whose heavy eyes corrobo- 
 rated her words. " Even if Olive is not able to 
 go, Mrs. Carlyle, you must come to the hall and 
 see what a pretty thing a military german is. 
 After the old tarletan scarfs and all the tame 
 figures one is so tired of, it is inspiring to pass 
 under an avenue of crossed swords and then waltz 
 in an officer's sash." 
 
 " Yes, with a sword held in your partner's hand, 
 the point impaling your skirt," added Olive. " It
 
 312 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 gives great zest to a dance to know that yon may 
 end, like the hero of an old novel, by falling on 
 your sword." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle raised her eyebrows. "I think 
 the headache is the wisest thing you could have 
 under those circumstances, Olive," she observed. 
 
 " Oh, no ; it will be too bad if she must miss 
 one of the hops," said Lydia seriously. 
 
 Her secretary smiled at her across the table. 
 " Which have you decided to be in your next 
 incarnation, Miss Bagg? A cadet, or the sister 
 of a cadet ? " 
 
 As he spoke, he saw his friend Gary entering the 
 dining-room. The latter recognized him, and im- 
 mediately approached to shake hands. 
 
 " Glad you 're back again, Van Kirk, but sorry 
 to give you such moist weather. Sha'n't I see you 
 some time to-day ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed. Where shall I find you ? " 
 
 " Let us go down to Thornton's quarters and 
 have a smoke. I am living in camp now." 
 
 " All right. I shall be ready when you have 
 finished breakfast." 
 
 Lieutenant Thornton's quarters were in the 
 building known as the Old Hospital, but which de- 
 serves a more pleasantly suggestive title. From 
 its piazza one gets a charming panoramic view of 
 the Hudson through a succession of stone arches. 
 Sunlighted scenes of hills, woods, water, varied 
 craft, and curving banks by day ; by night, myste- 
 rious pictures of great boats, with red, green, and
 
 MR. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 313 
 
 orange lights, quietly moving up and down the river, 
 far, far below, an electric glow lighting the water 
 about them, and the music from their cabins 
 coming like a faint echo to the ear. 
 
 But to-day the view must be taken on faith. As 
 Gary and his friend sprang up the iron stair the 
 great drenched trees across the narrow road 
 dripped profusely. The sentry had retired into 
 his box. The foliage of the steeply declining bank 
 was obscured by mist. Even the clouds detailed 
 to shower West Point seem to have absorbed the 
 atmosphere of discipline, and do their work with 
 military thoroughness. 
 
 Gary ushered his friend into the sanctum, half 
 parlor, half library, of the absent lieutenant. " I 
 believe you saw Thornton when you were here be- 
 fore. He has sailed for the other side and I miss 
 him. He 's a good fellow." 
 
 There was a cheerfulness of manner, a new re- 
 sponsiveness about the speaker, which was very 
 noticeable. Van Kirk looked at him curiously. 
 
 " Here, get down on this divan," continued 
 Gary, piling up a lot of comfortable cushions, " and 
 have a cigar." 
 
 " I am not much of a smoker, but you seem to 
 have found a brand that agrees with you. If you 
 will warrant the same effect upon me, I will con- 
 sume a whole box." 
 
 Gary laughed as he drew up his chair. " You 
 observe that I am a new man, don't you?" he 
 said.
 
 314 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Are the cigars so good ? " asked Van Kirk, as 
 he took one. 
 
 " I don't know what I 'm smoking these days, 
 nor what I 'm eating, nor half the time what I 'm 
 doing," answered his friend. 
 
 " Humph ! You have changed. You must be 
 in love." 
 
 " Lots better than that, my boy ; I 'm engaged. 
 Yes, I haven't said anything about it," continued 
 Gary, his happiness shining in his face, " but to 
 you I don't mind. The very day after you left 
 last week I became engaged." 
 
 " And you call that better than being in love, 
 do you ? " responded the other gruffly. " Well, I 
 don't." 
 
 " "It is a dismal enough thing to be in one con- 
 dition without the other, let me tell you," remarked 
 Gary confidentially, between the puffs of his 
 newly lighted cigar. 
 
 " You need n't trouble yourself to give me any 
 information of that kind," returned Van Kirk 
 gloomily. " Experience is just as good a teacher 
 as I want on that subject." 
 
 " Go 'way. I don't believe it," said the other, 
 removing his cigar to gaze through half-closed lids 
 at his friend. " I have thought ever since I first 
 saw you that if I were a woman you were the sort 
 of man I should fall in love with. Strong and 
 graceful and all that, you know." 
 
 " Oh, thanks," growled Van Kirk, " you are in 
 a roseate mood."
 
 MB. VAN KIEK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 315 
 
 " Has she ever seen you on horseback ? " pursued 
 Gary. " I don't believe she has." 
 
 " Bosh," remarked his friend ungratefully. 
 " You 're barking up the wrong tree altogether. 
 I 'm not in love with anybody." 
 
 "You 're not?" 
 
 *' No ; and nobody 's in love with me." 
 
 " Well, then, there 's no harm done that I can 
 see." 
 
 " I dare say. I 've always heard that love is 
 blind," returned Max, " and you seem to be repre- 
 senting Cupid just now." 
 
 Gary's state of mind was so beatific that he felt 
 only commiseration for his grouty visitor. 
 
 " Well, you seem inclined to be enigmatical," he 
 said with a laugh. " At least you might have the 
 grace to congratulate me ! " 
 
 " How can I ? Have I seen her ? " 
 
 " No, I think not. Her name is Bruce, and she 
 is oh, she is perfection ! " 
 
 " Well, I congratulate Miss Bruce heartily. 
 As for you, I give you my best wishes, and they 
 are that you may remain in your present frame of 
 mind and never wish yourself well out of the 
 whole business." 
 
 Gary gazed at his friend with wide-open eyes, 
 and emitted a long, soft whistle. 
 
 "Oho," he said deliberately. "At last I see. 
 You have been caught." 
 
 " No, indeed. Nothing so creditable to me as 
 that. I have pushed my head of my own accord, 
 in spite of everything, into a noose."
 
 316 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " And the knot has tightened, and now you can't 
 get it out. I see," said Gary sympathetically. 
 " Well," he added, " treat it like other Gordian 
 knots, cut it." 
 
 " Very easy to say." 
 
 " Very easy to do, if what you said is true, 
 namely, that nobody is in love with you." 
 
 " Confound it, Cary." Max sat up irritably. 
 "Don't you know that when a man has asked a 
 woman to marry him no, begged her to and 
 she has consented, that there is just one thing left 
 for him to do, and that is to marry her ? " 
 
 " I know that is the generally accepted notion," 
 returned the other reluctantly. Then after a 
 minute's dejected silence, he added : " What did 
 she accept you for, if she did n't care for you ? 
 I 'm sorry for you, Van Kirk, but I 'in afraid that 
 won't hold water." 
 
 The ex-lieutenant sighed. " Thereby hangs a 
 tale ; a twice-told tale to you, I dare say." He met 
 his friend's sympathetic gaze steadily. "I sup- 
 pose you know why I left the army ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied Gary briefly. 
 
 " And I suppose you know I got left myself." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Well, then, you have a clew to why I was ac- 
 cepted, have n't you? " 
 
 Cary looked thoughtful. "If it was from mer- 
 cenary motives," he replied at last hopefully, "then 
 why is n't it all plain sailing ? Won't she drop you 
 like a hot coal now ? "
 
 MB. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 317 
 
 Van Kirk held his cigar between two fingers 
 and returned his friend's gaze. " I have a hope 
 that she will," he answered slowly. " I am hound 
 enough for that." 
 
 " Why upbraid yourself, when you are sure the 
 lady behaved from interested motives ? " 
 
 " Because I am disgusted with myself," returned 
 the other hotly. " Why, because a woman sat a 
 horse superbly, sang like a lark, and danced well, 
 should I have idealized her like a schoolboy and 
 pursued her at every opportunity, if I had n't solid- 
 ity enough to stick to her through thick and thin ? 
 That is where it hurts. I hunt for the grand pas- 
 sion which absorbed me a little while ago, and 
 where is it? Vanished. Instead I find only a 
 longing to sneak out and away. I ought to be 
 kicked." 
 
 Gary leaned back and crossed his left foot com- 
 fortably over his right knee. " It is as plain as 
 day," he said calmly. " You have made a mistake." 
 
 His friend turned quickly, and looked at him 
 contemptuously. " Miss Bruce is evidently going 
 to marry an oracle," he remarked. 
 
 "Wait, my boy. You don't understand me," 
 continued Gary, with unruffled temper. " Did you 
 ever hear such a doctrine as that in affairs of the 
 heart the woman chooses the man and not vice 
 versa ? " 
 
 " No, I can't say I have." 
 
 " It is a fact, Van Kirk, and I am a convert to 
 it. Colonel Mackenzie first propounded the idea
 
 318 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 to me, and I believe it. I 've proved it, man. 
 Now this lady had not chosen you, but your 
 money ; therefore the false flare-up in your affec- 
 tions caused by her apparent choice of yourself 
 has vanished like a will-o'-the-wisp." 
 
 Max laughed. " This is too good," he ejaculated. 
 " Who would ever have dreamed of Gary turning 
 fanciful?" 
 
 " Fact, Van Kirk, not fancy ; and more likely 
 than not some woman has really chosen you al- 
 ready, and the attraction of her desires is causing 
 half your trouble." 
 
 " Stuff and nonsense, Gary ! Happiness 
 has turned your head. You don't tell me you 
 would like to believe that women are going about, 
 setting their hearts upon men unasked, and that 
 when a man loves he must feel that he has not 
 taken the initiative ? " 
 
 Gary nodded contentedly. " Think about it, 
 Van Kirk. You will first endure, then pity, then 
 embrace. See if you don't." 
 
 " Why, you old iconoclast, what are you about ! 
 I call that speech profane, and I arn not in a very 
 chivalrous state of mind, either. You might as 
 well put men in petticoats at once." 
 
 " Oh, I don't mean endure and pity and em- 
 brace the girl. It is the idea. No ; the women 
 have the upper hand of us anyway, because they 
 have absolute control of themselves, and hunting 
 for a needle in a hay-mow is a mere bagatelle to 
 finding that preference for yourself which is hid'
 
 ME. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 319 
 
 den in some girl's heart. You might be alone for 
 hours with the very woman who has chosen you, 
 and the only impression you could gather from her 
 behavior would be that if you were the last man 
 on earth she would n't marry you." 
 
 Van Kirk looked amused. tk You are so wise I 
 am afraid of you, Gary. Any man who could find 
 his fate under those depressing circumstances has 
 a penetration which I can only admire with awe." 
 
 " Penetration ? I did n't have a bit. Fate by 
 a kind caprice bundled me neck and crop in the 
 direction of my happiness, and I stumbled into it 
 as awkwardly as I have always done everything 
 else." 
 
 " I wish I knew how to get on the right side cf 
 fate." 
 
 " Pull yourself out of the hole you 're in, first." 
 
 " I have done all I can do," replied Max. " I 
 may as well tell you that this lady has held to the 
 belief that I would yet come into that fortune, 
 and I a few days ago wrote her a letter expressly 
 and clearly undeceiving her and offering her her 
 freedom." 
 
 Gary smiled grimly. 
 
 Van Kirk flushed. " Yes, that 's the dastardly 
 part of it," he admitted. " I know I 'm a hypo- 
 crite. This is a nice thing I 've been doing this 
 morning, too," he added after a little. " Of course, 
 if the engagement is broken off, my talking it over 
 this way won't matter. There is but one other 
 person who knows of the bond, and you never saw
 
 320 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 or heard of ray fiancee ; but if she does not give 
 me my freedom there, I 've said it plainly this 
 interview will be a nice thing for you and me to 
 carry in our minds, won't it ? " 
 
 " You will not marry her." 
 
 "I most certainly shall." 
 
 " You will not, I tell you. That idea of honor 
 ought to be exploded, if it is n't." 
 
 "Thank you. I object to being a pioneer in 
 that direction." 
 
 " Why, what sort of honor is it," asked Gary, 
 " to stand at the altar and swear before God and 
 man to do a certain set of things which you know 
 thoroughly well you have no intention of doing? 
 What do you think of that, eh ? " 
 
 " Sophistry," said Van Kirk, starting up from 
 the divan and pacing the floor. " Sophistry. To 
 take either horn of the dilemma would blight my 
 life. I am going to hope for the best from that 
 letter ; but " he turned and held out his hand to 
 his friend, who grasped it heartily " if I marry 
 her, Gary, I know you. So far as is possible, you 
 will forget all I have said to you." 
 
 " If you marry her, I shall say you are a weak 
 man, Van Kirk. That is what it will be, weak." 
 
 Maxwell's eyes looked straight into his friend's. 
 " Yes, I am too weak to endure to have it said that 
 I jilted a woman who had trusted me." 
 
 " That is sophistry, if you like," ejaculated the 
 other. 
 
 " Sophistry that would lead you, if you were in
 
 ME. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 321 
 
 my place, aiid you know it, Gary. You have not 
 imposed upon me in the least." 
 
 " No, no, no ! " blustered the other, the more 
 aggressively that he knew he was on uncertain 
 ground. " I 'd let her down easy. Yes, of course 
 I would, and I would fix it so all my world would 
 swear she jilted me, but I would draw the line at 
 marrying her. Yes, sure." 
 
 Max laughed. " You 're a trump, old fellow, 
 but you 're perjuring yourself right and left for 
 me. Is n't that rather a mistaken sense of honor, 
 too ? Now I have finished for to-day. Tell me 
 about Miss Bruce and show me her picture if you 
 will. I '11 say for her that she knows how to 
 choose better than most women." 
 
 But Van Kirk was fated not to await his destiny 
 in this friendly circle. The same day, while he 
 and Gary were at dinner in the hotel dining-room, 
 there came a telegram recalling him to New York 
 on a business errand. 
 
 He looked around for Miss Bagg and her party, 
 but none of them were in sight. A waiter vouch- 
 safed the information that they had finished din- 
 ner, and he believed they were on the piazza ; so 
 when Van Kirk rose from the table he went out-of- 
 doors. The rain had ceased, but a dense white 
 mist hung low against the hills. 
 
 Going around the corner of the hotel he came 
 face to face with Olive. She had a black lace 
 scarf thrown lightly over her head, and her amber 
 hair touched her forehead in rings from the damp 
 ness.
 
 322 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 She certainly started at sight of hiui, and Max 
 noticed it and mentally remarked its strangeness. 
 He thought of young Spencer and what Miss Bagg 
 had said, and could have believed that the painful 
 sensation the memory aroused was jealousy, only, 
 low as he had fallen in his own estimation, he re- 
 fused to admit that he who so recently wooed 
 another woman had sunk to such depths as to be 
 jealous of the man whom Olive favored. 
 
 She looked at him calmly. " I am letting the 
 wind blow my headache away," she said. 
 
 " I hope it may," he returned, falling into step 
 with her. " I came to say good-by again. I am 
 recalled to the city." 
 
 " Yes ? Too bad they won't permit you to take 
 a little vacation. The thought of New York is 
 not a tempting one just now." 
 
 She turned her head and met his gaze with 
 her beautiful, honest eyes, and for the first time 
 Van Kirk wondered if it might be their honesty 
 which had given him a new ideal which Ida was 
 not. 
 
 Then Gary's words rushed back to him with al- 
 luring and flattering sweetness. He recalled the 
 clinging of Olive's hand when she greeted him 
 suddenly last night. A glowing sensation per- 
 vaded him from head to foot. He lived long in 
 that second, but it passed and he struck earth 
 again. How she had laughed at him afterward. 
 It had been as though one looked for warmth and 
 comfort and received an icy bath.
 
 MR. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 323 
 
 Nothing could be more serene than her glance 
 now. He dubbed himself maudlin to have for a 
 moment connected Gary's nonsensical theories with 
 her. 
 
 " It has been good to see you again, Olive," he 
 said, " although you have n't treated me very well." 
 
 " Have n't I, really ? " she asked gravely. 
 " Then I ask your pardon." 
 
 " I did n't think you would laugh at me, but, on 
 the whole, I am glad you did. If you can laugh 
 at trouble always, I shall be well satisfied." 
 
 " An ungracious part," she returned. " I should 
 be sorry to fit it." 
 
 " Oh, here you are, Olive," said Mrs. Carlyle's 
 voice, as that lady came suddenly into sight. " I 
 missed you." She gave a quick look from her 
 daughter to Van Kirk. 
 
 " I felt as though the air would refresh me," 
 returned the girl, "and it has. Max is saying 
 good-by, mother." 
 
 " Off again ? " asked Mrs. Carlyle, joining in 
 the promenade, her arm about her daughter's 
 waist. " You make flying visits." 
 
 " Much briefer than I like," returned the young 
 man. " A telegram takes me." 
 
 " No bad news, I hope." 
 
 " No. Uncle Jotham left affairs in very com- 
 pact and systematic shape. Nevertheless there is 
 occasionally something for me to attend to more 
 complicated than cutting off Miss Bagg's cou- 
 pons."
 
 324 MISS XAGG'S SECEETA11Y. 
 
 " Have you seen her ? She is there iii the 
 parlor." 
 
 " Then I will go in. Good-by, Cousin Mary." 
 He held out his hand. " When are you coming 
 back? I suppose your latch-string will be out 
 when you do. You may have to send Olive's 
 winter wardrobe up here, Miss Bagg seems so 
 content with the situation." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle smiled gently as she shook hands 
 with him, but she did not give him one of the cor- 
 dial and hearty responses which he had received 
 from her all his life, and he felt the lack and it de- 
 pressed him like a bad omen. Cousin Mary had 
 never before failed him. 
 
 " I am growing as nervous as an invalid," he 
 thought impatiently. " Good-by, Olive," he said 
 aloud briefly, holding out his hand. u I hope the 
 ache will vanish, and that the sabres will clash 
 merrily over that head to-night." 
 
 "Thank you. I hope so, too," she answered 
 brightly. " Good-by. Good luck to the business." 
 
 She passed her arm around her mother as they 
 walked on alone, and drew an involuntary long 
 breath. 
 
 " Are we glad he has gone ? " asked Mrs. Carlyle 
 tentatively. It was the first time she and Olive 
 had been alone since breakfast. 
 
 " Yes, very glad," answered Olive bravely ; " but 
 you must not believe, mother, that Max has done 
 anything to be blamed for. I am afraid he noticed 
 that you did not ask him to visit you."
 
 ME. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 325 
 
 " Is he really entirely innocent, Olive ? " 
 
 "Entirely." The girl spoke steadily, but col- 
 ored to the roots of her hair. 
 
 " I am glad to hear that. It would be a great 
 pain to be disappointed in Max. I have not 
 known many men of his age who inspired so much 
 respect." 
 
 " But I do not wish to see him for a while. 
 I hope he will not come back," said the girl 
 slowly. 
 
 " I hope not, too, then. Yet hold yourself calm, 
 my child. Anything can be borne, if we have not 
 done wrong." 
 
 " But I have done wrong." Olive was breathing 
 quickly. " I have done the very worst thing a 
 girl can do." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle drew her a little more closely to 
 her side. " Forgive yourself, dear. Relax spirit- 
 ually, and all the resentment and humiliation will 
 fade away. It is like that mist over there. It 
 obscures and overpowers all the substantial and 
 true things behind it now ; and yet the sun is 
 shining full and strong, and in the end will dis- 
 perse it. You know that God's love is the true 
 and everlasting sun. Turn yourself toward it, 
 darling, and you will find things take their true 
 proportions in the light." 
 
 " Do you think I need not suffer ? " asked the 
 girl, her voice vibrating. 
 
 "No. You may have to suffer; and yet there 
 are heights in your being where you may rise
 
 826 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 above that very sorrow. One of the best helps, as 
 we have always learned, is to do the duty that lies 
 next you each minute. That plain doing provides 
 a something into which strength flows. Another 
 help is to take a long view. Go up high in your 
 thought, dear, and take a long view. You did not 
 come into being by accident to stumble along 
 through life and suffer without reason or benefit. 
 You were created by a God who is Love, because 
 He wished to give you eternal life and happiness. 
 Now that you have met a serious sorrow, He 
 knows it, and He will help you bear it and show 
 you at the right time why He permitted it." 
 
 " You help me bear it, mother," murmured 
 Olive. " How ungrateful I am to forget for one 
 minute that I have you ! " 
 
 " It is He that helps you through me, then." 
 
 " But I can get hold of you," murmured the 
 girl. 
 
 " He knows that and leads you gently, dear. 
 Keep looking up, and keep being grateful, through 
 everything. Remember what I have so often said, 
 that life is a great, mysterious game of Magic 
 Music. You are groping like everybody else, try- 
 ing to discover what before you came upon the 
 scene was foreseen for you to do. You thought 
 perhaps in the present instance you had found out 
 an important link in the chain of events. Then 
 you became aware with a shock that you were mis- 
 taken." 
 
 They paused in a corner of the north piazza, and
 
 ME. VAN KIRK UNBURDENS HIMSELF. 327 
 
 Olive took her mother's hand and held it while 
 she looked down at the river. 
 
 " If you were mistaken, and what you thought 
 you wanted is not really for you, not a part of 
 what is your own, then you do not really wish for 
 it ; for He who plans your destiny knows best, and 
 only seeks to bless you." 
 
 The girl looked around and met her mother's 
 eyes, a pathetic longing in her gaze. "I wish I 
 need not want it so," she said almost inaudibly. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle pressed the fresh cheek with her 
 own. 
 
 " Hold yourself quiet, dear," she answered, " and 
 listen for the divine music. Your soul will hear 
 it."
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 
 
 MRS. CARLYLE'S last day at the post dawned 
 crystal clear. West Point is like a beauty who 
 rewards appropriate and lovely costuming. Bathed 
 in soft rain and sunshine, clothed in delicately 
 shaded verdure, girded with the myriad jewels of 
 the sparkling river, on a morning like this she 
 uplifts and refreshes the heart. 
 
 " It is altogether too good to leave," observed 
 Miss Bagg, as they came down the steps from the 
 hotel. " I wish you could reconsider, Cousin 
 Mary." 
 
 " I have had all that I may this time," returned 
 Mrs. Carlyle, " and it has invigorated me wonder- 
 fully. I leave my little girl with you very grate- 
 fully." 
 
 " I have been afraid the last few days that Olive 
 was growing tired of it," said Lydia. " She has 
 seemed rather quiet, and has n't taken quite the 
 same interest in things." 
 
 " No, she is very glad to stay. I gave her her 
 choice. So long as Miss Bertha is with you I knew 
 you did not need her." 
 
 V I should be very sorry to have her go."
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 329 
 
 u Then we are all satisfied," replied Mrs. Carlyle. 
 
 They were on their way to the camp to see guard 
 mounting, and now the girls joined them. The 
 band was pouring forth the patriotic strains of 
 " Hail Columbia " as our party passed beyond the 
 hedge. By the time they had found good places 
 among the visitors' seats, troop-parade was in prog- 
 ress. Lieutenant Gary approached and greeted 
 them. 
 
 " Well, the poor plebes are in camp," observed 
 Miss Bagg, looking up at him anxiously ; " I hope 
 they 're all right." 
 
 " They seem to be alive so far," returned Gary, 
 smiling and leaning one hand on the iron back of 
 the rustic sofa. 
 
 " You officers ought to protect them," declared 
 Miss Bagg solemnly. 
 
 " We have done what we can. I don't think 
 there will be much hazing this year. C company is 
 pretty safe, at any rate." 
 
 " That is your company," returned Lydia, with 
 interest. 
 
 The lieutenant nodded. " Hemeuway will do as 
 much as I can. He is a very strong man Hem- 
 euway. He won't have any nonsense. He sum- 
 moned the cadets to his tent the night before the 
 plebes came into camp, and I fancy he read them 
 the Riot Act." 
 
 Miss Spencer listened to this with sharpened 
 ears. It flattered her vanity ; for might she not 
 believe that her vigorous denunciation of torment-
 
 330 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 ing these strangers had influenced the young cap- 
 tain to an action pretty sure to make him unpopu- 
 lar in the corps ? 
 
 " I do like Mr. Hemenway," said Lydia heartily. 
 " Now, was n't that nice of him ! I have seen 
 enough of that squad drilling on the plain," she 
 continued, shaking her head. " I wish first-class 
 men could attend to that. Those corporals are not 
 polite" 
 
 Gary smiled at the earnest announcement, made 
 more in sorrow than in anger. 
 
 " I don't see why you tactical officers allow such 
 severity," added Miss Bagg reproachfully. 
 
 " Oh, for the most part the corporals are doing 
 their best. It does n't do to interfere with them 
 too much. You see, Miss Bagg, it is n't as though 
 none but modest and well-bred young fellows pre- 
 sented themselves at the academy. Young men 
 come to West Point at the age when they are sure 
 they know it all, many of them quite certain 
 that they have the world by the tail and are going 
 t ( > swing it in any direction they choose. Now, the 
 first thing for them to learn here is that they are 
 at the very beginning of all things ; that even a 
 yearling is a creature so infinitely above them that 
 they are not to be mentioned in the same breath 
 with him. When they have assimilated this fact 
 and are adjusted to the situation, they are down on 
 hard-pan and can begin to build up. When they 
 graduate from the academy they are supposed to 
 be fitted to fill any social position as well as that
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 331 
 
 required by their profession, and as you have seen 
 some of the recruits we get, you will agree with 
 me in thinking that for making a silk purse out of 
 that material which the Creator did not design for 
 the purpose, West Point has no superior." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle had also been listening to this little 
 harangue. " I think that constitutes the charm of 
 the work here as it appears to a spectator," she 
 said. " One comes to feel that honor, dignity, and 
 a right self-respect are being inculcated day by 
 day into these young men. It seems as though 
 the strict method and order and cultivation of 
 mind and body must lay the foundation for a noble 
 manhood." 
 
 " It does. The curriculum is a fine one." 
 
 " The picturesque side," continued Mrs. Carlyle, 
 " the strength and beauty displayed in the tactical 
 part, is very interesting. I have been wondering 
 why it is that there is something so inspiring to 
 everybody in the idea of armies ; the uniforms, the 
 weapons, the unanimous action. It stirs the blood 
 to see the working even on a small representative 
 scale, and I have discovered an explanation which 
 at least satisfies me." 
 
 " What is it ? " asked Gary. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle gave him her calm smile. " You 
 will think it very fanciful, perhaps, but I believe 
 it is because the whole matter of arming and pre- 
 paring for defense corresponds to the great under- 
 lying spiritual facts of warfare with and defense 
 against evil."
 
 332 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 " That is an interesting suggestion," returned 
 Gary politely, but he did think the speaker fanci- 
 ful. Underlying facts were not usually mined for 
 among the visitors at West Point troop-parade. 
 
 This ceremony was now finished, and cadets not 
 on duty came hastening to meet the young girls 
 who were scattered in groups under the trees. 
 
 Lieutenant Gary excused himself, and went up 
 to the hotel to breakfast. Now and then a plebe 
 in the uniform gray trousers and short shell-jacket 
 crossed the green on some errand, his palms to the 
 front, his thumbs out, and his toes as depressed as 
 his spirits. 
 
 It had come around again to be Osborn Heinen- 
 way's turn to perform a tour of guard duty. He 
 appeared now in the full dress of officer of the 
 day, and, approaching our party, paused before 
 Miss Spencer and lifted his plumed hat before set- 
 tling the chin-strap in its place. 
 
 The girl looked him over critically. Anything 
 more trim, speckless, and cleanly shining than his 
 uniform and accoutrements could not be found. 
 Then she raised her eyes to his face. 
 
 " You don't look pretty in that hat," she said 
 nonchalantly. 
 
 The big young man returned her look with his 
 usual steady gaze. He was always unprepared for 
 her random remarks, and knew no more where she 
 would strike next than the mastiff can predict the 
 antics of the toy terrier which gambols about 
 him.
 
 . A NEW ARRIVAL. 333 
 
 "I didn't come out here to look pretty," he re- 
 turned stoically. 
 
 Olive felt sorry for him. He was so beautifully 
 spick and span. She thought he deserved some 
 acknowledgment. 
 
 " I am glad you are going to be officer of the 
 day," she said, " for it is my mother's last morning, 
 and you are so tall you are more impressive than 
 some of the others when you review the guard. 
 That moment when you uncover your head and the 
 drum-major and all the others pass by to swinging 
 music and salute you is positively thrilling. I 
 never get tired of seeing it." 
 
 " Salute us now," ordered Bertha. 
 Hemenway smiled, and good-naturedly uncover- 
 ing his head held his plumed hat in his white- 
 gloved right hand over his left shoulder. 
 
 After a moment of this respectful attitude he 
 lowered the hat and looked at it. 
 
 "That plume," he remarked colloquially, "is 
 the fullest, handsomest one in the corps." 
 
 " I '11 warrant it is, if you chose it," replied 
 Bertha sweetly. 
 
 " I had nothing to do with choosing it," he re- 
 joined quickly, nettled out of his usual self-posses- 
 sion. " They are issued to us." 
 
 " There are so many things I wish I under- 
 stood about your terms for things," said Olive, 
 willing to make a diversion. " Companies and 
 battalions and regiments and all that, and how 
 many of one makes another. You know what I 
 mean."
 
 334 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Hemenway turned his gray eyes upon the 
 speaker. They were pleasant, well-shaded eyes, 
 and Bertha had confided to Olive in private that 
 she believed he put his lashes up in curl-papers at 
 night. 
 
 " How many companies in a regiment ? " he 
 began, when Bertha shrugged her shoulders and 
 raised her eyebrows. 
 
 "He is such a heavy man," she remarked. 
 " One can get something out of him, if one can 
 wait ; but he is so slow." 
 
 At this point the adjutant and his shadow, the 
 sergeant-major, came into view, and the retiring 
 officer of the day joined Hemenway, who smiled 
 imperturbably at Olive. 
 
 "Save up your questions, Miss Carlyle," he 
 said. " Another time ; " then he walked out upon 
 the green and stood a little in advance of his pred- 
 ecessor, for the adjutant's call had sounded, and 
 the new guard had marched on. 
 
 Mr. Le Roy, the cadet lieutenant who had made 
 himself such a favorite with Miss Bagg, ap- 
 proached and greeted our party. 
 
 " How are the poor plebes getting along ? " 
 asked Miss Lydia. 
 
 Le Roy smiled and replied, in his quiet fashion : 
 
 " Finely, finely, Miss Bagg. We treat them 
 like lords. We have yearlings to fix up their 
 tents for them, and bring them lemonade, and at- 
 tend to any little wish they may express." 
 
 Miss Bagg smiled and shook her head. Bertha 
 fixed him with her reproachful gaze.
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 335 
 
 " How about Mr. Kidd?"she asked, her mis- 
 chievous smile touching the corners of her lips. 
 
 The young lieutenant laughed. " Oh, yes," he 
 answered, " the kid that gambols up and down the 
 company street." 
 
 "What do you think of that, Miss Bagg?" 
 asked Olive. " One of your plebes happens to be 
 named Kidd, and so he must gambol about on all 
 fours and nibble grass to divert these intellectual 
 young men." 
 
 " Now, should n't you think they would have 
 more sense ? " demanded Lydia plaintively. 
 " Well, it never happened in C company," she 
 added, with a confident glance at Le Roy, who was 
 Hemenway's lieutenant. 
 
 It was a significant fact that while the other 
 three company streets were deserted, not a plebe 
 venturing to emerge from his tent, at the opening 
 of C company street was gathered a little knot of 
 shell-jacketed, sombre gray figures, watching with 
 all their eyes the pretty ceremony of guard mount- 
 ing. 
 
 " I told them they might look on," replied Le 
 Roy carelessly, to Lydia's grateful questioning. 
 
 " Now is your time, Mr. Le Roy," declared 
 Olive. " Ask Miss Bagg anything, to the half of 
 her kingdom. It is yours." 
 
 " See the poor things," said Bertha. " They 
 are so sober-colored. Does n't it seem as if they 
 had been snubbed and hazed and squad-drilled into 
 perfect grubs ? Miss Bagg, why don't you go and
 
 33G MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 take a plebe in one band and a white and gray and 
 crimson and gold cadet officer in the other and 
 say : ' Poor chrysalis, take courage, liehold the 
 butterfly ? ' " 
 
 They all laughed, but Olive touched her mother. 
 " Now is n't this effective ? " she asked. " I like 
 this part." 
 
 Hemenway, who had been standing erect, with 
 arms folded, now uncovered his head. The loudly 
 playing baud and the guard passed before him, 
 every officer saluting. 
 
 '" You like to see him show his respect for the 
 guard? " said Le Roy to Olive. " Very deceptive 
 sometimes, I assure you. When a man has his 
 partner engaged for a hop and his plans are cut 
 off by unexpectedly having to act officer of the 
 day, he does n't feel a particle of respect for the 
 guard, no matter what he may appear to do." 
 
 " He seeks consolation sometimes in ordering the 
 drums to beat five minutes before the real time to 
 close the hop," declared Bertha, with a knowing 
 nod. 
 
 Le Roy laughed. " Never, I am sure, Miss 
 Spencer." 
 
 " It is a wicked shame, too," added the girl. 
 
 She looked after Hemenway as he departed 
 with his companion for their tour around the 
 camp. It was a pity he could not see the expres- 
 sion of her eyes. 
 
 The band marched to its place near the visitors' 
 tent, for the morning practice.
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 337 
 
 A blonde cadet of very youthful appearance ap- 
 proached and greeted Bertha eagerly. 
 
 " Good morning, Mr. Wild," she returned. 
 " You know Miss Carlyle. Have you met Mrs. 
 Carlyle ? Let me introduce you to Miss Bagg." 
 
 " How do you like West Point, Mr. Wild ? " 
 asked Lydia, as the young fellow raised his cap. 
 
 " Very much, except for the trouble it is to stay 
 here," was the artless response. Mr. Wild was 
 one of those happy-go-lucky youths who are al- 
 ways on the ragged edge, ready to slip back down 
 the steeps of Parnassus. 
 
 " I saw you drilling a squad of plebes the other 
 day," said Miss Spencer severely. " I believe 
 when a private is detailed to assist, you are worse 
 than the officers." 
 
 " Why, they want us to jump on them, really," 
 returned the yearling, delighted to have Miss 
 Spencer to himself a moment, whether severe or 
 otherwise. " You 've got to do it, or else the 
 plebes won't pay any attention to you. I remem- 
 ber there was one good-natured corporal over us 
 when I first came here, and whenever he took our 
 squad we laughed in our sleeves and knew we 
 need n't work hard." 
 
 " I am afraid you were a very evil-disposed 
 plebe," returned Bertha, shaking her head gravely. 
 
 " It is pretty good fun to holler at them at first," 
 pursued Mr. Wild candidly, " but you get aw- 
 fully tired of it. Why, the next morning after 
 you saw me I was so hoarse I had to swallow a
 
 338 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 whole spoonful of vaseline before I could speak 
 aloud." 
 
 " It is n't the way to treat them," remarked 
 Bertha, with an expression which indicated that 
 she knew accurately what the right way would be 
 and the authorities made a mistake not to inter- 
 view her. 
 
 Then she rose with her friends, leaving Mr. 
 Wild, when she parted with him, very undecided 
 in his youthful mind as to her opinion of him. 
 Perhaps it was quite as well that he did not sus- 
 pect that she might not think about him at all. 
 
 The fine morning had proved deceptive. Threat- 
 ening clouds rose swiftly, and, whether for this or 
 some other reason, a signal from the drums made 
 the announcement that there would be no drill. 
 
 A subdued murmur, like the echo of a cheer, 
 arose in camp, and out came a plebe into one of 
 the streets, and went through a triumphant per- 
 formance of flapping his wings and crowing. 
 
 " Well, now, that looks as if he were in good 
 spirits," suggested Mrs. Carlyle, as they walked on. 
 
 " My dear Mrs. Carlyle," said Bertha, laughing, 
 " that was a little favor he was doing for a first- 
 class man." 
 
 Olive and her mother, when the others had gone 
 into the hotel, walked on to Trophy Point and sat 
 down. 
 
 The hillside at their feet was flecked with but- 
 tercups, daisies, and red clover. The cloud shad- 
 ows darkened the bosom of the water. The menu-
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 339 
 
 tains, covered with their close, rugged evergreens, 
 were for the moment gigantic banks of moss, vel- 
 vety in texture and touched with high lights. 
 
 " What a blessed thing it is that I can take this 
 with me right into Twenty-fourth Street," said Mrs. 
 Carlyle, after they had sat for some time enjoying 
 in silence. She looked across at Martlaer's Rock, 
 the island in whose heart she had recently enjoyed 
 a day of most gracious and graceful hospitality. 
 She thought of the sweet, old-fashioned garden, 
 the house overreached by the protecting arms of 
 sturdy, far-spreading trees, and the wren's nest in 
 the corner of the piazza, whose busy occupant, flit- 
 ting in and out, " sang as though she came into a 
 fortune every five minutes." 
 
 " I shall not like to think of you to-morrow in 
 the midst of drudgery," said Olive. 
 
 " And you need not, for I shall not be there. 
 My mind is full of memories which will enchant 
 my surroundings for a long time to come, and I 
 shall be speeding up here in spirit every hour." 
 
 " Dear little mother." 
 
 " I am so glad you decided to remain, Oliva 
 This is a good place for you for a while longer," 
 added Mrs. Carlyle. " You are behaving well, 
 dear. I congratulate you and I thank you." 
 
 The girl smiled down at the river, where a 
 steamer was slowly drawing a little village of 
 barges after it. 
 
 But that afternoon, after her mother had gone, 
 Bertha found her in her room, crying.
 
 340 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Why you dear girl," said Miss Spencer, putting 
 her arms gently around her. " How hard-hearted 
 vou make me feel. Just think how long: it is 
 
 / O 
 
 since I have seen my mother." 
 
 Olive yielded to her friend's embrace, but her 
 quiet sobbing continued. 
 
 " Of course I have thought every day might be 
 the last," continued Bertha, " but now my aunt 
 has passed through her ordeal so successfully, and 
 mamma writes such happy, hopeful letters, I never 
 thought of crying for her, but I shall now if you 
 don't stop." 
 
 " Let me cry," said Olive, who had really be- 
 haved so very well that, now her mother was not 
 by to suffer for her, she needed this indulgence. 
 
 Her dead hope had received decent burial, and, 
 though she meant never to visit its grave, some- 
 times her unruly thoughts brought her unexpect- 
 edly upon it, often at a time when it would be the 
 extreme of bad form to omit a smile and a jest. 
 
 So now she mourned secretly in Bertha's arms, 
 and relieved her swelling heart, while Miss Spen- 
 cer wondered a little, but patted her shoulder 
 soothingly and passed away the time in admiring 
 her friend's hair. 
 
 " You have been very good to me," said Olive 
 at last, sitting up. " You won't tell Miss Bagg." 
 
 " No, indeed. There is nothing like a good cry 
 once in a while," returned Miss Spencer, going to 
 the glass and beginning to make her toilet. " Do 
 you see it is clearing off ? There will be parade."
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 341 
 
 " Do help me get out of going to parade to- 
 day ! " begged Olive. " You see how my eyes 
 look." 
 
 "Nothing easier. Oversleep," suggested Ber- 
 tha sententiously. 
 
 " Well, I will lie down and try. Cousin Lydia 
 will think I am crazy." 
 
 " Oh, no. She is at Mrs. Mackenzie's this af- 
 ternoon and will stay late, no doubt. I '11 fix 
 it. Don't worry." 
 
 So it was that when Bertha tripped over to camp 
 alone in her most fetching gown, Miss Bagg met 
 her anxiously. 
 
 " I have to report a ' cold absence ' for Miss 
 Carlyle," she declared lightly. 
 
 " Why, what 's the matter ? I had better go up 
 and see her." 
 
 " No, indeed, she would n't like it at all. She 
 is lying down, and she has Howells's last and 
 does n't want to be disturbed. She said she would 
 trust Ralph to go through it all right once without 
 her." 
 
 Miss Bagg was easily persuaded not to forego 
 the spectacle, and as Bertha was led away by the 
 pretty daughter of the commandant to join a bevy 
 of girls, Lydia took her customary seat. It was 
 shared this afternoon with a rather portly, richly 
 dressed lady whom she had not seen before. 
 
 The latter, who had observed by unmistakable 
 signs that Miss Bagg was not a stranger, cast sev- 
 eral tentative glances toward her. Lydia occa-
 
 342 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 sionally caught her eye, and after the ceremonies 
 were well begun the stranger addressed her : 
 
 " Excuse me, but can you tell me the name of 
 the adjutant ? " 
 
 " Certainly. His name is Spencer." 
 
 " Thank you. I think one is always interested 
 in the adjutant, and this one is unusually graceful 
 and fine-looking. My son graduated from the 
 academy." 
 
 " Indeed ? " Miss Bagg was alive with interest 
 at once. " Was he adjutant ? " 
 
 " No, he was a captain." 
 
 " I think you are to be congratulated. This 
 training makes such men of them." 
 
 The stranger gave a little gracious bow, and de- 
 cided that Miss Bagg was a most agreeable person. 
 
 " I expected to find my son here," continued the 
 lady, " and am much disappointed." 
 
 " Ah, that is too bad," returned Lydia politely. 
 " You must have many associations with this 
 place." 
 
 " Yes. Not of the pleasantest sort. Very few 
 mothers of cadets can have. One does n't find it 
 easy to relinquish all claim to one's own flesh 
 and blood." 
 
 Parade over, the two sauntered up to the hotel 
 together, talking quite like old friends of the sub- 
 ject which they had in common. 
 
 Olive happened to come to the door as they ap- 
 proached, and seeing them, shrank back and lost 
 a little of her color.
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 343 
 
 In a moment she recovered herself and came 
 forward. 
 
 " You surprised me very much, Cousin Elinor,'* 
 she said. " When did you come ? " 
 
 Miss Bagg looked on in surprise as they kissed 
 one another. 
 
 *' Why, Olive, you know I was sure of finding 
 Max here. They told me at the office that he was 
 away and his mail was to be sent here ; so I came 
 right up, for I was in great haste to see him. I 
 did n't know whether you were still here or not, 
 and I was feeling quite friendless over there at 
 parade, seeing no one I knew, when I met this 
 lady. Perhaps you are acquainted." 
 
 To her surprise Olive slipped her hand through 
 the little woman's arm. 
 
 " That is quite a joke. Cousin Lydia, what a 
 faculty you have for meeting connections of your 
 own family by chance. This is Maxwell's mother, 
 Mrs. Van Kirk. Let me formally introduce Miss 
 Bagg." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk stared. There could be no 
 doubt about it, she stared. All her preconceived 
 plans were shattered. She had accepted from and 
 shown this person a graciousness which could not 
 be retracted. 
 
 She tried desperately to get her bearings, and 
 wondered vaguely if frigidity were possible. Miss 
 Bagg's manner had been winning, she was ex- 
 tremely well-dressed, and she possessed a great 
 deal of money, three factors of importance in
 
 844 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 deciding Mrs. Van Kirk's opinion of any one. 
 Moreover, Lydia was looking at her with real and 
 cordial interest. 
 
 " I am so glad to know you at last," she said. 
 " I am very much attached to your son." 
 
 It so happened that Mrs. Van Kirk's inimical 
 feelings were all just now roused against another 
 person, and this being the case Miss Bagg's pleas- 
 ant sincerity won the day. 
 
 " We ought to be friends," she answered, hold- 
 ing out her hand. Lydia returned its pressure 
 heartily, and after a few more civil words left the 
 two friends together and went into the house. 
 
 " I have come up here outraged," said Mrs. Van 
 Kirk then, turning back to Olive. " Ida Fuller is 
 engaged to Max. What do you think of that, 
 Olive Carlyle ? " 
 
 The poor child's heart seemed to leap to her 
 very throat, and a sharp pain leaped with it. Had 
 the hope been buried alive ? Pitiful thought. Now 
 at any rate it was dead dead ! 
 
 She carried herself wonderfully well, however. 
 
 " I thought you were very fond of her," she re- 
 plied. 
 
 " I was ; but I am thoroughly angry with her 
 now. We parted in anger ; she was as insolent 
 and arrogant as ever. My poor boy, how mistaken 
 he is ! " 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk lifted her rose-scented handker- 
 chief to her eyes. 
 
 " Don't excite yourself, Cousin Elinor," said 
 Olive. " It will all come out riffht."
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 345 
 
 " Max is so deceived in her," continued the 
 mother. " I object to the match on the score of 
 their relationship, but I object still more on the 
 score of her worldliness and triviality. I abhor 
 worldliness. How handsome you are growing 
 Olive ! " The addition was made in the same tone 
 of injury which had led up to it, and brought a 
 slight smile to the girl's lips. 
 
 " You see," continued Mrs. Van Kirk, " I have 
 had everything to bear. We met a millionaire at 
 St. Augustine, a great porpoise of a creature with 
 scarcely a spear of hair, unbearable. Ida made 
 a perfect fool of that man ; he was simply silly 
 about her. I argued with her, but she always 
 laughed me off. He was coarse, he was dull, but 
 she seemed to enjoy leading him on. The infatu- 
 ated creature actually followed us to Old Point 
 Comfort, where we have been the last two weeks, 
 and Ida welcomed him sweetly. Well, just as I 
 had resigned myself to the inevitable, did n't that 
 girl calmly come in one day and tell me she was 
 engaged to Max ! " 
 
 The speaker looked at Olive, who shook her 
 head in silence. 
 
 " I won't bear it. I won't have it. I '11 tell 
 Max all about that poor, swindled oil man. Yes, 
 he was an oil man of some kind, and he looked it. 
 I '11 expose Ida. She has not been respectful to 
 me, nor dutiful in any way. If it comes to a fight 
 between us for my boy, we shall see who will win." 
 
 " She will win," said Olive briefly.
 
 346 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Why do you say that? " 
 
 "I thought long ago that he loved her. He 
 will believe in her. You might as well resign 
 yourself, Cousin Elinor." 
 
 " How can you talk so cold-bloodedly ? But it 
 is easy enough when one is a dispassionate spec- 
 tator. I should think though, Olive," reproach- 
 fully, " you would have enough interest in Max 
 to enter into my feelings." 
 
 "You know I am worse than helpless, Cousin 
 Elinor." 
 
 " Well, I do not admit defeat before the battle. 
 Let us go in to supper now. How you have blos- 
 somed out this year, Olive ! " 
 
 " Nothing but fine feathers," returned the girl. 
 " Cousin Lydia has decked me." 
 
 " Your gown is in perfect taste," murmured the 
 other with melancholy satisfaction. " Come, let 
 us go in."
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 OLD GUARD PRIVILEGES. 
 
 THE next morning that most familiar West 
 Point trio, a girl, a cadet, and a parasol, might have 
 been seen on the shaded road which leads up to 
 Fort Putnam. 
 
 Old guard privileges, as they are called, consti- 
 tute the sugar which sweetens the pill of guard 
 duty, and Mr. Hemenway, after the vigils of the 
 night, was now taking his recompense. 
 
 Miss Spencer was his companion on the winding 
 walk. 
 
 " I wish these rocks and trees could speak," she 
 observed, " and tell us of some of the things and 
 people they have seen." 
 
 *' I am mighty glad they can't," responded Hem- 
 enway promptly. " I have been longing to get 
 somewhere where I could n't hear anybody speak 
 but you for a while. It would be a nice state of 
 things if the trees and rocks should commence." 
 
 Bertha looked at him. " My young Christian 
 friend, are n't you interested in history ? " 
 
 " Not a little bit." 
 
 " Think how your forefathers went and came by 
 this very road."
 
 348 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " That 's all right," returned Hemenway, equa- 
 bly. " They had their innings ; now I have 
 mine." 
 
 " Think of their anxieties, their hopes and 
 fears!" 
 
 " I have plenty of my own, thank you. I am 
 hoping you will be good to me all this morning 
 and fearing you won't." 
 
 He looked down at his companion with a half 
 smile. She shook her head. " What a hopelessly 
 unimaginative man you are ! " she said. 
 
 '* You were never so mistaken in your life. I 
 can imagine all sorts of pleasant things," he re- 
 plied, looking at the hint of a blue vein in her 
 temple and the blackness of her cloudy hair. 
 
 Bertha laughed. " It would be amusing to hear 
 what sort of things you would imagine, I am 
 sure." 
 
 " Well, I can imagine that you might take my 
 arm now, going up this steep place. That would 
 be pleasant to me." 
 
 " What a flight of fancy ! " with light scorn. 
 " I will when I am forty." 
 
 "If I were sure you would when you were 
 forty," replied the other quickly, " I 'd let you off 
 now." 
 
 " What do you suppose I heard about the plebes 
 last night?" asked Bertha with sudden and re- 
 proachful irrelevancy. 
 
 " I don't know and I care less," replied Hemen- 
 way, who was thoroughly weary of this harassing 
 subject.
 
 OLD GUARD PRIVILEGES. 349 
 
 His companion raised her dark eyebrows. 
 
 " Would it be too much to ask you to hold that 
 parasol so the sun would not come directly in my 
 eyes ? " she asked deliberately and sweetly. 
 
 " Oh, excuse me." Heinenway tilted the parasol 
 with a jerk. 
 
 " Thank you," returned Bertha. They had 
 been but a brief moment in the sunshine, but she 
 had known how to make hay the while. Her es- 
 cort felt convicted of both brusqueness and care- 
 lessness. 
 
 "Such strange thoughts suggest themselves to 
 me here," she observed after a moment of silence. 
 " Why should not the ghosts of Kosciusko, Arnold, 
 Andre, and all the rest haunt these quiet dells ? " 
 
 Mr. Hemenway drew a long breath. " Say, if 
 you want to talk about the plebes, do. They 're 
 at least modern," he ejaculated. " Let us have 
 them and get done with them." 
 
 " I am afraid you did n't sleep enough last 
 night," suggested Bertha. " I pity the sentries, if 
 this was your midnight mood." 
 
 " Is there any way of pleasing you ? " asked her 
 companion plaintively. 
 
 " I am the most easily pleased person in the 
 world," returned Miss Spencer calmly. " I simply 
 don't like to hear that when it rains and time 
 hangs heavy on the cadets' hands in camp, they 
 give the order ' Turn out the menagerie,' and all 
 the plebes who happen to have names to fit the 
 parts are obliged to go out in the street in the
 
 350 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 rain and make the noises and give the action of 
 the animals they represent." 
 
 The young captain forgot himself so far as to 
 laugh; but, seeing the awful severity in Miss 
 Spencer's face, sobered at once. 
 
 " I should like to know who in thunder tells 
 you all these things," he said with exasperation. 
 "Some fool of a yearling, I suppose. What do 
 you expect me to do about it ? " 
 
 " Prevent it." 
 
 " Nonsense. You ought to know I can't. As 
 it is, I have half the corps down on me. You 
 always talk as though I were the only officer in the 
 whole institution." 
 
 " So you are, to me," said the girl, with an up- 
 ward glance which utterly demolished her com- 
 panion's wrath. His face flushed and he gazed 
 at her, dumb. 
 
 " And if the rest only knew what a bear you are 
 they would add you to the menagerie," she con- 
 tinued, smiling. " The next time I take a walk 
 with an officer of the day on old guard privileges 
 you will know it. Don't you wish you could whip 
 out your list and write down : Spencer, B. Inso- 
 lence to superior officer on the road to Fort Put- 
 nam ? " 
 
 " If I did that every time you deserved it," re- 
 turned Hemenway, reluctantly smiling, " you would 
 be ' found on demerit ' before camp breaks. Look 
 here, Miss Baby, for an O. D. on O. G. P. I think 
 I 'in having a pretty hard time. I 've strained a
 
 OLD GUARD PRIVILEGES. 351 
 
 point for those Dutch hotel plebes, and you know 
 why. For heaven's sake don't let them spoil any 
 more of the half hours I get alone with you. Is n't 
 there any other downtrodden biped on the post we 
 can take for a change ? How about the orderlies ? 
 Do you think they receive sufficient consideration ? " 
 
 " I saw one nearly run over by the color-bearer 
 at cavalry drill day before yesterday," remarked 
 Miss Spencer. " My heart stopped beating." 
 
 " Let them keep out of the way, then." 
 
 " Precisely. You looked about as moved as 
 that. I think you all turn savage when you are 
 mounted." Miss Spencer burst into an infectious 
 laugh. "The other morning Miss Bagg and I 
 came out of the library, and as we touched the cav- 
 alry plain we noticed the horses coming, but we 
 thought of course the riders would look out for us. 
 Not a bit of it. We seemed to be invisible. Those 
 monsters were nearly upon us, and I tell you we 
 dropped our dignity and picked up our little skirts 
 and skedaddled. No other word would describe it. 
 We did n't run ; we just skedaddled. Truly, I 
 think you were lovely about the plebes," she added, 
 suddenly dropping her voice. " I heard about it." 
 
 Hemenway brightened visibly. "Then if I 
 promise to induce the tac to stop the drill and 
 clear the plain when an orderly wants to cross, 
 and always salute a plebe when I meet him, may 
 we leave the subject and talk about the weather ? " 
 
 " About the view ! " cried Bertha, for they had 
 now emerged at the fort. " Why, you can see the
 
 352 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 whole of Picturesque America," she added delight- 
 edly. 
 
 " It is a first-rate day for it," returned Hemen- 
 way. " That is the line of the Catskills yonder." 
 
 Bertha gazed in silence. The river wound 
 among the Highlands for miles in both directions. 
 The buildings of the post lay far below, and occa- 
 sionally a toy horse and wagon crossed between 
 the plains. 
 
 " Now you see the way the barracks appear to 
 the angels," remarked Hemenway, looking down at 
 the hollow square. 
 
 " It ought to make angels of you all to live in 
 such a beautiful place," replied his companion. 
 
 " See these dungeons," said Hemenway, turning 
 and leading her to the series of deep vaults in the 
 side of the mountain. 
 
 " Are they ? Do you suppose they were ? " 
 asked the girl eagerly. 
 
 " Either that or shelter for troops." 
 
 " Oh, they 're so dark and deep. I don't believe 
 they were quarters. I would ever so much rather 
 think they were dungeons." 
 
 The cadet raised his eyebrows. It was slightly 
 contradictory that this idea contained a relish for 
 the young woman whose heart was wrung by the 
 fact that a homesick plebe should be forced to 
 spell his name backward with a punctilious " Sir " 
 after each letter, but he wisely refrained from try- 
 ing to understand it. He had learned that the in- 
 tricacies of the feminine mind lay as far above the
 
 OLD GUARD PRIVILEGES. 353 
 
 complications of higher mathematics as Fort Put- 
 nam above the barracks. 
 
 " All right," he returned. " I did n't know as I 
 had better admit the dungeon theory, for fear you 
 would demand that I should produce all the red- 
 coat prisoners and make it up to them somehow." 
 
 Bertha looked at him, her thoughtful gaze seem- 
 ing to see beyond him. " Think of being locked 
 in one of those alone at night away up here ! " 
 she said fearfully. 
 
 Hemenway watched her, slightly smiling. " I 
 am thinking," he said. 
 
 After a moment's silence her gaze suddenly with- 
 drew and met his. She made a little movement 
 toward him. " Oh, I would so much rather be 
 here in the bright sunshine and safe with you ! " 
 she exclaimed. 
 
 Instantly the pretty parasol was on the ground, 
 and Hemenway had both her hands in his. 
 
 " My parasol ! My parasol ! " she cried, start- 
 ing back, blushing furiously and half-laughing, for 
 the beribboned thing was careering gayly over the 
 wind-swept height. 
 
 It is to be feared that the particulars regarding 
 the locality of the hotel in Holland were explicitly 
 stated by Mr. Hemenway as he "double-timed" 
 after the sunshade. It was as saucy and gay in 
 appearance as its mistress, and, he believed, shared 
 her characteristics. Any other girl's parasol would 
 have lain where it fell and allowed him to improve 
 his one golden opportunity. He anathematized
 
 354 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 the total depravity of inanimate objects in general 
 and this one in particular, as the silken thing, after 
 it had done all the mischief necessary, stopped 
 whirling far short of the crumbling parapet and 
 lay there, flying its ribbons like little flags of tri- 
 umph. 
 
 Bertha laughed, looking mischievous and rosy as 
 he returned, and there was no recalling that mo- 
 ment in which of her own accord she had drawn 
 close to him. 
 
 " / may be safe with you, but my belongings 
 are n't," she laughed. " I can hold that, if it is too 
 much for you. Why, you have n't an idea how 
 savage you look. Out with that list again and put 
 down something about Spencer B.'s insubordinate 
 parasol ! What do I hear ? " she asked suddenly, 
 " that queer, deep noise ? " 
 
 " Frogs," replied the cadet captain, who was in 
 a mood for sententious speech. 
 
 " Frogs ? A likely story. I suppose you have 
 marshes in such a perfect state of discipline here 
 that they come up on the mountain tops." 
 
 " There is an old well over there belonging to 
 the fort. The frogs monopolize it now." 
 
 " How interesting ! What tremendous voices ! 
 Let us go quietly and see if we can't see them. 
 Now, don't you make the least noise." 
 
 So Hemenway was obliged to steal along with 
 the quiet of a scout, beside his companion, as 
 though his life depended on seeing the green-coated 
 vocalists who were chorusing before high heaven.
 
 OLD GUARD PRIVILEGES. 355 
 
 Perched on rocks, about a deep, quiet pool, were 
 frogs of great size and lung-power. As Bertha 
 and her escort approached, the cadet stepped on a 
 dry twig. At the crackling sound she put out her 
 hand involuntarily. Promptly he grasped it, at 
 the same time tightening his hold on the parasol. 
 It should not foil him again. The girl's cheeks 
 reddened. She tried to withdraw her imprisoned 
 hand, but in vain. She gave her companion a 
 magnificent frown, which said plainer than words : 
 " Unhand me, villain." It had not the slightest 
 effect. 
 
 After a " ker-chug, ker-chug " of the most pon- 
 derous basso-profundo, one after another of the 
 performers dove into the water with a resounding 
 splash. Bertha devoted her eager attention to the 
 pool. One huge frog still sat on a rock, swelling 
 his throat and uttering his croak with the most ab- 
 surd seriousness. Hemenway took advantage of 
 her preoccupation to turn her hand and without 
 relinquishing it to draw it within his arm. So 
 they stood beneath the parasol, facing the intrepid 
 frog, which, as though claiming his prior right to 
 the place, continued to swell and to bellow until he 
 suggested JEsop's hero. 
 
 Miss Spencer's face indicated that she was una- 
 ware of leaning on her companion's arm. She 
 finally burst into an irrepressible laugh. 
 
 " Oh, you absurd thing ! " she cried apostrophiz- 
 ing the frog, " I do believe you think you 're sing- 
 ing. You are like the countryman who wanted to
 
 356 MISS BAGG'S SECHETAEY. 
 
 play Hamlet, * you have the feelin's, but you 
 have n't the figger.' " 
 
 The vocalist had not remained to receive this 
 insult. At the peal of laughter he gave one glare 
 from his bright eyes, and with a " chug " and a 
 splash was gone, while the ripples widened to the 
 water's edge. 
 
 " Did you ever see such a big thing ? " asked 
 Bertha, looking up. " Now, perhaps frogs ought 
 not to live in marshes after all," she added, seri- 
 ously. 
 
 " Perhaps not," returned Hemenway, with docil- 
 ity, looking down from under his heavy lashes into 
 her upturned eyes, whose stars had seldom shone 
 so near him. 
 
 " You know how it is about pigs," she pursued. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," he murmured, wishing the liand 
 he was clasping was not gloved. 
 
 " Well, what is it, if you know ? " she asked. 
 
 "I a well I you tell me." 
 
 " I suspected you did n't know a tiling about it. 
 Why, they say that pigs is n't it queer that you 
 don't care anything for history, and yet are so in- 
 terested in natural history?" She dropped her 
 head back and looked at him innocently. 
 
 " I shall kiss her if she does that again," thought 
 Hemenway. " I can't help it." 
 
 " I was always that way, from a child," he re- 
 turned aloud, " and if there is one thing I always 
 did dote on, it is pigs." 
 
 " Why, they say they flourish so much better if
 
 OLD GUARD PRIVILEGES. 357 
 
 they have a clean home and clean food, you know," 
 said Miss Spencer. "Now, perhaps frogs ought 
 to live on mountain-tops instead of in bogs. Just 
 see how they grow and and croak. Now, 
 that is all, Mr. Hemenway," she added, biting her 
 lip, her cheeks burning. "The class in natural 
 history is dismissed." 
 
 She tried firmly to draw her hand away, but he 
 held it. 
 
 " I shall tell the commandant that you must n't 
 act O. D. any more. The loss of sleep affects your 
 brain." 
 
 " You gave it to me, Bertha," he said hurriedly, 
 as pale as she was flushed. " Don't take it back. 
 Let me keep it forever. You know I love you." 
 
 " Oh, no ! " she exclaimed, the words coming 
 thickly through her quickened breathing. 
 
 He released her, and she stood away, her eyes 
 downcast, so utterly changed from the saucy, 
 nonchalant girl who had amused herself with him 
 for years, that he felt a pang of remorse. She 
 looked so small and sweet and precious to him. 
 
 " Do forgive me," he begged. " I feel as though 
 I had taken an unfair advantage of you to bring 
 you up here away from everybody and tell you 
 this." He came close to her as he spoke contritely. 
 " Do forgive me." 
 
 " You you could n't very well have said it 
 before everybody," she answered slowly. 
 
 " That is it," he exclaimed fervently. " Of 
 course I could n't. You always were the most
 
 358 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 sensible, reasonable girl in the world. Let us sit 
 down over here." 
 
 They moved to a high knoll covered all about 
 and far down the steep with thousands of golden- 
 hearted daisies, and seated themselves on the side 
 most guarded from the strong, sweet wind. 
 
 Hemenway shielded her with the parasol and 
 looked at her anxiously. Her white silk blouse 
 was fastened with pins whose heads were little 
 turquoise-bodied, diamond-winged flies. Hemen- 
 way always afterward connected his anxiety with 
 those tiny jewels, and never saw them without re- 
 calling it. He did not know what her look meant. 
 She gazed off at the fair picture in silence. 
 
 " You have n't said whether you forgive me," 
 he reminded her presently. 
 
 She gave the slightest smile. "Let me see." 
 She broke a daisy. 
 
 " What are you going to do with that ? " 
 
 Bertha looked straight into his anxious eyes. 
 " Why, don't you know ' He loves me, he loves me 
 not ' "? " she inquired softly. 
 
 " No, I only know he loves you." 
 
 " Oh, the daisy knows best always." 
 
 " I know better than any daisy on the fort, 
 Bertha. Say, do you mind if I call you Bertha ? " 
 
 " Two things to find out from the daisies," she 
 returned. " Let us see first if you may call me 
 Bertha." She pulled off the petals one by one, 
 " May, may not, may," she finished, and gave him 
 another little smile.
 
 OLD GUARD PRIVILEGES. 359 
 
 "And I know you forgive me without tearing 
 another flower to pieces," he said, for her eyes 
 were soft and dreamy, and the little stars were 
 quenched. 
 
 " It all depends on how you behave hereafter," 
 she answered. 
 
 He could not understand her, and after giving 
 her one more troubled look he too gazed off at the 
 landscape, and tried to console himself with the fact 
 that a fold of her dress lay upon his hand. He 
 had never supposed she did care for him, and he 
 had not intended to tell his love to-day. 
 
 He believed now that she felt very kindly toward 
 him as her brother's classmate and intimate friend, 
 and because he loved in vain. He supposed the 
 latter fact always appealed to women. He had 
 never seen her in such a soft mood as the present, 
 but she had gently given him to understand that 
 he must speak no further, and he was not in danger 
 of doing so, for he was the sort of man whose 
 un worthiness in his own eyes is magnified by a 
 woman's rejection of him. 
 
 " Is n't this heavenly ? " she said at last. 
 
 " It might be," he answered. 
 
 " Oh ; " she shrugged her shoulders and turned 
 her head away, smiling across at the other moun- 
 tains as though to call upon them to witness that 
 similar stupidity had never existed on earth. She 
 slowly drew her gloves off, and reaching out one 
 white hand broke another daisy. 
 
 " Are you as much interested hi botany as
 
 3GO MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 you are in natural history ? " she inquired, de- 
 murely. 
 
 " If I held your hand while you told me about 
 it I dare say I should be." 
 
 " You may." 
 
 "What did you say?" ejaculated Hemenway, 
 sitting up. 
 
 " I said you might." 
 
 He looked at her hand. It had a small moon- 
 stone ring on its third finger, and looked as inoffen- 
 sive as a little hand may. Bertha gave him a side 
 glance, and bit the daisy stem in order not to 
 smile. 
 
 "Well, why don't you?" she said indistinctly. 
 
 Hemenway reached out his hand slowly and took 
 hers. Its touch made the view heavenly in an in- 
 stant. " Bertha," he said, and his big voice trem- 
 bled. " I want to kiss your hand once." 
 
 Her eyes filled with quick tears. " Well, what 
 a goose you are to tell me so ! " 
 
 Her companion looked at her, supremely be- 
 wildered. What were section-room problems to 
 this? 
 
 His strong grasp tightened on the little hand. 
 
 "You don't know what it is to me," he said, 
 and he was pale, " or you would not make so light 
 of it." 
 
 "I am not maEing light of it. There are 
 some things a man should n't ask for." Here 
 the little catches in her breath became sobs, and 
 Miss Spencer buried her face in her handkerchief.
 
 OLD GUARD PRIVILEGES. 361 
 
 " What have I done ! " exclaimed her distracted 
 companion, uncertain whether to jump into the 
 frog-pond or to throw himself over the parapet ; 
 restrained from either move only by the fact that 
 to accomplish it he would have to drop the hand 
 which was fluttering in his. " I have been an 
 awful brute somehow, but indeed I don't know 
 how," he continued miserably. " Miss Baby ! 
 Dear, darling Bertha, do tell me what I ought not 
 to have asked for ! " 
 
 "To kiss my hand," came from the depths 
 of the handkerchief. " I always said you were 
 such a heav heav heavy man." 
 
 Hemenway's head swam. He felt that he was 
 an idiot and had always been one, but it certainly 
 was n't his fault ; he must have been born so ; and 
 he was able to gather just enough sense together 
 to kiss fervently the hand that he held. 
 
 Miss Spencer was nervous and overcome, but 
 she had no intention of crying to an unbecoming 
 extent, so when her palm was rosier than ever 
 from Hemenway's kisses, she dried her eyes and 
 averted her head again. 
 
 " Bertha," he said, drawing so near that a bell- 
 button grazed her shoulder, " I know I 'm a heavy 
 fellow ; slow, stupid ; but I don't understand, 
 dear. What else is it a man should n't ask for ? 
 Would you rather I asked a daisy than you if you 
 love me ? " 
 
 The girl's face turned slowly back to him. " I 
 know better than any daisy on the fort," she an
 
 362 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 swered, looking down with the little smile he had 
 always found bewitching. 
 
 " Then, for heaven's sake " he began beseech- 
 ingly. 
 
 She lifted her lids. " How could I love such a 
 slow slow" It was the last roll of the hap- 
 less mouse under the soft, malicious paw, for sud- 
 denly the face so near him came nearer. She 
 yielded to him irresistibly. Hemenway caught 
 her in his arms and 
 
 Well, it was a blessed dispensation that for the 
 next hour no other beauty-lover sought the heights 
 of Fort Putnam. The daisies nodded and waved 
 in snowy billows, while the wind that swept them 
 paused and murmured in the trees ; but there was 
 no room there for another human soul, for Olym- 
 pus had a rival now in Mount Independence, and 
 not all the entertainments of the gods could have 
 vied in Hemenway's eyes with his "old guard 
 privileges."
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MRS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION. 
 
 Miss BAGG happened to be returning from a 
 walk with one of her new friends, when Mr. Hem- 
 enway and Miss Spencer slowly approached the 
 hotel. 
 
 Mrs. Mackenzie, her companion, smiled and 
 said, nodding in the direction of the pair : " That 
 seems to be a desperate flirtation, but perhaps it is 
 one of the serious affairs. Miss Spencer is a very 
 fascinating girl." 
 
 These remarks aroused Lydia's fears. After 
 she had parted from her friend she lingered on the 
 piazza and cast anxious glances down toward the 
 hedge, where Bertha's parasol ribbons were flutter- 
 ing, not with their late defiant expression, but in 
 subdued little ripples, as though they had been 
 affected by the version of "The Taming of the 
 Shrew " enacted lately on the heights. 
 
 She was not reassured by the length of time the 
 cadet captain held Miss Spencer's hand at parting, 
 nor afterwards by the expression of the girl's face 
 when she finally approached and ran up the steps. 
 
 " I thought you were never coming," said Miss 
 Bagg, her anxiety making her voice a little sharp.
 
 3G4 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " What could you have to say to each other so 
 long?" 
 
 " Entirely unfit for repetition," replied Bertha. 
 
 " It must be repeated," exclaimed Miss B;i 
 
 There was no one on the heated piazza but tlu-in- 
 selves, and Miss Spencer completed Lydia's 
 demoralization by putting her arms around her 
 chaperon's neck and kissing her gently. 
 
 Bertha was not of the caressing sort. Miss 
 Bagg pushed her off and gazed into her radiant 
 face with frightened eyes. " Oh you thoughtless 
 wicked girl what have you done ! " she ejaculated, 
 without punctuation. . " I feel something in the 
 air." 
 
 " I should think you would," returned Bertha, 
 " for the air is full of it. Are n't you going to 
 congratulate me ? " 
 
 " No, indeed. Not for a minute," cried poor 
 Lydia. The battalion as a whole was utterly ad- 
 mirable, composed of a lot of heroes in the ab- 
 stract, but to have one individual appear in the 
 light of a lover, and that with one of the precious 
 girls intrusted to her care, was wholly a different 
 matter. 
 
 " What do you know about him ? " she went on 
 excitedly. " What was he before he passed under 
 the hands of the cadet barber and tailor? You 
 know there is nothing in the world so deceptive as 
 a cadet in his fourth year. They 're such gentle- 
 men then, no matter how they commenced. You 
 can't guess where they came from. Have you any 
 idea who he belongs to ? "
 
 MRS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION. 365 
 
 " A very distinct idea. He belongs to me," an- 
 swered the girl. 
 
 " Oh, what will your mother say to me ? I have 
 been so remiss. I ought to have had my eyes 
 open. I ought to have been studying character 
 instead of chevrons, human nature instead of tac- 
 tics," mourned poor Lydia, waxing eloquent as the 
 enormity of her offense grew upon her. 
 
 Even Bertha's love for teasing could endure 
 no more. "No one will blame you, Miss Bagg," 
 she said with extraordinary gentleness. "You 
 could n't possibly have helped it. It was one of 
 the things to be." 
 
 " I could have left the place weeks ago." 
 
 " And made me wretched," declared the girl. 
 
 " No matter about that." 
 
 " How hard-hearted you are," said Bertha, smil- 
 ing, " and we all thought you were such a friend 
 to the cadets. Now I can set your fears at rest, 
 for Mr. Hemenway is an especial favorite with 
 my mother, and we know all about his family." 
 
 Here Miss Bagg gave the speaker a vigorous 
 shake. 
 
 " You naughty girl, why did n't you tell me that 
 in the first place ? " she exclaimed nervously. 
 
 " I should like to know what chance you gave 
 me," laughed Bertha. 
 
 " There, now, I '11 kiss you," said Lydia ; and she 
 did, after which she inspected the girl's bright 
 eyes. " So you are going to marry a second lieu- 
 tenant and starve, are you ? Well, so would I in
 
 366 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY.^ 
 
 your place, but don't you tell Olive that. My ! 
 How I arn going to watch Olive ! " 
 
 " Are you, indeed ? " inquired that young lady, 
 suddenly coming in sight. " Then you will see me at 
 the dinner-table shortly. Are n't you coming in ? " 
 
 " I guess you won't care much for dinner when 
 you know what has happened," remarked Miss 
 Bagg. 
 
 " What has ? " asked Miss Carlyle curiously, 
 gazing at Bertha, who certainly looked a little odd. 
 
 " This girl is engaged to that splendid Hemen- 
 way and I want you to understand, Olive, that 
 I am very, very displeased," added Lydia hastily ; 
 but the cautious addition was lost, for Olive and 
 Bertha were in each other's arms and looking into 
 one another's tear-wet eyes. 
 
 " Are you going to be good to him ? " was 
 Olive's not unnatural first question. 
 
 " I don't know. I am almost afraid to change 
 my tactics," replied Bertha, "they have worked 
 so well." 
 
 " You '11 have to. Everything will be changed 
 now." 
 
 " Since when have you become so wise ? " asked 
 Miss Spencer. " But I 'm not afraid," she added, 
 " I 'm only happy." 
 
 " Hush, hush ! " exclaimed Miss Bagg, as the 
 girls kissed each other for the second time. " I 
 cau't have Olive listening to any such thing. 
 Olive Carlyle, attend to me. I forbid your going 
 4o walk with Mr. Spencer anywhere for the
 
 MBS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION. 367 
 
 rest of our stay ; that is, unless your mother will 
 come up again. Do you hear ? " 
 
 Miss Carlyle colored a little because Mr. Spen- 
 cer's sister was looking at her, but she smiled as 
 she replied : 
 
 " Mr. Spencer is the safest person in the world 
 for you to let me go about with. He can never 
 fall in love seriously until he leaves the academy. 
 He has n't time. I never saw anybody drawn in 
 so many different directions, and he shows positive 
 genius in his manner of distributing himself in a 
 way to keep the social peace." 
 
 " Let him keep on distributing, then," said Miss 
 Bagg shortly. " I would n't have him dangling 
 after a girl under my care for any consideration. 
 The woman does n't live who could say 'No' to 
 him." 
 
 Bertha laughed. "Miss Bagg is true to her 
 colors. By the way, speaking of colors, did you 
 ever realize what a regular Solomon of wisdom the 
 Judge is, Olive ? It occurred to me yesterday 
 how remarkably foresighted that wonderful bird 
 was when he chose his plumage. Now he escapes 
 having to be painted over, you see, for he already 
 wears the most irreproachable gray and white, 
 with a red sash, and has little bell-buttons for eyes. 
 Oh, trust the Judge ! " 
 
 " What an absurd girl you are," exclaimed Ly- 
 dia, and, with one of her laughing companions on 
 each side of her, she permitted herself to be led 
 into the house.
 
 368 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " We '11 see him carrying arms, yet, Olive," pur- 
 sued Bertha. "Shall you say ' Kerry h'mp,' 
 Miss Bagg?" she added, mimicking the cramped 
 pronunciation usually affected by the officer-in- 
 charge at parade. 
 
 It happened that Hemenway went to the adju- 
 tant's tent several times before he found his friend, 
 but at last they met. 
 
 " Hello ! " was Spencer's greeting. " Where 
 were you this morning ? " 
 
 " Fort Put." 
 
 " With whom ? " 
 
 " Your sister." 
 
 The adjutant shrugged his shoulders. " Well, 
 are you all there ? " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Why, Babe 's a bit rough on you. Every man 
 to his taste, but it strikes me I would spoon some- 
 body a little more well, reciprocal." 
 
 The cadet captain's impassive face broke into a 
 smile. 
 
 " You stick to things you know something about, 
 Ralph." 
 
 " Well, I rather thought spooning " 
 
 " But you never spooned your sister." 
 
 " Yes, I have, once in a while. Nice little girl, 
 Babe, when her quills are n't up." 
 
 " She is a nice little girl," answered Hemenway 
 slowly and emphatically. 
 
 " Well, it is nothing but the contrariness of hu- 
 man nature that makes you think so, old fellow,"
 
 MRS. FULLEB'S ACCUSATION. 369 
 
 said his friend. " Seriously, Hemenway, you 're a 
 trump, and I hate to see you skipping everybody 
 else for Babe and following her up in that persis- 
 tent, steady way of yours." 
 
 The other showed his white teeth again. " She 
 says I am such a heavy man," he remarked remi- 
 niscently. 
 
 " That is the point, you see," returned Spencer, 
 gesturing with earnestness. " She can't appreci- 
 ate you, and she never will. You 're not her style." 
 
 " Oh, do you think so ? " 
 
 " Yes, that is it," said Spencer again, trying to 
 make his statement as little trying as possible. 
 ' Now, take Miss Carlyle ; she is one of the lofty, 
 serious natures that might. But Babe isn't seri- 
 ous ; nobody can make her serious. I would neg- 
 lect her a little if I were you." 
 
 " Would you ? " Hemenway laughed aloud ; 
 then he held out his hand, and his happy eyes 
 met his friend's. " Can't you see that I 've made 
 a max, old fellow ? Shake." 
 
 " Wha-wha-what ? " gasped Spencer, clasping 
 the proffered hand. 
 
 " Yes, I can't allow you to run down that young 
 lady any longer. She belongs to me." 
 
 " Well I will be hung ! " asseverated 
 the adjutant, with a muscular hand-shake at each 
 pause. 
 
 " Then if it is n't my duty to run her down, as I 
 thought it was," he added, when he had recovered 
 his breath, " I don't mind telling you the truth,
 
 370 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 
 and that is that Babe is an immense girl, simply 
 
 immense. This last performance of hers settles it. 
 I have felt like ducking her in the river a dozen 
 times since she came, but I '11 forgive her now. 
 The tables are turned. You tyrannize awhile now, 
 Hemenway ; it will do her good." 
 
 " I am going to try to deserve her, Spencer," 
 said the other earnestly. " I am half afraid still 
 that it is a dream." 
 
 " Well, I 'm happy," declared the adjutant, with 
 one final shake of his friend's hand. 
 
 " You don't know the first syllable of the word 
 yet," answered the other in such a heartfelt tone 
 that Spencer looked at him curiously. 
 
 " That 's right," he said at last ; " I like to see a 
 man go the whole figure. You are in luck and so 
 is Babe ; I '11 tell her so when I see her." 
 
 And he did. 
 
 All this time Mrs. Van Kirk was watching every 
 boat and train, expecting the arrival of her son 
 and nursing her wrath against his fiance'e. With 
 each succeeding hour the " oil man " grew more 
 gross in appearance and uncouth of manner, and 
 Ida's treatment of her aunt more inexcusable, in 
 the tale she meant to tell Max. 
 
 Meanwhile Max had returned to New York 
 from a little unexpected trip he had been obliged 
 to make, and before starting for West Point he 
 concluded to drop in at the house in Twenty-fourth 
 Street to see if there were any message he might 
 take to Olive.
 
 MBS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION. 371 
 
 It was a very warm day. When he ran up the 
 steps he found the house-door open. He was 
 about to ring when a voice, clear, low-pitched, fa- 
 miliar, struck upon his ear and caused his hand to 
 drop as though it had been paralyzed. It was Mrs. 
 Fuller's distinct enunciation which arrested him. 
 
 The parlor door was ajar. 
 
 " But I must see Olive," he heard her say. 
 
 He pulled open the screen door and walked into 
 the house and into the parlor. Ida and Mrs. Car- 
 lyle were standing confronting one another, and 
 Mrs. Fuller's face showed repressed excitement. 
 
 Upon Van Kirk's entrance a light of anger and 
 suspicion flashed in her eyes. 
 
 He murmured some greeting and offered his 
 cousin his hand. She seemed not to see it. 
 
 " You will be as disappointed as I am," she said 
 slowly, smiling. " Olive is not here." 
 
 "How do you do, Max?" Mrs. Carlyle's 
 cheeks had a little color, but her voice sounded 
 calm. " Ida has just arrived. She expected to 
 find Olive " - 
 
 " And so did Max, no doubt," interrupted the 
 young widow, her glowing eyes regarding the new- 
 comer. " Mr. Van Kirk is not usually so devoted 
 to New York in July." 
 
 The speaker's nostrils dilated with growing feel- 
 ing, though she still smiled. 
 
 "Your manner could be improved upon, Ida," 
 remarked Max dryly. "Really you are stagey, 
 you know. If you have any message for Olive
 
 872 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 I can take it to her. I expect to see her to- 
 night." 
 
 " And you dare to tell me this," exclaimed Mrs. 
 Fuller, fury breaking through her trained compos- 
 ure. Her companions stared at her in amazement. 
 
 " Are you out of your mind, Ida ? " said Van 
 Kirk. 
 
 " No. In it, as you will see," she answered 
 threateningly. " In the winter you asked me to 
 marry you." 
 
 She paused and the man bowed his head slightly, 
 regarding her, the droop at the corners of his eyes 
 giving their coldness a haughty emphasis. 
 
 "A short time ago you wrote me a letter in 
 which you offered me my freedom. Do you think 
 I did not see through that ? " 
 
 He made no reply, nor altered his position. 
 
 " What had you been doing meanwhile ? Who 
 had been your companions ? Your letters never 
 mentioned any social life beyond that which you 
 enjoyed in this house. Then you all left town to- 
 gether for West Point. There is always a woman 
 at the bottom of such an affair as this. What 
 woman could have affected you but Olive Carlyle ? 
 She has done it. She is in love with you, and 
 she has stolen you from me. She is a thief. I 
 will" 
 
 " Ida Fuller ! " Max took a step forward and 
 grasped her wrist as he uttered the exclamation, 
 and a vein stood out in his forehead. 
 
 " Yes," she said, with a taunting smile, looking
 
 MRS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION. 373 
 
 up at him undauntedly. " What are you going 
 to do about it ? " 
 
 " I can't do anything," he answered, low and 
 fiercely, throwing her hand from him, " except re- 
 mind you that you are degrading yourself. Miss 
 Carlyle is not in this house, thank heaven, and now 
 come away with me." 
 
 " Ida ! " Mrs. Carlyle was pale and more shaken 
 than she had been for many years ; but her voice 
 was no higher-pitched nor more hurried than 
 usual. " It is a sin you commit in accusing a 
 young girl so coarsely of such a thing to her mo- 
 ther and the man you meant to marry." 
 
 " Deny it if you can ! " Mrs. Fuller, beside 
 herself with jealous wrath, her eyes flashing and 
 her lips twitching, gestured commandingly. 
 
 " Do you think I will defend my daughter to 
 you? " Mrs. Carlyle's quiet voice was thrilling. 
 " No. I am now going to leave the house, and I 
 shall not come back until you are through here. 
 I think you will suffer some time in recalling this 
 interview. When that day conies I hope this great 
 insult may serve a use in softening your heart." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle walked from the room, not looking 
 even at Max, who, still unconsciously frowning, 
 stood, unable to utter a word to detain her. 
 
 " I suppose we may as well have this out here," 
 he said at last, " since this gross intrusion has 
 taken place." 
 
 Ida looked him up and down. His hands were 
 crossed behind him, his feet planted apart in an
 
 374 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 easy posture, and the expression of his face hail 
 changed to one of cold endurance. She could not 
 help reading contempt in those eyes which hud 
 once regarded her so ardently. lie was splendidly 
 handsome, and his beauty appealed to her the 
 more that it was drifting beyond her grasp. She 
 felt a sharp pang of loss. 
 
 " You could have made a quarrel with me in 
 some easier way, a more creditable way, than this," 
 he added quietly. 
 
 " I had no desire to quarrel with you," she re- 
 turned, panting, " but I was carried away when I 
 saw you come in here. It maddened me, I tell 
 you. If what I charged upon Olive Carlyle is not 
 true, why did you write me that letter ? " 
 
 The vein stood out once more in Van Kirk's 
 forehead. " I will talk with you, provided you do 
 not mention Miss Carlyle again ; otherwise not. 
 Do you agree ? " 
 
 Mrs. Fuller ground her small teeth together, 
 but after an instant she made a haughty gesture of 
 acquiescence. 
 
 Her companion waited a little ; then proceeded 
 with impassive coldness. " It was about a year 
 ago now that you began playing fast and loose 
 with me. In the winter I asked you to marry me. 
 I thought but never mind what I thought. To- 
 day we deal with facts. Shortly after I gained 
 your consent, I discovered that I had done so under 
 false pretenses. I was a good deal upset by it, but 
 I waited. You waited too, because you thought
 
 MBS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION. 375 
 
 me sufficiently enslaved to comply with your de- 
 mand and accept another's charity." 
 
 Ida took a step forward. " I waited because I 
 loved you, Max," she exclaimed with a passionate 
 gesture. Her cheeks were glowing, her eyes 
 misty, her breast rising and falling with her uu- 
 governed breathing. 
 
 He stopped and looked at her with surprise and 
 a shade of curiosity ; then she winced and started 
 back as though she had been stung, for he laughed, 
 laughed with apparently real and spontaneous 
 amusement. 
 
 She covered her burning face with her hands. 
 
 " As I was saying," he continued, in the same 
 cool tone as though there had been no interruption, 
 " we both waited, but the situation was unpleasant 
 for us both. I had, rather slowly, I admit, arrived 
 at an understanding of your state of mind. It 
 seemed unprofitable to continue the arrange- 
 ment, and so you have, briefly stated, the reason 
 why I wrote you that letter." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller dropped her hands and regarded 
 him. 
 
 " Offering me my freedom, but really hoping 
 for your own ! " 
 
 " Oh, yes," returned Max, in a matter-of-fact 
 tone, at striking variance with her intensity. He 
 was so deeply, concentratedly angry that he was 
 unscrupulous. 
 
 " Ah," she breathed, shrinking, but in a moment 
 she drew herself up. " Supposing I will not free 
 you? " she said hardily.
 
 376 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " Then, I should regret the necessity, of course, 
 but I should be obliged to free myself." 
 
 " And you call yourself a man of honor," she 
 answered, with slow, incisive scorn. 
 
 "You have canceled all my obligations to-day. 
 I supposed I asked a lady to marry me. Do you 
 think I should be expected to sit every day at ta- 
 ble opposite a person whose true level is the Bow- 
 ery?" 
 
 The woman confronting him bit her lip till the 
 blood tinged it. " Maxwell Van Kirk, I hate 
 you," she said, low and furiously. 
 
 " I have n't a doubt of it," he returned, balan- 
 cing forward and back in his easy attitude. " I 
 imagine your gifts fit you to be a very good hater. 
 Now, may I understand that hating me which 
 would surely seem reason enough you refuse to_ 
 marry me ? " 
 
 Mrs. Fuller was very white now, even to her 
 thin lips. 
 
 " You are a wicked cruel wretch," she 
 said deliberately. 
 
 Van Kirk smiled slightly. " And as such I am 
 jilted, did I hear you say ? " 
 
 Mrs. Fuller crossed to the door, and then turned 
 and regarded him again. " I know you, Max 
 Van Kirk," she declared, " and the last few min- 
 utes have made me absolutely certain that the 
 conclusion I at first jumped at was a correct one. 
 Nothing else could explain your treatment of me." 
 
 " Pray don't go without attending to that little
 
 MRS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION, 377 
 
 form we mentioned," said Van Kirk coolly. " Jilt 
 me, if you will be so good. It will only detain 
 you a second. Just now it would gratify you 
 perhaps to force me into the alternative, but take 
 my word for it, you will be glad before the year is 
 out if you adopt my suggestion." 
 
 Mrs. Fuller's hand clutched the door-handle. 
 She hesitated and changed color. " You are free," 
 she said at last, without looking at him ; then 
 without another word left the room and the 
 house. 
 
 Alone, Van Kirk adopted that masculine resort, 
 pacing the floor. His mind was so active that for 
 him time ceased to be. He could not have told 
 whether minutes or hours passed before Mrs. Car- 
 lyle's quiet footfall pressed the threshold of the 
 wide door leading in from the back parlor, where 
 all winter hung the faded curtain. 
 
 " Is it you, still, Max ? " she asked, surprised. 
 " I thought one of my lodgers must have returned 
 early." 
 
 He started at her entrance. "Yes, Cousin 
 Mary, it is I ; and my apology for waiting is that 
 I knew if I went away I should never gather cour- 
 age to come back here and confront you ; and yet 
 yet what is there for me to say ? " 
 
 " If you are suffering because of Ida's words," 
 said Mrs. Carlyle calmly, "you ought to have 
 known that I would not hold you responsible for 
 those." 
 
 The tall man, drinking in he.r every word with
 
 378 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 breathless eagerness, took her hard-working hand 
 in his now and kissed it gratefully. 
 
 "It will always be one of the sorrows of my 
 life," he said, " that I am responsible, though in- 
 nocent." 
 
 " The best way for us to do now," she returned, 
 " is to stop right here and never refer to this again. 
 If we do not watch and think of our wounds they 
 will heal the quicker." 
 
 " You are right, but I want to talk to you a little, 
 Cousin Mary. I must. Do be lenient to me." 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle looked into the excited face and 
 wondered what was coming. Her wound was one 
 that hurt her sorely. She would have preferred 
 that this young man should leave her to seek peace 
 and pursue it ; but his good genius led him to 
 add : " I need you." 
 
 No one ever spoke those words to Mrs. Carlyle 
 in vain. 
 
 " Come,'.' she said, rt sit down." 
 
 They seated themselves side by side on the old 
 sofa, whose springs were in a state of collapse. 
 
 " I have drawn my first unhampered breath for 
 six mouths in this room this afternoon," began Van 
 Kirk. 
 
 " Well ? " said Mrs. Carlyle, because he paused. 
 
 " I am free. So is my cousin. We both made 
 a mistake, and may both be thankful that we re- 
 pented in time." 
 
 " You may indeed." 
 
 " Now Cousin Mary, I am going to shock you, 
 perhaps. I love your daughter."
 
 MBS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION. 379 
 
 " You do shock me. Are you laboring under a 
 quixotic notion that you owe some reparation to 
 Olive ? " asked Mrs. Carlyle as coldly as quietly. 
 
 The young man smiled a little as he met the 
 eyes behind the spectacles. " You can say a se- 
 vere thing once in a while, Cousin Mary." 
 
 " You deserve it, I fear, Max. You seem to 
 think love between a man and a woman is a light 
 thing." 
 
 " No, I do not think so. I cannot resent any- 
 thing you may find in your mind to think or to 
 say of me, for I have run the whole gamut of self- 
 disgust. If ever a man dragged out existence in 
 the valley of humiliation, I have of late. I would n't 
 live over the last six months for any prize that 
 could be offered me except one." 
 
 He paused and looked at Mrs. Carlyle. It was 
 hard to tell just what her eyes said behind the 
 glasses, and her lips did not speak. 
 
 " Have you any more severe words for me ? " 
 he asked after a minute. 
 
 " I have no wish to criticise you, Max, and still 
 less right. If you made a mistake and have ex- 
 piated it, I hope you have learned wisdom ; but it 
 does not sound like it for you so soon to be talking 
 about another fancy. It is not a compliment to 
 to any woman." 
 
 " Now, Cousin Mary," he put his hand on 
 hers beseechingly, " you will paralyze me, if you 
 talk like that. Talk about its being soon ! Why, I 
 have learned that months can be years. I am all
 
 380 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 topsy-turvy in my mind and can't express anything 
 as I should, but I know I mean well. Can't you 
 help me out a little? I have grown up with tho 
 notion that you were rather fond of me. Are you, 
 say?" 
 
 He looked at her with such amusingly lover-like 
 earnestness and gave her hand so strong a pres- 
 sure that she smiled in spite of herself. 
 
 " Yes, I think I am rather fond of you, Max," 
 she answered. " If you were in any trouble, I am 
 sure I would stand by you if I could." 
 
 " If I were in any trouble ! Well, that is pretty 
 good." 
 
 " I thought you told me you were out of your 
 difficulty." 
 
 " But into the fire," he returned quickly. " I 
 am in perfect misery this minute, because I must 
 ask you a question which I am afraid to hear you 
 answer ; but it might as well come sooner as later. 
 Does Olive care for anybody ? " 
 
 The light struck the glass in Mrs. Carlyle's 
 spectacles in the most baffling manner, and she 
 was silent. 
 
 " For pity's sake, don't say I have no right to 
 ask," he went on, with still greater uneasiness. " I 
 know she is very much with that young Spencer, 
 He looks like a confoundedly fine fellow, and they 
 say he is one. Are you on his side ? Does she care 
 for him ? " 
 
 " You 're hurting my hand, Max," came Mrs. 
 Carlyle's cool tones. He withdrew his hand
 
 MRS. FULLEWS ACCUSATION. 381 
 
 quickly, but gazed anxiously into those maddening 
 spectacles. " I do not think she cares for Mr. 
 Spencer," she added. 
 
 " Nor anybody ? " joyously. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle did not answer at once. 
 
 " If there is anybody in my way," he said seri- 
 ously, desperately, " the kindest thing you can do 
 will be to tell me." 
 
 " There is nobody that I know of." 
 
 Van Kirk started up and walked down the 
 room, and returning, seated himself again by Mrs. 
 Carlyle. 
 
 "Long back in the winter how very long it 
 seems," he began, " I used to come in here and 
 spend an evening, and be dull and gloomy, a selfish 
 bore and a nuisance. I 've seen it plainly enough 
 since. Olive would sing and talk and drive away 
 my blues for the time being, and I was grateful in 
 a way, but I did not appreciate her. I was too 
 preoccupied with a nagging wretchedness which 
 never wholly left me. Seeing her in the new set- 
 ting and environment this summer, I have waked 
 up little by little to a suspicion of the facts, but 
 not until to-day did the whole blazing truth burst 
 upon me. Whether for good or ill, Ida Fuller's 
 accusation wrought that. Forgive me for refer- 
 ring to it this once. It was sacrilege, profanation, 
 all that is false, yet it showed me the truth. Ex- 
 cited as I am, doubtful as I am, I yet feel com- 
 paratively at rest. I know what I want. I know 
 what utter satisfaction would mean. From being
 
 382 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 afloat and buffeted by winds and waves, I am fixed 
 and steady at last, yes," for Mrs. Curlyle's sud- 
 den smile might mean anything, " even if I do 
 not win her, for I shall have loved and lost the 
 one perfect woman, and I shall maintain my self- 
 respect and have done with sentiment for the rest 
 of my life." 
 
 " You are very much in earnest," said Mrs. Car- 
 lyle, her voice sounding quiet after this impetuous 
 outburst. 
 
 "And have I your permission, your good 
 wishes ? " 
 
 " You seem to have taken those for granted." 
 
 Van Kirk bit his lip. " I love her," he said 
 fervently. " Forgive me if, in the reaction this 
 day has brought, I forget discretion." 
 
 " I wish I knew what love means to you, Max." 
 
 " I will show you in all my life to come. Ac- 
 tions speak louder than words." 
 
 " Olive is not a perfect woman, by any means," 
 said Mrs. Carlyle. " She is the greatest treasure 
 earth holds for me, and the fact that I have lis- 
 tened to you shows my regard for you ; but when 
 people think of marriage it should not be with the 
 idea of wedding and enjoying the society of a 
 faultless being. There are n't any such." 
 
 " I am going right up there," said Max, rising 
 again. 
 
 "To West Point?" 
 
 " Yes. Any message ? " 
 
 " Wait, let me think." Mrs. Carlyle's exterior
 
 MBS. FULLER'S ACCUSATION. 383 
 
 was far calmer than her niiiicl. " It seems to me 
 you had better sleep a night in New York before 
 you go to Olive." 
 
 " Oh, I shall not attack her as I have you. I 
 am not utterly imbecile," said Max, smiling con- 
 fidently. " Of course I know she has never thought 
 of me in any other light than as a brotherly 
 friend." 
 
 " I imagine that she knows you were engaged.'' 
 
 " Do you think so ? " 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle looked at him steadily. " Did n't 
 you tell her something of the kind the last even- 
 ing you spent there, during the concert, you 
 know ? " 
 
 " No." Max shook his head and looked thought- 
 fully into space. There was very little pleasant to 
 remember in that evening. He could hear Olive's 
 laughter yet. " Why why I do remember 
 now that I said something which might have 
 misled her. It was just after I had written the 
 letter to Mrs. Fuller of which she spoke to-day. 
 Perhaps she did misunderstand that. Well, at 
 any rate, I know she is so far off the truth that 
 I shall have to begin at the very beginning and 
 lead up to it gently." He smiled radiantly down 
 at his companion. " I am willing to begin at the 
 beginning," he added. 
 
 " Willing to labor seven years ? " 
 
 Van Kirk gave his head a quick shake. " Seven 
 years would be pretty steep," he answered. 
 
 Mrs. Carlyle rose. " Well, I should like to go
 
 884 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 with you this afternoon, but my plans are n't made 
 for it, and it will not be best. Write to me, Max. 
 It seems strange to have a secret with you from 
 Olive, but since you have opened your heart to 
 me, let me travel the path with you. Write me 
 how you progress, will you ? " The speaker meant 
 at the very first warning to fly in body to the 
 spot where her heart would be until Olive came 
 home. 
 
 " Of course I will, Cousin Mary." He took 
 her hand. " Although I have taken your consent 
 by storm, or for granted, or whatever way it ap- 
 pears to you, I appreciate it none the less, and 
 whether I win Olive or not, I will be a son to you 
 henceforward, if you will let me. Count on me 
 for anything in my power to do to serve you. You 
 have earned my everlasting gratitude." 
 
 Then Mrs. Carlyle did something which aston- 
 ished her would-be son exceedingly. She lifted 
 one hand to his broad shoulder, drew him down 
 toward her, and kissed him. 
 
 He flushed red with pleasure. 
 
 " It is an omen/' he said.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 KOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 
 
 VAN KIRK had been told at his office in the city 
 that his mother had called there to find him, and 
 that West Point had been given her as his where- 
 abouts. Therefore before he took the train for the 
 post he sent her a telegram. 
 
 This was on a Saturday. Inspection had taken 
 the place of dress parade in camp, and Mrs. Van 
 Kirk with the others had been watching the pro- 
 cession, formed by the commandant and his staff, 
 ending with the cadet adjutant and quartermaster, 
 trail its dignified length in, out, and around the 
 short rows of much-braced, pigeon-breasted cadets, 
 giving the young men, their uniforms and arms, a 
 microscopic examination sufficiently thorough to 
 cause apprehensive chills to course down the rigid 
 spines in spite of the July atmosphere. 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk and Miss Bagg had been invited 
 to dine at the house of the superintendent that 
 evening, but when the former found the telegram 
 awaiting her at the hotel, she sent a profuse apol- 
 ogy and remained at home. 
 
 " I really could n't go," she said to Lydia. 
 " The very thought that that poor, dear, deceived,
 
 386 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 unhappy child is on his way here to learn the truth 
 completely unnerves me." 
 
 Miss Bagg assented without any parley. She 
 had seen enough of Maxwell's mother now to com- 
 prehend that she was one of those persons who 
 really do " enjoy poor health," who feel that they 
 pay a delicate compliment when they assure a 
 friend that he looks very ill, and take a mys- 
 terious satisfaction in adverse circumstances of all 
 kinds. 
 
 So Lydia left her now, fairly reveling in woe, 
 and in the parlor of the hotel her son found her 
 alone. 
 
 " Oh, my poor, unconscious child," she thought, 
 as she caught her first glimpse of his strong, bright 
 face, and advanced with the tread of a tragedy 
 queen to embrace him. 
 
 *' At last, mother," he said heartily, kissing 
 her. " How have the months treated you ? " He 
 stood a minute with his hands on her shoulders, 
 and looked into her eyes with affectionate in- 
 terest. 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk's late sense of swelling satisfac- 
 tion in the disillusion she had in store for him sud- 
 denly diminished, and she felt a pang of genuine 
 regret. It was not a pleasant task for a mother 
 to cloud the face that now regarded her. 
 
 " They have treated you well," she returned. 
 " I never saw you looking so well." 
 
 He laughed. " You never saw me looking any 
 other way, I am glad to say ; and if appearances
 
 EOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 387 
 
 are not deceitful, you are in fine condition, too. 
 Just my handsome dear mother again." 
 
 " I am pretty well," she admitted. It was some- 
 thing to hear Max call her handsome, almost as 
 satisfactory as though he had declared a fear that 
 she was going into a decline. 
 
 " Corne, let us sit down," he continued, leading 
 her to a seat and drawing one forward for himself. 
 " Where are the rest of the people ? " 
 
 " Many are at the concert. There is almost no 
 one about the house. We can talk undisturbed, 
 I am sure." 
 
 " Would you like to go over into camp ? " asked 
 Van Kirk brightly. It would be some satisfac- 
 tion to see the flutter of Olive's dress, even though 
 it was in close proximity to the bars and curves of 
 the adjutant's chevrons. 
 
 " No, my son. The music would disturb us. 
 What I have to say has no fitting accompaniment 
 in music." 
 
 From her tone surely nothing more lively than 
 the " Dead March in Saul " would be admissible, and 
 Max looked at her with vague apprehensiveness. 
 
 " Has anything happened to Olive ? " he asked. 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk stared at this irrelevance. 
 
 " No. Olive and Miss Spencer have gone to a 
 tea and. Miss Bagg is at Colonel Wheeler's. AH 
 are well," added Mrs. Van Kirk sepulchrally ; " but, 
 my poor boy, all is not well with you nor with me. 
 It is an awful thing which I am obliged to break 
 to you. You have given your love unworthily.
 
 388 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 My heart " the speaker spread her hand over the 
 left side of her black-lace bodice " aches. Yet 
 it is not too late to save you." 
 
 " You mean Ida ? " 
 
 " My child, you have enough to bear without 
 my reproaches, and yet you can understand that it 
 wounded my mother-heart when Ida Fuller came 
 in to me one day, excited, flushed, a letter, your 
 handwriting, in her hand, and said bluntly : ' Aunt 
 Elinor, I think it is time you should know that I 
 am engaged to Max.' You might have confided in 
 me, I think." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk wafted rose essence before her 
 son's face as she lifted her handkerchief to her 
 eyes. Poor Max ! He had connected that odor 
 all his life with woe and rumors of woe. 
 
 " It was n't right, mother. The whole thing 
 was a failure from beginning to end. I have n't 
 seemed to hit anything just right yet ; but the 
 lane has seemed a pretty long one, and perhaps it 
 is going to turn. At least, I take it as a hopeful 
 sign that Ida has thrown me over." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk's handkerchief dropped as she 
 seized her son's arm. " What did you say ? Ida 
 Fuller has thrown you over?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " But you look so bright, my child." Mrs. Van 
 Kirk mentioned this fact as though it were the 
 last straw laid upon her powers of endurance. 
 
 " Oh, I am bound to bear up like a man, you 
 know," he answered.
 
 KOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 389 
 
 k When have you seen her ? I left her at Old 
 Point." 
 
 " I saw her to-day in New York." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk stared thoughtfully. " Then it 
 is the porpoise," she said solemnly and enigmati- 
 cally. 
 
 " Perhaps it is," returned Max cheerfully. " Has 
 Ida been playing mermaid ? " 
 
 " She is going to marry another man ; a richer 
 man," announced Mrs. Van Kirk in awful tones. 
 Had her dearest hopes been dashed in this loss of 
 her niece for her son, she could not have spoken 
 more tragically. " Oh, my poor, poor boy." More 
 rose and more handkerchief were brought into 
 requisition. 
 
 " I 'm all right, mother. ' Don't you cry for 
 me,' as the old song hath it. I am pleased to hear 
 of Ida's prospects." 
 
 " That is because you don't know how little hair 
 he has. He is bald-headed." 
 
 " All the better. There will probably be mo- 
 ments in his career when that fact will be greatly 
 to his advantage." 
 
 " He is the fattest thing you ever saw," pursued 
 Mrs. Van Kirk inconsolably. 
 
 " No matter, so long as his pocket-book follows 
 his example. Now we have turned a new leaf 
 and begin again. I am going to have a few days 
 up here with you undisturbed. I have told them 
 at the office that the first man who sends for 
 me is discharged. Tell me how you like Miss 
 Bagg."
 
 390 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " I will never, never let that old man call me 
 ' aunt,' you may rest assured of that. He is some- 
 thing in oil. Think of it ! " 
 
 " Sounds more like a sardine than a porpoise. 
 Come, let us wish the sardine well and leave him. 
 Plow does Miss Bagg strike you ? " 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk gave a parting shudder and 
 replied : 
 
 " She is a very nice sort of person. Quite un- 
 assuming. I like her very well. We have had a 
 little ripple of excitement here in Miss Spencer's 
 engagement." 
 
 "Indeed! To whom?" 
 
 " One of the cadets. His name is Hemenway. 
 I am sure I hope his people or hers have some- 
 thing." 
 
 " I trust Olive has not succumbed." 
 
 " Oh, no. Have you seen that child lately ? 
 She is simply beautiful. The last year has made 
 a great difference in her looks." 
 
 " I suppose so. I felt that I was meeting a new 
 person when we met the night before Uncle Jotham 
 died." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk shook her head. " What a con- 
 fusion of ideas the thought of that evening brings 
 up to me ! Max, on that awful day when Ida 
 came to me with your letter in her hand, she told 
 me that Miss Bagg wanted you to have the money 
 after all." 
 
 " Humph ! Did she tell you that ? Well, per- 
 haps it is as well. You see now just what an un 
 calculating person Miss Bagg is."
 
 KOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 391 
 
 " But she told me that you utterly and decidedly 
 refused it." 
 
 " I hope it was n't necessary to assure you of 
 that. No ; my mother would see that idea as it 
 looks to me, or she would n't be the woman I have 
 always believed her." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk colored and was silent. 
 
 " It is very nice for Olive to be adopted in this 
 way," she said at last. 
 
 " Yes ; it gives her a new experience. They 
 both enjoy it." 
 
 "And it has matured Olive so fast. There is 
 something new and rather sedate in her manner. 
 Perhaps sedate is scarcely the word, but it is very 
 good form, at any rate ; Olive used to be a trifle 
 pert." 
 
 Mother and son were still talking when Miss 
 Carlyle walked into the room. She stepped back 
 involuntarily at sight of the pair, and then came 
 forward as Max -rose. 
 
 " I thought I should find Cousin Lydia here," 
 she said, as she shook hands with him. " How 
 often we greet you, Max, either to welcome you or 
 to bid you good-speed." 
 
 Certainly her manner was very good form. 
 There was not a shade of the impulsiveness which 
 had met him on the occasion of his last arrival, 
 and she was a fair creature to look upon in her 
 thin evening gown. 
 
 Van Kirk almost forgot himself as he gazed, but 
 the gentle withdrawal of her hand reminded him.
 
 392 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " At the beginning," he said to himself. " I 
 must commence at the beginning." 
 
 " You will not have the opportunity to bid me 
 good-speed quite so soon this time. I shall stay 
 awhile," he answered. " Come in and wait for 
 Miss Bagg." 
 
 " No, really. Cousin Elinor and you have not 
 met for so long. I will not interrupt your tete-a- 
 tete." 
 
 " We want to be interrupted, don't we, mo- 
 ther? " appealing eagerly to Mrs. Van Kirk. 
 
 But Olive would not allow the latter to answer. 
 She shook her head smilingly. " There is tattoo. 
 Bertha must be about somewhere. I must go. 
 Good-night." 
 
 When she had gone Max turned to his mother, 
 with an unconscious smile on his face. 
 
 " I told Olive of your engagement," she said, in 
 an annoyed tone. " If I only had held my peace she 
 need have known nothing of the mortifying affair." 
 
 " Those things always get out somehow," he re- 
 turned cheerfully. " Better put a bold face upon 
 it and let the truth be known." 
 
 In what shape his mother told her news he did 
 not know, but he saw that Miss Bagg had heard 
 it when he met her the rext day. She pressed his 
 hand with extra cordiality, pleased to her very 
 heart to have " got him back," as she said to her- 
 self. She fancied it was his old, confident, care- 
 free face she saw again. 
 
 " Accept my congratulations," she said.
 
 EOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 393 
 
 He laughed. " Would n't condolences be more 
 in order?'' he returned. 
 
 Although Van Kirk intended to begin at the be- 
 ginning, he evidently did not intend to defer that 
 beginning. He made it by going with Olive and 
 Miss Spencer to church the next morning. 
 
 ' With whom are you going to walk ? " he asked 
 Miss Carlyle when, service over, they had watched 
 the battalion march away. " Oh, no, " he added, 
 as Olive smiled, " my cadet life is not so far be- 
 hind me that I forget its bright spots. Miss 
 Spencer's intentions I can guess at ; yours I am 
 at sea about." 
 
 * You are rather presuming," returned Olive, 
 "but I don't mind telling you. I am going to 
 walk with Mr. Bradley." 
 
 Van Kirk had been dreading to hear the name 
 Spencer, and his relief was such that his spirits 
 took a bound. 
 
 " Shall you be accessible this evening? " 
 
 " Yes, I suppose so," returned Olive carelessly. 
 
 " Then I shall call upon you. Don't forget me." 
 
 He lifted his hat and left the girls. 
 
 " Well," remarked Miss Spencer, " if Osborn 
 Hemenway is going to look as beaming as that 
 when I throw him over, I shall not do it. I '11 
 marry him sooner than give him any such satisfac- 
 tion." 
 
 Miss Bagg had confided to the girls her joyous 
 bit of news. 
 
 "Mr. Van Kirk's engagement has been a
 
 394 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 strange, secret one," returned Olive musingly. " It 
 is a pity his mother has allowed herself to talk 
 of it to us. We need have known nothing of this 
 outcome of it. The whole matter might have 
 been kept perfectly quiet. It would be kind of 
 you not to speak of the affair to Mr. Hemenway. 
 Let us hush it right up." 
 
 There was not a day, scarcely a waking hour in 
 a day, when Olive did not recall the sentence 
 which, falling from Van Kirk's lips, brought about 
 so complete a revulsion in her feelings. " I have 
 written to this woman ; soon I shall know the 
 worst or the best." She supposed then that 
 he meant Ida. Now his good spirits were so un- 
 affected and so patent, she understood that he had 
 probably been restive under his shackles, and that 
 the one good thing he was referring to was free- 
 dom. The case might have been the more des- 
 perate to him in that he had met and really loved 
 some other woman whom he longed to be at lib- 
 erty to approach. No view of the case affected 
 Olive, or made any difference in her situation. A 
 man who has a particle of sentiment for a woman 
 objects notoriously to the idea that she should be a 
 sister to him. 
 
 No, Olive had fought her fight, and, being a girl 
 of good fibre mentally and bodily, she did not in- 
 tend to be thrown off her balance because ]M:i.x. 
 had made the disconcerting statement that he had 
 come to stay, and because he openly declared a 
 wish to enjoy her society.
 
 KOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 395 
 
 She could not go on all her life avoiding him. 
 They were connected by the acquaintance of a life- 
 time as well as family ties. She must accustom 
 herself to him ; so the sooner the better. 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Van Kirk, wandering along the 
 walk, had encountered his friend Gary near the 
 corner of the Academic Building. 
 
 " Well," said the lieutenant, with a curious stare. 
 
 " Back again, you see, Gary." 
 
 They shook hands. 
 
 " Air enough for you up here ? " inquired the offi- 
 cer. " It seems to me you look rather expansive." 
 
 " That 's the way I feel." 
 
 Gary's curious gaze grew into an expression of 
 intense and sympathetic interest. " You have n't 
 got the mitten, have you ? " he asked in a stage 
 whisper. 
 
 " You 've guessed it the first time." 
 
 The officer straightened up, smiled, gave his 
 friend a resounding slap on the shoulder, and then 
 gripped him again by the hand. 
 
 " Come down to the mess," he said senten- 
 tiously. " This is the day we celebrate." 
 
 That evening a full moon showered the river 
 with silver and cast long waving shadows upon 
 the lawns. Mr. Van Kirk suggested to Olive that 
 perhaps she would as willingly receive him out-of- 
 doors as in. She assented readily, but mentally 
 she steeled herself. Why should he wish to see her 
 alone unless it was to give her some confidence ? 
 
 " What a perfect night,'' she remarked, as they
 
 396 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 set forth from the house aud took the path which 
 leads past Trophy Point. 
 
 "Yes," he answered. "The sort of night to 
 make one forget all his anxieties and remember 
 nothing but the pleasant things of life." 
 
 " And they are numerous up here." 
 
 " It seems so to me now, certainly," he replied. 
 " I have my affairs business, and all that in 
 such shape that I can at last try something of a 
 dolcefar niente existence with you all." 
 
 " Yes, it is very nice for you," returned Olive. 
 
 It was a polite little reply, but it was cooler 
 than the moonlight. Its tone indicated to Max 
 that he was indeed at the beginning, and theory 
 and practice were no more unified in his case than 
 in that of most people. Olive was as lovely as 
 a dream in the silvery radiance that bathed her, 
 and it was tantalizing to be linked to her by the 
 hand upon his arm, and to know that she was near 
 to him only in body. 
 
 " You might be a little more complimentary, I 
 think," he returned lightly, and yet with an un- 
 mistakable tinge of earnestness, " simply out of 
 deference to the situation, if nothing more. This 
 is so beautiful a night, and it is so valuable a 
 thing to me to be strolling with you in it, you 
 might stretch a point and declare that you like 
 it, too." 
 
 A burned child dreads the fire. Especial!}* did 
 Olive dread the hint of that fire which glowed in 
 his tone. It had lured her on to disaster before ; 
 now it simply excited her caution.
 
 EOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 397 
 
 " Of course I am glad," she said, with the most 
 prosaic candor. " It is such a nice thing for your 
 mother, too." 
 
 They paused a minute on Trophy Point, but the 
 few seats were full. They waited ami went through 
 the motions of admiring the view, but if ever a 
 fair vision was wasted on eyes that saw not, this 
 was the occasion. 
 
 " So that is the best you can do for me, is it?" 
 he said, as they went back to the path and contin- 
 ued their stroll. 
 
 " Why, what were we talking about ? " asked 
 Olive, her innocent tone being proof positive that 
 the most honest woman will lapse when it comes 
 to a self -defensive situation of the present sort. 
 
 " You were saying that you thought it was very 
 nice for my mother to have me here," returned 
 Max dryly. 
 
 " And for myself, did n't I say ? " asked Olive, 
 laughing. " I meant to make a correct little sis- 
 terly speech. It is the least I can do in return 
 for your kindness in wishing to adopt me." 
 
 " Who wishes to adopt you ? " 
 
 " You said you did the last time you were here. 
 You made some quite touching remark about 
 never having had a sister and liking me in the ca- 
 pacity. Now, don't take it back, for I dare say I 
 could be educated into quite a sympathizing one 
 in time. The next time you compliment me with 
 a confidence, I promise to receive it with the most 
 respectful seriousness."
 
 398 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " There, now, I have given him an opening," she 
 added mentally. But apparently her remarks hud 
 more of a repressive than an encouraging effect. 
 He did not speak for a minute. 
 
 All at once, through some open windows in the 
 barracks, there came floating across the moonlit 
 plain the measured, sweetly solemn strains of a 
 familiar hymn, sung by men's voices : 
 
 " Children of the Heavenly King, 
 As ye journey, sweetly sing ; 
 Sing your Saviour's worthy praise, 
 Glorious in his works and ways." 
 
 There flashed at once from Olive's memory a 
 picture of the Sunday twilight hour of her child- 
 hood, when in her mother's lap, her head on her 
 mother's breast, they had always sung that hymn 
 together. What content, safe, happy days those 
 were, when there was nothing to conceal ; to suffer 
 meant to cry and be soothed with a mother's lov- 
 ing, all-powerful kisses. Now she had sailed out 
 of that harbor, and skill and judgment were re- 
 quired to steer her bark. Was life a succession 
 of gales to be weathered ? The calm, silent night 
 seemed a reproach upon the tumult that arose 
 within her. The distant music, sweet enough on 
 the refulgent air to proceed from an angelic choir, 
 lent a new uplifting to the scene. All deception, 
 all mere conventionality, suddenly seemed pett}*, 
 like unstable froth that foams and restlessly 
 changes above the steadfast depths of truth. 
 
 Why could she not say now: "Max, we are
 
 KOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 399 
 
 both children of that Heavenly King, and coming 
 of such a Father, we should at least be honest. I 
 am so unfortunate as to love you when you do not 
 love me. Therefore I tell you, that you may un- 
 derstand why it is hard for me to be with you, and 
 why I ask you to make it easy for me to avoid you 
 for a time. Give me a little space to recover my 
 balance and educate my thought, so that in the 
 future when we meet it will be disquieting to 
 neither of us." 
 
 In the high place where for a minute it seemed 
 to her they stood as they paused to listen, this 
 seemed possible. The words fairly trembled on 
 her lips. 
 
 Had she spoken them, we know that joy would 
 have followed, but it does happen sometimes that 
 as well-meaning and good a woman as Olive Car- 
 lyle loves really in vain^still she is not sure of it. 
 Had she the man's opportunity to woo, even in a 
 feminine way, perhaps she might win. Education, 
 precedent, the consensus of public opinion, bid her 
 hide her affection at any cost or risk. Will this 
 always be ? Is there some underlying spiritual 
 truth which, when the equality of man and woman 
 is otherwise fully acknowledged, will bid the march 
 of progress pause before this supreme and holy 
 place in human life with a " thus far shalt thou go 
 and no farther " ? 
 
 The counter force in Olive was too strong for 
 the impulse which drove the truth to her lips, but 
 her very nearness to the venture shook her. Max
 
 400 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 felt the hand in his arm tremble, and he put his 
 own hand over it. Instantly she withdrew hei^elf 
 from him. The movement had in it nothing either 
 of shyness or coquetry. It was a vigorous protest, 
 the afterglow of her exaltation. 
 
 The hymn died away. The two stood facing 
 each other in the path. 
 
 " I shall never forget that music," said Olive. 
 
 " No. It glorified the night, and the night 
 glorified it," returned Max. " The boys have no 
 idea how effective they were. Shall we walk on ? " 
 He offered his arm with as formal an air as though 
 they had been in the ball-room, and his companion 
 accepted it. That prompt, spontaneous action of 
 Miss Carlyle's had done more to convince her 
 lover that he had everything to overcome than any 
 previous event. 
 
 " I don't understand that singing," he continued. 
 " It sounded as though they were having prayer- 
 meeting. When I was a cadet they used to have 
 that on Wednesday evenings." 
 
 " I did n't know they ever had prayer-meeting," 
 replied Olive. 
 
 " Oh, yes, that is one of the regular institutions. 
 There is always a faitlif ul handful from the corps 
 who attend. It is rather interesting to know how 
 it is kept up. During the first months of a man's 
 life as a plebe, when he feels that he is among 
 strangers in a strange land and that every man's 
 hand is against him, the prayer-meeting is a sort 
 of sanctuary ; the one place where he is sure of
 
 KOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 401 
 
 eonsideration and a peaceful interval. So, many 
 of them attend the meetings and enough of the 
 number stand by permanently to keep the institu- 
 tion going. They may be having some extra ses- 
 sion to-night." 
 
 " I shall not forget that singing," said Olive 
 again. 
 
 Silence was unbroken for a little, then Van 
 Kirk spoke : 
 
 " Have you seen much of Lieutenant Gary since 
 you have been here ? " 
 
 " Yes, we usually have a little talk with him at 
 guard mounting. He comes up from inspecting 
 the tents and stops a few minutes on his way to 
 breakfast." 
 
 " Is it generally known that he is engaged ? " 
 
 " I have n't heard of it." 
 
 "He told me to-day that Miss Bruce said he 
 might announce it." 
 
 " Why, I wonder if it is that pretty Miss Bruce, 
 who was here with her mother when we first 
 came ? " 
 
 " The very same. I don't remember her." 
 
 " No, you had gone when he was so attentive to 
 her at the hotel that we all remarked it. I sup- 
 pose they were engaged then. How she must 
 have disliked to go away so soon ! " 
 
 " Yes ; I wonder what they would give to be in 
 our places now." 
 
 Had it not been for that unlucky interview dur- 
 ing the concert in camp, there is no telling what
 
 402 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 gentle answer Olive might have made to this sug- 
 gestion. As it was, her whole nature was alert 
 and militant. 
 
 "Yes, poor things," she answered carelessly. 
 " I wish they were." 
 
 Van Kirk, unconscious of his handicap, forged 
 steadily ahead. It is a familiar trait in human 
 nature that difficulty of possession lends desirabil- 
 ity. He longed more and more with every minute 
 that passed to be necessary to this cool, well-poised 
 maiden who apparently found him so superfluous. 
 
 " Gary is the strangest fellow," he proceeded. 
 " He has the wildest notions concerning the rela- 
 tions between men and women." 
 
 " That is odd. He seems such a practical per- 
 sonage." 
 
 " I know he does. He certainly has lucid inter- 
 vals, but if you will believe me, he thinks if a 
 woman truly loves a man, no matter how deeply 
 she conceals it, he will feel it and be attracted to- 
 ward her, love her, tell her so " 
 
 Van Kirk's breath here deserted him unexpect- 
 edly, and he walked on in silence. 
 
 Olive widened slightly the distance between 
 them. His words hurried her heart-beats so, she 
 feared he might feel them. 
 
 "That is an odd theory," she said shortly, 
 obliged to say something to fill the undesirable 
 pause. 
 
 " Do you believe it ? " 
 
 " Most certainly not.'*
 
 KOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 403 
 
 " Nor I, either. It is all very well for Gary to 
 sit serene in his happiness and theorize, but I 
 know it is a lie." Van Kirk's low voice betrayed 
 pain. " I love a woman with my whole heart. I 
 shall love her all my life, and that I believe will 
 last to eternity." 
 
 Olive's brow contracted and her teeth caught her 
 lip. She knew that was what she had come out 
 here for, to listen once more to Max's confi- 
 dences ; but she was not strong enough to bear to 
 hear him say such words of another. Her mother's 
 calm, loving face rose before her. " If it is not 
 for you, not a part of what is yours," she heard 
 her say, " you do not really want it. Listen for the 
 divine music." 
 
 Ah, the magic music was playing very softly 
 now, was merely a breath, and in a minor strain. 
 She was very, very far away from that which had 
 been assigned to her. 
 
 " I am nothing to this woman," continued Van 
 Kirk. " She is rich in other friends. If I ap- 
 pear she smiles on me kindly ; if I go she nods me 
 a pleasant farewell. Tell me, you do not laugh 
 at me to-night, and you understand a woman's na- 
 ture, shall I tell her of my love and that I hope 
 against hope to win hers, or shall I strive for pa- 
 tience, be content with dissatisfaction, and live for 
 her in silence ? " 
 
 Olive was still a moment, as though for reflec- 
 tion, but when she spoke her pleasant voice was 
 steady :
 
 404 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " If she does not care for you, Max, you will 
 gain nothing by speaking, as it looks to me. If a 
 man to whom I was indifferent told me he loved 
 me and meant to make me love him, I should al- 
 ways be on the defensive against him. I should 
 pity him, perhaps, but not with the sort of pity 
 which is akin to love." 
 
 They paced steadily on in the moonlight. Some- 
 thing of the calmness of the night seemed to enter 
 into Olive. After all, her secret was her own. 
 Max indeed respected her greatly to show her his 
 heart. All her life she had been taught that 
 strength comes with right-doing. She did not 
 know whether what she felt was despair or resigna- 
 tion ; but it was a passivity that was restful after 
 struggle. 
 
 A good and witty woman once remarked when 
 enmeshed in a labyrinth of perplexing circum- 
 stances : " I do not see but that this time we are 
 reduced to trusting in Providence." 
 
 Something like this, only without the humorous 
 sense, was Olive's state of mind to-night. She 
 could not plan even for the morrow. She had been 
 carried through one more confidential interview 
 with Max, and with the days she dreaded stretch- 
 ing before her, she felt neither desire nor ability to 
 prepare for them, but sank to sleep that night too 
 exhausted for tormenting thought. 
 
 Unfortunately for Van Kirk, he could not do 
 likewise. 
 
 Long after Olive left him he walked like an un
 
 KOSCIUSEO'S GARDEN. 405 
 
 easy spirit, and his restlessness followed him to 
 bed. The consequence was that the only sleep 
 which visited him came so late that, when he ap- 
 peared at the breakfast-table the following day, 
 none of the rest of his party were in sight. The 
 meal finished, he called dutifully for his mother. 
 
 " You have not slept well, my son," was her 
 greeting. " You are pale," she added with mourn- 
 ful satisfaction. 
 
 " I feel first-rate," he returned rather brusquely. 
 " There were none of you about ; I thought you 
 might have deserted me and gone off on some ex- 
 cursion." 
 
 " No ; Miss Spencer has gone to play tennis, 
 Miss Bagg is writing a letter, and Olive has taken 
 a book and gone out-of-doors to read." 
 
 " Rather indefinite," observed Max tentatively. 
 
 " Well, I think I heard her tell Miss Bagg she 
 was going to Kosciusko's. She said there would 
 certainly be nobody there this morning." 
 
 " What can I do for your amusement, mother ? 
 Would you like to go up the river this afternoon?" 
 
 It was not in Mrs. Van Kirk's code to admit 
 that she would like to do anything, so she only 
 raised her eyebrows musingly and said she did n't 
 know. 
 
 "Think it over this morning," said the young 
 man. " I am going out for a while. Perhaps I 
 shall hunt up Gary." 
 
 In his inmost heart Mr. Van Kirk was aware 
 that he should not hunt up Gary. He was in no
 
 406 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 mood to listen to what he termed the lieutenant's 
 optimistic fairy stories. Beside, it was a long 
 time since he had seen Kosciusko's garden. Per- 
 haps Olive was not there after all, but he would 
 like to see the place. 
 
 His mother looked after him as he walked down 
 the path from the hotel. 
 
 " He is too proud to own it, but he cannot hide 
 it from his mother's eyes," she thought. " Ida 
 Fuller has dealt him a blow." 
 
 Van Kirk was quite as low-spirited as his mother 
 believed him to be, but like other moths, he pre- 
 ferred singeing his wings in the candle, notwith- 
 standing the pain, to remaining in the safe unevent- 
 f ulness of the twilight. 
 
 Have you ever descended the long flight of rock 
 steps which lead to the Polish exile's favorite re- 
 sort ? If so, you probably rate his taste as high as 
 his valor. 
 
 Van Kirk, when he reached the spot, paused at 
 the foot of the steps and looked about him. A 
 fountain flung its spray high in air. The lofty, 
 jagged rock walls which shelter the nook glistened 
 here and there with tiny trickling streams, and held 
 full-leafed trees and purple bell-flowers in their 
 crevices. Another steep, tree-covered declivity de- 
 scended to the river, sparkling beneath the lace- 
 work of foliage. It was familiar, lovely, attrac- 
 tively qiiiet, but deserted. He walked forward 
 and stood by the fouutain, and then saw that of 
 which his mind was full.
 
 EOSCIUSEO'S GARDEN. 407 
 
 A narrow walk skirtiiig a ravine winds in a semi- 
 circle at one end of the " garden," and midway of 
 it there was a seat in the dense shade. There Ol- 
 ive was sitting, her head bent above her book. 
 Van Kirk's impulse was to rush to her, but, re- 
 minding himself that this was the day of small 
 things, he composed his countenance carefully as 
 he walked slowly toward her. His approaching 
 footfall roused her from her reverie and she lifted 
 her eyes, startled. Excursionists were frequent 
 here, but at this hour in the morning she had felt 
 entirely safe. It was such a relief to see Max it 
 was such an irresistible pleasure, too that before 
 she had time to school and repress the involuntary 
 joy, her face grew fairly radiant and she started to 
 her feet, her book falling to the ground. She felt 
 her color change conf usingly. 
 
 Van Kirk lifted his hat mechanically ; but her 
 expression banished his caution. His plan of pro- 
 cedure tottered uncertainly. The light that sprang 
 in his eyes sent a little telegraphic thrill across the 
 narrow ravine to her. She groped vaguely for all 
 she had known so reasonably, so calmly, last night ; 
 but the magic music would sound louder, louder, 
 despite her. 
 
 He was coming on so fast, she must say some- 
 thing to explain her absurd behavior. It would 
 be sure to crush her to remember it later on. 
 
 " Oh ! " she exclaimed breathlessly, as he gently 
 took her hands, " do you know I was afraid you 
 might be a man I "
 
 408 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 He did not smile. He held her hands and 
 looked down at her uncovered head, and the beau- 
 tiful summer stillness grew eloquent about them. 
 Nearer, louder, to Olive's entranced heart sounded 
 the magic music. 
 
 " Olive, save me," said Van Kirk, low but with 
 intense emphasis. " I am on the verge of disobey- 
 ing you. See what one glad look has done, my 
 darling." 
 
 The girl lifted her head and looked up as a 
 flower seeks the sun ; and the gaze she gave him 
 was as though she set him on a throne. 
 
 " Max, am I the woman ? " she asked at last, 
 slowly. 
 
 " The light of my life," he answered, and his 
 arms inclosed her. They stood heart to heart, and 
 the magic music divine music, the mother had 
 well called it surged and swelled to a full, tri- 
 umphant chord of harmony. 
 
 Plash, pure fountain ! Bloom, flowers ! Your 
 purple color fits the royal estate of two souls to 
 whom Heaven itself can give no more.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 HOME AGAIN. 
 
 BEING on military ground, perhaps it would not 
 be inapt to liken the announcement of Olive's and 
 Maxwell's engagement, in the little circle most 
 nearly interested, to the explosion of a bombshell. 
 No bond of the kind was ever entered into with less 
 assistance, covert or overt, from kindly third parties. 
 If it was any satisfaction to the young couple to 
 make a sensation, they certainly had it to the full. 
 
 Miss Bagg, when the affair was announced to 
 her, declared that she should die, and then wept 
 copiously. 
 
 One might from this be obliged to arrive by a 
 rather roundabout road at her meaning, for she 
 meant that she had never found life so well worth 
 living, nor been so fully determined to live, as at 
 the present moment. 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk was so utterly overwhelmed by 
 the news that she could not even find its dark side 
 at once. She was mute as she received her son's 
 embrace and kiss, and although she recovered suf- 
 ficient presence of mind to weep when Olive tim- 
 idly approached her, she had not yet selected the 
 ground upon which to be a martyr when Miss 
 Bagg joyously pressed her hand.
 
 410 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 "I can almost share your motherly feelings," 
 said Lydia tremulously. " There is no one nearer 
 to me in all the world than these two dear chil- 
 dren." 
 
 Mrs. Van Kirk was inhaling white rose in the 
 depths of her handkerchief at the moment, but she 
 listened alertly to this. In marrying this poor 
 girl it was possible that Max was doing as well for 
 himself as even his mother could ask. Olive was 
 unquestionably a beauty, and she had a very good 
 disposition, no doubt, and that counted for sonic- 
 thing. Her resolve was at once taken. She looked 
 up from the handkerchief, and stretching out her 
 hand to Olive, who had been regarding her anx- 
 iously, kissed her with stately fervor. 
 
 " The daughter of my girlhood's friend," she 
 said impressively. " I could ask nothing better 
 than this. You must forgive me, my child, if this 
 joy has in it to me something of sadness. It is a 
 great and solemn moment to a mother when she 
 knows that she must step down to a lower place in 
 her son's heart." 
 
 Ingenious Mrs. Van Kirk ! Her faculty for mar- 
 tyrdom had triumphed after all. Olive kissed as 
 much of her cheek as was visible beyond the hand- 
 kerchief, and promised to try to be a good daughter 
 to her. The girl's sense of humor was entirely in 
 abeyance. She was so thrilled with gratitude and 
 happiness that it made her humble, and she was 
 ready to acknowledge the goodness displayed by 
 Max's mother in giving him to her.
 
 HOME AGAIN. 411 
 
 This interview, so full of tears and caresses, had 
 taken place in Mrs. Van Kirk's room at the hotel. 
 In the midst of it a knock sounded at the door and 
 Bertha Spencer came in. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " she asked, regarding 
 the moved faces. 
 
 " Congratulate Olive," said Miss Bagg, luxuriat- 
 ing in the situation. 
 
 " No, congratulate me, Miss Spencer," said Van 
 Kirk, holding out his hand. 
 
 " Why ! " Bertha shook hands with him auto- 
 matically. Then she turned and flung herself into 
 Olive's arms, holding her in a long embrace. 
 
 " What in the name of all that is sensible," 
 thought Max, " makes women cry so much ? 
 Olive does n't cry." 
 
 No, Olive had not shed a tear. She had more 
 color than usual, and there was the hint of a smile 
 constantly on her lips, but the great and quiet joy 
 shining in her eyes seemed to shed calmness all 
 about her. 
 
 Van Kirk had been mistaken about Bertha. 
 She was not crying, although when she had ceased 
 kissing Olive and drew back to regard her, her 
 brown eyes sparkled with moisture. She had been 
 totally surprised, and the natural pleasure she felt 
 at Olive's happiness was tempered by a slight and 
 reproachful wonder that a girl who had had the op- 
 portunity to fall in love with Ralph should have 
 failed to do so. 
 
 Mr. Spencer himself was a little pensive when
 
 412 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 later ho offered his congratulations. Miss Carlyle 
 was so lovely with some new beauty that he began 
 to wish he had had a little more time, and to fear 
 vaguely that he had made the mistake of his life in 
 not letting the procession of other charmers slip 
 and devoting himself solely to this one. However, 
 that frame of mind was a passing one. He really 
 had n't time to regret seriously, and was soon hur- 
 ried along again on the tide of business and social 
 requirements. 
 
 Without mentioning Ida Fuller's visit, Max 
 told Olive of his confession to her mother, and 
 asked her how they should communicate the news 
 to her. 
 
 The girl gave him a little radiant, thoughtful 
 smile, and after a while she handed him a paper. 
 "Please send this telegram to mother," she said. 
 " You may read it." 
 
 He opened the paper and saw this : 
 
 It is a part of what is really mine. Can you 
 come ? OLIVE. 
 
 " What does that mean ? " asked Van Kirk. 
 "Is it a cipher?" 
 
 " Yes," answered the girl. " Mother talks to 
 me at times in what some people might think was 
 a cipher." 
 
 But her smile was there still, and on his way to 
 the office Max studied on the scrap of paper. It 
 evidently referred to some previous talk between
 
 HOME AGAIN. 413 
 
 mother and daughter, and it must have been about 
 him in order to have the reference suggest any- 
 thing concerning affairs at this moment. 
 
 It gave him a very warm, happy sensation to 
 realize that the pure thoughts of the young girl 
 had been concerned with him, and such must have 
 been the case. 
 
 Olive had confessed very little to him yet. The 
 time would come when she would show him her 
 side of that evening in camp, but as yet she was 
 in the first exquisite attitude of shyness toward 
 her happiness, which, though succeeding stages 
 may bring a deeper and more sacred joy, has a 
 bloom and an aroma all its own, fleeting, volatile 
 and never to be repeated or recalled. 
 
 Van Kirk continued to study on his pleasant 
 problem, and was strengthened in what he eagerly 
 desired but was surprised to believe, namely, 
 that he had been in Olive's mind perhaps as long 
 as she had been in his, and certainly more con- 
 sciously and avowedly, since something she had 
 said to her mother made this telegram sufficient. 
 
 He had just written the address and handed the 
 slip of paper to the operator when his conclusion 
 was arrived at, and at that moment Lieutenant Gary 
 strolled into the office. Suddenly some link snap- 
 ping into place formed a connection J>etween Van 
 Kirk's thoughts and the new-comer. That absurd 
 theory of the lieutenant's presented itself to mind. 
 
 " Confound him," thought Max, smiling and 
 frowning at the same time ; but he came forward.
 
 414 MISS BAG&S SECRETARY. 
 
 Gary was going to nod and pass him with a 
 friendly word ; but Van Kirk buttonholed him. 
 
 "Come out here a minute," he said, drawing 
 him out-of-doors. "I don't want you to hear it 
 from anybody else." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " I 'm engaged." 
 
 Gary looked at him. *' Well, you '11 excuse me if 
 before I congratulate you, I remark on the neat- 
 ness and dispatch with which you accomplish these 
 things." 
 
 " Of course I do not wonder at your surprise," 
 returned the other, with dignity. 
 
 " I should n't think you would. If you are n't 
 the victim of mania and ought not to be shut up 
 somewhere, perhaps you will kindly explain why 
 you told me the other day that you were not in 
 love with anybody." 
 
 Max's face lighted up. "Precisely, my dear 
 boy ; that is just the odd part of it." 
 
 "That's what I think," dryly. 
 
 " Now don't interrupt me. It is due you that I 
 should explain that I was in love, but I actually 
 did n't realize it at that time." 
 
 The lieutenant looked at him curiously, and an 
 exasperating smile began to curve his mustache. 
 "'M h'm," he replied, with the familiar assenting 
 sound so elusive of print. " Now, will you kindly 
 dismount from your lofty position aiid agree that 
 there was some occult power at work all that time 
 you were laughing me to scorn, and that this 
 young lady had selected you ? "
 
 HOME AGAIN. 415 
 
 Van Kirk did n't want to laugh, yet he could n't 
 refrain. 
 
 " I don't know much, Gary, but it is a great priv- 
 ilege to be acquainted with a man who is really 
 wise. I am so happy that I not only love every- 
 body but all theories. You can prove anything by 
 me. So long as Miss CarJyle " 
 
 " It is n't Miss Carlyle ! " The interruption was 
 eager and amazed. 
 
 " Why, of course it is," returned Max, with a 
 slightly unreasonable impatience of his friend's 
 supposing that it could be anybody else. 
 
 " Then I do congratulate you, for a fact," said 
 the officer, shaking Van Kirk's hand heartily. 
 " She is why, I could fill a volume with compli- 
 ments for Miss Carlyle, but I suspect nothing that 
 I could say would surprise you. Just to augment 
 your opinion of my wisdom, I will inform you that 
 you could n't use too much dispatch in this case." 
 
 But life for civilians cannot go on forever to 
 martial music. The day came when our party was 
 obliged (one member of it most reluctantly) to go 
 back to the commonplace, noisy world, where one 
 man is as good as another, and where parasols have 
 no affinity for swords. 
 
 It was one day in the following September that 
 Miss Bagg, having made an appointment with her 
 lawyer, entered his office. All her fear of this 
 gentleman had vanished, and they were now on 
 excellent terms. 
 
 " I have come," said Miss Bagg, seating herself,
 
 416 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 " to talk with you of a plan I have regarding the 
 connections of my family. They have all called on 
 me at different times since I came to New York, 
 and I have their names down here." Lydia pro- 
 duced a large sheet of paper well written over. 
 " I was very much surprised to know that I had 
 such a number of relatives ; and although the con- 
 nection is slight, some of them are poor people, 
 and no wonder, if Uncle Jotham was acquainted 
 with them, that they were disappointed to think he 
 did n't leave them any money. I have been over 
 this list very carefully with Mrs. Carlyle, and she 
 has helped me to facts about the different families. 
 Now I put it to you, Mr. Galbraith," added Lydia 
 earnestly, " what is the use of waiting until I die 
 to make some of these people comfortable ? " 
 
 The lawyer smiled. " You prefer to see people 
 enjoying themselves instead of knowing theoreti- 
 cally that they will do so when you have left this 
 scene and cannot enjoy with them." 
 
 "Yes, that is the idea," assented Miss Bagg 
 with satisfaction. " What is the sense of waiting ? 
 A great lot of money has become rolled up into 
 one fortune. By Uncle Jotham's dying without a 
 will, it has all come to another single person. It is 
 so large a fortune as to attract attention. Why, 
 you would be surprised, Mr. Galbraith, to see 
 some of the letters I receive from men who ought 
 to be in asylums, wishing to marry me. They say 
 they saw me leaving my carriage and admired me, 
 or else give some other silly excuse for addressing
 
 HOME AGAIN. 417 
 
 me. Mr. Van Kirk opens all my letters now ex- 
 cept those with certain postmarks, and he does n't 
 show them to me at all unless they are particularly 
 funny. One the other day contained a sonnet to 
 my curls." 
 
 Lydia laughed so heartily that the lawyer joined 
 her. 
 
 " "Well," she continued, " I thought if things 
 had gone so far that poems were written about my 
 gray hair, I had better get rid of some of my dan- 
 gerous attractiveness. Seriously, some of these 
 people on my list are patiently battling with life 
 and have large families, and I want to help them. 
 Please look it over." 
 
 Miss Bagg handed her paper to the lawyer, who 
 put on his eyeglasses, leaned back in his chair, and 
 studied it. Appended to the name of, each person 
 was the amount Lydia wished to bestow upon him. 
 
 Mr. Galbraith footed up the various sums ; then 
 he looked over his glasses at his client. 
 
 " Do you know you have disposed of fifty thou- 
 sand dollars here ? " 
 
 " Yes ; it just came out an even fifty," replied 
 Lydia cheerfully, as though the fact was one upon 
 which she was to be congratulated. 
 
 " It is a great deal of money." 
 
 " Yes ; but there are a good many people, you 
 see." 
 
 " Those to whom you give the lesser amounts 
 will grumble because the others have more. It 
 will all get out among themselves."
 
 418 MISS BAGG'S SECEETAET. 
 
 " Never mind. I have graduated it with Mrs. 
 Carlyle's help according to their needs. It will 
 lift a burden in many cases." 
 
 " There is one name here with nothing opposite ; 
 that of Mr. J. Wilkins." 
 
 " Yes. Mrs. Carlyle said she thought you knew 
 about his affairs. Ought I to do anything about 
 him?" 
 
 Mr. Galbraith noticed the severe change in his 
 client's manner and wondered at it. " He left the 
 city considerably in debt," he replied. " He is on 
 the other side of the water now." 
 
 " Would he come back if his debts were paid ? '" 
 
 " I think it probable he would." 
 
 " Scratch his name off the list," said Lydia de- 
 cidedly. 
 
 Mr. Galbraith drew his pencil through the name 
 and wondered more than ever. " I feel rather 
 sorry for Wilkins. He is paying dear for his over- 
 confidence," he remarked quietly. 
 
 Miss Bagg jumped to the conclusion that the 
 lawyer referred to Wilkins's confidence in his treat- 
 ment of herself. 
 
 " Don't you think he ought to ? " she asked. 
 
 " We are all liable to mistakes. Mr. Wilkins 
 is not perhaps an admirable figure, but he is grow- 
 ing elderly, and his situation is anything but pleas- 
 ant." 
 
 "I will pay his debts, if you advise it," said 
 Miss Bagg shortly. 
 
 They had some further conference on the subject,
 
 HOME AGAIN. 419 
 
 and the outcome of the talk was that Mr. Wilkins's 
 liabilities should be met, but that he should be 
 warned that never under any circumstances would 
 Miss Bagg consent to meet him. 
 
 This subject disposed of, Mr. Galbraith re- 
 marked with a smile : 
 
 " I do not see your friend Mrs. Carlyle's name 
 here. I believe her circumstances are very lim- 
 ited." 
 
 Miss Bagg smiled back at him with a curious 
 expression. 
 
 " My plans for Mrs. Carlyle are on a different 
 scale from these gifts," she replied. " I do not 
 know whether you have heard that Mr. Van Kirk 
 is engaged to Mrs. Carlyle's daughter ? " 
 
 " Yes, I have heard of it. It is not a brilliant 
 match." 
 
 " Have you ever seen Miss Carlyle ? " 
 
 " I am not sure whether I have or not." 
 
 " Then you have n't," returned Lydia shortly. 
 " Mr. Galbraith, it is very strange to me how 
 people calculate everything from a money basis. 
 What is a brilliant match, if it is n't marrying an 
 unusually beautiful and good girl ? " 
 
 " I know it, I know it," admitted the lawyer, 
 nodding his head several times. 
 
 " They could live in some cozy little way on 
 their six thousand dollars a year and be as happy 
 as birds," continued Lydia, " and yet plenty of 
 Mr. Van Kirk's acquaintances right here in this 
 New York babel would pity them if they did."
 
 420 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 Mr. Galbraith nodded assent. 
 
 " But I am not going to give anybody an op- 
 portunity to pity those young people, no matter 
 from what foolish standpoint," she went on. " I 
 am a rich woman ? " 
 
 " A very rich woman," assented the lawyer, with 
 a smile. 
 
 " I can afford to indulge myself in a little 
 amusement. Very well, Olive and Mr. Van Kirk 
 Max, he says I must call him are my amuse- 
 ment. He is the most obstinate individual that 
 ever was born. I tried my best to get him to take 
 Uncle Jotham's money " 
 
 " Indeed ! " ejaculated the lawyer, with interest 
 and surprise. 
 
 " Why, of course I did as soon as I knew he 
 ought to have had it." 
 
 "Well, Miss Bagg, you are an extraordinary 
 woman." 
 
 " I ? " said Lydia in surprise. " I am the most 
 commonplace woman in the world. Well, he 
 would n't. Now it is left me to make Miss Carlyle 
 a wedding present. I told Mr. Van Kirk so, and 
 he said I must look out and not give Olive so 
 much as to turn him into a fortune-hunter. We 
 have arranged that after the young people are 
 married Mrs. Carlyle is to live with me. I am 
 going to settle some money both on her and Mrs. 
 Van Kirk on the wedding-day." 
 
 " How about Mrs. Fuller ? " 
 
 Miss Bagg smiled. "She is not Mrs. Fuller
 
 HOME AGAIN. 421 
 
 any longer. She has married a great deal larger 
 fortune than I should feel inclined to give her." 
 
 " Well, I am glad you have reached the end of 
 the list. When you come down to figures and tell 
 me the precise division you intend to make with 
 these pet friends of yours, it will be time for me to 
 see that you leave yourself something." 
 
 Miss Bagg laughed, and then grew serious. 
 " No, I do not mean to do anything foolish," she 
 said. " I feel that it is not a light thing to have 
 the care of such a power for good or evil as money 
 is. I consider myself more than fortunate to have 
 two advisers like yourself and Mrs. Carlyle. I will 
 have another talk with you soon regarding the 
 larger amounts I want to give. You will see to 
 this other matter ? " She indicated a little heap 
 of checks which she had signed. 
 
 " It will be a very pleasant duty," replied Mr. 
 Galbraith as he bowed her out. 
 
 Once more there was a party in Jotham Bagg's 
 old drawing-room. It was Christmas eve, and the 
 occasion was Olive's wedding. She and her mother 
 had been for some weeks domesticated in Miss 
 Bagg's home. So much space has been given to 
 describing fair brides that it seems like redun- 
 dancy to say when this one turned around, her 
 veil thrown back, to face her friends after the 
 ceremony, that Olive Van Kirk was more beautiful 
 than Miss Carlyle had ever been. Miss Bagg 
 made up her mind that, notwithstanding any
 
 422 MISS BAGG'S SECRETARY. 
 
 ftmount of protest and chaff from Max, she would 
 have a picture of them both as they looked now 
 together. It was her devout belief that no couple 
 like them had ever been seen outside the covers 
 of a good old fairy tale, where the prince and prin- 
 cess are nothing if not superlative. 
 
 The wedding had been a very quiet one. The 
 company were not all those whom Uncle Jotham 
 used to gather together, but beside some relatives 
 there was Miss Spencer who, looking very pretty, 
 had stood near the bride and held her bouquet, 
 while Max put the ring on Olive's finger, after- 
 ward kissing the emblem in a reverent fashion. 
 
 Mr. Hemenway and Ralph Spencer were present, 
 enjoying the pomp and state of their citizens' dress- 
 suits as only habitual wearers of brass buttons can. 
 Lieutenant Gary and Miss Bruce were there also. 
 Mrs. Carlyle, in rich gray satin and lace, stood 
 looking at the bride and groom, her eyes beam- 
 ing with the same love and tenderness behind 
 the gold -bowed glasses that had formerly shone 
 through the humble steel spectacles. 
 
 But Mrs. Van Kirk. Who shall describe how 
 she posed and rustled ? One thing is certain, 
 she was as happy as it was possible for her to be 
 under circumstances in which, try as she might, 
 she searched in vain for a flaw. 
 
 Whether Miss Bagg had any ulterior object is 
 not known, but in the profusion of lilies, and roses 
 of all depths of color that bloomed from every pos- 
 sible spot in the large rooms, the odor of white rose 
 was lost.
 
 HOME AGAIN. 423 
 
 How happy Miss Bagg was as she flew about 
 among her guests, her curls a-flutter with excite- 
 ment ! Nora stood outside a half-open door, where 
 she could see and not be seen, and wipe her eyes 
 to her heart's content. 
 
 " 'T is a shame the poor Joodge can't see her," 
 she muttered, gazing at the white-robed bride. 
 " She looks like one o' the saints, and Mr. Van 
 Kirruk he do look a match for her." 
 
 At a long table, glowing with soft and rosy 
 lights, the guests after a time sat down to supper, 
 and the ease and gayety of the company took its 
 tone from the simple, loving good-will of the beam- 
 ing hostess. 
 
 Mr. Galbraith was one of the circle, and as he 
 made mental notes of the occasion, he thought of 
 his old client and wondered if Jotham Bagg would 
 not be content could he look now into his once 
 grim dining-room and see it thus transformed with 
 the flowers, the bright faces, and the happy sphere 
 that filled it. Surely so, since the happiest face 
 there was that of his boy Max, his pride and his 
 one joy. 
 
 When finally farewells were being said, and 
 Olive and Max were about starting for an expedi- 
 tion to the blossoming south, Lydia kissed the 
 bride very tenderly and then took Van Kirk's 
 hand in both her own where they stood, a little 
 apart. 
 
 " God bless you," she said solemnly, looking 
 up at him. After a moment she continued : " I
 
 424 MISS BAGG'S SECEETAKY. 
 
 have not done anything for you to-day, not given 
 you, personally, any gift adequate to show you or 
 others what I feel for you you would not let 
 me ; but it is all in iny heart. I wish there were 
 something more I could do." 
 
 " I know that," returned Max, and he stooped 
 and kissed her. " I feel a gratitude to you that 
 I can never express, but I hope you will believe 
 that it exists." He smiled into her eyes and 
 pressed her hands warmly. " I ask no better lot 
 than to serve you. Continue to give me that priv- 
 ilege and it will be enough. Let me be all my 
 life what I am now, Miss Bagg's secretary."
 
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