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diff --git a/old/51788-8.txt b/old/51788-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2fc1fa1..0000000 --- a/old/51788-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8301 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Trif and Trixy, by John Habberton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Trif and Trixy - A story of a dreadfully delightful little girl and her - adoring and tormented parents, relations, and friends - -Author: John Habberton - -Release Date: April 18, 2016 [EBook #51788] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRIF AND TRIXY *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Brian Wilsden and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold -text by =equal signs=. - - - - - TRIF and TRIXY - - BY - JOHN HABBERTON - AUTHOR OF "HELEN'S BABIES." - - A STORY OF A - DREADFULLY DELIGHTFUL - LITTLE - GIRL AND HER - ADORING AND - TORMENTED PARENTS, - RELATIONS, - AND FRIENDS - - - Philadelphia - HENRY ALTEMUS - 1897 - - - - -COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY HENRY ALTEMUS - - -CONTENTS - - CHAPTER PAGE - - CHAPTER I. A BABE IN THE HOUSE IS A WELL-SPRING OF PLEASURE. 3 - CHAPTER II. A TRANSACTION IN COTTON. 12 - CHAPTER III. UNAPPRECIATED. 21 - CHAPTER IV. IN CHARGE OF EACH OTHER. 29 - CHAPTER V. A SURPRISE. 39 - CHAPTER VI. ALL BY CHANCE. 49 - CHAPTER VII. MORE REVELATIONS. 58 - CHAPTER VIII. A SNATCH AT TIME'S FORELOCK. 68 - CHAPTER IX. MISPLACED CONFIDENCE. 77 - CHAPTER X. A SCRAP OF PAPER. 86 - CHAPTER XI. OFF THE SCENT. 94 - CHAPTER XII. THE SEARCH PARTY. 104 - CHAPTER XIII. A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. 112 - CHAPTER XIV. THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE. 120 - CHAPTER XV. THE UNEXPECTED. 128 - CHAPTER XVI. COWARDS BOTH. 137 - CHAPTER XVII. THE COURAGE OF JOY. 145 - CHAPTER XVIII. THE WOOING O' IT. 154 - CHAPTER XIX. THE MISSING GUEST. 163 - CHAPTER XX. A BLISSFUL WEEK. 171 - CHAPTER XXI. APRIL SHOWERS. 179 - CHAPTER XXII. "THEY TAKE NO NOTE OF TIME." 187 - CHAPTER XXIII. "BEYOND THE DREAM OF AVARICE." 195 - CHAPTER XXIV. TRICKS UPON TRIXY. 203 - CHAPTER XXV. THREE BLIND MICE. 211 - CHAPTER XXVI. THE OTHER COUPLE. 219 - CHAPTER XXVII. THREE DAYS GRACE. 227 - CHAPTER XXVIII. THAT SURPRISE. 235 - - HENRY ALTEMUS' PUBLICATIONS. 243 - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -A BABE IN THE HOUSE IS A WELL-SPRING OF PLEASURE. - - -Trixy was not a babe, for she had passed her seventh birthday and was -as wise and irrepressible as the only child of a loving father and -mother usually becomes. Her parents and relations continued to allude -to her as "the baby," and they might still be doing so had not certain -of her deeds checked them, and compelled them to restrict themselves to -her rightful name, which was Beatrice, and to her nickname, which was -Trixy. - -Trif was Trixy's mother, and did not entirely approve of the name by -which she was oftenest addressed, for "Trif" seemed to imply something -trifling, while the real Trif was a young matron as handsome and proud -as Diana, and as good and earnest as the saintly Roman woman Tryphosa, -for whom she was named. (All this must be true, because Trif's husband, -Phil Highwood, said so and continues to say it.) - -Whether she laughed or wept, dressed or dusted, joked or prayed, Trif -did it with all her might; so it was not strange that her little -daughter was a very active and earnest creature from the instant at -which she first opened her baby lips to announce her appearance upon -the earthly stage. - -Besides, Trixy's father was one of the conscientious and nervous -fellows who are always wondering what to do next, always anxious to do -exactly what is right, always trying to do friendly services to other -people, and frequently blundering horribly in the attempt; so there was -double reason for what Trif called "dear Trixy's peculiarities" and -other people alluded to as "that child's awful doings." - -Trif and Trixy lived far up town on the west side of New York. The -husband of the one and the father of the other lived there too, -although he is of minor consequence in this veracious narrative, for -the neighbors and tradesmen knew him best as "that little terror's -father," or "Mrs. Highwood's husband," and he was modest enough and -proud enough to be satisfied to be known in this way. - -With the family lived Trif's sister, Tryphena Wardlow, known best to -her friends as Fenie--a charming and exuberant girl who thought her -sister Trif the most perfect woman alive, was sure that Trixy was the -embodiment of all the baby angels in heaven, and declared that she -never, never, never would think of marrying until some man as simply -perfect as her brother-in-law, Phil Highwood, should ask her, and -as that seemed impossible she had determined, at the mature age of -twenty years, to remain single forever, yet never become that dreadful -creature called "an old maid." - -Fenie had no lack of suitors, old and young, for all men like handsome -girls who are also good, merry and accomplished; besides common report -had it that Fenie and her sister drew between them five thousand -dollars a year from the estate of their New England parents. Common -report had set the figure about ten times too high, but never took the -trouble to correct the mistake, so Fenie was the most attractive young -woman of the vicinity, and many were the times when a merry evening -which had been planned by Phil, Trif, Fenie, and Trixy, was spoiled by -the appearance of some male visitor who had to be treated civilly, and -who couldn't tear himself away from the witchery of Fenie's face and -voice. - -There was one young man, Harry Trewman, whom Fenie seemed rather -to like, and whom Trif and Phil, with their larger knowledge of -human nature, wished their sister could like still more, for he was -intelligent, modest, and seemed to have many virtues and no vices. They -talked much about him when they were alone--alone except for Trixy, -who was always so competent to amuse herself and to be absorbed by her -books and dolls and her own thoughts that she seemed deaf to anything -that was being said, for it generally took half a dozen separate and -distinct remarks to make her change her dress, or wash her hands, or go -to bed. - -The doorbell rang one evening while the family still lingered at the -supper table, and the servant brought a card to Fenie. - -"Oh, dear!" exclaimed the girl with a pout. "Here comes Harry Trewman, -just as we were going to have a jolly game of parchesi with the baby. -I do think that callers might remain at home on stormy nights, when a -girl hasn't taken the pains to dress for company. That young man needs -a lesson. He has sisters and they ought to teach him that ladies don't -expect calls on stormy nights." - -"It won't take you long to change your dress, dear," suggested Trif. - -"No, but--" - -"'Be not unmindful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have -entertained angels unawares,'" quoted Phil, as he quartered a second -orange for Trixy. - -"Angels--umph!" exclaimed Fenie. "Harry Trewman doesn't resemble -any angel of whom I ever saw a picture. He's no stranger either, -goodness knows; he's been here at least once a week for a long time. -You shouldn't ever quote Scripture, Phil, unless the application is -entirely correct." - -"Very well, then; 'Flee from the wrath to come.' Nothing makes Trif so -provoked as delay in greeting a visitor." - -"Poor little Trixy. Her game will have to be put off," murmured Fenie -as she rose from the table and kissed her niece. - -"Never mind me," said Trixy, from behind a kiss and a mouthful of -orange. "The game will keep, but Mr. Trewman won't, if you don't be -more careful." - -"Won't keep?" exclaimed Fenie, with a frown at the child and a -suspicious glance at the remainder of the family. - -"Trixy!" exclaimed Trif in her most severe tone, while Phil put another -section of orange into the child's mouth and his hand over her lips, -while Trif continued: - -"Go along, Fenie. Change your dress quickly; I'll run up stairs and -help you." - -"And I," said Trixy, after a struggle with the orange and her father's -hand, "I'll entertain Mr. Trewman till you come down." - -Three adult smiles were slyly exchanged as the child assumed an air -of importance, tumbled out of her high-chair and started toward the -parlor, while her mother and aunt slipped up the back stairway and Phil -buried his face in the evening paper. - -"Good evenin', Harry," said the little maid, as she bounced into the -parlor. - -"Oh, Trixy!" exclaimed the young man rising in haste. "How do you do, -little girl? I'm very much obliged to you for calling me Harry. It -sounds as if you rather liked me." - -"So I do," replied Trixy. "I s'pose I ought to have said 'Mr. Trewman,' -but papa and mamma and Aunt Fee always calls you 'Harry' when they talk -about you, so I said it without thinkin'." - -"Oh, they do, eh?" Mr. Trewman's clear complexion flushed pleasurably -and his moustache was twirled thoughtfully. If the family talked of him -familiarly, there seemed special reason for him to hope. - -"Yes, they do it lots. I get sick of it sometimes, 'cause I want to ask -'em somethin', and mamma says I mustn't ever interrupt grown people -when they're talkin', so I can't ask it, and afterward maybe I forget -what I was going to ask, and that bothers me like ev'rythin'." - -"You poor little sufferer!" exclaimed the young man. "I ought to do -something very nice for you, to make amends for causing you so much -trouble. What kind of candy do you most like?--or mayn't I bring you a -new doll?" - -"Papa and mamma don't like me to eat candy," said Trixy with a sigh. -"They say it's bad for my 'gestion. Have you got a 'gestion?" - -The young man admitted that he had, but he hastily reverted to dolls -as a more appropriate topic of conversation. Trixy looked troubled and -finally said: - -"Oh, dear! Something always goes wrong. I need a new baby doll awfully, -for the kitten bit the head off of my littlest one, but, you see, papa -and mamma says it isn't proper for young ladies to accept presents from -gentlemen." - -"Oh, I see--I beg a thousand pardons," Trewman gravely replied. "But -would you object to my asking your parents' permission to give you a -new doll--the finest one that I can find?" - -"Do it--quick!" exclaimed Trixy, her eyes dancing and her hands -clapping gleefully. "I don't think, though," she continued, after a -moment or two of thought, "that I ought to take somethin' for nothin', -for papa says that folks who do that are real mean." - -"Something for nothing? Why, you dear little bundle of conscience, I'm -to give you the doll in part payment for the trouble I have given you. -Don't you remember?" - -"Oh, yes! To--be--sure. Well, I forget my troubles as soon as I tell -'m, so--so you don't owe me anything." - -Trixy looked sad as the promised doll began to disappear from her -mental vision, so the young man said quickly: - -"You must have the doll, now that we've talked about it, and so that I -mayn't lose the pleasure of giving it to you. You can give me something -for it, if you like--for instance, give me a penny, to wear on my -watch-chain." - -"I'll tell you what," exclaimed Trixy, her face suddenly brightening. -"I'll give you a lesson for it. You like lessons, don't you--I like -'em--like all I can get, and I've got one for you that Aunt Fee says -you need, so I'm sure you'll like it, 'cause ev'rybody likes what they -need, don't they?" - -The young men admitted that they ought, if they didn't, but his face -quickly became grave, and he looked furtively toward the door through -which Fenie would appear, as he whispered: - -"Tell it to me--quickly." - -"Well, it ain't a very big lesson, but you needn't give me a very -big doll. Let me see--what was that lesson she said you needed? Oh, -I remember: she said that young men ought to know better than to go -calling on stormy nights, when ladies don't dress up and be ready -to see company. She said you needed a lesson about it, and you had -sisters, and they ought to teach it to you. Mebbe, though, your sisters -don't like to give lessons?" - -"They're not as active at it as they might be," replied the man -as he arose hastily and took from his coat pocket a small package. -"But--er--perhaps I am not as much to blame as I seem. I dropped in to -leave a book which your Aunt Fee wished to read but couldn't find, and -I promised to get it for her. I might have left it at the door, but I -was thinking very hard at the time about--about a person in whom I am -greatly interested, so I managed to----" - -"Oh, do you do that?" asked Trixy, following the young man, who was -moving rapidly toward the front door. - -"Do what?" - -"Why, think of one thing while you ought to be doing some other thing? -'Cause if you do, you're just like me." - -"Bless you, my child," said Trewman, as he opened the outer door, "I do -it all the while. Indeed, no matter what I am doing nowadays, my mind -is full of another subject." - -"Dear me. What a nice subject it must be!" - -"So it is;--the very nicest subject in the world." - -"Oh! What is it?" - -"I can't tell you now. Good-night!" - -"Will you tell me some other time?" - -"Yes, yes--that is, I hope I may." - -Five minutes later, when Miss Tryphena Wardlow descended to the parlor -she found only Trixy, who was rocking ecstatically in her own little -chair and thinking of the doll to come. - -"Where's Mr. Trewman?" asked the young woman. - -"He's gone. He left this book for you, but he took his lesson with -him." - -"Lesson? What lesson?" - -"Why, the one you said he needed. I gave it to him, and he's goin' to -give me a doll for it." - -Fenie looked puzzled for a moment; then her face became very red and -she exclaimed: - -"You dreadful child! Do you really mean that you have repeated to Harry -Trewman the----" - -Fenie stopped abruptly, darted to the foot of the stairs, shouted -"Trif!" dashed through the hall to the dining room, and exclaimed, -"Phil, come into the parlor--this instant." In a moment a mystified -couple was staring at a young woman whose beauty was enhanced by a -great flush of indignation; they also saw a tearful little girl who -seemed to be trying to shrink into nothingness. - -It took an hour of scolding, and petting, and warning, and kissing to -prepare Trixy for bed, but when the child was finally disposed of Phil -drawled: - -"If you girls don't want things repeated by that child you mustn't say -them in her hearing." - -"But she never seems to notice what is said," explained Fenie. - -"Umph! Neither does a phonograph cylinder, but it gets them all the -same." - -"All this talk about Trixy doesn't make our position toward Harry -Trewman any the less awkward," said Trif gravely. - -"Oh, bother Harry Trewman," exclaimed Fenie; but there was a look in -her face which compelled Phil to glance slyly at his wife, and Trif to -respond with a merry twinkle of her eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -A TRANSACTION IN COTTON. - - -The week that followed the Trixy-Trewman incident was a trying one to -Trif. Her sister Fenie, although an intelligent and well-educated young -woman who could talk well on many subjects, and whose interests were -generally as broad as those of a clever young woman should be, would -converse about nothing but the dreadful position in which Trixy had -placed her toward a young man whom she cared no more for than for old -Father Adam--indeed, not as much, for Adam was regarded by all good -people of New England extraction as a member of the family, although -somewhat remotely removed. - -As for Trif, she had no patience with a girl who did not know her own -mind. When she had first met Phil Highwood, nearly ten years before, -she knew at once what to think of him, and she had never changed her -mind. Neither had she thought it necessary to talk of him to the -exclusion of everything and everybody else--not at least until she had -been married to him and before Trixy made her appearance as the eighth -wonder of the world and the most important creature ever born. - -It would never do, she argued, to betray her feelings to and about -her sister, for she had determined to have Harry Trewman for a -brother-in-law, and her husband loyally supported her in her decision. -But what was to be done? - -Upon one thing she and her sister were resolved, and one morning after -breakfast the couple called upon Phil to witness their resolution, -which was that they would never again say in Trixy's hearing anything -which could make mischief by being repeated. Phil listened with a -smile so provoking that Fenie called him perfectly horrid, while Trif -playfully but vigorously boxed his ears. - -"Oh, you'll keep that resolution," Phil admitted. "I've no doubt -whatever that both of you will live up to it--while the dear child is -asleep, but if either of you blessed women think that you're going to -leave anything unsaid that you want to say while you're together you're -dangerously mistaken. You've been sisters and chums too long to hold -your tongues at home." - -"I flatter myself," said Trif loftily, while Fenie pouted exuberantly, -"that we have sense enough to make each other understand what we have -to say, and at the same time keep the child from knowing what we are -talking about." - -"Women aren't like men," added Fenie. "It isn't always necessary for -them to talk to make themselves understood. Trif has told me thousands -of things with her eyes, without saying a word." - -"She certainly has a remarkable faculty at that sort of thing," said -Phil, with a gentle pinch at his wife's cheek. "She often conversed -with me across the entire width of a crowded room--just as you'll -probably do, Fenie dear, when the proper man appears. At the present -time, however, there's no sign that either of you will let your tongues -suffer through lack of exercise." - -"Trif," said Fenie, "isn't it about time for your husband to be on his -way to his office? I'm sure his employers will complain of him for -being late." - -When Phil had departed, the two women, to make assurance doubly sure, -called Trixy and gave a full hour of cautions against repeating -anything whatever that she might chance to overhear in the house. -She was reminded that she was mamma's and auntie's little lady, and -that ladies never repeat what is said in the home circle, and that -nobody liked tale-bearers, and that, although Harry Trewman was not -of the slightest consequence--Fenie was elaborately explicit on this -point--some dear friend of the family might be greatly offended by -hearing something which was said only in fun. - -Trixy listened attentively and promised profusely; then she retired -to her doll's nursery to have a long season of thought over all that -had been said. Fenie often worried about the habits of the child, for -dreaming was more to her own taste, but Trif said that Trixy's way was -entirely natural and proper; she had exactly the same manner when she -was a little girl; besides, according to Phil's parents, the child's -father had done much retiring for thought in his youthful days. - -But Trixy had much besides thinking to do. She felt greatly mortified -at having made any trouble, and the less there seemed to be of the -trouble, according to her Aunt Fee, the more of it there was--according -to Trif. She reverted to the subject, again and again, asking -numberless questions at unexpected times, generally with the result of -bringing a blush to Fenie's face. When Trif asked her husband what it -could be that made the child so curious, despite all that had been done -to belittle Harry Trewman in connection with the incident, Phil's only -reply was: - -"There's an old saying to the point--'You can't fool a child or a dog.'" - -Meanwhile Trixy went on thinking, and one day she came to her mother -with a confession. - -"You see, mamma, I thought about it a lot, and I thought the best way -not to repeat things was not to hear 'em, so I made up my mind that I -wouldn't listen any more to anything that wasn't said right straight to -me." - -"Sensible little girl," exclaimed Trif, showing her approval further by -a shower of caresses and kisses. - -"Oh," said Trixy, trying to escape, "but you don't know how bad I am. -Since I made up my mind to stop hearing things I've heard more of them -than ever." - -"You poor little darling," exclaimed Trif, snatching the child into her -arms, "you must stop tormenting yourself in that manner. Stop thinking -about it, dear. Listen when you like, and when you don't. Perhaps that -will cure you." - -"Oh, I know a better way than that," said Trixy, perching herself upon -her mother's knee, and looking up with the expression of a cherub. "You -remember that time when I had the earache and you put cotton, with -smelly stuff on it, in my ears? Well, I couldn't hear a thing then. -Now, I think----" - -"Be quiet, dear," exclaimed Trif. "You talk as if you were some -dreadful creature from somewhere, instead of mamma's darling, sweet, -good little daughter." - -A morning call put an end to the interview, but a few hours later, -while Trif was sewing busily and Fenie was talking volubly and -aimlessly about Harry Trewman, a light step was heard in the room, and -Fenie dropped her subject for a moment, and exclaimed: - -"Tryphosa Wardlow Highwood, will you look at your daughter--this -instant?" - -Trixy was evidently expecting to be looked at, and was pleased at the -effect of her appearance. Over each ear was a great dark ball or wad of -something, her mother could not imagine what, until examination showed -that the outside of each was a rubber tobacco pouch, two or three of -which Phil had discarded when he gave up smoking pipes. Inside of each -was a mass of raw cotton, and the mouth of each bag was tied tightly -around a juvenile ear. - -"I can't hear hardly a thing," shouted Trixy. "A little bit of cotton -in each ear didn't make much difference, but a whole lot on the outside -made lots, and the bags made more, beside keeping the cotton on. Now go -on talkin' all you like; I'm goin' to read." - -"She shan't wear those dreadful things," exclaimed Fenie, untying the -bags, despite Trixy's remonstrances. "She shan't keep cotton in her -ears, either. The idea of the darling little thing being----" - -"Let her have her way a little while," said Trif. "It will amuse her, -without harming any one else. Besides, you may accidentally mention -Harry Trewman in the course of the afternoon, and----" - -There must have been a note of sarcasm in Trif's voice, for Fenie -retorted sharply: - -"Tryphosa, this is your house, and if you dislike that young man so -much that you object to the child hearing the sound of his name, why -I----" - -"Fenie! Fenie, dear!" interrupted Trif, scarcely able to control her -voice and not daring to lift her eyes from the work which she had -resumed. "Whatever you like to talk about, you know I like to hear -about. Aren't you my only sister, and my----" - -"I didn't suppose that I talked much about Harry Trewman," said Fenie, -making a pretense of sewing industriously. - -"You mean nothing but what is entirely right, dear girl." - -"Then why do you object to that innocent child hearing what I say? I'm -sure that I say nothing which any one might not listen to--do I?" - -"Certainly not; still, don't you remember what happened a night or two -ago, dear, through a certain child hearing something and repeating it?" - -"Yes, but--" here Fenie looked cautiously toward Trixy, who was -reading, with an air of utter absorption--"but I'm not likely to speak -so foolishly again. Trif, do let me take the cotton from that child's -ears. It is making her uncomfortable. See. She is rubbing one of her -ears now." - -"She is sensible enough to complain when it really hurts. You don't -imagine that her mother will let her suffer, do you?" - -"No, but--well as I was saying, I don't really talk much about Harry -Trewman, do I?" - -Trif looked up so intently and roguishly that Fenie blushed deeply, and -the blush remained while Trif said softly: - -"Really, dear, you don't talk much about anything else." - -"I don't see how you can say that," replied Fenie with uncertain voice, -"when you know that I don't care anything--or not much, for him or -about him. I don't suppose I would have spoken his name a single time -this week if he hadn't come here last week, and if Trixy hadn't made -that dreadful blunder. You certainly don't think me in love with him, I -hope?" - -"I hope not, dear. There are many gradations of feeling that a true -woman must go through before she can say honestly that she is in love. -But you--well, you like him a little better than you like any other of -your admirers, don't you?" - -"Ye--es, I suppose I do," replied Fenie, her voice not entirely under -control. "He is gentlemanly, and honest-looking, and never brings the -odor of liquor or tobacco with him. He doesn't make silly attempts at -flattery, and he talks a great deal about his sisters, who are very -nice girls, and he knows when to go home, instead of dawdling here -until midnight, and we like the same books and pictures, so----" - -"And so he is a pleasant acquaintance to have--too pleasant to lose -entirely?" - -"Yes, indeed, and if it hadn't been for that dreadful child--there, -Trif, she's rubbing that ear again. I'm sure she's in pain. Do let me -remove that ridiculous cotton." - -"Tut, tut. Go on. You were saying----" - -"Oh, what was I saying? What were we talking about?" asked Fenie, with -charming but entirely transparent hypocrisy. "Oh, I was merely going -to say that if Trixy hadn't made that dreadful speech to him the other -night, I wouldn't have missed one delightful party--perhaps two, to -which he and his oldest sister would have taken me." - -"Oh, I see. 'Tis only the parties that trouble you." - -"Tryphosa," exclaimed Fenie indignantly, as she arose from her chair, -"I think you're real unkind--real tormenting. First you make fun of -me for talking a lot about him, and then you make me talk about him a -great deal more. I wasn't going to say a word about him this afternoon, -but you've kept me at it in spite of myself. Perhaps you don't want me -to like him. Well, I shan't oblige you. I do like him. I'm not a bit -in love with him, but I do like him ever so much, and I'm not a bit -ashamed to say so. There!" - -"Bravo!" exclaimed Trif, springing from her chair and throwing her arms -about her sister. "I'm glad that at last you know your own mind. Now -stop acting like a child, and be the woman you have the right to be. -I'm proud of you, my darling sister--proud of your honesty and spirit. -But--why, my dear girl, what is the matter?" - -"Harry's been driven away from here," sobbed Fenie, "and I'm dreadful -unhappy about it, and I want him to come back." - -"Hurrah," sounded a high childish treble. The sisters looked in the -direction of the sound, and there stood Trixy, with glowing cheeks and -dancing eyes as she continued: - -"I want him to come back, too, for he promised to bring me a doll." - -"Trixy," exclaimed Fenie severely. Trixy understood at once and looked -guilty, but she explained: - -"One of the cottons dropped out, and I didn't know a thing about it -till you boo-hoo'd." - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -UNAPPRECIATED. - - -"Phil," said Trif from her pillow one morning very early, "are you -awake?" - -Phil half wished he wasn't, for he was just sinking into the morning's -final doze, but loyalty compelled him to admit that he was not asleep. - -"I'm so glad," responded Trif, "for I've thought out a plan for making -matters right once more between Fenie and Harry." - -"So have I, my dear, so between us we'll be sure to succeed. Now let's -drop asleep again; if we talk much we'll get Trixy awake far too long -before breakfast, which won't be good for her." - -"There's no danger. The dear little thing sleeps soundly nowadays. What -is your plan?" - -"'Tis simply to invite him and his sister Kate to dinner." - -"How stupid! You don't suppose he'll come after what he heard the last -time he was here?" - -"Won't come? Why not?" - -"Because he was rudely driven away." - -"Nonsense! Did you ever drive flies from sugar or sweetmeats? Didn't -they return as soon as they saw a ghost of a chance?" - -"I don't think the comparison is complimentary, either to my sister or -to Harry." - -"Why not? Fenie is the sweetest creature that I know of, except you, -and if Harry can or will keep away from her he's not half the man I -take him to be." - -"But he certainly has some self-respect?" - -"Yes, far too much to be discouraged by a single rebuff. Do you suppose -I'd have lost you through any such reason as you think is keeping him -away at present? I suppose he may be feeling dismal, poor fellow, but -at the same time he's learning how much he cares for Fenie, which isn't -a bad sort of knowledge for a young man to have. As to Fenie----" - -"Sh--h--! I didn't mean to tell you about her, for the secret is hers, -not mine, and----" - -"But you couldn't keep anything from your husband, oh? Well, this heart -is a safe place to come to with confidences." - -"Phil, dear. Do be serious a moment!" - -"I never was more serious in my life, my dear. Haven't I just ruined -the last nap to which I was entitled? As to the young people, we'll -have Harry and his sister to dinner as soon as you like. The sister -will come, because she likes your dinners, your sister and you; Harry -will come rather than explain to his sister. He and Fenie will feel -so uncomfortable at first that they will be unusually affable to each -other, and within half an hour they will be far better friends than -ever before. Don't you see?" - -"Upon my word," exclaimed Trif, with an impulsive kiss, "you're a born -match-maker." - -"Pshaw," exclaimed Phil, pretending not to be delighted with the -compliment, "I'm merely a common-sense judge of human nature. If you'll -only keep your irrepressible baby from hearing things in the meantime, -and saying them to the wrong people, everything will go well." - -"I'm sure I can't imagine how she can make any trouble. I'm sure that -Fenie has given her cautions enough during the last week, to make the -child afraid to say a word about anything to anyone who shouldn't -hear it. At least once an hour, all day long, it has been 'Trixy, -don't'--and 'Trixy, don't'--and----" - -"Don't what, mamma?" drawled a gentle voice from a crib near the bed. - -"Nothing, dear. Go to sleep again." The remaining conversation between -husband and wife was conducted in soft whispers. - -Several hours later Harry Trewman's sister Kate dropped in, "just for -a moment." Kate was a wide-awake young woman, several years Fenie's -senior. She had seen that something was troubling her brother, and -it took very little time for her to determine that Fenie was the -something. In Kate's opinion Harry, although little more than a year -younger than she, was a mere boy who needed sisterly management, and -Kate was not the woman to shirk any family duty. - -Trif and Fenie chanced to be out shopping, and Kate was departing when -Trixy came through the hall with some doll's garments which had just -been laundered. Each looked at the other inquiringly, and Trixy said: - -"Did you bring it?" - -"Bring what, Trixy?" - -"Why, the doll your brother Harry promised me. I thought maybe he sent -it by you, seeing he doesn't come here any more." - -"Doesn't come here any more?" - -"No. Didn't he tell you?" - -Kate hesitated a moment before answering. To extract information from a -child or a servant seemed to her a very mean act--when other women did -it. On the other hand, she owed loyal service to her brother, who was -utterly incapable of managing his own affairs, so far as young women -were concerned. Besides, Kate was sure that she was simply dying of -curiosity, so she choked her sense of propriety and replied: - -"I don't know until you make me fully understand what you are talking -about." - -"Why," said Trixy, opening her eyes very wide, "he learned a lesson -here, and I taught it to him, though Aunt Fee said his sisters ought -to have done it. 'Twas that young men oughtn't to go calling stormy -evenings when young ladies don't expect company and put on their nicest -dresses. He was going to give me a doll for teachin' him the lesson, -but he hasn't sent it yet, and I've been hopin' for it ev'ry day, and -thinkin' he'd bring it, but Aunt Fee says he won't come here any more, -and she cried a whole lot about it the other day, and----. Why, don't -you know it ain't polite to go away while somebody's talking to you? -I'm 'stonished." - -Kate had moved abruptly toward the door; she had learned all she wanted -to know, and she was feeling very uncomfortable with the information -which followed, so she said: - -"Excuse me, Trixy, but I'm afraid you're telling me more than you -should. Little girls shouldn't repeat all they hear; haven't your -parents ever told you so?" - -"Oh, yes," assented Trixy cheerfully; "they was dreadfully worried for -fear I'd say something to the wrong people. The idea of it!" Trixy -found the idea so funny that she laughed heartily; Kate at the same -time wished she had not entered the house. She thought rapidly and said: - -"Trixy dear, let's have a nice little secret between you and me. Don't -say anything to anyone about our chat this morning, or that I've been -here, until I say you may, and I will give you two dolls--half a dozen -dolls, if you like, and then we'll both together tell the whole story -to your mama and your Aunt Fenie, and have a great joke about it." - -"Oh, good, good, good!" exclaimed Trixy, trying to climb up to Kate's -face to kiss it, for Trixy was a grateful little thing, and dearly -loved a joke and a secret, probably because she couldn't possibly keep -either of them. She bestowed her kiss, with several others to keep it -company, and Miss Trewman left the house just in time to meet Trif and -Fenie about a hundred steps away. She passed them briskly, although -with a cheery "Good morning," but in a moment she asked herself: - -"I wonder if they'll suspect? Thank goodness, I didn't leave my card." - -"Oh, Trif!" said Fenie. "She looked as if she had been at our house. I -do hope she didn't meet Trixy." - -"Fenie!" exclaimed Trif indignantly, although she had been impressed by -the same hope, or fear, "don't act like an insane person. The entire -world doesn't revolve about you and Harry Trewman." - -Fenie was suppressed for the moment, but when she entered the house and -saw Trixy capering ecstatically through the parlor, and singing shrilly: - - Half a dozen dolls; - Half a dozen dolls; - Half a dozen, - Half a dozen, - Half a dozen dolls. - -she exclaimed: - -"Trixy, has any one been here?" - -"I can't tell you, 'cause it's a secret. Say, Aunt Fee, ain't the -Trewmans awful rich? I should think they must be, if one of them can -give away six dolls at a time." - -"Oh, Trif!" exclaimed Fenie, posing like a tragedy queen, "'twas just -as I feared." - -"Trixy," said Trif gently as she seated herself and drew the child to -her side, "when Miss Trewman was here, did----" - -"Why, has she let out the secret already? Dear me! Some grown folks are -leaky, as well as little girls, aren't they?" - -"She told me nothing," replied Trif, "so I want you to tell me what you -said to her." - -"But, mamma dear, I can't, 'cause it's a secret and both of us are to -tell it to you together." - -"When?" asked Fenie in a tone that made the child tremble as she -replied: - -"I don't know, but I hope awful soon, 'cause then she's goin' to give -me--oh, I almost told." - -"Almost told what?" Fenie demanded. "Don't you know that little girls -have no right to keep things secret from their mothers?" - -Trixy looked up pitifully. Fenie's face, which as long as Trixy could -remember, had been full of smiles and dimples, was now stern and -commanding. Trixy's eyes filled with tears, but Fenie's face remained -stern and unrelenting. - -"You don't want me to tell lies, I hope, and be burned a whole lot -after I die?" sobbed the child. - -"I'd almost rather you'd tell lies than repeat some things which you -think are true." - -"Fenie!" exclaimed Trif. Then it was Fenie's turn to cry. Trif banished -her with a look, and then began to question the child; but just outside -the door stood a young woman with the air of a person determined to -hear whatever was said, no matter how true might be the old saying that -listeners never hear any good of themselves. - -"You may keep your secret, dear, or what is left of it," said Trif, -taking Trixy upon her knee. "Mamma knows that Miss Trewman was here, -but you did not tell her, so don't feel bad about it. I hope, though, -that you didn't forget all that's been said to you about talking about -family affairs to persons whom they don't concern." - -"Why, mamma dear, I wouldn't do such a dreadful thing. But Miss -Trewman's brother wasn't a thing that didn't concern her, was he?" - -Fenie, outside the door, wiped her eyes and wrung her hands as Trif -replied: - -"That depends upon what you said about him." - -"Why, I only said he didn't come here no more, and I was awful sorry, -'cause he promised me a doll, and I've been waitin' for it awful hard. -And it wasn't wrong, was it, to say that Aunt Fee was awful sorry too, -and cried a whole lot about it? You know the Trewman girls like Aunt -Fee, ever so much." - -There was a pronounced rustle in the hall, and Trif and Trixy hurried -out just in time to see a sobbing girl hurrying up the stair. They -followed her, but Fenie dashed into her own room, slammed the door, and -shot the bolt with much unnecessary noise. She paid no attention to -many knocks and gentle calls by her sister, so finally Trif sat down -upon the top stair, placed her elbows on her knees and her face in her -hands, and looked so unhappy that Trixy cuddled to her side and kissed -and caressed her. The child got no response, but a sad look which was -so reproachful and prolonged that Trixy herself burst into tears and -exclaimed: - -"Oh, dear! I wish I hadn't ever come down from heaven, or done -anythin', or anythin', or anythin'." - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -IN CHARGE OF EACH OTHER. - - -Harry Trewman and his sister were invited to dine with the Highwoods, -although Fenie declared that after what had been said to them, neither -of them would think for an instant of coming. For herself, she was sure -that she couldn't and wouldn't face them for all the world, and that -she never wanted to see either of them again. Should they accept the -invitation, Fenie declared that she would excuse herself with the sick -headache, which she certainly would have on the occasion. - -When, however, the Trewmans did decline, on the plea of a previous -engagement, Fenie was so inconsistent as to declare that she was the -most miserable person alive, and that she wished she was dead. - -Then every one in the house, from the master down to the single -servant, became wretched, for Fenie had always been a cheerful -creature, romping with Trixy as if she herself was not more than seven -years old, singing merrily throughout the day, and working harder than -any hireling when there was work to be done. - -Trif talked sensibly to the girl; Phil joked with her, but Trixy -remained almost as silent as a mute, and looked as if she were -laboring under a heavy load of remorse and contrition. Even her -father's boisterous play, of which she was as fond as if she were a -boy, was treated as if it was far too good for her, and as if she had -no right to enjoy it. Then Phil began to worry. - -"Trif," said he, "you must reason that child out of her remorse, or -you'll have an invalid on your hands." - -"I hope and pray that I may not, for I already have one invalid. I'm -seriously frightened about Fenie. The only fault I've ever had to find -with her was that she never would take things seriously, no matter how -important they were, but now--oh, it seems as if all the seriousness -of the Wardlow blood was concentrated in her, and all on account of -the innocent blundering of that darling child. I know the affair is -shattering her health, and sometimes I fear it is injuring her reason." - -"Nonsense! Give her a change of some kind, and she'll recover quickly. -At present she doesn't love that fellow, although I suppose she thinks -she does--girls as young as she are very likely to mistake mere -interest in a man for something more serious. Take her, and Trixy, on a -little trip somewhere--run down to Florida and back. This is just the -season for such a trip." - -"Philip Highwood! You talk as if we were made of money. We haven't a -fortune." - -"But we have, my dear; we have two fortunes. Fenie is one and Trixy is -the other, and I don't intend to lose either, if I can help it." - -"A trip to Florida may cost all we've saved." - -"What does that matter, if it saves Fenie and Trixy for us?" - -Phil had his way in the end, for the good and sufficient reason that -he and Trif loved each other so well that it took but a few moments' -talk to make the way of one the way of both, no matter who devised it. -The Florida trip cost Phil some pangs, for he had intended to start a -country home in the spring--a modest one, but everything costs money in -this practical world of ours. He did not look forward with pleasure, -either, to being separated from his wife and child for a fortnight -or more, for they had seldom been apart more than a single day; -nevertheless, he kept all these things to himself, although he did much -thinking about them. - -As to the travelers, Trif assured Fenie, in entire honesty, that Phil -was dreadfully troubled about Trixy's health, upon which Fenie made -haste to show that she really could think of more than one thing at a -time. - -Trixy was informed, with equal care, but far more detail, that her Aunt -Fee was quite ill, but that not a word was to be said about it in any -circumstances, even to Aunt Fee herself. - -"I know all about it," said the child, her eyes filling with tears, -"and I was the dreadful little girl that made her sick. I thought lots -about it, and prayed lots about it, and cried whole pillows-ful about -it, but it hasn't done any good." - -"Now is the time to do a lot of good, dear; you can mend your ways by -trying to help mend Aunt Fee." - -So it was arranged that Trixy should regard herself as her Aunt Fee's -one special nurse during the Southern trip, and that Trif should be -physician, to be consulted whenever necessary, although the best -medicine, for the invalid, Trif declared, would be some of Trixy's chat -and play. - -"The best medicine she could have would be a long look at Harry -Trewman's face," added Phil, as the child left the room. "If she----" - -"I just came back, mamma," said Trixy, returning suddenly, "to tell -papa that if Miss Trewman brings around them--I mean those--half a -dozen dolls, that he'll express 'em to me, won't he? 'Cause I've -told all my other dolls about it, and they look disappointeder and -disappointeder every mornin' when they wake up. And papa'll send me -any letters that come for me, won't he?" Then Trixy danced away again, -while her father remarked: - -"If that child's imagination keeps in growth with her body, there'll be -a woman novelist in the family in the course of time." - -Trif and Trixy and Fenie started for Florida by easy stages, Phil -having told his wife that two or three stops could be made at places -where a sorrowful girl of temperament naturally lively might have her -thoughts diverted in spite of any determination to the contrary. - -The first stop was at Old Point Comfort, which most young women who -have been there prefer to call Fortress Monroe, for the largest fort -in the United States is there, and within it are always thirty or -forty officers, who, whether young or old, make delightful company of -themselves, during their brief moments off duty, for all charming women -at the enormous hotel which, with the fort, contains almost the entire -population of Old Point Comfort. For the rest, there is little there -but water and air--but such water and air! At one side of the fort is -the James River, several miles wide, at the other side is Chesapeake -Bay, so wide that one cannot see the other shore, while in front -Hampton Roads extends ten miles away, to the outskirts of the ancient -and picturesque city of Norfolk. - -Fenie conscientiously intended to be unhappy, no matter where she might -be, no matter how much attention she might give to Trixy. Besides, the -party arrived at the Point about sunrise in early April, when scarcely -any one was stirring, and the outside of a great hotel is not an -inspiriting object to contemplate when there is no human being visible -to relieve it. - -Trixy, however, had not determined to be anything dreadful, so she was -no sooner ashore and feeling the gentle sea breeze upon her cheeks and -in her lungs, than she began running to and fro on the beach in front -of the hotel, and tossing pebbles at Fenie, and even dropping a small -pebble between Fenie's collar and neck, and Fenie called her a dreadful -little wretch and began to chase her, for there was no one by to see, -except Trif, who made no objection. The sea air had been stimulating -Fenie, too, and before she had thought it possible to do anything -inconsistent with sentimental dismalness she had acquired rosy cheeks, -bright eyes, and an earnest longing for breakfast. As for Trif, she -sought the telegraph office to wire her husband: - -"Both invalids already much better." - -After breakfast Trif chanced to meet an old acquaintance on the piazza. -Fenie, by a violent effort, regained her sadness and declined to meet -any one. As Phil had said that ladies and children could safely go -about unattended at Old Point, Trif begged Trixy to take her Aunt Fee a -long walk on the beach, and to play as freely as she liked. Then Trif -begged Fenie to keep dear Trixy out of doors, under the mild sun and in -the invigorating air, and Fenie was glad of an excuse to get away from -other people, so the couple strolled along the beach, in the direction -of the lighthouse and the water battery, enjoying the strangeness of -everything they saw. - -"What's that bird-cage on top of that funny little straight up-and-down -house for?" asked Trixy, pointing to the lighthouse. - -"That's not a bird-cage, dear. That is the light that the Government -puts in its window here, to show the sailors the way home. It burns -very brightly, and all night long." - -"Dear me! What a big gas bill the Government must have to pay! Say, -Aunt Fee, what's that big black thing on the grass, on the top of the -wall of the fort?" - -"That's a cannon." - -"What is it for?" - -"Oh, to kill bad people with." - -"Gracious! Is there such lots of bad people down here as that? Papa -said the place was so nice and safe." - -"It is safe enough, dear, for us. The bad people that are shot with -cannons come here from other countries." - -"When do they come?" - -"Oh, don't ask me," said Fenie, who was trying to keep from not keeping -miserable, but was not succeeding very well. - -"Who shall I ask?" - -"Oh, one of the soldiers, I suppose." - -Fenie sat upon a rock which formed part of a little breakwater, looked -out to sea, and took a pensive attitude, while Trixy stood and stared -at the cannon, and wondered, and wished she knew more about the killing -of bad people by artillery. - -Just then Lieutenant Bruce Jermyn, of the artillery service, came from -the flank of the water battery and walked toward the hotel. He was no -pink-faced, slender youth, like lieutenants in most military novels, -but a handsome, stout, manly-looking fellow of about thirty-five years, -like hundreds of other lieutenants of our army in time of peace. Trixy -saw him, hurried to him, and said: - -"Mr. Soldier, will you please tell me when you're going to kill some -bad people with the cannon?" - -"Eh?" said Jermyn, taking his cigar from his lips and raising his cap. -"Oh, not until they come here and insist upon being killed, I suppose." - -"Why? Do they insist upon bein' killed, and come here to have you do it -for them?" - -"Um--er--well, we like to be ready, in case they should come, although -we hope they'll stay away. I beg your pardon, but will you tell me your -name? You look very like some one whom I used to know." - -"My name's Trixy Highwood, and that's Aunt Fee, sittin' on the rocks -there, and----" - -"And her last name is?----" - -"Wardlow." - -"Well, well." The officer did not sigh, but he looked reminiscent; then -he took both of Trixy's hands, looked intently into the child's face, -and said: - -"I knew your mother about ten years ago." - -"Oh, Aunt Fee." shouted Trixy. "Come here--quick! Here's one of mamma's -friends." - -The awakening was somewhat rude, but when Fenie turned her head and saw -an officer approaching, with Trixy, she at once became a curious yet -dignified young woman. She arose and met the couple, as Jermyn saluted -and said: - -"The child is to blame for this interruption, Miss Wardlow. I -recognized her by her resemblance to her mother, whom I hope you may -have heard speak of me. My name is Jermyn. My battery was stationed in -New York Harbor a few years ago." - -"Indeed!" exclaimed Fenie, in pleased surprise. She had heard -frequently of the young officer whom Trif had admired greatly, before -Phil Highwood had laid siege to her heart. Phil, too, had heard much -about him, and feared him, as any civilian suitor fears a rival who -wears a military uniform. Fenie had often wished she might one day -meet the man of whom she had heard so much, and now she was face to -face with him, and--really, what a fine-looking fellow he was! - -"What's inside of them--the cannons?" asked Trixy. - -"Nothing more dangerous than air," the officer replied. - -"Children are so idiotically curious," said Fenie. - -"Oh, merely naturally so. Mayn't I show your niece one of the -guns?--and won't you accompany us? 'Tis but a step or two to the water -battery. By the way, I hope that Mr. and Mrs. Highwood are here?" - -"My sister is," Fenie replied. "We came down here hastily--indeed, we -are on our way to Florida, for their dear child's health." - -"I must do myself the honor of calling at once." - -"Won't you wait," said Trixy appealingly, "until you show me the -bad-people-killers?" - -"Surely," replied Jermyn, "if afterward you will guide me to your -mother." - -The visit to the guns was prolonged to include a tour of the fort, -about which Fenie was wildly curious, for she had never been inside -of a fort, as her sister had in the days to which Jermyn had alluded, -and she and Trif were such inseparable companions that she wished to -know of everything that Trif knew. Jermyn proved to be capital company; -besides, was he not a one-time admirer of Fenie's sister? Fenie felt -entirely at ease with him, and she was delighted with the strangeness -of everything she saw, so soon she was chatting as freely and cheerily -as if she had never known a trouble. - -Later in the morning Trif, seated on the piazza near the beach, was -astonished to see her sister approaching with an army officer, with -whom she seemed to be well acquainted. Soldiers looked very much alike -to Trif; besides, she was so delighted at the sudden improvement in -Fenie's appearance that she did not recognize Jermyn until her sister, -with a roguish look, said: - -"Trif, I'm astonished! Should auld acquaintance be forgot?" - -"Mrs. Highwood!" - -"Oh, Mr. Jermyn!" - -Neither blushed, although Fenie had hoped they would. As for Trixy, -who had not had much opportunity to talk during the walk through the -fort, she looked intently at her invalid charge, her dear Aunt Fee. -The instant there was a lull in the conversation, Trixy could not help -saying: - -"Mamma, seems to me that somethin's made Aunt Fee look awful weller all -at once; don't you think so?" - -Then the blushes, for which Fenie had looked in her sister's cheeks, -hurried into her own, and refused to depart. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -A SURPRISE. - - -"HERE'S a letter for you, Harry," said Kate Trewman one morning as her -brother came to the breakfast table, "and from the penmanship of the -address I should imagine it to be from a washerwoman or a newsboy." - -Harry looked solemnly at the address--he had looked solemnly at -everything for several days, but when he saw the signature he started, -a motion which did not escape the observant eye of his sister, who -exclaimed: - -"Do tell me what has happened! You look like an actor in a play with a -great letter-scene in it." - -Harry did not reply, for he was trying to read the letter, the writer -of which could read, he knew, but seemed not to have learned to write, -or even to spell, for the letter ran as follows: - - "Dere Mister Trumen: I wunt to git yure pikcher an if yu giv it tu me - yu needunt giv me that dolle tho I want the dolle lots an them yure - sistur wus goin to gimme. Plese send me the pikcher rite away cause - I'm goin a travelen. Youres trule - - TRIXY HIGHWOOD." - - -"Do tell me what it is!" exclaimed Kate. - -"'Tis a dead secret--or a mystery," Harry replied, with an -absent-minded manner and a far-away look. Then he re-read the letter -and laughed, at which Kate said: - -"Thank goodness! Evidently it isn't a tragedy!" - -"No, although there may be some elements of a drama in it." - -"Do let me see the letter." - -"Not now, dear girl. It is on a matter which I think should be regarded -as strictly confidential." - -Nevertheless Kate saw the letter before the day was done, and she did a -lot of thinking about it. Then she drew her brother into the parlor and -said abruptly: - -"I've thought it all out. Fenie Wardlow hasn't a picture of you, has -she?" - -"Kate!" exclaimed Harry severely. "Do you imagine me to be conceited -enough to present my portrait to young women in general?" - -"Tut, tut! You know very well that Fenie Wardlow isn't classed in your -mind among young women in general. She's the one and particular woman -of all the world, to you. Answer my question; has she your picture?" - -"No. Now are you satisfied?" - -"Not entirely. Still, I'm sure she wants it. That child never wrote you -of her own accord, to ask for your picture." - -"Kate! Will you kindly remember that Miss Wardlow is a lady? I'm -surprised that you should make such an insinuation." - -"I've insinuated nothing, but there is something behind Trixy's letter. -She's a very longheaded child, and the family adores her, and she is -always with Trif and Fenie, and hears everything they say, so----" - -"Do you really think that Miss Wardlow herself wanted a picture of me?" -interrupted Harry. - -"That is exactly what I do think. Oh, Harry! I didn't suppose a man -could blush so splendidly! There, there--don't be ashamed of it; 'tis -wonderfully becoming, and----" - -Kate was an affectionate sister, so she stopped long enough to throw -her arms about her brother and kiss him soundly. Then she continued: - -"Send a picture to the child at once--and do send that doll also. I'd -send with it the lot that I promised, if I wasn't afraid that the -family would ask questions, and I would be dreadfully mortified if they -were to learn that I questioned Trixy closely on a certain subject -several days ago. I wish I knew what the child means by saying that -she's going travelling. I wonder if--oh, well, I'll make some calls -elsewhere, and find out all about it." - -Meanwhile Trif, Trixy and Fenie were postponing their further -journeying southward. Old Point Comfort is a hard place to leave; one -finds old friends, learns that new ones are coming; so the days slip -by delightfully. The air seemed to be doing wonders for both Fenie and -Trixy, and Trif was enjoying herself as a clever young woman always -can where good company abounds, and she can give her entire time to -it. Besides, Lieutenant Jermyn assured her that the season was so far -advanced that she would find Florida uncomfortably hot. - -Jermyn had also put Trif entirely at ease by not showing a bit of -sentimentality over the woman he had loved and lost. He was so entirely -himself in her presence that she imagined him happily married, although -she did not like to question him on the subject. He was quite attentive -to Fenie, too, and made haste to introduce several brother officers, -who made themselves interesting, so Fenie seldom was without the -attendance of some man in uniform. Her admirers were not all young, -either, for admiration of womanhood appears to be one of the original -elements of the military nature, so several elderly officers frequently -sought the society of Fenie and her sister, and as Fenie was the -younger, and unmarried, she innocently took all the admiration to -herself. Finally, when a retired admiral, himself as young at heart and -engaging in conversation as any of his juniors, paid special attention -to Fenie, that young woman became so exuberant of cheerfulness that she -read herself a severe lecture, almost at midnight, when there was no -one else for her to talk to. - -How dreadfully she was neglecting Trixy, too! She had promised to watch -the child carefully, yet Trixy ran at will upon the beach, and buried -herself in sand, and several times a day she ventured close enough -to the water to wet her feet, and Fenie was always going to keep her -from doing so again, but Trif was the only one who did it. Fenie told -herself that she was becoming a dreadfully selfish girl, but really she -never seemed to find time to do anything that ought to be done. - -Trixy did such dreadful things, too. She had learned the names of -all the colored men who brought sail-boats to the hotel pier when -the water was smooth and the breeze gentle. She seemed fascinated by -the picturesque raggedness of the few colored people who lounged in -the single street of the little village. She had no hesitation about -introducing herself to any one who spoke to Trif or Fenie, she talked -almost as much as if she were at home; and what mightn't she say if the -impulse came to her? Trif was begged to caution the child, that there -was nothing to tell; then to make assurance doubly sure, Fenie herself -cautioned her. - -"I don't tell nobody nothin', Aunt Fee," protested Trixy. "Really and -truly, I don't. I only told Lieutenant Jermyn and a lot of them that -you was awful sick, and that was why we came down here." - -"I sick? You dreadful child! Don't you know that it was on account of -your own bad health that we came?" - -"Oh, Aunt Fee! You're awful mistaken--indeed you are. You must have got -us mixed up some way, 'cause papa and mamma said 'twas you that was -sick. I just came along to take care of you, and I've been doin' it -with all my might." - -"Indeed! And what was the matter with me, I wonder?" - -"Why--y--y!" exclaimed the child, opening her eyes very wide. "Do you -forget things as easy as that? Mamma said you'd go crazy if you didn't -stop thinkin' about Harry Trewman, and papa said the best medicine for -you would be a trip off to somewhere--the best, except one thing." - -"Except what thing?" - -"Oh, nothin'." - -"Don't say that. Tell me the truth at once." - -"I can't, else I'll spoil a s'prise." - -"What surprise?" - -"I mustn't tell, else there won't be no s'prise." - -"Oh, Trixy! Surprises are such stupid things! People usually find out -all about them before they occur." - -"Nobody'll find out this one, I guess, unless Harry--say, Aunt Fee, -whereabouts is the post-office here?" - -"All letters come to the hotel. What were you going to say about Harry? -Harry who?" - -"Why, don't you know? Then I can't tell, 'cause that's part of the -s'prise." - -"Trixy, tell me this instant!" - -Trixy looked troubled for a moment; then she dashed out of the room, -and Fenie, who had been dressing while she talked, could not follow. -Trixy found her mother, who handed her a letter of such size that the -retired Admiral, who was chatting with Trif, remarked: - -"How large a letter for so small a lady to receive. I hope, Miss Trixy, -that you haven't a love affair on your mind?" - -"No, indeed, sir. Other folk's love affairs are enough for me to attend -to." Then the child slipped away, while Trif continued to wonder from -whom had come the letter which Phil had forwarded, and which appeared -to contain a large photograph. - -Trixy retired to the hotel, opened her letter, and found, as she had -expected, a picture of Harry Trewman. There was some writing on the -back of the card, and Trixy wished she knew what it was, but all -chirography was as undecipherable to her as Hebrew; her own letters -were written in imitation of print. She roamed about the corridors in -search of some acquaintance whose education was broader than her own, -and finally she chanced upon Lieutenant Jermyn, who had been visiting -an invalid friend. - -"Say, Mr. Jermyn, you can read writin', can't you?" - -"Sometimes, Trixy, sometimes." - -"Then won't you tell me what's on the back of this picture?" - -Jermyn read aloud: "My dear little girl, I am very fond of you, and I -shall be glad to have you carry my picture on your journey with you, -so that I may be brought to your mind once in awhile. Yours sincerely, -HARRY TREWMAN." - -"Oh, I'm so glad he sent it!" exclaimed Trixy. Jermyn smiled and -replied: - -"Upon my word, Miss Trixy, you're beginning quite early to be -interested in young men." - -"You're the second person who's made that mistake," Trixy replied. "The -picture isn't for me; it's for Aunt Fee." - -"Indeed!" Jermyn looked grave a moment or two before he continued, -"Wouldn't it be better, then, for you not to show it to people in -general?" - -"Oh, I'm not going to. I only wanted to know what the writin' was -about." - -"Suppose you put it into the envelope," suggested Jermyn, "and take it -to your aunt's room." - -"Just what I was goin' to do," said Trixy. "Isn't it funny that both of -us thought of the same thing?" - -Jermyn admitted that it was, although he was oppressively silent as he -walked through the hall--he who had always told Trixy some funny story -when he met her. - -Fenie had learned to like Jermyn greatly during their short -acquaintance, but on the evening that followed the picture incident he -surpassed himself in deference, humor and brilliancy. Fenie did not -wonder that Trif had always remembered him pleasantly. She did wish he -was not quite so old; a man of thirty-five seems dreadfully ancient -to a girl of twenty. Still, soldiers were splendid anyway. Of course, -he did not care particularly for her, for he had never seen her until -that week, but there was something in his voice and manner on this -particular evening that affected her strangely. Could it be that he was -falling in love with her? If so, she--she really ought to feel sorry. - -But was she? She could scarcely believe so; she would examine her mind -seriously when the evening ended; perhaps she would speak to Trif about -it. There was nothing between her and Harry Trewman--she could honestly -say that, and perhaps--perhaps she had acted very foolishly about that -young man. Harry was a fine fellow, as young men go, but how plain he -appeared, to her mind's eye, beside the handsome soldier who scarcely -left her side that evening! - -By the time the evening ended the young woman had a head full of -pleasing fancies marred only by a weak compunction of conscience. She -sat in Trif's room a few minutes, chatting with her sister about people -whom they had met during the day, and admiring Trixy, who was always a -charming picture when asleep. Then she passed into her own room; in a -moment Trif heard a sharp exclamation, and Fenie stood in the doorway -between the rooms, gasping: - -"What is the meaning of this?" - -"Of what? Oh, my sister, you're looking like a ghost!" - -"I feel as if I had seen one. Why did you do it? What have I done -to----" - -"Tryphena Wardlow, what are you talking about?" asked Trif, approaching -the girl. "Do say something intelligible, if you can, and stop acting." - -For answer, Fenie took her sister's hand and led the way to the mirror, -between the glass and frame of which was a photograph of Harry Trewman. - -"In the name of all that's mysterious," exclaimed Trif, "where did it -come from?" - -"Where, indeed! Didn't you place it there, to--to----" - -"I give you my word that I never saw it, or knew of its existence, -until this instant." - -"Oh, this is dreadful," exclaimed Fenie, sinking into a chair. "There's -some mystery about it. Who can be here who knows anything about--about -what had happened? Who has been able to get into our room without our -knowledge? I shan't dare to fall asleep. I shan't----" - -"Do stop being dramatic, Fee, and try to be sensible. The picture -didn't sneak in through the keyhole, nor did invisible hands bring it, -although I confess that for the moment I'm mystified. Oh, I have it! -Mark my words, Trixy knows something about that picture." - -In an instant Fenie was in the adjoining room and shaking Trixy. The -child was sleeping as soundly as ocean air and the lullaby of gentle -surf can make children sleep, but Fenie persevered. - -"Picture?--in your lookin' glass?" the child drawled. "Oh, yes; I put -it there. That was the s'prise--that I wouldn't--tell you all about. -Did it s'prise you--lots?" - -"Yes--yes. But how did you get it?" - -Trixy was falling asleep again, and her mother insisted that further -explanation should be deferred until morning. As Fenie took the picture -from the mirror she saw the inscription and read it. Then Bruce Jermyn -went out of her mind and a joyous feeling took his place. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -ALL BY CHANCE. - - -"I've found out all about them," said Kate Trewman to her brother, a -day or two after Trif, Trixy and Fenie had gone South. "They've gone to -Florida, for Trixy's health." - -"Who have gone to Florida?" asked Harry, trying to appear indifferent. - -"Whom do you suppose I mean? Mrs. Highwood, and Trixy, and Fenie. That -child is the apple of their eye. Still, I'm inclined to think that -Fenie herself wanted to get away for a while. I'm sure if I'd been in -her place I'd have wanted to, had I known that certain other people -knew certain things." - -"What people? What things?" - -"Oh, don't be silly." - -"Well, my dear, I've been thinking of going South myself--oh, no; not -to Florida. Our firm have a little business at Norfolk that requires -personal attention, and they want me to attend to it. Don't you want to -go with me? Old Point Comfort is within an hour's sail of Norfolk, and -our friends, the Braymans, went down there yesterday, to remain a week, -and there's a big fort there, full of officers, who are said to work -harder and enjoy their leisure better than any other men in the United -States." - -"We go," said Kate, and go they did, the very next day. - -Meanwhile, in entire ignorance of what some of their acquaintances were -doing, Trif and Fenie found some small shopping necessary; the nearest -shopping centre to Old Point was Norfolk. So one morning to Norfolk -they went, taking Trixy with them. - -Grown people's shopping is very tiresome business to little people, so -Trixy became so uncomfortable that she begged to be allowed to rest -by standing upon the sidewalk and looking at the passers-by, and Trif -permitted it, stipulating that the child should not go further from the -store than the street at either side. - -The child soon found herself having a delightful time, and storing her -mental picture book with unfamiliar scenes, when suddenly she shouted, -"Hooray!" - -Then she dashed across the street, and with one hand pulled the frock -of Kate Trewman, while with the other she grasped Harry's sleeve. - -"Trixy Highwood! Did you drop down from the sky?" - -"I s'pose I did," said Trixy, after a moment of thought, "but that was -seven years ago. To-day, though, I dropped over here from Old Point -Comfort." - -"But how do you come to be roaming the streets of Norfolk?" asked Kate. - -"I ain't roamin'. I can't go off of this block, 'cause mamma and Aunt -Fee are in the store there, buyin' things." - -"But we thought you'd gone to Florida?" - -"Oh, we're goin' there one of these days, I s'pose, 'cause that's where -we started for; but mamma says it's hard to get away from Old Point, -because she keeps findin' old friends there." - -"Does Fenie find any?" discreetly asked Kate. - -"She doesn't need to," was the reply, "for she keeps findin' new ones -all the time. Say, army officers is real nice; don't you think so?" - -"So I've always heard," said Kate, while Harry looked so unhappy that -his sister pinched him until he complained. Just then Trif came out -of the shop, wondering whether Trixy did not need looking after; but -she lost none of her self-possession when she found herself face to -face with the Trewmans. Within five minutes Trif had made the Trewmans -promise to run over to Old Point before they returned to New York. She -begged them, also, to return with her to the shop, and surprise Fenie, -but Harry pleaded extreme haste--a matter of business, he said. - -"Still," said Kate, "we may yet surprise her if you won't allude to us -until you meet us at Old Point." - -"That will be splendid," exclaimed Trif, with glowing cheeks; for she -was thinking over the scene with Harry's picture. - -"Harry," said Kate, as soon as the party separated, "you've no reason -to worry." - -"No reason!" echoed the young man. "I think I've a lot of them. Don't -you remember what Trixy said about army officers?" - -"Oh, to be sure!" Then Kate lapsed into silence. - -"Trixy, dear," said Trif, before re-entering the shop, "I want you now -to be very, very womanly. You mustn't say a word to Aunt Fee about the -people we've just met." - -"I understand, mamma dear. Say, when's Mr. Trewman and Aunt Fee goin' -to be married?" - -"Sh--h--h! Perhaps never. Who put such an idea into your mind?" - -"Why, Bridget did--our servant, at home; but I thought of it before, -'cause they act just like the folks in the stories that you and Aunt -Fee read out loud to each other sometimes." - -Trif looked despairing--almost desperate. Her cautions must be -intensified, so she continued. - -"Remember, dear! Don't say a word about the Trewmans to Aunt Fee when -we return to the shop. Don't mention them on the boat on the way back. -Don't mention them in the hotel. Don't----" - -"Oh, mamma!" interrupted Trixy. "What an awful lot of dont's! I wish I -didn't ever see anythin', or hear anythin', or know anythin'." - -"Poor, dear little girl," said Trif caressingly. "Grown people -sometimes have 'dont's,' and have a lot of trouble with them, too." - -"Is that so?" the child asked. "Do you ever have to put cotton in your -ears, or bite your tongue?" - -"You afflicted darling," exclaimed Trif, her maternal instinct fully -aroused. Was her precious darling to be physically afflicted through -affairs in which she had no part?--suffer for other people's affairs, -for which she was not in any way responsible? No, indeed. She would -give Fenie a lecture, and at once, which would do that young woman -much good and save an innocent little girl from further torment. Fenie -should learn to hold her own tongue; it was she who did most of the -talking which poor little Trixy was obliged to hear--how could the -child help hearing it? Sisterly affection was quite right; Trif had -long tried to be sister and mother too to her pretty, darling sister, -but should a child suffer for an adult,--the weak for the strong? Not -while the weak, the child, was Trif's own, only daughter. Trixy should -have no more trouble about the affairs of other people. - -Full of this determination, Trif returned to the shop with an air so -resolute and aggressive that the clerks shrank in terror and wondered -what complaint was about to be made. She strode like a pictured goddess -to where Fenie was idly wondering which of two patterns of insertion -to buy; she turned her sister toward her and exclaimed, softly yet -tragically: - -"Tryphena, I must ask you to keep your affairs to yourself hereafter, -except at such times as you and I are alone together. This poor child -mustn't be tormented with them any longer. She----" - -"Yes," said Trixy, "I've got to bite my tongue a lot more now, 'cause I -just saw--oh, mamma, please don't pinch me so hard!" - -"What did you see, Trixy?" asked Fenie. - -"That piece of insertion you have in your hand--" said Trif quickly. -"Trixy, dear, go back to the door, if you like--that piece of -insertion, as I was saying, is just what I would get if I were you, -for--" and the remaining conversation was closely restricted to -garments, although Fenie looked somewhat indignant and curious. - -The evening chanced to be one of the most delightful that had ever -blessed Old Point. The sky was clear, the air warm yet invigorating; -the music was of the best, the guests were in the best of humor with -one another, and everything went as merrily as the traditional marriage -bell. - -Best of all, to one small person. Trixy had received permission to -remain with the older people until nine o'clock, for she had complained -that the nine o'clock gun at the fort always woke her, and Trif thought -it a shame that the dear child had to be roused from sleep in a strange -place, where she was alone, and Fenie said she was quite willing to sit -beside Trixy's bed until the dear child fell asleep, and Trif did not -dare to admit that her one consuming desire was that Fenie and Trixy -should not be alone together a single instant until---- - -So Trixy remained up and awake, and Trif had no more thought of it than -if she had been an inhabitant of another planet and without any right -or title to a little girl who sat or stood near her all the while, -as mute as a mouse, and also as observant. Bless congenial company! -What wonders has it not wrought for tired men and women? Trif had not -imagined herself tired when she started for the South, but woman's work -is never done while woman is at home. So when she finds herself so -far from it that she cannot by any possibility attend to it, yet can -drop it from her mind, how she does enjoy the chat of other good women -similarly situated! - -As to Fenie, she was the centre of a little group of officers from -the fort. Her sister was with her, and, although to some of the party -the older sister was the more interesting of the two, she who was the -younger and unmarried, assumed all the admiration was as entirely for -her as if there were no other women at Old Point. Those officers did -say such clever and delightful things! As to that, so did two or three -civilians who joined the party, but there was something about a uniform -that--oh, Fenie couldn't explain it, but she was sure that any other -girl in similar circumstances would understand exactly what she meant. - -Besides, was there not in the edge of the mirror the photograph of a -man to whom her heart was entirely loyal, although no allegiance had -ever been demanded? Others might be men, but he--he was Harry Trewman, -the only man she had ever--no, not the only man she had ever loved, for -she could not truly say, as yet, that she really loved Harry. - -Just as some one had told a very amusing story, and Fenie had laughed -heartily at it, and begun to tell a story of which the first had -reminded her, she stopped and turned pale. Her sister wondered what -was the matter, and soon learned, for, through the parlor, on the way -to one of the corridors, and preceded by a porter with bags and wraps, -came Harry Trewman and Kate. Fenie moved from the circle--moved as -if she were in a dream. She extended her hand to Harry, who took it -gravely, respectfully, for a fraction of a second, and then hurried -after his sable guide. Fenie dropped back to her chair, resumed the -story she had been telling, and completed it with such a mass of detail -that, when finally the party broke up, one of the junior officers told -a comrade that Miss Wardlow had evidently met her fate, and met him -that very evening, too. - -It was Fenie who broke up the party, for she was sure Trixy ought to be -in bed--was it not after ten o'clock? No, indeed; Trif should not take -the child to the room; hadn't she herself promised to look carefully -after the dear little invalid? - -Nevertheless, Trif herself was in the room within a few minutes. She -found Trixy in bed, and Fenie kneeling beside her, and Trixy was -talking, and Trif did not like to interrupt, because sometimes Trixy -said things so odd that her mother liked to hear without seeming to -notice. - -"Trixy, Trixy," Fenie had just said. "It is very late, and you must be -very sleepy. Don't you think you can drop off now?" - -"I--s'pose so," the child drawled, "but there was somethin' I wanted to -ask you. Let me see; what was it? Oh!" and Trixy sprang up and suddenly -became very wide awake. "Say, Aunt Fee, did lookin' at him make you -well?" - -"Looking at whom, Trixy? I'm not ill, child?" - -"Why, papa said a look at Harry Trewman's face was the best medicine -you could have." - -Fenie burst into tears, upon which Trif hurried to her, but Fenie -continued to weep, and for so long that Trif wept too, after which -Trixy sobbed pitifully. - -"Papa said it, and she's had the look, and it ain't done her no good, -for she's cryin' like ev'rythin', and I worked so hard to give it to -her, and gave up a dolly to get it, and then he came himself, and that -made her cry more than ever." - -"Oh, Trif," exclaimed Fenie. "He met me so coldly--and after what he -wrote on his picture, too! Do you suppose he was jealous of the company -he saw me in?" - -"Did Harry write you somethin' on a picture, Aunt Fee?" asked Trixy. - -"Yes, he--; but you mustn't ask questions about things that don't -concern you, Trixy." - -"Oh, I won't, but I just wanted to know----" - -"But you mustn't want to know what----" - -"But----" - -"Sh--h--!" Don't ever mention the subject to me again. Promise me, this -instant!" - -"Sister," protested Trif, "you don't yet know how that picture came to -you." - -I don't want to know anything about the picture, or him, or about----" - -"Then I shan't tell you, or ask you, or anythin'," said Trixy, with a -sob that would have softened any heart but that of a young woman who -thought she had been treated coldly by the man whom she thought she -might learn to love. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -MORE REVELATIONS. - - -When Harry Trewman reached his room he dropped into a chair and a very -dismal frame of mind, which his face reflected, for when his sister -looked in upon him a few minutes later she said: - -"Why, brother! What is the matter with you? From your melancholy -appearance one would suppose you hadn't just reached Old Point and its -chief attraction." - -"Attraction, indeed," moaned Harry. "I suspect I am a fool, for it -never before occurred to me that a young woman whom I think the sum -total of everything good and charming, might appear equally attractive -to other men. Did you see the crowd about her?--the uniforms and -buttons?--and how she seemed to be enjoying herself? Still, she has the -right to do entirely as she likes; I've no claim upon her." - -"My dear Harry," said Kate tenderly, as she seated herself on the arm -of Harry's easy chair, "don't be foolish. Do you suppose that a girl is -going to lose interest in everything and everybody in the world because -she likes a certain young man, or because a certain young man likes -her?" - -"No. But she seemed to be enjoying herself so hugely. I never saw her -so radiant." - -"But why shouldn't she have enjoyed herself? I'm sure that I'd have -done the same had I been in her place. I envy her the chance of talking -with a lot of clever men. Do you think I would refuse it even if I were -deeply in love with some one?" - -"No, I suppose not; but that would be different." - -"How?" - -"Oh, you're a very decided young woman, with opinions of your own, -while----" - -"Every woman should be as you say I am if she would have men respect -her. But, Harry, what fine fellows those soldiers are! They look as -if they had minds of their own, and if there's anything that a woman -specially likes in a man, it is that." - -"Umph! I suppose you mean that young men who aren't soldiers haven't -minds of their own--eh?" - -"Harry, I think your own mind needs additional strength at once, which -it may get from sleep. Go to bed. Good night. Sleep well." - -Kate herself remained awake a long time, thinking about her brother's -prospects, for she had been half in love several times, and been -rescued by the discovery that some other man who seemed to admire -her was more interesting than the man she thought herself specially -fond of. She loved her brother dearly, but Harry was still young and -boyish--none too much so, to be sure, for Fenie Wardlow, but how much -more interesting those officers were! Her knowledge of them had been -obtained during the several minutes in which she had sat at one end of -the great parlor while Harry had been registering their names at the -office and arranging for rooms, but she was a young woman who reached -conclusions rapidly. - -Like most other people who lie awake late to think, Kate awoke early. -She peeped through the window blinds, inhaled the fresh air, and wished -herself out of doors. Dressing quickly she went upon the verandah. The -sky was clear, the air balmy, and the surf rippling brilliantly and -murmurously on the beach. Kate noted all this and keenly enjoyed it. -Then she chanced to see, on the higher and drier sands, almost at her -feet, a large straw hat under which was a small frock, two little hands -and a shovel. The little figure's back was toward her, but the figure's -voice was high in air, and it was singing: - - Half a dozen dolls; - Half a dozen dolls; - Half a dozen, - Half a dozen, - Half a dozen dolls. - -"'Tis Trixy Highwood!" exclaimed Kate to herself, and she hastily -descended to the beach and Trixy. - -"Oh, Miss Trewman," shouted Trixy when she saw Kate, "don't you like to -dig wells? It's awful fun. I've got this one nearly deep enough for the -water to come in; as soon as it's done I'll lend you my shovel and you -can dig one. Whoever digs the best one any day gets a five-cent piece -from the Admiral--he comes around and looks at 'em ev'ry day. I won't -mind if yours is better than mine and gets the prize." - -Kate had no intention to take part in competitive well-digging, but she -was glad to do anything that would give her sufficient excuse to be -with Trixy a little while; so as there was not another person in sight -except one of the hotel watchmen, she stretched herself upon the warm, -dry sand, took Trixy's shovel, and began to dig. - -"I'm so glad you came down," said Trixy. "Ev'rybody here sleeps so -late, that it's lonesome on the beach in the mornin'. The sunrise gun -always wakes me, and when I dress, mamma lets me out of the room if I -promise to go back and wake her at 8 o'clock. It's fun to run up and -down on the beach, and dig wells, and find pretty stones." - -"Is it always so quiet as this in the morning?" Kate asked. - -"Yes, indeed; there's scarcely anybody here, even as late as mamma -comes down. Lots of folks don't eat breakfast until noon-time; how do -you s'pose they manage to wait? Say; why didn't you make your brother -come down and dig a well? Mamma says he looks as if he needed exercise." - -"H'm! Really I hadn't thought of it." - -"He does need exercise, though, don't he? But of course he does, if -mamma says so. Besides, he looks real white. All the men here look -kinder red and brown, 'specially the officers." - -"You seem very observant of men, little girl--and of officers." - -"Of course I am, 'cause I like 'em. Mamma likes 'em, too, and so does -Aunt Fee, I guess, 'cause they're all the time talkin' to her, and -walkin' on the piazza and the beach with her." - -"They? Then there are more than one?" - -"Gracious, yes! There's about forty here, Lieutenant Jermyn says." - -"Lieutenant Jermyn? Who is he?" - -"He's the first one I met, and he used to know mamma very well, and -he's ever so nice to me, and he don't seem to know how to keep away -from Aunt Fee--so I heard a lady say." - -"Indeed." Kate continued digging a moment or two longer, for she wanted -to think. Besides, the warm sea air was working its witchery with her, -and disinclining her to effort. The sand was clean, she and Trixy were -still the only occupants of the beach, so Kate soon sank entirely upon -the warm white couch which old Ocean had provided for those who chose -to recline upon it. - -The sun was bright and she was without veil or parasol, but she could -trust her complexion to itself for a few moments. There were so few -times and places for a young woman out of doors! How delightful it -would be, she thought, if somewhere near New York there was a great, -clean, safe beach to lounge upon! The mere act of breathing seemed a -positive pleasure. The sunlight, through her closed eyelids, became a -delightful immensity of rosy pink, the ripple of the wavelets upon the -beach was ideal music, the---- - -"Hello!" - -It was Trixy who spoke, from not three feet away, but Kate pretended -not to hear; she preferred the companionship of her own thoughts, -although everything definite had escaped from them. The next sound she -heard caused her to rise hastily on one elbow, for it seemed that there -was a noise in the sand unlike that made by Trixy's shovel. - -"Hello, Mr. Jermyn. Don't you know Miss Trewman? She's one of mamma's -and Aunt Fee's friends." - -"Don't arise, please," said Jermyn with a bow while Kate looked -uncomfortable. "I'm glad to see that Trixy isn't the only visitor who -has learned which is the most delightful hour of the day down here." - -Kate persisted in arising, and Jermyn made haste to bring her a chair; -then he talked well-digging in a matter-of-fact way with Trixy, and -smiled, with Kate, at some of the child's replies, and so succeeded -quickly in dispelling Kate's sense of embarrassment. Still more, wasn't -he the very officer Kate had most noticed during her several minutes' -survey the night before? - -"You ought to like him lots, Miss Trewman," said Trixy suddenly, with -the air of having recalled something from the limbo of forgetfulness, -"'cause he likes Aunt Fee lots." - -"And Aunt Fee's sister, too," added Jermyn, without change of -countenance. "I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Highwood frequently, -some years ago, when my battery was stationed at New York." - -"How pleasant," said Kate, although she did not mean it. Again she -wondered whether there might not have been deep purpose in that Florida -trip which seemed to have ended at Fort Monroe. Something ought to be -done, and at once, if it were not already too late. What should it be? -Thinking was not easy, under the circumstances, for Jermyn was talking -to her--not persistently, or as a man who was trying to flirt; and she -liked his looks so much that she did not want to appear inattentive, -although, really, didn't it seem utterly dreadful to be chatting before -seven in the morning with a man who had been introduced only by a -little girl? - -As they talked, Kate resolved upon a plan of action. Fenie should -become her sister-in-law if she, Kate, could manage it. Dear Harry -should not be disappointed; Fenie was too young to marry a man like -Lieutenant Jermyn. If Jermyn's attention could by any possibility be -diverted from Fenie, she, Kate, would divert it; the result might be -a heartache for herself, for she did most heartily admire such men. -Still, she would endure such a pain, for her dear brother's sake, and -if, after all, the affair didn't end in a heartache, why---- - -Just here she blushed, although Jermyn couldn't imagine why, for at -that very instant he was explaining, at Kate's request, why the fort on -the Rip-Raps, a couple of miles away, had not been completed, and he -could not imagine what there was in the subject, or in his description, -to bring a blush to any cheek, yet he said to himself that the blush -was very becoming, and that Miss Trewman was quite an interesting young -woman. - -The chat continued until Trixy, who had once in ten minutes asked -Jermyn the time, announced that she must go to wake her mother for -breakfast. This reminded Kate that she had a brother to rouse, so she -and the child went into the house. - -Half an hour later, while Trif and Fenie and Trixy with Jermyn, whom -they had invited to breakfast with them, were chatting over their -morning meal the head waiter brought Harry and Kate to the same table. -There was no help for it, although Harry looked as if he wished there -were; a head waiter is autocrat of his domain. As to the others, Trif -exclaimed: - -"How delightful!" Fenie smiled pleasantly, although with some -embarrassment, while Trixy shouted: - -"Hooray!" - -Kate bravely began operations at once. Fortune, in the guise of the -waiter, had placed her beside Jermyn and Harry beside Fenie, so, Kate -argued, if she were to monopolize the officer, Harry and Fenie would -be obliged to talk to each other, and she was old enough to know that -compulsory conversation has frequently broken the thickest of social -ice. - -The plan worked finely. Harry and Fenie were obliged to talk to each -other, for no one else spoke to either, and as each was determined -that the other shouldn't think anything unusual the matter, each -quickly became voluble and merry. Bless the transparency of youthful -hypocrisy. Neither of those two young people imagined that any one was -noticing them, yet Kate's heart was dancing with joy as she saw them -frankly exchange tender looks, and Trif's mind lost a great weight so -rapidly that she felt several years younger within half an hour, and -she was made still happier when, as the entire party strolled toward -the fort to see "guard mount," Jermyn had occasion to whisper to her: - -"Mr. Trewman is a remarkably fortunate young man--bless him." - -Guard mounting in the army is quite as ceremonious a matter as parade, -and Jermyn had to answer many questions which Kate put in rapid -succession, while Fenie, who had seen guard mount several times, -explained everything to Harry. Trixy seemed interested only in the -movements of a dog, which persisted in following every movement of the -post band. Her mother gazed at her in adoration. How entirely the dear -child seemed absorbed in whatever interested her--how oblivious to -everything else! - -When the ceremony ended, and the little crowd under the live-oak trees -broke up, Fenie and Harry, Kate and Jermyn, began to move slowly toward -the hotel, while Trif and Trixy walked behind them. Suddenly, while no -one else was talking, Trixy remarked: - -"Mamma, dear; wouldn't it be nice if they all got married, and----" - -"Sh--h--!" - -Kate suddenly asked Jermyn why it was that so large a fort had only a -single flag-staff, and Harry hastened to give Fenie the details of a -lumber contract concerning which he had come South, and Fenie listened -as intently as if she knew lumber from timber, or any other commodity. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -A SNATCH AT TIME'S FORELOCK. - - -Between the exhilarating effects of the breakfast-table chat with -Fenie, and the furtive, embarrassed, yet roguish look which Fenie had -worn for a fraction of a second, when Trixy had made her unexpected -remark in the fort about marriage, Harry Trewman was the happiest youth -in the State of Virginia. - -Nevertheless, he did not forget his business duties or his business -training. The lumber case at Norfolk had disturbed his dreams at night, -and was now troubling his day-dreams; the best way to avoid any more -annoyance was to hurry over to Norfolk and settle the business at once. - -Besides, now seemed the proper time to come to a definite understanding -with Fenie--an understanding of the kind frequently completed by the -presentation of a ring containing a stone, preferably a diamond. Harry -had seen in a Norfolk shop a ring, which he thought would entirely -answer the purpose, and he would buy it that very morning. Before -he started, however, he took the precaution to beg his sister, half -shamefacedly, to keep all designing bachelors from Fenie for a few -hours. - -"Trust me for that," said Kate, in her most earnest manner. "I shall -keep Fenie under my own wing to-day; I shall make sure, at least, that -Lieutenant Jermyn doesn't injure any of your chances." - -Kate was as good as her word, and as she and Fenie were really very -fond of each other, they were together all morning. Trixy was with -them; her honest little heart was still full of the injunction to -take the best of care of her Aunt Fee, but the child found little to -do but sit still and listen. The two young women talked as freely -and incessantly as any other couple of old acquaintances, amid -scenes entirely new, and with plenty of time at their disposal, and -Trixy heard much that set her to thinking; but she had so often been -cautioned against asking questions, since she had been at Old Point, -that she found it necessary to think out her puzzles for herself. - -Kate's principal cause of fear, also her principal object of -admiration, Lieutenant Jermyn, did not reappear during the morning, and -Kate was mystified, as well as somewhat troubled. Was it possible that -he preferred to chat with Fenie only while her sister was present--or -when he could find her alone? If so, matters were more serious than -Kate had thought. Perhaps--but, pshaw!--Kate rebuked herself with an -indignant blush, for the thought that perhaps Jermyn might desire to -chat with Kate herself, and preferred not to talk to two young women at -once. - -Yet she continued to wonder. Like most other young women, and, indeed, -like all Americans not well acquainted with the army, she was of the -impression that officers had nothing to do, while not on parade, but -make themselves pleasing to the general eye, and to young women in -particular. She did not know that most of the officers at Fort Monroe -were either instructors or students at a most exacting post-graduate -school of artillery, where each was expected to impart or receive such -advanced knowledge as would suffice the commandant of a great fort or -the chief of artillery of an army. - -As Kate wondered, and feared, and imagined it occurred to her that the -most sensible course would be to "draw out" Fenie. She felt toward -the girl as any young person feels toward one several years younger; -she had a sense of condescension and tolerance which was not always -under good control. Fenie was young, so she was artless, unsuspecting, -and transparent. What would be easier than to learn from her, not for -curiosity's sake, but for Harry's and Fenie's own, all that there might -be between her and Lieutenant Jermyn? - -So, as the two girls finally seated themselves on the piazza to look at -the noonday promenaders, Kate asked suddenly: - -"What becomes of all the men here in the middle of the day?" - -"Oh, they are somewhere with one another, I suppose," replied Fenie. -"Men are very interesting to one another, don't you think so? There's a -club in the fort to which many of them go, I believe." - -"Probably those who aren't soldiers go there to meet those who are," -said Kate. "What fine men those army officers seem to be! I've seen -them only at long range--I believe that's a military expression, isn't -it?--but they seem so manly and self-possessed; so unlike the little -fellows who pass for men in New York." - -"Trif," said Fenie, "has often insisted that soldiers have learned -the secret of never growing old, and she seems to be right. From the -youngest to the oldest, I've found them courteous, agreeable and--and--" - -"Deferential?" - -"Yes; that is just the word. There's nothing consequential or silly -about them, as there is about so many young men and old beaux at home." - -"You lucky girl!" exclaimed Kate. "I wonder that your good fortune in -meeting such clever fellows hasn't turned your head." - -Fenie indulged in a smile that Kate thought quite unusual in a girl so -young, a smile which was almost grim, as she replied: - -"There's a saying in the family that the Wardlow head never gets -entirely off the Wardlow shoulders, and I'm trying to live up to it. -Still, I've enjoyed myself greatly in the general company here." - -"General company? No man in particular? What a lot of girls whom we -both know, would give their heads for your chance. Do you know, Fenie -dear, I wouldn't have wondered if by this time you had lost your heart -to some one quite competent to care for it." - -Fenie looked so astonished, and also so hurt, that Kate called herself -a brute. Evidently Harry was safe; the assurance was so exhilarating -that Kate lost her own head for a moment or two and began to talk at -random. - -"What a capital fellow Lieutenant Jermyn is!" she said. "Do you know, -it was merely Trixy who introduced him to me, yet he at once made me -feel entirely at ease with him." - -"Oh, he's charming," replied Fenie. "He's been very kind to Trif and -me. He seems to know every one, and he's made us acquainted with many -pleasant people. Indeed, I suppose that is the reason Trif is not -with us now; she probably is chatting with people whom Jermyn has -introduced." - -"What a social paragon he must be! I wish he were here now, for I want -to ask questions about scores of people whom I am meeting." - -"The Admiral could answer them, and quite as well, if he were here," -said Fenie innocently. - -"The Admiral?" - -"Yes." Then Fenie began to tell what a delightful gentleman the -old Admiral was. In the meantime Trixy was looking about for the -Admiral himself, for it was about the time for the daily inspection -of sand-wells and the award of the prize. But Trixy could not see -the genial old man anywhere, although she strolled the entire length -of the piazza, and then went into the office to ask questions. The -Admiral had gone to the club, in the fort, some one said. Well, the -fort was but two or three hundred steps away, Trixy knew, for she had -been there several times already. She knew, too, where the club was, -for Lieutenant Jermyn had taken her there to show her the picture of a -distant relation of her mother who had been a soldier. - -To the club Trixy went, but an elderly officer whom she met said that -the Admiral was not there. - -"That's too bad," said Trixy, "'cause some ladies wants him." - -Another elderly officer, who was present, admitted that it certainly -was too bad, and said that the Admiral would be greatly disappointed. - -"Mebbe," said Trixy, a happy thought coming to her mind, "mebbe -Lieutenant Jermyn is here." - -"He is in one of the section rooms," replied one of the officers. - -"He's saying his lessons," added the other "Do you ever have lessons, -little girl?" - -"Yes, indeed," sighed Trixy. "Some of 'em's awful hard, too, though -mamma helps me all she can. But do you mean that a great big man like -Lieutenant Jermyn goes to school?" - -"Indeed, I do." - -"Dear me!" exclaimed the child. Then she thought a moment, and -continued: - -"Do you suppose his teacher would let him out for a while? Other -scholars get let out of school sometimes, when somebody needs to see -them very much." - -"I think it doubtful," said one of the officers, but the other, with a -wink at his companion, said: - -"One never knows what can be done until one has tried. Just go over to -that door where you see a cat sitting, ask for the teacher, and tell -him what you want." - -"Thank you," said Trixy, trotting briskly in the direction indicated, -while one officer said to the other: - -"Colonel, when will you outgrow your fondness for practical jokes?" - -"Not while I live, I hope. Besides, where's the harm? Amperthwaite, -the instructor of that section, will be cleverer for the remainder of -the day, after such an interruption, and the boys will be glad of a -moment's truce. I wish I could be there to see and listen." - -The door was open, and Jermyn was standing in front of a large -blackboard covered with marks which reminded Trixy of the geometrical -puzzles which her father sometimes cut from cardboard for her. The -instructors and the other officers were looking at the board, and -Jermyn was talking, so no one noticed the little girl in the doorway, -and Trixy was beginning to feel embarrassed. Suddenly an officer, who -had children of his own, attracted attention by coughing violently. -Every one looked at him, and he, in turn, looked toward the door. - -"Are you the teacher of this school?" asked Trixy of the one officer -who sat apart from the others. - -"Eh? Oh--yes, what is it?" - -"Lieutenant Jermyn, one of your scholars?" - -"Er--Mr. Jermyn, do you resent the implication?" - -"Not for an instant, Captain." - -"Well, little girl, what is it?" - -"Oh, only if you'd let him out, there's a couple of ladies who'd like -to see him very much; I know they would, because one of them said so." - -The only really young lieutenant in the room giggled; the others -smiled, and the instructor, after regarding the blackboard intently a -moment, said: - -"Mr. Jermyn, you may consider yourself excused, if you so desire." - -Jermyn emerged with his cap in his hand and more than his customary -color in his face. Trixy took his hand, and led him toward the exit -nearest the hotel. Looking towards the club, she saw the two officers -whom she had met, they having moved their chairs nearer the door that -they might observe the proceedings, so she shouted: - -"I got him!" - -Then each warrior chuckled, although Trixy did not know it, for she was -busily explaining to Jermyn why she had come for him, and how hard she -had first tried to find the Admiral, and Jermyn told her not to feel -the least concern about the interruption, although at the same time he -told himself in entire earnest that he wished that Tryphosa Wardlow had -never married and become the mother of a child like Trixy, for when -would he ever hear the end of the section-room episode? - -But Trixy knew nothing of the trouble which she had caused. She -prattled without ceasing until she had conducted the officer to her -aunt and Miss Trewman, to whom she said: - -"Here he is. Now, ask him your questions." - -Jermyn soon ceased to feel provoked. One of the duties of a soldier -is to endure anything that may lead to desirable ends. It, therefore, -came to pass within an hour that Jermyn assured himself that to make -himself interesting and useful to two young women like Kate and Fenie -was sufficient compensation for any teasing which his comrades might -impose in the future. His feelings must have expressed themselves in -his face, for a lull in the conversation was improved by Trixy, who -said: - -"Say, Mr. Jermyn, ain't you glad that I asked your teacher to let you -out of school?" - -Then Jermyn had to explain; so did Trixy, and the ladies had to feel -very uncomfortable. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -MISPLACED CONFIDENCE. - - -Kate came within a day or two to enjoy the society of Lieutenant Jermyn -so much that she did not hesitate to say so plainly to Fenie. True, she -said it half as a test, to be applied to Fenie's own feelings, but as -the girl listened without a sign of jealousy, and even looked pleased, -Kate was so well satisfied with the situation that she wanted to talk -farther on the subject, and with some one more competent to estimate a -mature man and gentleman at his true value. - -She therefore began to discuss Jermyn with Trif, who was so happy over -the change in Fenie's manner that she was quite willing to rejoice and -sympathize with any one about anything. Like any other good woman who -had been compelled to disappoint a good man, she wished she might see -the man made happy by some other good woman, so she wondered whether a -match between Jermyn and Kate might not be possible. Her own married -life was so happy that she profoundly pitied any other woman who was -unmarried yet old enough to know her own mind. - -How Trif did long for Phil! If she could see him, only for an hour, to -consult with him about this new and delightful idea that had taken -possession of her. - -Undoubtedly he would agree with her, for he always came to her way of -thinking, or she to his, she was not sure which. She had half a mind -to telegraph him to run down to the fort for a day or two; she was -sure his horrid old firm would not miss him greatly during so short an -absence. Then she thought it would be better to write him and ask his -advice. - -Half wondering which course would be the better, she began a letter, -but was interrupted again and again, so at night she was but little -further advanced than in the morning. Besides, a series of showers had -descended upon Old Point, and Trixy was obliged to remain indoors, -and a little girl away from home on a showery day is as restless as a -guilty conscience, so Trif finally called herself a heartless mother, -and tried to devote herself entirely to her child. Trixy asked only -that mamma would write a good long letter for her to papa, and Trif -began it, and got well under way, when a waiter came to the room with a -message from Fenie, begging Trif to come down at once to see some old -friends who had unexpectedly arrived, so poor little Trixy was hurried -to bed, where she thought dismally of life's disappointments until she -fell asleep. - -A little matter like a night's sleep could not make Trixy forget -anything upon which she had set her heart. Early the next morning the -child begged her mamma to finish that letter to papa, and she reverted -to the subject several times during the day. Finally she searched -her mother's portfolio for the unfinished letter, and endeavored to -complete it herself, in imitation of print, which was the only sort of -writing she knew well. She had not learned to use a pen, and the only -pencil she could find had a very bad point, so she put both letter and -pencil into her pocket, and resolved to bide her time until she could -find her mother disengaged. - -Once upon the beach, and at her favorite occupation of well-digging, -she forgot the letter for two or three hours, but the subject was -brought back to her mind by overhearing one of the male guests tell -another that he had just received a letter from his little daughter, -and that a man never knew how dear his children were until he was -separated from them for a few days. - -Suddenly the inspector of sand-wells, the cheery old Admiral, hove in -view, and Trixy hurried to him and asked: - -"You can sharpen lead-pencils, can't you?" - -"I could when I was at the Naval Academy," was the modest reply. In -a moment Trixy's hand and eyes and head and tongue were working in -unison, after the manner of beginners at letter-writing, while the -Admiral, standing a little apart, pretended to write something in a -memorandum book, but really made a sketch, to be presented to Trif, of -the little correspondent as she knelt upon the piazza floor and used a -chair as a desk. - -"Writin's dreadful hard work," said Trixy, after several moments of -effort. "I do wish that mamma--oh, say, Admiral, you can write, can't -you? Of course you can--I see you doin' it now. Won't you please finish -this letter for me if I tell you what to say? That's the way mamma -writes 'em for me--she begun this one. If you do it you needn't pay me -five cents the next time my well's the best of the lot, and I guess -it's goin' to be the best to-day. Is it a bargain?" - -"But, Trixy," replied the Admiral, "I question the propriety of hearing -other peoples' family affairs." - -"Oh, I don't write no family affairs. This is only a letter to papa." - -"Your logic, my dear, is as faultless as your grammar. Still, I'll be -your clerk for a few moments." - -"All right; I'm very much obliged. First, though, you'd better begin -and read what's already wrote, 'cause it's so long since mamma began -this letter for me that I can't remember what I told her to say." - -"H'm--let me see," said the Admiral, adjusting his glasses. "'Dear Old -Papa'----" - -"Go on." - -The Admiral, who, like most men of affairs, had acquired a way of -reading a page at a glance, suddenly looked at Trixy in astonishment. -Then he re-read the letter, and said, with a twinkle of his eyes: - -"Aren't you rather young to take so much interest in match-making?" - -"What's match-makin'?" asked the child, with wondering eyes. - -"Oh, you seem to understand the subject very well. The idea of a child -planning a marriage between a man and a woman--quite suited to each -other though they certainly are--who never met until this week!" - -"Who do you mean? Aunt Fee and Harry? Why, they've----" - -"No, no--I don't mean them. This is another couple--a lady and an army -officer." - -"Oh, you mean Mr. Jermyn and Miss Trewman? Why, I don' remember tellin' -mamma to write anythin' about them. Come to think of it, though, I said -to her, over at guard mount the other day, that 'twould be nice if they -got married; but she said 'Sh--h--,' and that means the same thing as -don't when mamma says it." - -"Yes--to be sure; it used to be so in our family, when I was a boy. -But how did this subject get into the letter, if you didn't tell your -mother to write it?" - -"I'm sure I don't know, unless mamma put it in just for fun. Sometimes -she helps me with things to say, when I want to write a real long -letter." - -"H'm!" The Admiral looked very alert as he recalled customs of his own -family when he was a young father. "Trixy, would you mind telling me -your father's name--his first name?" - -"It's Philip." - -"Ah, yes. And is that what your mother usually calls him?" - -"Goodness, no! When she says 'Philip,' papa pretends to be awfully -scared. Sometimes she calls him Phil, but usually she says 'papa.'" - -"Just as I supposed." The Admiral was silent and grave so long that the -child timidly asked: - -"You don't think it's improper for her to do it, do you?" - -"Improper? No, indeed! I'd give half my pay--yes, all of it--to hear -my wife call me 'papa' again." Tears came into the veteran's eyes, -and Trixy, following home custom regarding such matters, kissed them -away, which operation made the Admiral's face as cheery as a sunburst. -Nevertheless, the old man did some more thinking, and finally he said: - -"I'm such a stupid old fellow that I can't easily finish what some -other person has begun. Suppose we destroy this letter, and I begin a -new one for you. I'll write one as long as you like, if you'll come -into the office, where I can find a desk." - -"Oh, good!" - -"But about this one which your mother began--suppose we have a secret -about it?" - -Trixy hesitated; she dearly loved a secret, but of late her secrets had -not been as well kept as she would like. Still, she promised, and the -new letter was soon under way, and at the top was written, "Dictated -to Rear Admiral Allison, retired, by Her Serene Highness the Infanta -Trixy." The Admiral put the original and uncompleted letter into his -pocket, intending to burn it and destroy the ashes, although what might -happen, should there be any enquiries for it, he was sure he did not -know; perhaps it might be well for him to hurry off to Washington, or -somewhere. - -When the new letter was completed Trixy and the Admiral took it to -the post-office, and the old man, in endeavoring to impress upon -Trixy the advisability of keeping the matter a secret while both of -them remained at Old Point, exerted his diplomatic faculties to an -extent unparalleled during his entire term of service as an officer. -He loathed the idea of teaching duplicity to a child, but in the -circumstances it seemed entirely justifiable. - -As the day waned, most of the ladies retired to dress for dinner, and -Trif, whose conscience had been reproaching her all day for neglect of -her husband, to whom she knew her letters were unspeakably welcome, and -to whom she dearly loved to write when she chanced to be away from him, -determined to finish the letter begun the day before. - -"Fenie," she soon said through the door between the rooms, "have you -been to my portfolio?" - -"No, dear. I've done no writing." - -"How strange. I'd begun a letter to Phil, and now I can't find it." - -Fenie said something playful about mislaid affection, but Trif did not -laugh, for she remembered what she had written. Still, why should she -worry? No one but the chambermaid could have been in the room, and -she doubted whether colored chambermaids at the South could read. The -letter would turn up in the course of time; meanwhile she would write -a hasty note to Phil and enclose Trixy's, just as it was, in time for -the mail by the evening boat, which would close in a few minutes, -and Trixy, who never was specially dressed for dinner, could take the -letter down to the office. - -The Admiral strolled over to the fort and the club, where he met a -semi-public man who was talking to the Commandant about a promising -gold "placer" on the Pacific coast which had proved so alluring that -he had lost a lot of money in trying to develop it. The Commandant had -known of this same placer, for he had been stationed near it at one -time; the Admiral also had seen it, for he had been taken to it one day -by some men who had hoped to extract some of his savings from him. Lack -of water was the trouble, and the Admiral, who had looked carefully -over the ground, had devised a plan whereby water might be brought by a -tortuous route from a stream several miles distant. When he said this -to the semi-public man that person replied: - -"Give me your plan, and if it is practicable you shall have a large -block of stock, for nothing, in the company I'll organize to work it." - -The Admiral quickly took a letter from his pocket and drew on the back -of it a plan of the country as he remembered it. Then he consulted -Jermyn, who had dropped into the club. - -"Very good," said Jermyn, looking at the sketch, "although it might -be improved a little, I think. I've done some shooting on that very -ground, so I remember it pretty well." - -"How fortunate," said the Admiral. "Mr. Blogsham, my friend Jermyn is a -good engineer, so he may be of more service than I." - -"Good!" said Blogsham. "The better the plan, the more it will be worth -to us. There's a block of stock for you too, Mr. Jermyn, if you can -make the water within reach." - -Jermyn opened the sheet of paper and made another sketch; then he -turned the paper over, supposing it might contain some memoranda on the -subject, but he saw something that so upset his mind that in the next -ten minutes he talked so vaguely about the ground and the water that -his own chance of getting any stock in the proposed mine seemed to him -very small. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -A SCRAP OF PAPER. - - -Bruce Jermyn was as honorable a gentleman as could be found anywhere, -but for two or three days and nights he wished he had read farther in -that letter upon which he and the Admiral had made their sketches of -the surroundings of the placer mine. No one knew better than he the -rights and sanctity of private correspondence, but could any man be -blamed for wanting to know who it was who was planning to marry him to -Kate Trewman? - -He could not say that he objected to the lady named in the letter, -but who could it be who was charging herself with the conduct of the -affair? "Dear old Papa," the letter had begun, and the Admiral being -old, and also the possessor of the letter, was undoubtedly the person -to whom it was addressed, but who could the writer be? Jermyn knew that -the Admiral had at least one daughter, who was a clever woman with some -reputation in the service as a match-maker, but she was married and -living several hundreds of miles from Old Point. - -Perhaps she had arrived, an invalid, and remained in her room; but it -was strange that no one mentioned her. Evidently the writer, whoever -she might be--for the penmanship was that of a woman--was acquainted -with Kate Trewman: in that case her identity might be discovered -through Kate, but Jermyn, manly and honest though he was, half felt -that he would not again be able to look Kate fully in the face, much -less to interrogate her skilfully on so delicate a subject, in which -there seemed so much at stake. - -All his fears and doubts, however, disappeared like mists before the -sun when next he met Kate herself. That estimable young woman was not -in the least forward, but she knew how to put at their ease such men as -she liked, and she quickly made herself so companionable that Jermyn -began to wish that the writer of the letter would go on match-making, -and in the greatest of earnest. Still, who on earth, or at Old Point, -could she be? The Admiral himself seemed to enter entirely into the -spirit of the affair, for he made two or three occasions to speak to -Kate and Jermyn together, and to bring out some of the young man's -best points; he was as hearty as if he and Jermyn had been boys -together, and that sort of thing, from an officer of very high rank to -a subaltern, has its effect upon women. Indeed, the old sea-dog was -so very familiar that Jermyn almost determined to boldly ask him for -another glance at the letter--at least, for a look at the sketches. - -But the Admiral's affability and high spirits were partly assumed, for -he had a great load of trouble upon his mind. When he reached his -room and prepared to burn the tell-tale letter, he could not find the -letter itself. What could he have done with it? At times he was very -absent-minded; he had been known to go out without his hat, and to -search with his right hand for the eye-glasses that were in his left, -but he certainly had carried that letter too close to his mind to -mislay it. Had he taken any papers from his pocket anywhere? Ha! That -sketch of the placer mine. - -He hurried back to the fort, but it was not there, nor could he find -anyone who had seen it. Probably, the semi-public man, Blogsham, had -pocketed the paper, which would have been entirely natural under the -circumstances, but Blogsham had already started for Washington. - -The Admiral groaned. He remembered that the letter had no signature, -so it could not be traced to its writer; but the writer was a woman, -and the subject was a woman and an officer, and Blogsham was rather -a coarse fellow, and very fond of a practical joke, and if he should -chance to know Jermyn---- - -Know Jermyn? Why, to be sure he knew him! Had not the Admiral himself -introduced the Lieutenant, and consulted him about the sketch? Possibly -Jermyn himself had the letter; he would ask him. Hence, the Admiral's -frequent excuses to speak to Jermyn in Kate's presence, and to finally -ask bluntly: - -"By the way, Jermyn, do you remember those sketches we made at the club -yesterday?" - -The young officer suddenly reddened, and the older officer lost heart, -although he regained it when Jermyn replied: - -"Yes, and I was going to ask you to let me see them once more. Have you -them with you?" - -The Admiral looked the Lieutenant full in the eye, at which the -disappearing flush returned. The Admiral continued: - -"I supposed you had it already." - -"Not I, I assure you. I left it upon the club table, right at your -elbow." - -The Admiral suddenly looked so uncomfortable that Jermyn said: - -"I sincerely hope you haven't lost it!" - -"So do I. I could make the sketch again from memory, but there were -some--er--some memoranda on the other side of the sheet which I had -intended to preserve; that is, they were not my property, and----" - -"Not your property?" Jermyn thought he saw the opportunity for which he -was longing. - -"No. The letter itself belonged to another person. Do you suppose that -Blogsham himself may have kept the sketches for future reference." - -"Quite possibly. But Blogsham has returned to Washington." - -"So I have heard. I suppose there is nothing left but to write him." - -"What a lot of trouble a bit of paper may cause," said Kate, becoming -restive during a conversation in which she had no part. - -"Yes--yes, indeed," replied the Admiral in a manner so unlike any which -Kate had previously seen him display that the young woman began to -wonder whether there could be some historic or romantic interest about -the bit of paper in which the two men seemed so deeply interested. -Everything she had known about gentlemen of the army and navy, until -the last two or three days, had been learned from novels and stories, -in many of which a bit of paper played an important part. Perhaps there -was some romance even about this, and any romance of army and navy -would be very interesting to her--could she know it. - -An hour later Kate joined Trif and Fenie, with whom sat Harry. Both -ladies rallied her about her apparent conquests in both warlike -branches of the public service, and Kate finally said that she wished -she often could make conquests of such men as Admiral Allison and -Lieutenant Jermyn. - -"And only think," she added; "I do believe there's some great mystery -between the two men. 'Tis none of my affair, of course, but I can't -help being curious about it. 'Tis all about some sketches and memoranda -of some kind. They talked it over before me without any hesitation, but -it was plain to see that there was much more to it than appeared in the -conversation." - -"Oh," said Fenie, "there seems to be an epidemic of mislaying bits of -paper. Trif, here, has been worrying all day about a letter to Phil -which she began but didn't finish. I told her it was the easiest thing -in the world to write a letter to one's own husband--or ought to be, -but she has upset her entire room while searching for that wretched -note." - -Trif tried to laugh, but she felt very uncomfortable. To change the -subject of conversation she called Trixy and examined the child's shoes -to see that they were tied, and she set Trixy's hat properly upon -her head. Meanwhile Kate continued to talk about the Admiral and the -Lieutenant, and their lost sketches and memoranda, and Trixy took part -in the conversation by saying that the Admiral was nicer than ever, -because he wrote a long letter for her, the day before, to send to her -dear papa. - -"Trixy!" exclaimed Fenie. "How could you trouble some one not of the -family to write a letter for you?" - -"Why, him and me is good friends, and mamma began a letter for me, but -she put off finishing it, and----" - -Trif arose with a start, took the child's hand, and walked away so -rapidly that a family woman sitting near by remarked to another family -woman that it looked very much as if a certain child was being led to -punishment. - -"Trixy, dear," asked Trif, as soon as she was well away from the -throng, "how did the Admiral come to write that letter for you?" - -"Why," explained Trixy, "I wanted that letter finished, you know, -'cause I promised papa when we started down here that I wouldn't -neglect him, so I tried to finish it myself, but 'twas dreadful hard -work for me, 'cause the bottom of a chair isn't a very good table, so I -asked the Admiral to finish it for me." - -"But the letter itself--where did you get it? Where is it now?" - -"Got it out of your portfolio, where you put it when you stopped -writin' it." - -"You dreadful child! The letter I began for you I sent to your father, -just as it was, and the one you took from my portfolio was my own." - -Trixy had often been called dreadful; the word was in common use in the -family, although it was generally accompanied by a smile and a kiss. -Now, however, there was no such demonstration. Trif looked so stern -that Trixy began to cry, and, as the mother's expression did not relax, -the child was soon crying industriously, while Fenie, who had been -looking on from a distance wondering what was going on, and indignant -that any one--except, perhaps, herself--should do anything to make the -dear child uncomfortable, hurried to the rescue. - -"I think you're making a great fuss about a very small matter," said -Fenie, with the firm conviction and superior sense peculiar to very -young women. "I don't see anything to it that you can complain of, -except that Trixy got the wrong letter finished. I'm sure you can have -written nothing which was unfit for your husband to receive." - -"But suppose the Admiral has chanced to read what was already written?" - -"Suppose he did? What then?" - -"He knows Jermyn, and--oh, oh, oh!" - -Trif's manner was so tragical that Fenie was mystified! What could it -all mean? It couldn't be that her sister had become too fond of Jermyn, -and had any foolishness to confess to her husband; but, if not, what -was there dreadful about the fact that the Admiral knew Jermyn? - -In the meantime, Trixy had followed the custom of children in general -in such cases, which is to get away from the scene of trouble as soon -as possible. Chancing to meet the Admiral himself, she abruptly said to -him: - -"Say, mamma knows all about that letter. I didn't tell her nothin'--she -just guessed it." - -"Whew!" exclaimed the old man. Then he looked as thoughtful and anxious -for a moment as if he were taking a fleet into action, and he said, -half to himself, "I must take the night-boat for Washington. I hope -Blogsham may still be there. I must beg you to excuse me, Trixy." - -The Admiral hurried into the hotel, Trixy following him as far as she -could. At the other front of the house she met Jermyn, followed by a -servant with a portmanteau. - -"Good bye, little girl," said the officer. "I shall be back in a couple -of days. A friend of mine is about to run up to Washington with one of -the government boats, and I'm going with him. Please remember me to -your mother and aunt, and to Miss Trewman." - -"What! you goin' to Washin'ton too. So's the Admiral." - -Jermyn stared wonderingly, and the last of him that Trixy saw to -remember was a face which seemed one great frown. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -OFF THE SCENT. - - -The Admiral and the Lieutenant met face to face in the Army and Navy -Club at Washington, and each looked as if he were a rogue about to -tumble into the clutches of the law. After a moment of mute inquiry of -each other's faces the Admiral asked: - -"Jermyn, how on earth did you reach here? I thought I left you at Fort -Monroe?" - -"And I," said Jermyn, "supposed I had left you at Old Point, when I -suddenly ran up here on a matter of personal business." - -"Ah! Trying to be transferred to some other branch of the service, -where there's more chance of promotion? Well, I can't blame you. In -time of peace a man must wait a long while for his just deserts, and in -time of war he may be killed before they can reach him. 'Tis a queer -world." - -"It certainly is, or some things in it are very queer." - -"Excuse a plain question, please. That letter upon which you and I -sketched a day or two ago at the club--was it----" - -"Bless my soul, Jermyn, is that letter on your mind too? My dear -boy, my sole purpose in hurrying off to Washington last night was -to recover that letter. I can't imagine where it is unless our -enterprising friend Blogsham took it with him." - -"You knew its contents?" - -"Yes--unfortunately for my peace of mind since I was asked to read it. -But you----" - -"I," said Jermyn, "glanced at it, supposing it to be memoranda about -the property you were discussing; I had no idea that it could be a -private letter. You will understand why I would like to know something -further about it, principally to save one woman, possibly two women, -from great mortification should the letter itself fall into the wrong -hands." - -"Possibly two women?" repeated the Admiral. "Do you mean to say that -you don't know who the writer was?" - -"I've not the slightest idea." - -The Admiral knocked the ashes from his cigar, and took several puffs, -regarding Jermyn quizzically in the meantime, before he replied: - -"Dear boy, you've a powerful friend at court, if your interests are -what they might be. The writer of the letter, who I assure you is not -a member of my own family, was writing to some one to whom she has -an entire right to open her mind freely. If that little scamp Trixy -hadn't--" - -"Aha! Mrs. Highwood was the writer, eh?" - -Jermyn seemed greatly relieved by his discovery, but the Admiral said -indignantly: - -"Jermyn, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for entrapping an old -friend in that way--you really ought. Beside, you ought to be -grateful that so good a woman is taking so great interest in you. -As to the lady whom she named, any man alive ought to be glad of an -opportunity to make love to her, and marry her, but if you don't think -so----" - -"I fully agree with you, Admiral, but if the lady herself chances to -hear of it--if our mining acquaintance chances to be one of the fellows -who sees a joke in everything, and doesn't care to whom he tells it, -and if he has the letter, and shows it to mutual acquaintances--well, -you know how a story gains by being passed from man to man." - -"Quite true, quite true," assented the Admiral with a groan. "We must -look the fellow up, and at once. Bless me! To think that all this -trouble came about through a child asking me to finish a letter to her -father. If I could lay my hands upon that youngster at this moment -I'd--I'd----" - -"You'd probably romp with her as pleasantly as if nothing had occurred." - -"Yes, probably." - -Trixy would have been glad of some one to romp with at that moment, -for she was very unhappy. Her mother seemed utterly wretched; at other -times when Trif was troubled in mind, Trixy had been quick to note it -and to be very affectionate, and had been so successful as to be called -her mamma's greatest comfort. Fenie, too, was miserable, for Trif -had told her what was in the missing letter, and Fenie was sure that -if the letter itself fell into improper hands, and Kate should hear -about it, and learn who was the writer, there would be another danger -of coolness between the two families, for Kate was too proud to endure -any interference with her own affairs. Fenie had her own reasons for -objecting to any such trouble, for she was very happy with Harry; there -had been no talk of love, but none was necessary. Young people have -ways of understanding each other quite independently of words; do not -even deaf mutes fall in love? - -Now, however, even Fenie's pleasant chats with Harry might have to be -suspended, for Trif was in such abject fear and mortification that -she would scarcely leave her room, and Fenie did not like to appear -entirely unattended and unwatched by her sister. No one would talk if -she were seen with Kate and Harry together, but Fenie herself, like -Trif, had imagined all sorts of possible and impossible ways by which -that dreadful letter, or some garbled report of it, might reach Kate. - -So, the sisters sat in their room, and feared, and felt like a -couple of criminals to whom the worst might happen. They exchanged -forebodings, all of which were overheard by Trixy, who received a -reproachful look with each, and did quite a lot of silent weeping on -her own account, and neither her mother nor her aunt dried her eyes -with kisses, as they usually did at home after she had done something -wrong, and repented. - -But the kind power that looks after children and fools came finally to -Trixy's relief, for Trif suddenly said: - -"Surely the mail is distributed by this time, and I can have at least -the consolation of a letter from dear Phil. Trixy, go down to the -office and ask for letters for our room." - -Trixy flew away like a bird from an opened cage, and no sooner did she -reach the lower floor than she dashed through one of the exits to the -beach. How delicious the sunlight was, after part of a morning in a -half-darkened room!--the child felt as if she were bathing in it. And -the beach, too, with its long edging of smooth, hard sand,--she must -have just one run on it, from pier to pier, and back again. - -It was a merry run, but it put her out of breath, so she threw herself -down upon the sand to rest for a moment, and the warm-hearted sand -welcomed her so pleasantly that she waited a moment longer, and then -another, and soon she began to doze, for contemplation of other -people's troubles had wearied her early in the day. - -Suddenly she was roused by the touch of a parasol-tip. Looking up, she -saw Kate Trewman, who said: - -"Trixy, is your family ill, or merely sleepy? They usually are down -early to breakfast." - -"Oh, they're bothered. My what a fuss! Say, you won't get angry at 'em, -will you?" - -"Not I! Why should I? I shall be very sorry, though, if they remain in -their rooms all morning, for I miss them greatly. I don't find any of -my acquaintances this morning." - -"Don't you? Well, I know where one of 'em is. He's gone to Washin'ton, -Lieutenant Jermyn has." - -Kate said nothing in reply, but Trixy exclaimed, "Goodness gracious! -How bad you do feel about it! So do I. But he's comin' back--comin' -to-morrow, 'cause he said he'd be gone only a couple of days. Oh, how -quick you do get glad again!" - -Kate abruptly turned her face aside, hid it in her parasol, and thanked -herself that she had no little sister or niece, to be always observing -her--and so exasperatingly correctly, too! At that moment her brother -joined her, and asked Trixy if she would give his card, on which he -had pencilled a line or two, to her Aunt Fee. This reminded Trixy that -she had been sent for the mail, so she danced off in the direction -of the office, while Harry and Kate walked to and fro, and talked of -everything but what was uppermost in their minds. - -Trixy found additional causes of detention. The mail was late, and a -throng of people were at the desk awaiting the distribution, so Trixy -went to the front door to look at the flowers which colored people -brought every morning to sell to the guests. Then she strolled toward -the fort, to look at an old colored beggar, whose raggedness was so -picturesque that it fascinated her. As she stood staring at him, a -servant from the fort accosted her with, - -"Little girl, you know Adm'ral All'son, don't you?--the old gen'leman -that bosses all you young ones when you digs sand-wells?" - -"Of course I do; he's one of my best friends." - -"Well, I've got lots to do this mornin', an' I don't see how I'm goin' -to git through. Don't you want to give this letter to him for me?" - -"Certainly." - -"You won't forgit it, will you?" - -"Oh, no; I'm not of the forgettin' kind." And Trixy took the letter, -forgetting for the moment that the Admiral had gone to Washington. Then -she hurried back to the hotel, got the mail, and went into her mother's -room, saying: - -"Let me open the letters for you, won't you, like papa does?" - -"Yes, but do it quickly," said Trif, first selecting one from her -husband, which she quickly read and re-read. Then she took the others, -after Trixy had cut the ends of the envelopes, and glanced over them, -commenting as she read: - -"H'm--nothing unusual. Mrs. Poynce's cards, the Misses Brimling's tea, -on Thursday next--I shall be sorry to miss it; invitation to a spring -opening, and--oh!" - -Trif fell back in her chair, as if in a faint. Fenie hurried to her, -exclaiming: - -"Trif, dear! What is the matter? Speak to me, quick!" - -"That letter! That awful letter that I began for Trixy! Here it is!" - -"Dear me! Where could it have come from?" - -"I can't imagine. Why--the envelope is addressed to Admiral Allison! -How could it have got among our letters?" - -"Oh," said Trixy, as excited as anyone, "a man gave me the letter, a -few minutes ago, to give to the Admiral, and I forgot all about it, -and I've gone and cut the end of it, with the others!" - -"But who can it have come from?" persisted Trif, looking into the -envelope. "There is nothing else with it, and some one had drawn -pictures on blank parts of the sheets." - -"He must have lent it to someone, who is returning it to him," -suggested Fenie. - -"I've always supposed naval officers the soul of honor?" sighed Trif. - -"Won't you give me the drawing on the back of it for my scrap-book, -mamma?" asked Trixy. No objection being made, Trixy tore the Admiral's -sketch of the gold placer and vicinity from the sheet, and pasted it -into a fearfully and wonderfully made book of pictures, which she had -brought from home. She looked at Jermyn's sketch a moment, thought -it very like the other, and cast it aside. Her mother picked it up, -read the page which she had written, and then she and Fenie devised -wildly improbable theories of the history of the letter. The conclusion -finally reached, greatly though they regretted it, was that the -letter had been lent by the Admiral to someone in the fort, with the -impression that there was some fun in it. If army and navy officers saw -jokes in such things, of course Jermyn would soon hear of the letter -itself, to his great discomfort; for the sisters agreed that he was -too much of a gentleman to laugh over such a matter. Suddenly Fenie -exclaimed: - -"There's something more dreadful still. You'll have to return the -letter to the Admiral." - -"Never," Trif replied. "I shall mail it to Phil this very afternoon." -Suiting the action to the word she enclosed it in an envelope, -addressed it, and affixed a stamp to it. - -"But," remonstrated Fenie, "when the Admiral returns he will want to -know where the letter is, and he will speak to the man to whom he lent -it, and the man will say that he sent it back, and the servant will be -questioned and say he gave it to Trixy, and then--" - -"Probably the messenger doesn't know Trixy by sight or name," said Trif. - -"Oh, he knows me well enough," said Trixy. "He's servant to somebody -in the fort, and the somebody's little girls play with me on the beach -sometimes, and he comes for 'em at dinnertime and lunch time." - -"I see nothing to be done, then," said Trif, "but for me to return to -New York at once. We certainly owe neither courtesy nor explanation to -the Admiral, whom we won't have the embarrassment of meeting if we are -not here. Why, Fenie, you're crying. What is the matter, dear?" - -"I should think you might know, without asking," sobbed the girl, "you, -who have been in love, and----" - -"You poor, dear child. Your sister is a thoughtless, heartless brute. -Still, the Trewmans themselves will not remain here long; Kate said -they had dropped over here only for a day or two, to see what the -place----" - -"Oh, that reminds me," said Trixy. "Harry gave me a card for Aunt Fee a -few minutes ago. Here it is." - -Fenie read the message on the card, and looked pleased, although she -said: - -"Oh, Harry thinks they too will have to go to New York, this very -evening. He--that is, Kate, is waiting for me down stairs. You won't -mind my joining her, will you? She does so dislike to be kept waiting." - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE SEARCH PARTY. - - -The Admiral and the Lieutenant searched Washington quickly yet -thoroughly, for the man who was supposed to have the fateful letter in -his possession was prominent enough to have his every movement observed -and recorded by the newspapers and discussed by the clubs. No one at -Washington had seen him or heard of him since his departure for Old -Point. - -"Let us hope, dear boy," said the Admiral, as the disappointed and -weary men lunched together, "that he has gone to the Pacific Coast to -develop that placer, for no one out there will take any interest in -that unfortunate note." - -"I should be glad to hope so," Jermyn replied, "but suppose that he has -gone to New York? That is his usual base of operations, and should he -have the letter, and meet in New York some one who knows me, it would -be just like him to show the letter and talk about it." - -"I shall at once go to New York, find him, if he is there, and stop -him," said the Admiral. - -"But, Admiral----" - -"But me no buts, my dear boy. I assure you that if it weren't for my -humiliation at having been a thoughtless old donkey I'd enjoy the job -almost as well as if I were in active service and in chase of an enemy. -A chase will do me good--keep me from rusting, you know." - -"But, Admiral, you were having a delightful time at the Point; there -was a host of your friends and old comrades there, and they will soon -be going away. I've three days' leave of absence, and no farther use to -make of it here. Still more, I'm the party most at interest, you know." - -"But I'm the one most at fault," persisted the Admiral. It was finally -agreed that there should be a division of labor, the Admiral returning -to Old Point, where he might learn from some one the destination of -the supposed custodian of the letter, while Jermyn should hurry to New -York, where it would not be very hard to find the wanted man if he were -there. - -The Lieutenant had not been long in the metropolis before he learned -that even a man known throughout the nation could not easily be found -in a city as large as New York. He first went to a club where some -old acquaintances were so glad to see him that he had hard work in -getting away from them. They all knew by name and reputation the man -he was looking for and congratulated Jermyn on having any excuse for -seeing a man who had made the fortunes of a dozen other men while -making his own, but of the man's whereabouts they were as ignorant as -Jermyn himself. Then Jermyn made the rounds of the principal hotels, -but he found that their number had trebled since his own period of duty -near New York, ten years earlier, and he began to think seriously of -applying for an additional leave of absence for three days, on the -ground of urgent and unexpected personal business. - -He was so weary at the end of a single day's search, that he had not -the heart to go to club or theatre, so he dined dismally and alone at -Delmonico's, and then sauntered over to Madison Square, dropped upon a -bench, and blamed the trees for not being as fully in leaf as those he -had left in the South, three hundred miles away. - -Suddenly a gentleman arose from a bench near by, walked to and fro two -or three times, stopped in front of the lonely officer, and said: - -"I beg your pardon, sir, but aren't you Lieutenant Jermyn, of the -artillery service?" - -"Mr. Highwood!" exclaimed Jermyn, springing to his feet, and extending -his hand, "this is rare good fortune for me." - -"And for me," replied Phil; "for you are the only person I know who has -seen my family within a week, and I'm as lonesome without that family -as you can ever have been at the smallest post you ever served at. Take -pity on a poor fellow, and tell me all you can." - -"Your loss is their gain," said Jermyn, when both had seated -themselves. "I never saw Mrs. Highwood looking better. As for your -daughter, she is one of the most engaging young women I ever met, -except her mother, whom she greatly resembles. Miss Wardlow, whom Mrs. -Highwood told me was in poor health when she left New York, is simply -radiant; she is the beauty of the Point, although she doesn't seem to -know it. They all talk of you a great deal; to hear Miss Trixy is to -believe you the only man on the face of the earth." - -"Bless her!" said Phil. "By the way, there are some neighbors of ours -there, I believe--the Trewmans. Have you chanced to meet them?" - -As he asked this question, Phil looked sidewise at his companion, and -was sure, despite the uncertain light of an electric lamp, that the -officer's face colored a little. But Jermyn replied, in his ordinary -tone: - -"Delightful people--delightful! By the way, I've a suspicion that -you're in danger of losing your sister-in-law; at least as a member of -your immediate family. Mr. Trewman is devotion itself, and although the -young lady has many admirers, Mr. Trewman seems to be the favored one." - -"Ah! Well, I don't know that either of them could do better. They -are already very well acquainted, and Fenie is quite fond of Harry's -sister, whom I imagine does not disapprove of the match." - -Jermyn did not reply, so Highwood continued to talk about the Trewmans, -and particularly about Kate; and Jermyn replied briefly, from time to -time, speaking of Kate so admiringly, yet guardedly, that Phil began to -wonder whether the officer had not been making love with traditional -military haste, and had his suit discouraged. Being too good a man to -persist in talking of a subject regarding which his companion felt any -reason for restraint, he hastened to change the subject, and the two -men were soon engaged in general chat. Phil soon asked: - -"How long shall you remain in the city, Mr. Jermyn? Or perhaps you are -to be on duty here?" - -"Only on personal business, which may take three or four days." - -"Good! I'll try to see that your spare time passes pleasantly. Several -new military pictures are to be exhibited at my club, and I'll be -glad to have you see them, if you find the time. I received several -invitations in blank to-day; let me give you one." - -Phil drew some papers from his pocket, and began to search for the -invitations, holding his letters and other papers so that the light -might strike them fairly. Suddenly he was conscious of a start. He -looked up inquiringly, and saw Jermyn gazing intently at a letter which -Phil held in his hand. - -"Ah?" said Phil, quickly, "apparently you recognize this picture. -Perhaps you can tell me what it is. It has puzzled me not a little, for -it is on the back of a letter from my wife, who sketches a little, but -this sketch is not in her style." - -"It reminds me," replied Jermyn deliberately, and with a visible -affectation of carelessness, "of a bit of far Western scenery, which I -used to know quite well, having been there on duty." - -Jermyn wished he could be alone a moment--wished he were a boy again, -and in the centre of a great field or forest, where he could give a -great, joyous shout. That missing letter! It had reached rightful -hands at last--but how? He must telegraph the Admiral at once; how -delighted the dear old fellow would be! Still, how in the name of all -that was mysterious, had the tormenting screed found its way to the -man to whom it was written? There was no address, nor even name, on -the paper when he glanced at it in the fort, so the man for whom the -sketches were made could not have known to whom it belonged. - -"When did you receive the sketch, Mr. Highwood?" Jermyn asked. "Perhaps -there is an artist at the Point, of whom I have not heard." - -"It came this morning," Phil replied, hoping at the same time that -his face was not telling of what was running in his mind. What would -the man beside him think if he could know the contents of the letter? -"It was evidently begun on one day and finished on another, for there -are hints in it of a story which Mrs. Highwood will tell me when she -reaches home. She is a dear, good wife, but she does hate to write a -longer letter than is absolutely necessary." - -"I wonder that she gets time to write at all," said Jermyn, "for she is -in great demand. She has probably written you that she has met several -old acquaintances; nice people from everywhere seem to gravitate toward -Old Point." - -Then Jermyn lapsed into such deep thought about that letter, and the -ways in which it might have got back to its owner, that he almost -forgot that he was not alone. - -"What can be the matter with the fellow?" wondered Highwood. "If Trif -were almost any other woman in the world, I would think that there -was some mystery in which she and he were mutually interested. I shall -write her before I sleep, and ask her all about it; I don't know when -in my life I've been so curious about anything." - -"By the way, Mr. Highwood," said Jermyn, with the idea that he might -get some clue to the course of the letter, "I ought to tell you that -your daughter is flirting most outrageously with one of the finest -gentlemen at the Point. He is a retired admiral--Allison--perhaps you -may have heard his name?" - -"Heard of him?" echoed Phil; "all Americans are proud of him. That -isn't all; he acted as Trixy's amanuensis a day or two ago, and I -suspect that some of the funny things in the letter which I received -were devised by him; I've played that trick myself with Trixy's -missives at times." - -"Possibly you are right," was the reply, "for he is as full of fun as -any one I know." - -"Perhaps the Admiral was the artist who drew that sketch?" Phil -suggested. - -"H'm! No, I think not. I know his style." - -"Would you mind asking him on your return?" persisted Phil. - -"Not in the least. I probably shall see him to-morrow night, and----" - -"What! Is he, too, coming to New York?" - -"Oh, no. He had intended to come, but I came instead." - -"But how can you see him to-morrow night?" - -"Easily. I shall take the morning train, which will get me to the fort -by nine o'clock, at the latest." - -"Excuse me, but didn't I understand you to say that you would be here -several days?" - -"Er--I had intended to remain several days, but I've had the bad -manners to think occasionally about business while we've been talking, -and something has come to mind which will compel my return at once. -'Tis a mean thing to admit, but greatly though I've enjoyed meeting -you here--and I assure you that I never in my life met any one more -gladly--my personal business, which brought me here, has persisted in -popping into my head. I left the fort in great haste--so great that I -left some of the threads of my business behind me." - -Phil Highwood was a gentleman, so he detested any one who pried into -the private affairs of others, but for a moment he wished himself a -mind-reader, or hypnotist, or something of the sort. Meanwhile, Jermyn, -who felt that he must be alone, said: - -"Won't you honor me with some message to your family?" - -"Tell my wife to write me who drew that sketch, please?" - -The two men separated, and Jermyn hurried up Broadway, feeling younger -than he had at any time in the last ten years. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. - - -During his trip from Washington back to Old Point, the Admiral promised -himself several times that he never again would endeavor to complete a -letter begun by any other person. He also resolved that, on reaching -the hotel, he would make a full and frank explanation to Mrs. Highwood, -and would offer to make reparation, so far as was in his power, by -acting as an ally in the lady's campaign to effect the capture of Kate -and Jermyn by each other. He had done some discreet match-making in his -time, so he felt justified in assuring Trif that there were ways in -which he might be useful. - -The matter was arranged to his entire satisfaction, in his own mind, -before he fell asleep, but somehow plans made at night, even by persons -of much experience and shrewdness, do not always stand the test of -daylight. He had been at the hotel two or three hours when he came face -to face with Trif; the lady passed him with half-averted face and the -slightest possible inclination of the head. The Admiral felt indignant, -and not a little angry. Could it be possible that matters had gone from -bad to worse during his absence? There was no pluckier man in the -service than Rear-Admiral Allison, retired, but for a moment or two the -old gentleman was tempted to leave Old Point at once. - -Soon, however, he regained his courage and did some cautious -reconnoitering. He made the tour of the office, parlors, piazzas, and -beach, and his search was finally rewarded by a glimpse of Kate and her -brother, strolling to and fro on the pier. Had any harm, any publicity, -come of that enraging letter, Kate would probably be more angry than -any one else, and the first person to whom he should explain, so with a -sinking feeling, such as he had not experienced since the time he first -went into action, he strode down the pier. Miss Trewman was not above -the average height of women, but she looked very tall and imperious as -the Admiral marched forward to his fate, whatever it might be. Suddenly -Kate saw him and seemed surprised; then she stepped quickly toward him. -The old gentleman felt himself turning pale, but Kate gave him a smile -which made him as happy, he afterward told her, as if he were again a -young man, and she his sweetheart. - -"Oh, Admiral!" exclaimed Kate, "how glad I am to see you back! -Everything here has been stupid since you went away. Has anything gone -wrong with--with any one?" - -"Not with you, I'm sure, if looks are any indication. How is Mrs. -Highwood and her sister, and Trixy?" - -"Trif appears to be ill, although she says nothing is the matter with -her. Fenie is worrying about Trif, and poor little Trixy seems in -trouble about something." - -"H'm," said the Admiral, looking grave. - -"Something is the matter," exclaimed Kate. "I see it in your face. Do -tell me what it is. The Highwoods are old friends of ours, and if I -could know of anything that should be done for any of them I would be -very grateful." - -"Really, I know of nothing. Lieutenant Jermyn----" - -Kate's face colored, and the Admiral's keen eyes twinkled as their -owner continued: - -"Jermyn and I ran up to Washington a night or two ago on business, so -I've heard of nothing that has occurred here since then. Jermyn wasn't -able to return with me, but he won't remain long away; indeed, I know -he has the best of reasons for wishing himself back again." - -Again Kate blushed, which was exactly what the Admiral hoped would -be the result of his speech. Still, the girl seemed suspicious about -something, so the old gentleman began to talk of something else with -his customary ability. While he was talking, a waiter from the hotel -approached and handed him a telegram. - -"Kindly excuse me a moment?" said the Admiral, adjusting his glasses -and opening the envelope. Then he glanced at the dispatch and exclaimed: - -"Good!" - -"May we congratulate you upon something?--the thanks of Congress, or a -new war?" - -"Better still. The business upon which Jermyn and I went North has been -satisfactorily concluded. Will you kindly excuse me a few moments, -until I can write a letter? I will do myself the honor of rejoining -you." - -"There is probably some secret government business in the hands of the -Admiral and the Lieutenant," suggested Harry. - -"Secret nonsense! It is something which is mixed up in some way with -the strange manner of Trif and Fenie, and the Admiral must simply tell -what it is." - -Meanwhile the old gentleman was re-reading the dispatch, which was as -follows: - -"That letter is in proper hands. Jermyn." - -"Proper hands! Proper hands!" repeated the Admiral to himself. -"Evidently that means his own hands. Fine fellow! He deserves the girl, -if only for the pains he has taken to keep her name from being used -publicly. How I wish I might tell her the whole story! Still, if they -continue to like each other, my time will come. I think that I ought -now to be able to make my peace with Mrs. Highwood. I need merely to -repeat to her Jermyn's own words, and crave the privilege of age to -laugh with her over a matter entirely to her credit." - -Within five minutes the Admiral had dispatched a note to Trif, who -languidly opened it and then suddenly dropped her languor and called -Fenie, to whom she said: - -"What can the man mean? There can be but one letter that the man refers -to--the one which Trixy gave him, and which she got back so strangely, -and I sent on to Phil, promising that I would tell him something about -it when I reached home. Phil don't know the Admiral, so I can't make -sense out of the matter. It isn't possible that Trixy is making any -more trouble with letters?" - -"Don't be silly!" replied Fenie. "What did the poor child know about -the matter?" - -"Oh, I'm afraid she overheard us wondering whether the letter ought not -go back to the Admiral, because whoever sent it back to him would be -sure to ask whether he received it, and--Trixy, where are you? Have you -opened any of my letters?" - -"No, mamma; really and truly I haven't," was the indignant reply. - -"Oh," said Trif, "I do wish I could find out what it means. If I don't -know pretty soon I'm sure I shall go insane." - -Fenie made haste to be sisterly and soothing, and Trixy improved the -opportunity to escape from the room. She hurried down to the piazza, -asked every one she knew whether they had seen the Admiral, and finally -she found him talking with Kate and Harry. She did not wait for a lull -in the conversation; she stopped before him and interrupted with---- - -"Say, you don't want my dear mamma to go insane, do you?" - -"Bless me, no! What do you mean, child?" - -"Why, she says she's goin' to go insane if she doesn't find out all -about that letter." - -The Admiral looked embarrassed; then he said: "You will kindly excuse -me a few moments, Miss Trewman," and quickly led Trixy aside, while -Kate told her brother that she, too, would go insane, she thought, -unless she could know what dreadful mystery was in the air. - -The Admiral made haste to send the child to her mother with the request -that Mrs. Highwood would kindly grant an interview in one of the -less frequented parlors, which he designated. Within a few moments he -was talking earnestly with Trif and trying to convince her that the -troublesome letter was in Jermyn's possession. - -Then he lost his mental balance for a moment or two, for Trif assured -him that beyond doubt he was mistaken, for she had mailed the letter to -her husband, who by no possibility could have given it to any one. - -The Admiral made haste to put Jermyn's dispatch in evidence, and again -Trif was mystified, for although she knew that her husband and Jermyn -were acquainted it seemed scarcely possible that Jermyn had called -on Phil while on the errand which the old gentleman had carefully -explained, with the effect of making her appear his admirer once more. -The Admiral tried to reason it out, and offered the suggestion that -perhaps her husband had done, in a blunt, straightforward way, as most -honest men are likely to do, exactly what she would have wished him to -do. - -"You may depend upon it, my dear madam, that what I have suggested is -exactly what has happened. They have met, probably by accident; your -husband has quizzed Jermyn about Miss Trewman, Jermyn has admitted -his interest in the lady; your husband has expressed his interest and -volunteered his assistance, and to show that you also were interested -he has given Jermyn--not the letter, but some word which has satisfied -the young man that the letter reached its proper destination." - -"I hope you are right," said Trif, "and for the rest----" - -"For the rest," continued the Admiral, "can't you and I afford to -laugh the matter away? I've honestly explained how innocently I was -led to read what Trixy brought me. The letter itself did great credit -to your head and heart; the young people are singularly suited to each -other, and there is no probability that Miss Trewman will ever hear -anything about it, for the manner in which the letter was returned to -you shows that it was forwarded to me by some one who was present when -I thoughtlessly sketched upon it. As no one but army officers, and one -other person, was there, it is probable that some officer returned it, -and army officers are gentlemen; none of them would repeat what he -chanced to see in a private letter, particularly as his most natural -conclusion would be that the letter, having been seen in my possession, -had been written to me by some member of my own family." - -Trif felt much better, and finally pleased the old gentleman by -laughing and accepting him as an ally, and also by accepting his -invitation to walk upon the beach and take some delicious air, of -which, through his own carelessness, she had recently been deprived. - -Trif was as happy as an innocent soul released suddenly from prison, -and the Admiral, his own honest heart relieved of its burden, was -chatting cheerily and delightfully, when both met Trixy, who looked as -if something dreadful had befallen her. - -"My dear little darling, what is the matter?" asked Trif. - -"She said she wondered if you'd been doin' anythin' dreadful, 'cause I -said you might get insane." - -"She? Whom do you mean?" - -"Why, Miss Trewman. And I just told her, 'no, indeed,' and she said it -was too bad that a letter should make anybody such a lot of trouble, -and I told her that the letter wasn't about you at all, but was all -about her, 'cause I heard you and Aunt Fee talkin' about it. Then she -looked awful cross, and I told her she needn't, 'cause 'twas about -somethin' nice for her." - -"Trixy, dear, how much more did you tell her?" - -"Nothin', mamma. You don't think I'm goin' to tell things to people, -after all you've said to me about not doin' it, do you? I only told her -that you and papa was arrangin' a real nice s'prise for her, and she -asked if the Admiral was helpin' do it, 'cause he seemed to be. But I -didn't tell her nothin' about it--really I didn't." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE. - - -Jermyn hurried back to his post of duty with such mental rapidity that -neither train nor steamer could keep pace with him. He told himself -that he was a fool; that he had not known Kate Trewman a week, and that -in the first half of that same week he had imagined himself in love -with Trif's sister, yet, after everything that he could say against -himself, the fact remained that he was so interested in Miss Trewman -that he had all sorts of fears as to what might happen to his prospects -during his absence. - -He told himself that probably she was already engaged to some other -man, for such women were so scarce that he could not understand how -one of them had thus far escaped matrimony. He also reminded himself -that he had been admiring fine women all his life, and that quite a -number of them had married other men, generally before he had been -able to interest them in himself. Still, what did that prove? Merely, -that good men, like great men, thought alike. He would not make a fool -of himself; he really wasn't in love, but he certainly would endeavor -to become better acquainted with Miss Trewman, and if she were not -already promised to another, he would make her his own, unless she -objected. - -The first thing necessary, however, upon reaching Old Point, was to -report to his superior officer. He, therefore, hurried to the fort; -then, on his way back to the hotel, he dropped into the club, merely -to see who was there, or had been there, and in an instant he was -buttonholed by the Admiral, who drew him aside, and said: - -"Tell me all about it! Facts first and explanations afterward." - -"There's nothing to tell," Jermyn replied, "except that Mr. Highwood -has that exasperating letter. Is there anything new at the hotel?" - -"Nothing except that Miss Trixy--what a genius for mischief that child -has!--Trixy has made a coolness in some way between the Highwoods and -Trewmans. Miss Trewman acts all the while as if there was something -on her mind that was worth being indignant about, and I assure you -that the entire situation is extremely uncomfortable for a certain old -gentleman who wishes nothing but the best to all parties." - -Jermyn frowned and said: - -"I suppose the sooner I try to find out what it all is about, the -better it will be for my peace of mind." - -"Be very careful, I beg of you, my dear boy," exclaimed the Admiral, as -Jermyn started away. "Miss Trewman is a most estimable young woman, but -she has a mind of her own." - -"So much the better. It probably will teach her to have proper respect -for other peoples' minds." - -"But mayn't I suggest----" - -"Perhaps--when I return." - -With that reply, the Admiral looked miserable and undecided, and he -finally persuaded some one to join him at a game of checkers, which to -that day he had thought the last refuge of an adult mind which also was -diseased. - -Jermyn hurried toward the hotel, determined to take whatever misfortune -might come to him, rather than be annoyed by more accidents. As to -Trixy--Jermyn had always liked children, and years before, he had made -a reputation on a western bound train, and afterward in the service, by -caring all night for a fretful child so that the infant's mother might -get some needed rest. He wished he might have charge of Trixy for a -few days; she was Trif's child, and Trif was to him the ideal woman, -and it was impossible that the child should not have inherited some of -her mother's estimable qualities; but if Trixy had been making new and -unexpected trouble for him, he wished there might be excuse for putting -her into the most remote casemate of the fort, locking the door, and -losing the key. - -As he thought and fretted, he entered the hotel and made his way -through office and parlor toward the ball-room, where every one who -did not dance congregated to look at every one who did. He nodded to -several acquaintances, but his thoughts were entirely about Trixy -until he was recalled to better command of himself by the sound of a -well-remembered voice: - -"Oh, Mr. Jermyn! What an unexpected pleasure! We were told that you -would be away several days." - -"I am glad to say that I am not so unfortunate," Jermyn replied. - -"Hello, Mr. Jermyn," piped a small voice from somewhere behind Miss -Trewman, and then the young man saw Trixy, looking as innocent and -confiding as if nothing whatever had happened which could trouble her -mind or her conscience. - -"Trixy!" exclaimed Jermyn, advancing menacingly upon the child. "I met -your father yesterday, and he told me to give you a thorough shaking -for him"--here he picked up the child and acted according to Phil's -orders--"and," he continued, "I suppose he would have sent you a kiss -also if I hadn't left him in haste, so I'll give you one on suspicion." - -"That is a very interesting child," said Kate, as Trixy hurried away to -find her mother and aunt and report Jermyn's return, "but I do think -she can make more trouble than any other child I ever heard of." - -"Such offences must be condoned, I suppose," replied Jermyn, too -happily surprised by his reception to harbor ill-will against any one. - -"What a forgiving mood--for a soldier!" said Kate, who imagined Jermyn -knew something of the mystery she was trying to fathom. - -"Soldiers are often compelled to learn that those who do most harm mean -least," Jermyn replied. "But what has the child been doing since I went -away?" - -"I've not the slightest idea. Perhaps she has done nothing, but she -has excited my curiosity greatly, through some references to myself." -Then Kate looked enquiringly into Jermyn's eyes, and the young man was -so delighted to be looked at by her in any way that he met her gaze -unflinchingly, although respectfully, and finally overcame it, and -Kate, wishing to change the subject of conversation, murmured something -about the heat of the room. - -"Let us escape from it," suggested Jermyn, "and join Mrs. Highwood and -her sister. Probably they are on the piazza, for I saw Trixy disappear -in that direction." - -No one who hasn't tried it knows how hard it is to find any one on a -crowded piazza a quarter of a mile long, and after sunset too. Success -is still more difficult when the searchers have something else to -concern their minds and eyes. Jermyn and Kate were clever talkers, and -neither of them had often found company so agreeable, so they passed -and repassed Trif and Fenie several times without seeing them, and Trif -smiled archly, and Fenie gave her a warning pinch, for Harry was with -them. - -Harry himself was no fool, and as the ladies themselves suddenly lapsed -into comparative silence he remembered that his sister frequently -reminded him that ladies had affairs of their own to talk about, so -he insisted upon getting lemonade for them, and the journey from the -piazza to the cafe was quite long, so there was much time for chat -before his return, and every moment of it was improved, while Trixy, -seated on a low stool, with her head in her mother's lap, seemed -slumbering as peacefully as if in her bed, and the physician at the -hotel had assured Trif that the salt air at night was not in the least -unwholesome, but quite the reverse. - -When Harry returned, followed by a waiter with a tray, and it was -learned that he had not forgotten the smallest member of the party, -Trixy awoke opportunely, and felt so refreshed that she had to relieve -herself of superabundant vitality by tripping to and fro on the broad -walk at the edge of the beach, with several children with whom she had -become acquainted. They were having a glorious time when Trixy suddenly -espied Kate and Jermyn; then she lost interest in her companions and -began to stare. - -The objects of her attention did not notice her; they would not have -been conscious of the presence of the President of the United States, -had that distinguished person passed them in the full glare of the -occasional lamps. They were not talking love, nor anything remotely -resembling it, but they were entirely absorbed in each other, which -answered the same purpose. Jermyn had promised a brother subaltern, -only two or three days before, some coaching in the mysteries of -ballistics, and for this very evening, but he forgot all about it, and -the subaltern, who looked anxiously about for Jermyn and finally found -him, saw for himself that his chances were very slight, so he sat down -at the edge of the promenade and engaged Trixy in conversation. The -child soon remarked: - -"You don't think they're a couple of fools, do you?" - -"They? Who?" asked the officer. - -"Why, Lieutenant Jermyn and Miss Trewman." - -"Certainly not! What an odd question! If you were a few years older, -young lady, you yourself would think them eminently sensible." - -"Oh, is that true? Well, I'm glad of it, 'cause a while ago Aunt Fee -said if they wasn't fools they'd make a match of it. How do people make -matches, anyhow? What do they make 'em of?" - -"Upon my word, young woman," replied the youth, after a quiet laugh, -"you're of a very inquiring turn of mind. Perhaps you had better put -that question to your mother--no, not now." - -"But they know, don't they? 'Cause if they don't, how are they to make -one?" - -"That's for themselves to find out," answered the young man, recalling -an experience or two of his own which had not been successful. "By the -way, how many wells have you dug to-day?" - -"I don't remember," said Trixy, going into a brown study. The young -officer strolled off to struggle by himself with his problem, leaving -Trixy with her own. A possible aid to solution came to the child's -mind. Exclaiming to herself, "Why, of course!" she began to walk, -looking carefully at every person she met. Soon she saw Jermyn and Kate -and attached herself to them. - -"What is it, dear?" asked Kate in a tone so tender that any hesitation -the child may have had vanished at once. - -"Have you made it?" - -"Made what?" - -"Oh, if you don't know, it don't mind, I s'pose. Lieutenant Prewser -thought you did know, or I wouldn't have asked you." - -"What on earth is the child talking about?" asked Kate. - -"Explain yourself, Trixy," said Jermyn. "What did Prewser say we knew -how to do?" - -"Well, come to think of it, he didn't say you knew, but he said it was -for you to find out." - -"But what was it?" persisted Kate. - -"Why, 'twas how to make a match." - -Kate suddenly averted her head, and acted as if she wanted to run away. -Jermyn took her hand--gently, very gently, yet with sufficient force to -detain her. Then he said: - -"Trixy, your mother wants you, this very instant." - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE UNEXPECTED. - - -What Jermyn and Kate said to each other in the two or three minutes -immediately following Trixy's departure was entirely their own -affair, and need not be repeated here; beside, they never afterward -agreed exactly as to what it was. Suffice it to say that they walked -somewhat rapidly in the direction of the disappearing child, and parted -pleasantly. Kate joined her brother and Trif, and asked how they had -secreted themselves so successfully, when she and Jermyn had been -seeking them everywhere for the last half-hour. She asked also if the -night was not simply superb--heavenly! and whether they weren't the -stupidest people in the world to sit there quietly while the air was -simply entrancing. For herself, she thought it an absolute sin to sit -still in such weather, so she begged Trixy to take a little walk with -her. - -The child was quite willing, so the couple strolled a few moments. Soon -Trixy asked: - -"Does lovely nights always make you so dreadful quiet?" - -"Am I quiet? I was thinking about something. There! I shall stop -thinking about it. But, Trixy dear, how did you and Lieutenant Prewser -come to talk about--about such things?" - -"What things?" - -"Don't you remember what you said to Lieutenant Jermyn and me?" - -"No--o--o," drawled Trixy, whose mind had roamed over several other -subjects in the past quarter hour. "What was it?" - -"Oh, never mind it," said Kate hastily, "if you don't recall it." - -"Oh, yes; it was about match-makin', wasn't it?" - -"Yes," Kate answered, so savagely that the child started. "Did you ask -your mother about it?" - -"No. I was goin' to, but they all was talkin' about somethin' else, so -I didn't get a chance." - -"Then don't. There are some things about which little girls shouldn't -talk, and about which their mammas don't like them to talk, and this -is one of them; so don't mention it to your mother at all. Do you -understand me?" - -"Ye--es," replied Trixy, with a drawl which indicated doubt. "But mamma -says, whenever I want to know anythin' about anythin' I must come and -ask her right away." - -"Very well, let me ask her for you, about this, won't you? You know -that I love you very dearly, and wouldn't like your mamma to think -badly of you in any way, so----" - -"Then if you love me so much," interrupted Trixy, "why don't you give -me all the dolls you said you would?" - -"How shamefully forgetful I am! My dear child, you shall have those -dolls to-morrow, if I have to go all the way to Norfolk for them." - -"Good! good! good!" - -"But," continued Kate, with an uplifted finger, which looked very -impressive in the semi-darkness, "not--one--single--doll, if you say a -word about this matter to your mother." - -"All right!" - -"You are sure you will not forget?" - -"Ever so sure. If I find myself thinkin' about it at all I'll just say -'Dolls, dolls, dolls' to myself as hard as I can, and then all the -think will go out of my mind." - -"That's a good girl." - -Then Kate lifted Trixy, embraced her, kissed her, and called her the -dearest little girl on the face of the earth, after which, greatly to -the child's astonishment, she hurried Trixy to her mother and excused -herself, saying that she had suddenly found the night air much damper -than she had supposed. - -No sooner did Jermyn leave Kate's side than he went to the ball-room, -the office, and about the piazzas, asking every acquaintance whether -Prewser had been seen in the course of the evening. Finally he found -his comrade and a reproachful face in Prewser's own quarters, and after -some sharp questioning he promised to help the young man at ballistics -and anything else so long as he lived. Prewser asked if congratulations -were in order, and Jermyn frowned and said "Nonsense," but he -afterwards whistled merrily and Prewser began to nurse some suspicions. - -"Trixy, dear," said Fenie the next morning, while preparing for -breakfast, "if I were you I wouldn't follow a lady and gentleman while -they are promenading in the evening. It isn't ladylike. I am sure that -your mamma will tell you that I am right." - -Trif looked amusedly at her sister and said, "One word for others and -two for yourself," but she added her own cautions to Fenie's, and said -she ought to have called Trixy away from Kate and Jermyn the evening -before. - -"Why, I only--" began Trixy. Then she stopped and exclaimed "Dolls." - -"What have dolls to do with it?" asked Fenie. - -"Lots--just lots. I'm going to have 'em if I don't--oh, I nearly told." - -"Told what?" - -"Why, that--oh, Dolls! Dolls! Dolls! There." - -"Trif," exclaimed Fenie, "I do believe the child has lost her senses." - -"Oh, no I haven't, but--Dolls! Dolls! Dolls!" - -"Trixy,--" - -"Fenie, do be quiet," exclaimed Trif. "Trixy, run down to the table and -tell our waiter we will be there very soon, so he may have the oysters -ready for us. Hurry, dear." - -No sooner was Trixy out of the room than Trif said: - -"Fenie, you silly girl, can't you ever see anything? I suspected it -last night, but now I am sure of it." - -"Sure of what?" - -"Why, that Kate and Jermyn are at an understanding--or sure to be. -I saw when Kate rejoined us last night that something unusual had -happened, and that it was not unpleasant. She acted just as I--as I -felt when Phil----" - -"Oh, oh, oh!" exclaimed Fenie, going quickly into some day-dreams of -her own, for she and Harry were getting along capitally together. -They were not engaged, but there could be no mistake as to what the -dear fellow meant, and what she wanted him to mean. She did not speak -another word while preparing for breakfast, for she wouldn't for worlds -have told what was in her mind--not even to her sister--yet she feared -she would tell it if she spoke at all. But wasn't it delightful? -She would marry Harry, in the course of time, and Kate would marry -Jermyn. She wondered which couple would be first at the altar. What a -delightful party of friends they would be, the two couples, with Trif -and Phil! - -The girl's reverie was so delightful that even breakfast did not -destroy it, although she had the healthy appetite to which young women -have an inherent right. She took the customary morning walk along the -beach with Trif and Trixy, but there was an expectant look in her eye -which Trif told herself would delight Harry when he saw it. Trixy -tried to talk with her, but got such vague replies that she gave up -in despair and began to throw pebbles. Finally the sisters seated -themselves on the piazza, and Trif began to wish she knew all that she -suspected, for she longed to write her husband all about it. There was -no sentimental nonsense in her mind about the handsome soldier who had -once hoped for her heart and hand; but what good woman does not rejoice -to see an honest admirer happily married--after she herself had married -happily? - -The longer she thought of it the surer she was that her intuitions were -correct, so she said she must go and write a line to dear Phil. Fenie -accompanied her, but when Trif reached her room Fenie was invisible, -for the girl had caught a glimpse of Kate in one of the halls, and had -hurried toward her. Fenie was thinking about Kate and Jermyn, so she -put her arm about Kate, drew her into a parlor in which there chanced -to be no one else, kissed her, and exclaimed: - -"You darling girl, I'm so happy about it!" - -"So am I, dear," Kate replied, returning Fenie's endearments in kind; -"but I do think Harry might have said something to me, after all that I -have done for him." - -"Harry?" said Fenie, with a wondering look. "Doesn't he approve of the -match?" - -"Approve? My dear girl, how could he have made it if he hadn't thought -well of it? How strangely you talk!" - -"He made it? The sly rogue! He and I have chatted together for hours -every day, but I didn't imagine that anything of the sort was on his -mind." - -"Tryphena Wardlow!" exclaimed Kate. "Will you tell me what you are -talking about?" - -"About you and Lieutenant Jermyn, to be sure." - -"Oh, Fenie!" Kate flushed deeply before she continued: "He and I have -become pleasantly acquainted, and I esteem him very highly, but can you -imagine for a moment that I am anything more than the acquaintance of a -gentleman whom I never saw until this week? How did you get so crazy a -fancy?" - -Fenie went down into the valley of humiliation, and said she was sure -she didn't know, unless something that Trixy had said--no, something -that Trixy hadn't said--that is, Trixy had behaved so strangely---- - -"I don't believe," said Kate frigidly, "that if the cases were -reversed I would attach any importance to the babble of a child. In -the circumstances, I think I ought to be told what Trixy did say, for -she talks with every one, and I should like to know whether it is safe -for me to remain here any longer. I supposed it was safe for me to be -here with your sister as chaperone, but so long as she has her dreadful -child with her no one's reputation is safe. I shall return home at -once. Fortunately Harry's business which brought him to Norfolk is -finished, so there is no reason for our remaining here any longer." - -Fenie burst into tears, but Kate had her own trouble to think of, -so she remained indignant. She recalled what Trixy had repeated the -night before, as having been said by some officer; she herself had -been too--well, too surprised and embarrassed at the moment, and too -exhilarated a moment or two later, to think about the first cause of -what passed between her and Jermyn, but she certainly was not going to -remain where her name could give occupation to idle tongues. - -"Aunt Fee," exclaimed Trixy, appearing suddenly at the door of the -parlor, "I've been lookin' everywhere for you. Mamma asked me to find -you for her." - -"Trixy," asked Kate, "what silly things have you been saying about me?" - -"Not any. Every time I was goin' to say anythin' I just said 'Dolls' -instead. Didn't I, Aunt Fee?" - -"Then how did your aunt know----" - -"Oh, are you all here?" exclaimed Trif, entering the parlor. "I only -sent for you, Fenie, to let you know that I am going to write my letter -on the piazza instead of in my room; 'tis so much pleasanter out of -doors. Don't you--why, my dear sister, what is the matter?" - -The girl, who was thinking only of the impending departure of the young -man who was all the world to her, hurried from the room, followed -by Trixy. Kate began at once to complain to Trif of the child's -telling--she knew not what, and that was the dreadful thing about it. -When Trif learned what Kate's fears and suspicions were she said: - -"Trixy has told nothing; she has had nothing to tell. If any one is -to blame, it is I, who could not help imagining, and hoping too, and -talking to my sister about it. If there's nothing to it I shall be -dreadfully unhappy, for Jermyn is much the finest unmarried man of my -acquaintance, and you are the only woman I know who is entirely worthy -of him." - -"Aunt Fee's cryin' awful, mamma," said Trixy, returning to the parlor. - -Trif looked reproachfully at Kate, who showed signs of relenting, -although she was having a severe struggle with her pride. - -"When are you goin' to Norfolk to get my dolls?" asked Trixy. - -Kate laughed, despite herself; Trif embraced her and whispered -something which made Kate blush, look toward Trixy, and say: - -"Run quickly, dear, and tell Aunt Fee that I've been real unkind, and -that--for her sake, I won't return to New York until--oh, I don't know -when." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -COWARDS BOTH. - - -If human nature could be as thoroughly ashamed of its misdeeds as it -sometimes is of doings entirely to its credit, the world would be much -the better for it. - -Kate Trewman was very sure, after her interview with Trif, Fenie and -Trixy, that she had never done or said anything the night before that -was not entirely womanly and honest, but the mere thought of meeting -Jermyn face to face in broad daylight made her tremble as abjectly as -if she were a criminal and Jermyn an officer of the law. She determined -to keep her room all day; when dusk came she would go down to the -piazza with Trif and Fenie, and then if Jermyn joined them, as she -ardently hoped he would, he could not see in her face all that she felt -her heart was putting there. - -By a coincidence, not entirely odd, Jermyn was feeling very like Kate. -He felt that he had acted hastily, although he could not see what -else there was for a gentleman to do in the circumstances into which -that dreadful Trixy had forced him. Fortunately the duties of the -section-room would absorb him for some hours, but afterwards--what? It -had been his custom for two years to spend an hour or two each day at -the hotel, chatting with old acquaintances and forming new ones, but he -could not trust himself to-day. - -He recalled some romantic affairs of his earlier days, and the -embarrassment of some meetings, and he persuaded himself that it -was entirely for Kate's sake that he did not wish to encounter her -suddenly that morning. But what could he do? Ha! He had it. He would -run up to Norfolk and be measured for the new uniform which he had -long been promising himself. The general commanding the department -was soon to make his annual official visit to the fort; there would -be an inspection and parade which should, if possible, exceed any of -the weekly affairs, and if the Trewmans remained until that time, as -he hoped they might, he would like to appear to the best possible -advantage before the one woman in the world. - -The Norfolk boat chanced to be very slow that morning, and as the -weather was quite warm Jermyn made his way as far forward as possible -to get the air. Most of the other passengers had done likewise, but -Jermyn found a vacant chair near some brother officers and made haste -to take it. Two or three minutes later he saw, seated very near him, -and reading as industriously as if her book were the most interesting -in the world, Kate Trewman. Kate well knew who was seated near her, but -she could not help looking shyly toward him. - -"What a delightful surprise!" said Jermyn, bravely, as he moved his -chair toward Kate's. - -"Very kind of you," Kate murmured. "I had some shopping to do, and as -my brother has already made me acquainted with some of the business -streets, and as I could not persuade him to accompany me, I ventured -alone. The truth is, I promised Trixy Highwood some dolls before I -left New York, and she reminded me of them yesterday, and I think 'tis -dreadfully cruel to disappoint a child--don't you?" - -"Indeed I do, when the child chances to be so interesting as Trixy." -Jermyn cudgelled his wits a moment before continuing: "May I ask -whether you know the ways of Norfolk shops? Some of the dealers regard -Northern people as specially desirable prey, but there are others who -make special concessions to us people of the fort. Won't you let me -make you acquainted with some of them? After that, you may banish me -when you will." - -"You are very kind. Oh, Mr. Jermyn, weren't these waters the scene of -that wonderful fight between the Merrimac and the Monitor?" - -Jermyn immediately began the story of the historic naval engagement, -and that Kate might see the localities more clearly he borrowed a glass -from the pilot, and he begged permission to steady Kate's arm while she -used the glass--the old boat trembled so provokingly, he said, and Kate -herself admitted that she never had been on a boat whose deck was more -unsteady, so Jermyn continued to assist her until nothing remained to -be seen but the docks of Norfolk. Then he escorted her to two or three -shops, making every possible excuse to remain with her. Finally, he -said: - -"Would you mind my remaining with you while you select those dolls? I -used to have to buy such things, when my sisters were younger, and it -would give me great pleasure to recall the sensation." - -Kate could not refuse a request made in such terms, so the couple were -soon having much amusement in discussing the utterly inhuman features -which manufacturers succeed in imposing upon dolls. The selection -consumed much time; meanwhile there came into the shop an officer's -wife, newly arrived at the fort, who asked Jermyn if he might be going -to the navy-yard, across the river, for she had come from an interior -town where naval vessels never had been seen, and she did long to look -at some, if only for a moment or two, and Jermyn said he would be -delighted to escort her to and through the yard, where he knew every -one, and he asked Kate whether she would not accompany them? - -Kate did not say "No"; she was by that time in a frame of mind which -would have made her equal to tramping through mud for the sake of -having Jermyn beside her. While at the yard, she noted with delight -the heartiness with which all the naval officers greeted Jermyn. Trif -had whispered to her, only a few hours before, that she herself had -once been almost in love with Jermyn, and that she still believed no -other bachelor alive was his equal, but Kate had been a woman long -enough to attach more importance to men's opinions of men than to -women's. Luncheon was served for the party on one of the war vessels, -and each lady was toasted, and Kate noted that when her own name was -given, Jermyn drained his glass with a look at her which made her feel -uncomfortable yet happy. - -The party returned to Old Point by a boat which did not reach the pier -until after dark, and as the officer's wife had never before been in -Norfolk alone her husband was at the pier, in much anxiety, to look for -her, and escort her home, and the pier was so covered with freight that -Jermyn thought it his duty to insist that Kate should take his arm, -which he held very closely to his side without any remonstrance from -the owner, and then he insisted upon finding her brother or Trif before -he left her. - -"'Tis all right," whispered Trif to Fenie, as she saw them approaching. - -"About the dolls?" asked Trixy, anxiously. "Do you think them's in the -bundle that he's carryin'?" - -"No, you silly child!" said Fenie. "Your mother means----" - -Fenie received a warning pinch, but it was too late, for the child -exclaimed: "Oh, I know!" and made a sudden dash in the direction of -the approaching couple. Trif snatched at Trixy's dress; there was a -ripping, tearing sound, and away went the child, while behind her -floated something like a train. - -"Oh, I'm so glad!" she exclaimed, stopping before Jermyn and Kate so -suddenly as to separate them. - -"Yes," said Kate. "Here are the dolls, dear." - -"I'm awful glad to get 'em; my, what a big bundle! But that wasn't what -I meant." - -"What else?" asked Kate, in entire innocence. - -"Why, that you're bein' nice to Mr. Jermyn. Mamma and Aunt Fee -have been talkin' about you all day, and hopin' you wouldn't be a -fool--that's what they said; I never say such things about a lady--no -indeed! Say, you're engaged, aren't you? 'Cause----" - -"Take the package to your mother, Trixy, and let her open it for you," -said Jermyn quickly. "Miss Trewman, please don't hurry away; do take my -arm again, just for a moment; thank you. I merely wished to say--shall -we walk a moment?--to say that our friends seem to take unusual -interest in us; interest of a kind which I'm sure neither of us has -said a word to justify." - -"Not a word, I'm sure," assented Kate. - -"But I can't endure," continued Jermyn rapidly, "to risk, merely -through the prattle of a child, the most delightful friendship I ever -made. Last night I said to you--but why repeat it? I've no right to -expect you to endure any annoyance, for my sake, but if you chance to -like me as much as last night you let me think you do, can't we afford -to make light of such chatter as that provoking child may inflict upon -us? Good men are plentiful--better men than I; but to me there is only -one woman in all the world, and I can't bear the thought of giving -up hope of her until she herself commands me. I assure you that I am -entirely in earnest." - -"I couldn't suspect you of flirting," said Kate, softly. - -"Thank you," said Jermyn, pressing closely to his side the little hand -which was trembling on his arm. "I won't ask you for any promises, -except that you will allow yourself to become well acquainted with me. -You are with friends who love you dearly, and one of them knows me of -old. There can be nothing to cause embarrassment between us, except----" - -"Except Trixy?" interrupted Kate, with a silvery laugh. - -"Bless you for laughing about it!" said Jermyn, earnestly. "If you can -continue to do so, then----" - -"One can get accustomed to almost anything," said Kate, with another -laugh, although why she laughed she was sure she did not know. - -"If 'can' could mean 'will,' and if I could be 'anything'--" said -Jermyn. He did not complete the sentence, so Kate looked shyly up at -him. They had walked so far that they were beyond the lights of the -hotel, but the girl could see that her companion's face, always strong -and earnest, seemed intently fixed upon something far ahead. They had -walked all the way to the little lighthouse, and just beyond it, and -there are few darker places than the base of a lighthouse. The darkness -gave Kate courage, so she whispered: - -"It shall mean 'will,' if you wish it so." - -"Heaven bless you!" Then--what strange influences there are in -darkness!--Jermyn threw his arms about Kate and kissed her. - -Some student of love has said that kisses gain force by delay. Jermyn's -was the first kiss Kate Trewman had ever received from a man who -professed to love her, so between astonishment and many other things -which she did not understand and could not have called up and thought -about at the time had her life depended upon it, she did not resist the -kiss nor the several that followed it. - -"My angel!" said Jermyn. "You will be my wife?" - -"How can I help it?" asked Kate, softly, "after--after what has -happened?" - -"Hurrah!" sounded a child's voice behind them. - -"Trixy!" - -"I didn't mean to do nothin'," the child explained. "I was just walkin' -along behind you, 'cause you both looked so splendid, and walked so -nice together, but when you kissed each other----" - -"Trixy!" exclaimed Kate, "I did nothing of the sort!" - -"Didn't you? Then I don't think you was very polite." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE COURAGE OF JOY. - - -Some of the least explicable changes of manner are the most genuine, so -it is not necessary to assign any reason for the fact that on the way -back to the hotel Jermyn and Kate, who had both been under considerable -restraint a few moments before, talked as freely and rapidly as if they -had been acquainted for years. The only indication that there was more -than one thought between them was the care with which they kept Trixy -in sight and reach, so that her little tongue could not wag until it -had been put under proper curb by Trixy's mother. On the other hand, -they kept her far enough from them for her not to overhear anything -that they were saying to each other, and their frequent recalls, -whenever the child attempted to skip or run, had the effect of soon -making Trixy appear as if she were a prisoner under close guard. - -Even when the hotel was reached the child was kept within view yet out -of hearing, while Jermyn and Kate sat down with Trif. Fortunately for -them, Harry and Fenie just then thought of some one whom they wanted to -find in the ball-room, and they were glad of some one who would keep -Trif from being alone. - -Jermyn began with military directness by saying: - -"Miss Trewman, may I ask one of my oldest friends to congratulate me?" - -"Yes," Kate replied, "if you will let her include me in the -congratulations." - -"Oh, you dear people!" exclaimed Trif. "There's nothing that I would -rather have heard." - -"You don't think it shockingly sudden?" asked Kate. - -"Not I--considering what either of you might have missed by delay." - -"I assure you," said Kate, "that not a word would have been said about -it for months--it all came so suddenly--if it hadn't been for Trixy." - -"Where is that child?" asked Jermyn, rising in alarm and looking in -every direction. - -"She's looking at her dolls," Trif replied. "No, she isn't. Dear me! I -arranged those dolls for her on a chair not ten minutes ago." - -"Not ten minutes ago?" asked Jermyn dreamily. - -"It seems ten hours ago--ten days," whispered Kate dreamily. - -"My dear children," said Trif, although Kate was only three years -younger than she and Jermyn was older by several years, "you ought to -be the happiest people alive, except Phil and I; but to keep the matter -to ourselves for a while, if only to divert attention and prevent -impertinent curiosity while Kate is down here--you know how some of the -best of people will talk--don't tell any one--although I'm sure that -I must tell Fenie, who can't help telling Harry, but no one else need -know." - -"But, my dear madam," said Jermyn, once more rising and peering -earnestly in every direction, "your interesting daughter already knows. -I do wish I knew where to look for her." - -"Trixy knows? How on earth did she learn?" - -"Tell her--if you can," said Kate to Jermyn. - -"I am sure that you would do it more gracefully," said Jermyn. - -"Oh," began Kate, "we were walking along the beach, talking -about--never mind what. I hadn't the faintest idea how far we were from -the hotel, and the first thing I knew we were near the lighthouse, -and I didn't know that any one else was anywhere near us--indeed, I -didn't think. Just then Mr. Jermyn--oh, the artfulness of some men--Mr. -Jermyn--he----" - -"He suddenly recognized Miss Trewman as his superior officer for all -time, and he made the salute which custom has sanctioned for such -occasions," interrupted Jermyn. - -"Very gracefully done," murmured Kate with a tender look. - -"What?--the salute? Your remark encourages me to----" - -"No, you horrid fellow; the explanation." - -"But what has this to do with Trixy?" asked Trif. - -"Only this; it seems that she had been following us all the while, and -she heard it." - -Trif pursed her lips a moment, and laughed before she said: - -"I suppose that soldiers are so accustomed to noisy salutes that they -don't always think----" - -"Oh," said Kate, "I'm sure she didn't hear the kiss, because I didn't, -and I think--oh, Trif, you're too mean for anything! To make me----" - -"I think I made some remarks afterward," said Jermyn, "but they were -interrupted by a shout of 'Hurrah,' and on looking around we saw Trixy." - -"She shan't trouble you again!" exclaimed Trif. "I'll take her -home--to-morrow." - -"Please don't!" exclaimed Kate. - -"How could you be so cruel?" asked Jermyn. - -"You inconsistent, incomprehensible couple. A moment ago you were -complaining that----" - -"But haven't you any mercy for Harry and Fenie?" asked Kate. "They are -so ecstatically happy here." - -"Quite right, my dear!" said Jermyn gravely. "Harry and Fenie, to be -sure!" - -"But they can see each other in New York quite as well as if they were -here," argued Trif. - -"But what is to become of me?" asked Kate. "If you go home, Fenie will -go with you, and Harry will want to hurry after, and I can't remain -here alone, and you are the only married woman of my acquaintance who -is here, and who knows." - -"My dear girl!" exclaimed Trif. "I beg a thousand pardons. Let me -see; what can I do? I don't see what, except to caution Trixy very -carefully; and as she is the most conscientious little thing in the -world, and----" - -"And the leakiest," added Kate. - -"Be quiet, Kate! I won't have the dear child maligned. She never tells -anything she is ordered not to--unless she is asked. I shall tell her -that she will make great unhappiness for two people who love her dearly -if she says anything to anybody about anything which she has heard -or--ahem!--seen this evening. Of course, no one will question her, for -no one has any reason to suspect anything, and, of course, nothing in -the manner of either of you will give any ground for curiosity." - -"'Twould be awful--simply too awful," moaned Kate, "if anyone should -learn what has happened on so short acquaintance. Beside, I'd be the -principal sufferer, whereas it wasn't in the least particular my fault." - -"'Twas all your fault, my dear," protested Jermyn. "If you hadn't been -the most incomparable woman in all the world----" - -"Please don't forget," interrupted Kate, "that we are not alone." - -"I'll take Trixy aside at once," said Trif, "and caution her -thoroughly." - -"You will make us everlastingly your debtors," said Jermyn. "Let me -find her for you." - -While the young man was absent, the two women talked as rapidly and -earnestly and ecstatically as only women can talk about the most -important event--but one--that can befall one of their sex. Almost -as soon as Jermyn returned with the child, an orderly from the fort -appeared with the word that the officer was wanted at his company -quarters, so Jermyn bade a reluctant adieu, and hurried away. - -As he passed through the postern gate of the fort, he met an officer -who seemed to be looking for some one, and who exclaimed: - -"Hurry along, old fellow! Every one is waiting impatiently." - -"Every one waiting? What has happened?" - -"You'll learn in a moment." - -"Has some high government official died, and are all the troops at the -fort to attend the funeral?" - -"No such bad luck; at any rate, you won't have to go into mourning." -So saying, the officer led Jermyn into the club, where the wondering -man found several officers of his own rank, and all bachelors. As -Jermyn entered, all arose, with glasses in their hands, and one of them -shouted: - -"Here's Jermyn!" - -"Jermyn!" shouted the others in chorus, after which each man drained -his glass and refilled it. Then some one shouted: - -"Hats, off gentlemen! Here's 'Her!'" - -"Her!" responded the chorus, and again the glasses were drained. - -"What are you fellows talking about?" asked Jermyn, with a savage frown. - -"Don't lose your temper, old fellow," said one of the party. "You -know that we're not given to prying into the personal affairs of our -comrades, but this information came to us unsought." - -"Not only unsought," said Lieutenant Prewser, "but we did all in our -power to avoid getting it--didn't we, Groston?" - -"Indeed we did. We tried to change the subject of conversation, or, -more properly speaking, of report, but she wouldn't have it. She got -back to it every time, and she stuck to it until she had her say." - -"She? Who?" - -"Trixy." - -"Heavens!" muttered Jermyn, while his face became very red. - -"The accused displays the customary sign of guilt," remarked the oldest -officer of the party. - -"Really, Jermyn," said Prewser, "I never met anyone who was more -determined to talk. If I'd been alone I wouldn't have said anything -about it, but as there were three of us, and we all tried to dissuade -her, and she persisted in offering circumstantial evidence--ahem!--too -strong to be set aside, we thought it only fair that we, who have -fought and bled and died with you, or expect to do so, should be the -first to congratulate you. To think of all the women who've angled for -you, yet whom you've escaped! And you've made such a glorious capture, -too! If we hadn't agreed that there should be only two toasts on this -happy occasion, I should be in favor of our drinking also to Trixy." - -"Confound her!" exclaimed Jermyn, thinking only of Kate's feelings -should Trixy have talked further before he captured her and led her to -her mother, "are you fellows so foolish as to attach any importance to -what a child like that may say?" - -"Does the accused desire that the evidence shall be reviewed, item by -item, in his presence?" asked some one. "Only three of us have heard -it, but if the accused himself insists----" - -"Be quiet!" Jermyn roared. - -"Your secret is safe with us, old fellow," said Prewser, "as you know -well, so forgive us if we've been a little effusive in our rejoicing -for your sake. Go to your quarters and to happy dreams. Jove! how I -envy you!" - -"So--so say we all of us," repeated the others in unison, as Jermyn -beat a hasty retreat. - -The miseries which Jermyn wished Trixy during the short walk from -the club to his quarters quite out-Heroded Herod. Once fairly by -himself, however, his joy banished his anger. Let the boys laugh among -themselves! They all envied him, didn't they say so? How could he ever -sleep, after so exciting an evening? What had he ever done that he -should be so richly blessed as he would be with Kate Trewman for his -wife? - -There must have been a special Providence watching over him in -other days when he thought himself in love, even when he failed to -win Tryphosa Wardlow, and, within a few days--how long passed they -seemed!--when he could not keep the face of Trif's pretty sister out of -his mind, and wouldn't have done so if he could! - -But how very long the coming night would be! He had known long nights -while on picket, when his battery was on duty in the Indian country -and he had looked forward to them with dread, but now there would be -twelve hours, at the very least, before he could again gaze upon the -face of the woman who was all the world to him. What could he do to -pass the time? Study?--bosh! Read? No; he must sleep, for he owed it -to Kate to appear his very best the next day. Still, it was only ten -o'clock; he never retired before eleven. He would read a little while; -read some poetry--something he had done but little in late years. - -He had read but a few minutes when there was a knock at the door and -a servant handed him a letter addressed in writing which he did not -recognize. He opened it and read: - - We return to New York by the morning train. You had scarcely left us - when two ladies whom I've known only two or three days came to tell - me how glad they were of the news. When I learned what they meant I - expressed surprise, but they said that every one in the hotel knew - of it--some one had overheard Trixy talking of it to two or three - officers. That child! - - - Sorrowfully, - - KATE. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE WOOING O' IT. - - -There was a lot of misery--four rooms full of it--when Kate Trewman -announced to the Highwood party and her brother that she could never, -never, never again face the gossips and the other people at the hotel -after the story of her engagement had got about with the infinity of -detail which Trixy had imparted and the additions which are inevitable -when a story is passed from lip to lip. Trif had promised to go sailing -the very next day with some new friends, Fenie had promised several -dances for the "Ladies' Night" at the fort, which would be the next -night but one, and Harry and Fenie had agreed to make a little trip -which Harry thought would be peculiarly delightful, and Fenie agreed -with him, although she did not know why. - -But Kate was obdurate. She admitted to Trif that she loved Jermyn -dearly, strange though it might seem, but for that very reason her -self-respect was stronger than ever, and although she could endure -anything for her own sake she was not willing that anything should -occur, or that anything which had occurred, should make the dear fellow -laughed at and talked about. People were so mean! Who knew but some -one would say that she had tried to catch him, and succeeded? The idea! - -"But Kate," argued Trif, "there's no need of your being seen if you'll -consent to remain a day or two longer. You've only to remain in your -room while I make my sailing trip with my friends, and Harry and Fenie -have their little outing. You won't be alone; think of the delightful -thoughts that will keep you company! The day after my trip I'll make a -special luncheon in my room, in honor of the happy couple, and it will -be entirely right, as your brother will bring Jermyn. You certainly -couldn't be so heartless as to depart without seeing him once more, and -without letting him see you." - -"Do you think it would be heartless--do you think it would seem so to -him?" - -"It certainly would, to him or to any other good man, under the -circumstances," Trif replied, with extreme New England positiveness. - -"Then I will remain," said Kate; upon which Trif kissed her and called -her a dear good girl, and Fenie kissed her and called her a sensible -girl, and Harry kissed her and said she was a good sister, and Trixy -offered to kiss her but was rudely pushed away. - -Jermyn knew nothing of this conversation. He had done much desperate -thinking after receiving Kate's note, and one consequence was that he -looked across the parade ground, saw that lights were still burning -in the adjutant's office and the home of the post commandant, so he -hurried over to the adjutant and made an application for leave of -absence for a week, on important personal business. The post adjutant -looked astonished, for leaves of absence in the army are charged -against the month's leave which each officer is allowed once a year -in time of peace, and the adjutant knew well that Jermyn had been -carefully "saving his time" for a month's run to the Pacific Coast -during the coming summer. Still, Jermyn pleaded urgency, and begged for -an immediate decision; and the post commandant, who was a large-hearted -gentleman, and also a close observer of the individual members of his -command, granted the leave; so the next morning, very early, before any -one at the hotel was stirring, Jermyn invaded a lighthouse boat which -he knew was to go to Norfolk very early. His plan was to get upon the -steamer which started from Norfolk for the train, miles away, touching -at Old Point _en route_. Neither Kate nor her brother should know of -his proximity until the train started; after that,--well, Kate could -not be other than the woman he thought her, so she would be glad to see -him, and her brother, beside being a gentleman, was himself in love; so -he would certainly give the couple some opportunities for conversation -during the trip to New York. - -While this was going on, the Admiral, who had been somewhat upset by -his exciting experience of two or three preceding days, and had been -restoring himself by a veteran seaman's favorite remedy, rest, got out -of his room very early, and sauntered about the beach in search of a -proper appetite for breakfast. It did not help him much to meet Jermyn -and hear the young man's story of disappointment, yet he heartily -approved of the fellow's spirit and wished him the happy time which -undoubtedly would be his. The excitement caused by the interview gave -the old gentleman the appetite for which he longed, so he went in at -once to breakfast, at which he lingered long. - -As he sat at table, the train-boat from Norfolk came in, and the -Admiral looked through the window toward the pier, hoping for a glimpse -of Kate. Evidently she had escaped him, for she was not with any of the -parties which moved down from the hotel; probably she was already in -the crowd, which always is an hour in advance of starting time, and he -did not like to bid a lady good-bye when there were all sorts of people -around to hear what was said. - -As the boat cast off and started for Cape Charles, the southern -terminus of the railway, the old gentleman raised his coffee-cup to his -lips, and murmured: - -"God bless them!" - -"Who's you a-blessin'?" asked Trixy, who had entered the breakfast-room -and had been moving by circuitous lines to "s'prise" the Admiral. - -"Why, Trixy! Good morning! I've not seen you for several days. Do sit -down and take some breakfast with me. Tell me some news." - -"There ain't no news," said Trixy. "Yes there is too; but mamma says -I mustn't ever tell any more news until I'm a big woman. And I can't -take breakfast just now, 'cause I just was sent down to ask the waiter -to send Miss Trewman's breakfast up to her room, 'specially a cup of -coffee." - -"Miss Trewman's breakfast? Why--Miss Trewman has gone to New York." - -"Oh, no, she hasn't. She changed her mind. Mamma made her do it." - -"Trixy, do you mean to say," asked the Admiral, as he arose hastily -from the table, "that Miss Trewman isn't on the boat which started for -the train at Cape Charles?" - -"I mean to say she's up in her room," Trixy replied, "for I just came -from there and I saw her. She said she wanted that coffee awfully, too, -so I mustn't wait any longer to see the waiter; but I'll come back in a -minute and take some breakfast with you, if you like." - -"Ah--er," stammered the Admiral, who had been thinking rapidly and -looking at the lighthouse tug, which was already steaming back from -Norfolk, "suppose we hold the engagement over until to-morrow morning? -The truth is, I've practically finished my own breakfast, so I wouldn't -be proper company. Besides, I've just thought of something which ought -to be attended to this instant." - -"All right," said Trixy. "I'm goin' to have one comp'ny meal to-day -anyway, cause mamma's goin' to give a splendid little dinner in her -room to Miss Trewman and Mr. Jermyn." - -"Indeed! Excuse me, my dear, but I must hurry." - -The Admiral hurried out of the room, and, despite his years and his -dignity, ran toward "The Hole," a sheltered portion of the harbor -where small craft usually anchored. He got as near as possible to the -lighthouse tug, and waved his handkerchief violently. Just as the -anchor of the tug dropped, a sailor reported to the officer in charge: - -"Signal from the shore, sir!" - -"Don't notice it," was the reply, made gruffly. "Hang the impertinence -of some of these spring visitors." - -"Yes, sir. I think it's Admiral Allison a-signallin', sir." - -"Ah, that's different! Lower away! I'll go ashore for him." - -The tug's boat had scarcely touched the beach when the Admiral gave the -prow a mighty shove and shouted, "Shove off! Give way!" first wetting -his feet thoroughly. Then he sprang like a cat from thwart to thwart -until he got aft and dropped beside the astonished officer, whispering: - -"Charley, you were at the Naval Academy while I was on duty there!" - -"Yes, Admiral, and you were the best friend I ever had there. I -couldn't have pulled through if it hadn't been for you, as you well -know!" - -"I'm glad you think so, my dear boy, for I want some special help from -you to-day. Up anchor, and let me catch that train for New York." - -"Why, Admiral, you know what a slow old tub this is, and we've been -blowing off steam." - -"Never mind. Help me to catch that train. Burn out a boiler, if -necessary, and charge it to me. I'll stand a court-martial rather than -lose that train." - -Within five minutes the tug was rounding the pier in front of the hotel -and the Admiral was compounding a prescription which is highly esteemed -at sea by elderly gentlemen who are suffering from great excitement and -wet feet. Black smoke poured so densely from the boat's single funnel -that a naval officer who was enjoying a brief outing at the hotel and -had got out of bed early to enjoy as much as possible of it, told his -wife that probably a buoy had strayed from its moorings somewhere and -some sea-captain had been complaining by telegraph to the authorities -at Washington. - -The chase was a hard one; the train-boat had fully ten minutes the -start of the tug, but the Admiral, who stood forward ready to hurry -ashore, remarked that it usually took fully ten minutes to get all -the passengers, luggage and freight from the boat to the train. When -finally he went over the side he said: - -"Charley, keep your eye on the rear platform. If I wave my handkerchief -you'll know I'm safely aboard. Then wait as long as the train does; if -it starts at once, steam along up the bay until you see it stop. I'll -get the conductor to pull up and let us off." - -"Us?" - -"Yes; Jermyn and me." - -It was none of the young officer's business, as he told himself, but he -could not help wondering what was up between the Admiral and Jermyn. -He saw the old gentleman scramble upon the rear platform of the last -car, and at that very instant the train started, so the tug's nose -was put up Chesapeake Bay, while her commander told himself that the -chasing of a big ferry boat by a small tug was a sort of service for -which boats of the lighthouse service were not designed, and that the -next time the Admiral wanted anything of the sort done, and wanted a -locomotive chased afterward, he hoped there would be a torpedo boat in -the harbor. - -Meanwhile the Admiral was making his way through the train in search of -Jermyn, while the latter, moving from front to rear, was looking for -Kate. The two men met suddenly in the vestibule between two cars. - -"Admiral!" exclaimed Jermyn. "Are you too going to New York?" - -"Not this time, dear boy. Neither are you. She's changed her mind--Miss -Trewman--she's still at the hotel. Where's the conductor? Hang it, -Charley will never be able to catch us if we go on at this rate. -Where's the bell-rope?" - -The old gentleman, who was quite short, sprang lightly upward, blew -two long blasts, and the train began to slow. The Admiral opened the -vestibule door and said: - -"Come on! We'll have to jump." - -Jump they did, and into some Eastern Shore mud which did not harmonize -with the attire of either gentleman. As they floundered out of it, -screened from the train by some scrubby bushes, the tug, which had -heard the locomotive's stopping signal, blew three long blasts of her -own whistle. Long before she steamed abreast of the part of the beach -which the runaways had reached, the Admiral was waving his handkerchief -so wildly that Jermyn insisted upon relieving him to spare him the -pangs of a stiff shoulder and the danger of apoplexy. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE MISSING GUEST. - - -As Trif was a prudent wife and housekeeper, she had been moaning to -herself for days about the expense of the Southern trip. Nevertheless, -she arranged for a lunch party regardless of expense, as befitted an -occasion when two happy couples, newly made so, were to be her guests. -She promised herself that she would pay for it by not buying a single -new article of clothing, not even a new frock, for the coming season. -She would economize in any and every way; she would let her house, -furnished, for a few months, and take Trixy and Fenie and herself to -some out-of-the-way place where everything was cheap, and the other -boarders would not know her old clothes from the newest. Further, as -she would have to send home for more money, she sat down and wrote an -ecstatic confession to her husband, telling him that she really thought -it her duty, as a member of society, to complete the matches which were -as good as made between Harry and Fenie, Kate and Jermyn. - -Then she sent to Jermyn such a note as only a great-hearted, -good-hearted woman could write, after which she insisted on helping to -array Kate as a queen should be dressed for her formal coronation. She -was as earnest as she was sentimental, so she talked so strongly as -well as romantically to Kate that the latter grew sweeter and handsomer -every moment, until finally she felt as if the occasion would be one of -consecration instead of a mere meeting with the man who already seemed -a very old acquaintance. - -Trif told her she looked like a goddess, a sacrifice, an angel, a -queen--everything a good woman could be while trying to devote her -love and life to a worthy man. Trif had been telling her, and Kate -was in a condition of mind to believe it, that marriages were made in -heaven, and despite all future ceremonies that might be necessary her -obligations were already recorded above, and Kate rose to the dignity -of the occasion, and looked sweeter and felt happier, although more -humble and earnest than in all her life before, for were not all who -were to be present quite near to her?--her brother, who seemed in the -seventh heaven of happiness; Fenie, who appeared almost too beautiful, -in her happiness and devotion, to be merely human; Trif, the woman who -had known love for years and rejoiced in it with a nobility surpassing -that of any other woman Kate had ever met; and Trixy--oh, Kate could -take even Trixy to her heart. Mischief-making though the child had -been, Trixy's hands and no others should strew flowers when the day -came for Kate and Jermyn to be made husband and wife. What a heaven on -earth this much-abused old world was, to be sure! - -"Oh, Kate," exclaimed Trif, reappearing for about the twentieth time, -"what do you suppose it can mean? Before breakfast I wrote Jermyn, -asking him to lunch with us at noon, and I've just received word that -he is not at the fort. He has gone away--gone to New York." - -Kate almost tottered, so Trif hurried to support her. Suddenly Kate -changed her manner and exclaimed: - -"What a grand fellow he is!" - -"What do you mean?" asked Trif, almost doubting her own senses. Kate -looked proud, then pensive, after which she said softly: - -"Last night I sent him word of what had happened--the remarks of those -inquisitive women, you know, who got hold of what Trixy had said, and -I told him it would be necessary for me to return--that I would go to -New York this morning. He has started at once to follow me. I might -have imagined, in advance, that he would do exactly that. The splendid -fellow!" - -"The unhappy fellow, I should say," wailed Trif. "There he goes, -probably on the very train he supposed you would take, and he is -looking for you, and his heart is aching as if----" - -"Oh!" gasped Kate, with the manner of a tragedy queen. "I never, never -thought of that." - -"De lunch is served, ladies," said the colored waiter who had been -busying himself in the room for some moments. - -"Come along, dear," said Trif. "If you love him as I loved Phil the day -after he proposed you'll have him in your heart very safely, no matter -how far away he may be. The more trouble you think him in, the dearer -you will love him. As to the rest of us, we will promise to talk of him -only." - -"Indeed, yes," added Fenie, who had heard the unwelcome news, and -hastened to offer consolation. "I won't say a word about any one -else--even about Harry." - -"Neither will I," volunteered Trixy, who had followed her aunt into the -room. "He----" - -"You little--" interrupted Kate, moving toward the child with vengeful -gesture, but Trixy continued: - -"He looked so splendid last night when he kissed you that I haven't -thought of anythin' since except the way papa kisses mamma." - -Then both women blushed, and Fenie looked so oddly at Harry that the -young man blushed too, but recovered sufficiently to ask Fenie whether -they shouldn't set the others a good example by leading the way to -the table. Although very little time elapsed before the remainder -of the party followed them, Fenie was found with brilliant roses in -her cheeks, while upon her finger was a ring which none of the party -but Harry had ever seen before, and Harry was looking as proud as a -king, and Fenie was regarding him as if she were his most adoring and -obedient subject. - -"If my loss," said Kate gayly, after several significant glances from -Trif had compelled her to see the brilliant upon Fenie's hand, "has -been to the gain of any one else, or even to two other people, I shall -endeavor to endure it bravely. I've always been sacrificing myself for -my brother; I shall be glad if my long vigil is to end." - -So the party became quite happy despite the missing guest, and there -was so much of the merry joking that brothers and sisters can exchange -that Fenie and Harry soon began to talk as if they had been engaged for -months instead of moments. And how Trif, the happy wife, and Kate, the -proud betrothed, did enjoy the spectacle! Kate, indeed, soon began to -hold herself to account for forgetting absolutely, for at least half -an hour, the loyal soul that was vainly following her and might not be -able to find her until--when? She became very pensive and thoughtful; -Harry must find out for her, at the fort, if possible, how to -communicate with Jermyn. She would remain at the hotel, be stared at, -talked about, anything, if only that the man who loved her should not -remain unhappy a single moment longer than was absolutely necessary. -She thought so seriously that Trixy finally remarked: - -"Mamma, dear, I don't believe Miss Trewman likes this kind of lobster." - -"Card for you, ma'am," said the waiter suddenly to Trif. - -Trif took the card and read aloud: - -"Admiral Allison; 'just for a moment.' How odd! Perhaps, Kate, 'tis -something about Jermyn. You may say I'll be down in a moment." - -"He's right outside de do', ma'am," the waiter replied. - -"The business-like way of some men!" exclaimed Trif. "Still, it must -be something important. By the way, girls, the Admiral is a delightful -gentleman, and he knows the two secrets that are in our hearts to-day, -and we have a vacant place at the table--show him in, waiter." - -The party arose. The Admiral entered the room, and behind him came---- - -"Jermyn!" shouted Kate. How ridiculously thin armor is when there -is a healthy heart under it! Kate rushed at Jermyn, threw her arms -about him, and kissed him as affectionately as if he were a long-lost -relation. - -"How did you come to be here?" she finally asked. - -"The Admiral brought me," Jermyn replied. - -Then, shocking, yet truthful to relate, Kate kissed the Admiral also. -She was the taller of the two, so she had to lean over him, but no one -laughed or seemed astonished--no one but Trixy, who exclaimed, "My!" -but no notice was taken of it. - -"Ladies and gentleman," said the Admiral, gravely, after the excitement -had subsided a little, and he stood with a lapel of his coat drawn -back while he drew from his pocket a medal which hung from a clasp, "I -thought when this medal was presented to me by my country that I had -gained the highest honor of which an American was capable, but I am now -compelled to change my opinion. Miss Trewman, the goddess of liberty -will hereafter owe you a grudge." - -"But, Admiral," said Kate, all blushes and brilliancy, "how could you -know that he had gone, and that--that--oh, that I wanted him back?" - -"Oh, I chanced to meet him, very early this morning, learned that he -was going, and the reason of his sudden departure." - -"And you prevented him?" - -"How could I? He said that you had gone unexpectedly, and that he -thought it his duty to follow you. I should have felt as he did, in -similar circumstances, so I bade him God-speed." - -"But he started. I don't----" - -"I did, my dear," said Jermyn, "but the Admiral, with a special boat, -chased our craft and the train, found me, stopped the train, and -brought me back, and--here I am." - -"Oh, you are, indeed! Admiral, you're an angel." - -The Admiral bowed profoundly and said: - -"I cannot contradict a lady." - -"But how did you know--Oh, do explain what I'm sure none of us yet -understand." - -"The Spaniards have a saying," the old gentleman replied, "that -fortunes, like miseries always travel in couples. While I was -breakfasting this morning, and feeling an almost impertinent interest, -I must confess, in the affairs of an estimable couple who seemed to -have encountered contrary winds, Trixy----" - -"Trixy?" - -"Really, Miss Trewman," said Trixy, with a troubled yet appealing face, -"I didn't tell him anything awful. He said you'd gone to New York, and -I said he was mistaken, 'cause mamma had made you change your mind, and -that mamma was goin' to give a luncheon party this mornin' to you and -Mr. Jermyn, and--and--that was all I said--wasn't it, Admiral?" - -"Absolutely all. Whatever has happened since has been entirely through -what Trixy said." - -Then Kate kissed Trixy, and told her that she was the dearest little -thing that ever was born, and the information seemed to do the child a -lot of good. Afterward it occurred to Kate that the man who had been -the principal subject of her thoughts during the day was getting very -little of her attention, and as the Admiral insisted upon departing, -and Harry and Fenie had eyes only for each other, and Trif seemed -entirely happy with no one to talk to, the meal passed delightfully -although slowly to its close. When general conversation chanced again -to begin, Fenie remarked: - -"It does seem that none of us can have any more misunderstandings. -There never would have been any but for Trixy, but she certainly can do -no harm in the future." - -"Trixy certainly has learned her lesson," said Trif. - -"Papa says that some folks never get through with their lessons till -they die," observed Trixy, while all the rest looked serious. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -A BLISSFUL WEEK. - - -The Highwoods and Trewmans started for New York a few hours after the -lunch-party ended, and Jermyn accompanied them. He had wanted to do so, -from the first, but found many difficulties in the way of saying so; -for when women are intent upon a journey they find so much to do and -talk about that a man, no matter how dear he may be to any member of -the party, learns to his mortification that there are times when man is -utterly uninteresting to woman. - -Jermyn finally found himself so manifestly in the way that he begged -Trixy, whose dolls were packed within ten minutes of the first -announcement of the impending departure, to go upon the verandah with -him and take a long look seaward. A friend of his had been promising -to sail a yacht down from New York, and the verandah was as good as -any place in the fort from which to view the offing. Besides, the -Lieutenant did not care to be seen again at his quarters. He feared -that a secret which several of his comrades shared with him might not -be as safe as it should be, and he was in no humor to be joked about -the most serious interest of his life. - -In the angle of the verandah they sat, Jermyn and Trixy, the child -looking seaward through her mother's opera-glass, and the officer -looking into the sky, his thoughts that afternoon having a somewhat -heavenly tinge. - -"Oh, I believe there's the yacht--way out there! Don't you see it?" - -"Where? What?" asked Jermyn, dreamily. - -"Why, the yacht, of course. Don't you see that great big boat with lots -of sails! That's the way yachts are, ain't it?" - -"I suppose so." - -"You don't look as I feel when folks is comin' to see me; though, to be -sure, they don't come in yachts." - -"I beg your pardon, Trixy. I fear I was thinking about something else." - -"Say!" remarked Trixy, suddenly dropping the glass. "Do you know what I -wish? I wish you was goin' to New York with us." - -"Trixy," said Jermyn earnestly, "so do I." - -"Well, why don't you?" - -"Hem! I suppose it is because I haven't been asked." - -"That's a funny reason! I thought big men could do anything they wanted -to, without anybody tellin' 'em they could or they couldn't. When I get -to be a big woman, mamma says I won't have to ask her what I can do -before I do it. Won't that be lovely?" - -Jermyn did not reply, so the child began again to scan the offing -with the glass. Then she wanted to do something else, and Jermyn was -reminded amusingly of some ways of his sisters, when those estimable -women were very young. - -"Say," remarked Trixy, suddenly, "mamma says you great big soldiers -are just like little children in one way. You never can go any place -without askin' somebody to let you." - -"Your mamma is entirely right about it," said Jermyn, with a laugh. - -"How funny!" said Trixy, as if talking to herself. - -The child finally disappeared, but Jermyn remained. He wondered how -he could explain his reappearance at the fort, after taking a week's -leave only twenty-four hours before, should any awkwardness on the part -of any one prevent him joining the party. He wished he might see Trif -alone for a moment or two, but he knew better than to disturb a woman -absorbed in the duties of packing. He was uncomfortable; he felt that -he was in the way, but he pulled himself together by saying that he -might as well be a thousand miles away from Trif and Kate as he was at -that moment, while they were occupied as they were. He could still make -a pretense of looking for that yacht, for Trixy had left the glasses -in her chair. Perhaps, after their work was done, one or other of the -ladies might accidentally find him, and something might be said that -would give him the opportunity for which he longed. - -"Mamma," said Trixy, entering the room and stumbling over trunks, "why -don't Mr. Jermyn go to New York with us?" - -"Oh, I do wish he could!" exclaimed Trif. "Fenie, wouldn't it be be -delightful?" - -"Indeed, yes," the girl replied, "but don't say anything about it to -Kate, for the mention of it, when it can't be done, would simply break -her heart." - -Trixy propounded some more questions, but was told that her mother was -very busy, and must not be bothered, so the child started in search of -other company, and when she reached the beach she found the Admiral, -whom she asked: - -"Who is it that officers like Mr. Jermyn have to ask when they want to -do somethin'?" - -"Oh," said the Admiral, who was discussing the naval topic of the day -with a brother officer, "why, the commandant of the fort!" - -Trixy hung upon the Admiral's chair a moment or two, but what she heard -was as bad as Greek to her, so she strayed away, and asked questions of -other acquaintances, and she was gone so long that her mother wondered -what had become of her. - -When the packing was finished, to the very last article which had been -overlooked, and for which the trunks had to be reopened, Kate and Fenie -sat down to rest, and naturally each began to talk of the subject -which was uppermost in the minds of both, and finally they became so -confidential that Fenie exclaimed: - -"Wouldn't it be lovely if Jermyn were going North with us?" - -"Oh, Fenie!" murmured Kate, looking as Mother Eve probably looked when -the gates of Eden closed behind her. - -"Why don't you make him?" asked the younger woman. - -"Make him? He is an officer of the Government, and has his duties to -perform. Do you suppose I would dare ask him to neglect them?" - -"I'm sure I can't see what duties there can be to embarrass him, for -there isn't any war going on." - -"No, but there seems to be so much else. Don't you remember that -mysterious mission that took him and the Admiral North a few days ago? -Jermyn must be of great importance, despite his modest rank, or he -never would have been associated with an admiral, on public business." - -"I'd ask him, any way, if he were my lover, if only to make him happy -for a moment," said Fenie. - -"Would you?" asked Kate. Should she be outdone in affectionate impulse -by a mere girl like Fenie? She wondered what had become of Jermyn; then -she said so. - -"He's out at the angle of this verandah, or was a half hour ago, Trixy -told me; he was looking for the yacht of a friend. And Kate," continued -Fenie hurriedly, for Kate had already started, "you needn't be afraid -to talk to him, for there are no occupants of those rooms." - -Kate tripped out to the piazza and saw Jermyn with a face so sober -that it shocked her. She approached him softly and touched his arm; he -looked up quickly, but with an entirely different face. - -"Am I to go to New York all alone?" Kate asked, with a look which set -Jermyn's well-controlled heart dancing, although its owner said, - -"What? Your brother, and Mrs. Highwood and Miss Wardlow--aren't they -going?" - -"You know very well what I mean, you consummate hypocrite." - -"And you know very well, or you ought to," said Jermyn, "that I'd -gladly follow you all over the earth. Still, I can't force myself upon -the remainder of the party." - -"Then Trif shall invite you, at once," said Kate. - -"Trif," Fenie was saying at almost the same moment, as her sister -returned from an unsuccessful search for Trixy, "Kate has gone out to -ask Jermyn to accompany us North; wouldn't it be the graceful thing for -you, as the head of the party, to add your request to hers?" - -"Where is he?" asked Trif. She was on the piazza soon after Fenie told -her where the Lieutenant was. - -"How kind and thoughtful of you!" said Jermyn. "I suppose," he -continued hypocritically, "that I might possibly get permission to be -absent a few days longer if----" - -"That's all right," intruded the voice of Trixy. "You can go, and that -ain't all--you'll get into a lot of trouble if you don't go. I've been -to see the head man about it." - -"The head man?" echoed Jermyn, while the others looked inquiringly at -the child. - -"Yes. Don't you know? I mean the man up at the fort, that all you -soldiers have to ask when you want to do anything. I told him all about -it, although he kept on interruptin', and sayin' 'yes, yes,' as if he -wanted me to stop talkin'. I didn't stop, though, so at last he said, -'Little girl, I've already heard something about the matter. Please -say to Lieutenant Jermyn, with my compliments, that he is to go to New -York at once, and that he isn't to show his face here again for several -days, and that if he dares to do so I may have him held to account for -getting a leave of absence on false pretenses.' There!--I think I've -told it just like he said it, so you see you'll have to go if you don't -want to catch it." - -"Trixy," exclaimed Jermyn, utterly aghast, "do you mean to say that you -have actually called upon the Post Commandant and told him that I was -here, and that----" - -"Yes, I told him everything I could, so he'd be sure to let you go; -told him about your bein' here to lunch with mamma--he looked awful -s'prised then, 'cause he thought you'd gone to New York, so I told him -what you went for, and how the Admiral brought you back, and then he -told me he wished I'd find the Admiral and say he'd be glad to have -him come up to the fort to dinner. Then he looked as if he didn't know -what to think, and I got afraid that mebbe he'd change his mind and -not let you go after all, so I told him that 'twas real important, and -about last night up by the lighthouse--don't you remember? Oh, mamma! -I promised you real solemn that I wouldn't say a word about that to -anybody, didn't I! I wonder how I came to do it?" - -Kate looked at Jermyn, and Jermyn blushed; then he looked at Kate, -and Kate blushed; as to the others, they looked at both of them and -laughed merrily. But Kate wasn't going to let the dear fellow feel -uncomfortable, so she said softly-- - -"You'll go with us?" - -"You've heard my orders, my dear, although I must say that they did not -come through the customary official channels, but as I got a week's -leave last night for this very purpose----" - -"You shall have a blissful week," interrupted Trif, "with no one to -disturb or make trouble." - -"But you forget that the General commanding this department has -headquarters at New York, and if Trixy should----" - -"Sh--h--" whispered Kate. "That dreadful child might appeal to the -President of the United States, in his capacity as commander-in-chief -of the army and navy." - -"Do be quiet," said Jermyn. "The child is listening with all her -might." - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -APRIL SHOWERS. - - -A happier couple than Fenie and Harry could not be found in all New -York. This must be true, for both of them said so one evening while -they were the only occupants of Trif's cozy parlor, while Trif and her -husband were out, making a short call. - -Harry had just told Fenie that while he was very happy about his sister -and Jermyn, because he thought them specially suited to each other, -he was also very sorry for them, for naturally love could not be so -delightful to Jermyn as to him, for was not the officer at least ten -years the older. Ten years, to Harry, seemed time enough to transform a -young man into a person of middle age. - -Fenie said she never would have mentioned such things if Harry had not -begun it, but she was dreadfully sorry for Kate, for the dear girl, -being much older than she--six or seven years older--could not know the -bliss of youth that gives itself entirely to thoughts of love. - -Harry did not like to hear any allusions made to the age of his sister, -for Kate had always seemed to him, until he met Fenie, the embodiment -of everything girlishly delightful. Was she not the merriest romp of -the family? Was it not she who always brought him out of his brown -studies? Did she not play with the younger children as if she herself -was still in short dresses? - -By a natural coincidence, Jermyn and Kate, only a few squares away, -were congratulating themselves that they were not young things like -Harry and Fenie. They had seen much of the world; they knew men -and women well; they had gone through many illusions from start to -finish, but now they had found each other, the world might move on -in its orbit, or out of its orbit, with no end of trouble to all -concerned--except them. They were one in soul and purpose for all time, -and, they devoutly hoped, for all eternity. - -About this time a bell rang somewhere in the house, but neither of them -heeded it. Why should they? Were they not sitting and looking as if -Jermyn had merely dropped in for an evening call? Kate was pretending -to do some alleged "fancy work," and Jermyn was admiring the movements -of her pretty hands, and wishing that his pay or his prospects were so -good that the aforesaid pretty hands might never have to do anything -more exacting or less becoming, and thinking he had been a brute to -propose to such a woman when he had only his pay, nearly two thousand a -year, and a thousand or two dollars he had saved, when the current of -his thoughts was disturbed by the appearance of Trixy, who stood before -him in a waterproof cloak and a face covered with tears. - -"Trixy!" exclaimed Jermyn. "What has happened to you?" - -"They're havin' an awful row," sobbed the child. - -"They? Not your father and mother?" - -"No, indeed! They never fight--aren't you ashamed of yourself! It's -the other two--Aunt Fee and Harry. She says she never loved him much -anyhow, and she didn't ask him to go down South and bother her, and he -said he didn't believe she knew her own mind, and she said she wished -he had any mind worth knowin', and she wished he was half as much of a -man as Lieutenant Jermyn, that he'd been abusin'. She said you was a -man, and he wasn't nothin' but a boy. And papa and mamma was gone out, -and I was awful frightened, and I got the cook to bring me around here, -so I could ask Miss Trewman if somethin' couldn't be done for 'em." - -"Why should he have abused me?" asked Jermyn of no one in particular. - -"Why should she compare him with you?" asked Kate. "Jermyn," she -exclaimed, "did you ever make love to Fenie Wardlow?" - -"Never! Upon my honor, my dear." - -"Then I'm sure I don't know----" - -"Neither do I. Suppose I go around with Trixy and find out?" - -"I shall go with you," said Kate. There was something in her voice that -Jermyn had never heard before, and it distracted his thoughts about -Harry and Fenie. Nevertheless the two quickly left the house together, -and Jermyn talked to Trixy rather than to Kate, and Kate was made -so uncomfortable thereby that she talked incessantly to Trixy, which -mystified Jermyn greatly, although Kate's hand grasped his arm tightly -all the while. - -On their way they chanced to meet Harry, to whom Jermyn said quickly: - -"Well met, old chap! Come along with us. We are going to make a call -and would like to have you with us; we can promise that you shall have -a pleasant time." - -"I'd be glad if something pleasant would happen on this particular -evening--confound it!" replied Harry in the gruff tone which some very -young men, despite good breeding and association, sometimes indulge in. -When they reached the Highwoods' house and started up the steps Harry -shrank backward and said: - -"Not there, thank you. Not this evening." - -He started quickly away, but Jermyn, with Kate still clinging to his -arm, soon overtook him, grasped his shoulder as a policeman might seize -a prisoner, and said, kindly enough: - -"My dear fellow, I've seen a score of clever youngsters through lovers' -quarrels, and I'm going to see you through one this evening--now, or -I'm going to break your neck. Which do you prefer?" - -Harry answered nothing, although he acted like a surly criminal led by -a jailor. Meanwhile Kate was grasping Jermyn's arm tightly and pressing -close to his side. What had become of Trixy no one knew or thought, -yet no sooner did they ring the bell than the child stood in the open -doorway. - -Kate hurried to Fenie's room, where she found the occupant bathed in -tears. At any other time such a spectacle would have moved Kate to -tenderness, but now she rudely shook the girl and asked: - -"Tryphena Wardlow, were you ever in love with Jermyn?" - -"No," replied the girl with a wondering blush. "That is----" - -"Did he ever make love to you? Tell me--this instant!" - -"No. That is----" - -"Did he ever kiss you?" - -"No, no, no--a thousand times no! Aren't you ashamed of yourself, to -have asked such a question?" - -"Yes--I am!" said Kate, "and I sincerely beg your pardon, but--here, -dear, let me dry your eyes. You poor little darling, has Harry been a -brute? Oh, won't I make life miserable for him when I get him alone, at -home? There, dear! If your own sister isn't here to comfort you, you -shan't lack another. Come down stairs with me; Jermyn is here, and I -want you to look your prettiest." - -"It isn't necessary," said Fenie, trying to clear her face of the -traces of sorrow and anger. "He's no eyes for any one else when you're -present." - -"You darling girl! Say that again--and again!" - -"Old chap," Jermyn was saying to Harry, "I don't know what has been -the trouble, but I know the nature of it, for I've seen signs of -it in many other men who have been in love. Take all the blame to -yourself--do! 'Tis the privilege of men to relieve women of all of that -sort of thing they can." - -"'Tis very well for you to talk," grumbled Harry. "'They jest at scars -that never felt a wound.' But----" - -"But, you blessed idiot, do you know what you are in danger of losing? -Fenie is one of the sweetest little women on the face of the earth." - -"How do you know?" asked Harry defiantly. "Were you ever in love with -her? From something she said this evening I am half inclined to----" - -"I was in love with her sister, many years ago," said Jermyn softly; -"so I know the family quality." - -"I beg your pardon," said Harry, humbly, and trying hard to be once -more a gentleman. "But she said----" - -"'Tis no matter what she said. Be a man; be a lover; be a gentleman. -Sh--h--h-!--they're coming." - -Kate entered with Fenie, who greeted Jermyn effusively, while Harry -chatted with his sister, there being no one else for him to speak to, -for Trixy had disappeared. Kate and Jermyn soon succeeded in making -the conversation general, and in compelling Harry and Fenie to talk to -each other. Then Jermyn and Kate began to admire some of the Highwoods' -pictures so intently that Harry and Fenie could talk only to each -other; they dropped their voices, but the tones were audible and -promised well. Finally, as the others turned they saw something which -caused them to say: - -"We beg a thousand pardons." - -"You needn't," replied Fenie bravely. "We've made up, and I don't care -if all the world knows it, for it was all my fault from the first." - -"What a fib!" exclaimed Harry. - -"It isn't! But how--" here Fenie turned to Kate, "did you chance to -come to the rescue? My heart was almost broken." - -"And mine," added Harry. - -"And mine," said Kate tragically. - -"Mine is of no particular consequence," drawled Jermyn, with a -reproachful look at Kate, "still, it got a frightful stab." - -"You poor fallow!" exclaimed Kate, making amends in the most delightful -manner appropriate to the occasion. This demonstration incited Harry -and Fenie to be very tender to each other, and there was an instant of -delicious silence, too soon broken by a pitiful wail which seemed to -come from a portičre. - -"I s'pose it don't matter about my poor little bit of a heart, but it -was broke most to pieces." - -"Did that child overhear the quarrel?" whispered Fenie. - -"'Twas she who brought us word about it," Kate replied. - -Then Harry and Fenie kissed Trixy, and Jermyn took her into his -arms, and the child, relieved of her load of responsibility, fell -asleep, and Jermyn held her so tenderly and looked at her so fondly -and thoughtfully that Kate looked upon him with a new and tender -expression in her eyes, although she wouldn't for the world have had -him see it. Finally Kate herself took the child, so softly that she did -not waken it, and carried it to and fro a moment or two, and finally -laid it upon a sofa, and Jermyn looked at Kate every moment, and -thought, and thought, and thought. At last he ventured to remark: - -"All the artists and poets have been wrong. They should have made Cupid -a little girl." - -The four sat and talked until Trif and Phil returned, and then they -continued to talk, yet the astute heads of the family did not hear -or see anything that could make them imagine that there had been any -trouble. Indeed, Trif told her husband that it seemed strange that -Jermyn and Kate should have spared time for a call on that particular -evening, when Jermyn's time was so short, and he must soon be away for -no one knew how long. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -"THEY TAKE NO NOTE OF TIME." - - -Kate and Jermyn were so happy in each other's society, now that they -had not to pay attention to a lot of mere acquaintances, that they -agreed with the hero of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado" that each -second was a minute, each minute an hour, each hour a day, and each day -a year. Nevertheless, after the illogical manner of lovers, no sooner -was the last half of the week under way than they began to complain -that each day seemed only an hour long. - -"Must you really go at the end of your week?" asked Kate. "Does a week, -in military parlance, mean literally a week--no more, no less?" - -"Exactly and mathematically a week," sighed Jermyn. "Tis even worse in -our case, for the week includes the time I spent in reaching here, the -time I will spend in returning, and the day I started, but was taken -back by the Admiral." - -"Oh!" exclaimed Kate, after a startled look, "that means that you must -start back to-morrow!" - -"It does indeed. I've gone over it by every applicable rule of -arithmetic, but I can find no other solution." - -Kate at once became so dismal that she could not talk much, and Jermyn, -remembering the ways of his mother and sisters when they had trouble -on their minds, suggested that there could be no better time to make -his good-bye call upon the Highwoods; he assured himself that a short -chat with sympathetic women would enable Kate to bear her trouble more -bravely. He got his reward, for Trif chatted so kindly with him that -he himself soon felt much better than he had dared hope, so he felt -correspondingly grateful, and wished he might do something in return -for the good woman to whose interest he owed so much of his fortune in -love. Suddenly there came to him a thought which he voiced at once. - -"Mrs. Highwood, I shall go back by way of Washington. I'm greatly your -debtor; I needn't go into particulars, but wouldn't you like to spend a -few hours in Washington? You couldn't have a better guide than I, and--" - -"'Twould be splendid!" Trif exclaimed. "But you wouldn't be so -heartless as to leave Kate behind?" - -"I'm greatly obliged for the suggestion." - -"And," continued Trif, who had been thinking rapidly, "would it be -dreadful of me to take Trixy also? She has long been wild to see the -'Baby of the White House,' and by some lucky accident she might get a -peep at that fortunate child." - -"It might not be difficult; I've had the honor of meeting the baby's -mother, in other years, and am sure she would be delighted to meet a -woman like Trixy's mother." - -"We will go," said Trif. "I shan't have to wait to consult Phil, for he -asked me why I didn't improve my opportunity to see Washington during -our return trip from Old Point." - -A cheerful party of four started for Washington the next afternoon, and -on the morning afterward Jermyn busied himself in showing the ladies -the sights of the capital. But Washington is a large city, and time did -fly so rapidly--to Kate and Jermyn, for the latter would be obliged to -take the night train for Fort Monroe. - -Trixy saw the baby of the White House, and devoured it with her eyes, -and asked it questions about its dolls, while two fond mothers looked -and listened. The call was short, but, as the party made their adieus, -Trixy slipped back and said to the lady of the house: - -"Your husband can do anything he likes with soldiers, can't he?" - -"That depends," was the reply. "Why do you ask?" - -"'Cause I wish he would make Lieutenant Jermyn go back to New York -with us. I'm sure Miss Trewman wishes so too, 'cause they're only just -engaged, and he's only been in New York a week, and----" - -"There goes the only man who could manage an affair of that kind," said -the lady, pointing to an alert-looking gentleman who was approaching -the house. - -"Thank you, very much." - -"Where is Trixy?" asked Trif, as the party passed through the gateway. -"Why, there she is, talking to a stranger! How the child has lost her -manners! Mr. Jermyn, won't you kindly bring her back?" - -Jermyn hurried to the rescue, and was somewhat astonished to see that -the gentleman with whom Trixy was talking was the Secretary of War. - -"Mr. Jermyn!" said the Secretary. Jermyn saluted. - -"This young lady has been telling me an interesting story. By the way, -there are to be some new guns tested at Sandy Hook, New York harbor, -in a day or two. It might be of use to some of the classes at the -fort if an officer from there were to observe the tests and take back -a detailed report. Would your own studies be retarded if you were to -remain absent a week or ten days longer?" - -"Not in the least," Jermyn replied, with the promptness becoming a -soldier. - -"Call at the Department some time this afternoon, then, for your -detail. I'll send a copy of it to your commanding officer, and you will -report by letter to him, so that you may be recalled if necessary. Will -you do me the honor to introduce me to this young lady?" - -"With pleasure. Miss Highwood, allow me to present the Honorable the -Secretary of War." - -"What a long name!" exclaimed Trixy, with a curtesy. - -"I'm sorry, Miss Highwood, that my time won't allow me to show you -special attention while you are here, but I hope we may meet again. -Good day. Mr. Jermyn, I wish you a pleasant trip!" - -Jermyn hurried the child back to her mother, who said: - -"I hope, Mr. Jermyn, that you apologized to the gentleman for Trixy's -rudeness?" - -"I hadn't the opportunity," Jermyn replied. "Ladies, I've an -interesting announcement to make; I am to accompany you back to New -York." - -"Oh, Jermyn!" exclaimed Kate. "'Tis too good to be true." - -"Nevertheless, 'tis as true as it is good. The gentleman with whom -Trixy was talking was the Secretary of War, and he has ordered me back, -for a few days, on duty that will occupy my time for only a few hours a -day." - -"You clever fellow! How did you manage it?" - -"I didn't. Trixy did it." - -"Trixy!" echoed both ladies. - -"Why," said the child, "I only told him all about Mr. Jermyn and Miss -Trewman. The lady in the White House told me he was the right man to -ask if Mr. Jermyn couldn't go back to New York with us, so I asked -him." Then Trixy looked up with the inquiring air she always had when -she suspected she had done something wrong, but didn't know what it was. - -"Bless me!" exclaimed Kate. "I wonder only that she didn't ask the -President himself." - -"That's what I was goin' to do," explained Trixy, "but the lady said -the other man was the right one, so I asked him." - -All three adults stopped and stared fixedly at Trixy, at which the -child began to cry; so Trif picked her up and kissed her and told -her to "never mind," and Kate stooped and kissed her, and when she -lifted her head there were tears in her eyes; so Trif looked hurriedly -toward the War Department and said it was good for the public sense of -propriety and dignity that the Secretary was out of sight, otherwise it -would be just like Kate to kiss him also, as she had kissed the Admiral -on a certain occasion. - -Kate hurried the party away; she explained later that while looking -toward the White House she was sure that she saw the hostess looking -through the window at her and smiling at her. - -"I declare!" she said, with downcast eyes and cheeks a-flame, "there's -no living with Trixy, nor----" - -"Nor any living without her--eh?" added Jermyn. - -The remainder of the day was the very merriest, so four people said, -that any party had ever spent in Washington. Jermyn took his guests to -the old chamber of the House of Representatives, and mystified them -a few moments with the "whispering gallery" over the Speaker's desk, -making Kate his latest victim, despite her appeals to him to be quiet, -and his assurances that no one else could hear a word he was saying, -although he was forty feet away. Kate became so embarrassed that she -suddenly withdrew and Trixy took her place--a change which Jermyn did -not notice until he heard a peal of childish laughter, and, stepping -forward, saw Kate and Trif standing some steps from the arch and Trixy -joining them, and saying: - -"That's the funniest thing I ever heard of!" - -"What is the funniest thing, dear?" asked Trif. - -"Trixy," exclaimed Jermyn, "don't tell, please." - -"But I must mind mamma," pleaded the child. "Besides----" - -"Trixy," exclaimed Jermyn, "if you repeat what I said I'll never speak -to you again." - -"Trixy," said Kate, "if you don't tell I'll never speak to you again--I -mean," for Kate had caught an appealing look from Jermyn--"I won't -speak to you if you do tell." - -The child was so confused that she did not know what to do, so she -turned to her mother for advice, and Trif hurried her a few steps in -advance. - -"Remember, Trixy!" cried Kate after them. - -"Don't forget, Trixy!" shouted Jermyn, in his sternest tone of command. - -Two more uncomfortable lovers than Kate and Jermyn were in the next -five minutes could not have been found anywhere, for Kate wondered what -it was all about and insisted upon knowing, and Jermyn replied that -he would tell her at some future time, and Kate wanted to know why he -couldn't tell her at once, and Jermyn replied, somewhat sheepishly, -that some things might be said in the privacy of a whispering gallery -that could not easily be said face to face in a crowded street, upon -which Kate wailed: - -"But that child heard it!" - -"Never mind, my dear; she'll forget it." - -"Not she! I'm beginning to believe that the smaller the child the less -chance there is of her forgetting what shouldn't be remembered. And, -oh, Jermyn! Of all men in the world, here comes Admiral Allison! What -if she should tell him?" - -"If she does," said Jermyn desperately, "I'll never again dare look him -in the face; I shall always believe he is laughing at me. 'Tis all your -fault, my dear. If you hadn't made me love you so dearly, I wouldn't -have said----" - -"Let us overtake them--quick!" said Kate. - -"We've been up to the whisp'rin' gall'ry," Trixy was already saying to -the Admiral, "and----" - -"Trixy!" sternly spoke three voices as one. - -"What rare fortunes Providence has in store for old men!" exclaimed the -Admiral. "I greatly wanted and needed to see Jermyn, this very day, -and I not only find him unexpectedly, but get a couple of glimpses of -Paradise beside--yes, three, for here is Trixy also." - -"Paradise?" echoed Trixy. "It was somethin' about Paradise that----" - -"Trixy!" said Jermyn warningly. - -"Allow me," said the Admiral, "to take you all to a hotel, where I may -rob you of Jermyn a few moments." - -Jermyn took the child's hand, placed himself between her and the -Admiral, and thus they walked to the hotel. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -"BEYOND THE DREAM OF AVARICE." - - -"My dear boy," said the Admiral, as soon as the party had been -comfortably stowed at a hotel, of which officers of the united service -are very fond, and after luncheon had been ordered, "don't you want to -make your fortune by a few strokes of your pen--or pencil?" - -"Admiral," replied Jermyn, "my heart never before warned me so savagely -of the condition of my pocket. Fire away." - -"Good! Do you remember a conversation we had a few nights ago at the -fort with a certain semi-public character about business?" - -"A few nights ago?" repeated Jermyn dreamily. "I remember such a talk, -but it seems that it was a few months ago." - -"Tut, tut! Wake up! This is business--not moonshine." - -"I beg your pardon," said Jermyn, quietly rallying himself. "You mean -the affair of that gold placer on the Pacific Coast? Do you suppose I -ever can forget it, after the misery that came of it, and the trouble -you were put to?" - -"Never mind me, at present, except to give me your close attention. -My dear boy, our suggestions did the business, and Blogsham has more -sense of honor than I usually attribute to a business man. Our plans -were of so much promise that he has already organized a company to -develop the property. The capital is a million dollars, with permission -to increase to three millions, and there are at present ten thousand -shares of the par value of one hundred dollars each." - -"Hem! That sounds business-like, but I don't see how it implies the -sense of honor of which you spoke a moment ago." - -"What? Oh, to be sure; I've not reached the most important part of -the story. Well, the projector writes me that he hasn't forgotten his -promise, and that there are five hundred shares of the stock waiting -for me, and five hundred for you, which we can have if----" - -"No, I've fooled away enough of my hard earnings upon projects of that -kind. Excitement of that sort may do for you, on the pay of a rear -admiral, retired, but I----" - -"Do let me finish, won't you? I wouldn't put a cent into gold-mining, -unless I myself were the manager of the concern, if I were a dozen -times as well off as I am. But don't you remember Blogsham's promise? -We're to have this stock for nothing but the services we have already -rendered. Blogsham asks only that the transactions and his assertions -to the company may be entirely business-like, that we shall send him -for the company's archives, the sketches which gave him his new ideas -as to how to make the placer a working success." - -"Whew-w-w-w-!" whistled Jermyn. "Will you kindly remember where those -sketches are--or where there is every reason to believe they are?" - -"Perfectly; nevertheless they must be obtained. Fifty thousand dollars -is too much money for either of us to throw away--Blogsham says the -stock can already be sold at par. I'm sure that Mrs. Highwood is too -much interested in your future welfare to make any objection to giving -up the original document." - -"You forget that she sent it to her husband." - -"Well, he and she are one, aren't they? I should imagine so, from Madam -Trif's manner of talking about her lord and master." - -"But there was a private letter on the same sheet of paper, which----" - -"Which can easily be erased." - -"I can't ask it--really I can't," said Jermyn. "I'd rather lose fifty -thousand dollars than remind Mrs. Highwood of something that would be -embarrassing to think of, in my presence." - -"Then ask her by letter, from as far away as you like. It ought to -be done at once though, for offers like Blogsham's are too much in -air when made only verbally. We must have the sketches. If you won't -ask for them I must. My conscience won't let me see a woman like Miss -Trewman marry a subaltern with less than two thousand a year. The -income of fifty thousand dollars, added to your own salary, will enable -you to marry, and support your wife in a manner that she is accustomed -to." - -Jermyn was in an unpleasant quandary, but he soon got out of it by -saying that to ask for the letter would be ungentlemanly of him, so he -couldn't do it. - -"Then, you stupid fellow," said the Admiral, "I myself shall ask for -them--for my own sketch, at least. She already knows that I know the -contents of the letter." - -"You won't dare remind her of it," exclaimed Jermyn. - -"Won't I, though! Indeed I will. I have sufficient excuse. I shall tell -her frankly why I want it--that an estimable though obstinate friend -of mine is about to marry on an insufficient income, and that I'm so -sorry for his wife that I'm going to settle fifty thousand dollars upon -her, and that I can't do it unless I regain the sketch which was on -the blank half of that letter sheet; your sketch, you'll remember, was -on the back of the written portion. Then, if she gives me the entire -letter----" - -"Which you know she wouldn't do." - -"I don't see why not, if I first ask her to erase the writing. Now, my -dear boy, I have you at my mercy. You're on your way back to the fort; -I will accompany the ladies back to New York, and----" - -"Aha! You will, will you?" exclaimed the younger man, with a soldier's -instinctive delight at getting an enemy at a disadvantage. "I'm going -back to New York with them myself. I've been ordered back, on duty." - -"Hem! For how long, may I ask?" - -"Well, as you can learn by inquiry at the Department, I may as well -tell you that it will be for a week, at the least." - -"Suppose, then," said the Admiral, after a moment of thought, "that -we agree upon an armistice. You go to New York; so shall I. I shan't -annoy you in your special business--never fear--and I'll give you -a full week in which to make up your mind, but if by that time you -haven't procured those sketches I shall charge myself with the getting -of them, no matter how much begging and arguing may be required. Is it -agreed?" - -"I suppose it must be," said Jermyn. "You well know that I couldn't -willingly deprive you of the chance to make fifty thousand dollars, -after all you have done for me, you great-hearted old rascal!" - -"Not even if I were to give the money to your wife?" said the Admiral, -with a world of shrewdness in the sidelong look with which he regarded -his companion. - -"You know very well that I wouldn't allow you to do such a thing!" -replied Jermyn angrily. - -"Hurrah!" shouted the Admiral. - -By that time the luncheon was ready, and the Admiral made himself -delightfully companionable to the ladies, but Jermyn was so silent -and abstracted that even Kate rallied him, asking him if the New York -duties which the War Department had imposed, compelled such hard -thinking? Jermyn replied that they weren't, but that the Admiral had -just given him the most provoking lot of orders that one man ever -received from another, so both ladies insisted at once upon knowing -what the orders were, and both men maintained silence to a degree that -was simply maddening, so Kate quizzed Jermyn privately, and he told -her, privately, that she mustn't say another word about it. Kate -afterward told Trif, in confidence, that she must have been right in -supposing that the business upon which the two men had gone North, a -few days before, must have been of great importance to the Government, -as well as of an extremely secret nature; but that, nevertheless, it -was a burning shame that older officers had such despotic control of -their juniors, and that if women had charge of government affairs, -there would not be any of such manifest injustice. - -They all went to New York that night. While Jermyn visited the -Department for his order, the Admiral scoured Washington for the -projector of the gold mine, who had been in the city the day before, -but as the man had already returned to the metropolis, the Admiral -intended to be at his elbow, to keep the promise of stock alive until -the sketches could be obtained. Should there seem to be any danger, he -would promptly break the armistice and ask Trif for the fateful letter. - -Suddenly, however, while the two officers were smoking together on the -train, Jermyn struck terror to the Admiral's heart by saying: - -"Your plan for reclaiming those pictures may be of no good. 'Tis more -than likely that Highwood has destroyed that letter." - -"My dear boy!" exclaimed the old man. "Please don't imagine anything so -dreadful! Destroyed one hundred thousand dollars? Horrors!" - -"I think it likely," continued Jermyn, "for at Old Point I chanced to -hear Mrs. Highwood say that after carefully reading her husband's -letters she always destroyed them, so that no one else by any chance -could see them. Like husband, like wife--you know the old saying." - -"But you saw the letter in Highwood's own hands," said the Admiral. - -"True; but at that time his wife was away, and I suppose he kept all of -her letters to look at again and again--I am sure I should do so, if I -were married and my wife was away from me." - -"Good boy! I'm glad to see that you already know the feeling. Still--if -he should have destroyed them!" - -It was the Admiral's turn to be strangely silent during the evening, -and the ladies marvelled greatly at the change in a man who had seemed -to them the life of whatever company he chanced to be in, and Kate -found opportunity to whisper to Trif that Jermyn did not seem to be -entirely under the Admiral's thumb after all, for he seemed to be in -remarkably good spirits--commanding spirits, indeed, she could say. - -At a part of the road over which the train passed early in the night, -Jermyn begged the ladies to go with him to the rear platform to observe -a beautiful moonlight landscape which he knew of old. The Admiral, -who remained behind with Trixy, soon began to sketch on the back of a -letter. The shrewd old chap had argued to himself that if the letter -had really been destroyed there could be nothing dishonorable in -duplicating his own sketch on the back of another letter, and offering -it in evidence. It would be virtually the same picture, for he would -draw it from memory, as before. - -He worked so long that Trixy, wishing to do something new, began to -look over his shoulder, and soon she exclaimed: - -"Why-y-y! I've got a picture just like that." - -"You have?" replied the Admiral, carelessly. "That's strange; where did -you get it?" - -"I tore it off a letter--the back of that letter that came from the -fort one day, for you, don't you know, and I opened it by mistake while -I was----" - -The Admiral dropped pencil and paper, placed his hands upon Trixy's -shoulders, and exclaimed: - -"You have that picture? Where?" - -"Why, in my scrap-book, at home." - -"Fifty thousand dollars saved!" shouted the Admiral. He was anything -but silent when the ladies returned; indeed, he talked so incessantly -that Trif had to break in upon one of his best stories by pleading that -she must remove some of the dust of travel before leaving the train at -New York. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -TRICKS UPON TRIXY. - - -After reaching New York the Admiral lost no time in calling at the -Highwoods, and although he tried to appear at his best, Fenie said to -her sister in strict confidence that there must be something about sea -air which specially suited veteran sailors, for the Admiral did not -seem the same man he had been at Old Point. He was genial, courteous, -conversational, witty, but there was a certain indefinable something -lacking; after much study, the girl concluded that the difference came -of a strange absent-minded manner which appeared to possess him once in -a while, for no apparent reason. - -As the old gentleman had spent but a single hour at the Highwoods -when this sage conclusion was announced, Trif called her sister a -goose, and said she had been carrying Harry in her mind so long that -she was incapable of judging other men with any degree of fairness. -Nevertheless, Trif told her husband that the Admiral did not seem -entirely himself. - -The truth was that the old gentleman chanced to call at an hour when -Trixy was calling upon a juvenile acquaintance a few squares away, and -as she was at the age when children never know when to go home unless -they are sent away or sent for, the Admiral was unable to accomplish -the real purpose of his visit, which was to see Trixy's scrap-book. He -went away with about as uncomfortable a mind as you or I might have, -dear reader, were fifty thousand dollars almost within our grasp, yet -with a child's caprice and carelessness somewhere between it and full -possession. - -The Admiral rested badly that night, but he awoke in the morning with -a capital plan of operations. He went to a bookstore and purchased a -large assortment of illustrated papers, American and foreign, and sent -them to his hotel. Then he made a morning call at the Highwoods, just -for a moment, to ask if he might not take Trixy to walk with him. The -child was delighted, especially when the old gentleman took her to his -hotel and showed her all his picture papers, and asked her whether she -would not like to spend the following morning with him, and bring her -scrap-book, so that he and she might paste into it all the pictures she -might select from his papers. - -Success being thus assured, his spirits returned in full force, so that -after he called on Kate Trewman in the afternoon Kate herself hurried -around to the Highwoods to tell them that she had never before found -the Admiral such delightful company, and that evidently there was -nothing like a trip to New York to brighten any one's wits. Trif and -Fenie were mystified, and after Kate's departure they agreed that there -must be something in advancing years that made men variable in spite of -themselves. - -The Admiral lay in wait for Jermyn, who was to dine with him that -evening after returning from the gun-proving grounds, and he tormented -the young man so unmercifully about the letter that Jermyn wished he -had dined alone. The Admiral could afford to be playful, for was he not -sure of getting at least one of the pictures? - -The next morning bright and early he called for Trixy and her -scrap-book, and gallantly insisted upon relieving her of the weight -of the book itself; with the precious volume in his hand he felt as -if the stock certificates were already in his possession. He hurried -the child to his hotel, heartlessly passing several candy shops and -two soda-water places, until some pointed remarks brought him to a -proper sense of the courtesies due to very young ladies who walk with -gentlemen of mature years. - -Trixy's tongue, never inactive for many moments at a time, was entirely -loosened by the gratifying flavors imparted to it by the Admiral's -kindness, so its owner soon began to talk of the two subjects which -were uppermost in home conversation. - -"Say," she asked, "Mr. Jermyn don't have to be killed until there is a -war, does he?" - -"No indeed, my dear, nor even if there should be a war. What put so -dreadful an idea into your head?" - -"Oh, only that mamma says it would be so dreadful when Miss Trewman -loves him so much. Besides, mamma says it would be dreadful hard in -another way, 'cause the Trewmans ain't rich. They used to be, but their -father lost a lot of money in business a few years ago, and papa says -he hasn't got it back yet." - -The Admiral quickly lost his compunctions of conscience about the trick -he intended to play, which was to abstract the original sketch from -Trixy's scrap-book during the clipping and pasting operations at the -hotel, and substitute the imitation which he had made on the train. It -had seemed an ungentlemanly and under-handed thing to do, much though -he informed himself that the result would not injure the child in any -way. Now, after what Trixy had told him about the condition of the -Trewman finances, it would be a matter of absolute duty. Still more, -he would fulfil the threat he had made to Jermyn, in case Jermyn's -own sketch could not be recovered. He could not do it all at once, of -course; Jermyn's pride would never allow it, but he would make the -bride a handsome present in government bonds on her wedding day, and -he would bequeath the remainder of the fifty thousand to her in his -will, and should the fortunes of war or peace take Jermyn from earth -before him, he would see that the remainder of the money should reach -the widow at once. With such virtuous and unselfish resolves, what harm -could there be in plundering a small girl's scrap-book? - -"Papa says," continued Trixy, "that there is no sense in worryin' about -it, 'cause both of 'em are so fond of each other that they'd marry for -love even if they had to starve afterward." - -"Hem! Quite likely. I suspect I would, if I were either of them." - -"Is that so? I must tell mamma that, 'cause p'raps it will keep her -from worryin'. Papa says she worries too much about her friends' -affairs." - -"Er--my dear, I wouldn't say anything about it, if I were you; for -maybe your parents might not like to think that you had been repeating -any of their conversation." - -It took considerable effort on the part of the Admiral to prevent -any farther disclosures, and the old gentleman was very glad when he -reached the hotel, and an examination of the pictorial papers gave -the child something new to talk about. The Admiral had scissors and -paste ready, and allowed Trixy to clip at will while he endeavored to -rob the scrap-book. He lost no time in turning the pages, but a hasty -examination failed to disclose the sketch which represented fifty -thousand dollars, so he looked again, with extreme care. Toward the end -his heart sank, and at the last page he uttered a low groan. - -"What's the matter?" asked Trixy, looking up from her work. - -"I beg a thousand pardons, my dear. I merely gave way, for an instant, -to a bad habit into which old gentlemen sometimes fall. How are you -getting along? Oh, you're finding a capital lot, aren't you? Don't you -want to stop a moment or two, and show me your book?" - -Trixy began at once to turn the leaves, and to tell the story of each -picture. The Admiral listened patiently as long as he could, but soon -he said: - -"Won't you show me the one that is like the sketch I made on the train -the day we returned from Washington?" - -"Certainly." Trixy turned the pages rapidly, but suddenly stopped and -looked puzzled; then she exclaimed: - -"Somebody's hooked it, I do believe!" - -"Oh, don't say that!" said the Admiral, in a shaky voice. "Look again; -perhaps you have pasted some other picture over it." - -"No I didn't. I know just where I had it in the book; it was right -here, by the picture Aunt Fee made of some of the sand hills behind -the fort, because they were the only two drawin's I had. And now there -ain't nothin there!" - -The Admiral looked carefully at the page. Evidently something had been -pasted there, and with childish lavishness of mucilage. It could not -have dropped out, for bits of paper still adhered to the page. It was -plain that some one had carefully removed the sketch. - -"Trixy," said the Admiral, as a suspicion came into his mind, "have you -ever shown this book to Lieutenant Jermyn?" - -"No, never. He ain't ever at our house long enough for me to show him -anything." - -"Have you loaned the book to any other little girl, or exchanged -pictures with any one?" - -"No, indeed! Besides, I was keepin' that picture real careful, to -remind me of somethin'--mamma told me to. She told me that whenever I -looked at that picture I must remember to never again take any writin' -from her portfolio and ask other people to finish it for me. I'd -just like to know what's happened to that picture; I'm goin' to ask -ev'rybody about it as soon as I get back home." - -"Oh, don't, please," said the Admiral hastily, "or you'll make me very -unhappy." - -"What for?" - -"Oh, I should dislike to have your father and mother and aunt annoyed -about so slight a matter--so far as I am concerned; and you wouldn't -have thought of it, you know, if I hadn't spoken of it." - -"But they wouldn't be annoyed, and p'raps one of 'em knows where the -picture is." - -"Eh? Which of them?" The old gentleman looked keenly over the tops of -his glasses as a new thought came to him. - -"Why, papa, I guess, 'cause he's got a picture a good deal like it on -the back of a letter that mamma wrote him, and I saw him lookin' real -hard at it the other day, and I asked him what 'twas about, and he -said, 'Oh, nothin'." - -"Aha!" - -"What did you say?" - -"Did I say something? I must have been merely clearing my throat." - -"What a funny lot of noises you do make this mornin'. Well, I guess -I'll paste some pictures in the book." - -The Admiral lit a cigar, an indulgence of which he never was guilty -before dinner, except when laboring under severe mental excitement. -One thing at least seemed clear; the letter, with Jermyn's sketch, had -not been destroyed; therefore he, the Admiral, could hope to get it, -for men knew better than women the value of fifty thousand dollars, -and they would forgive other men for asking pointed questions under the -circumstances. - -But had Phil the Admiral's own sketch? If so, why had he taken it from -the book? Merely to tease Trixy? Scarcely. - -Suddenly the Admiral smote his forehead and muttered to himself: - -"How stupid of me. Mrs. Highwood herself removed that picture. She -knew that her daughter had it; she knew the history of it, for I told -her all, and she can scarcely have forgotten it. She has a woman's -natural delicacy, bless her, about the incident being recalled to my -mind, so knowing that Trixy was to bring the book to my room she has -abstracted the sketch so that I should not see it and be reminded of -a mortifying experience. Oh, woman, woman! How you do keep alive the -human tenderness that man does so much to kill!" - -Suddenly, however, the Admiral sprang to his feet and exclaimed: - -"What if, to make assurance doubly sure, she has destroyed that -sketch!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -THREE BLIND MICE. - - -From that time forward the Admiral was a persistent caller at the -Highwoods, for he could not regain his natural composure until he had -seen and questioned Phil. The first evening he called Phil had gone out -to dinner with some old classmates, and as the Admiral said nothing -of the purpose of his visit there was nothing to prevent Phil from -remaining late at his office the next night. - -All the while, too, Jermyn, whom the Admiral met daily at breakfast, -carried himself with an air of bravado which was in the highest degree -exasperating. Was it possible that the fellow had himself secured those -sketches in some way, and was having a malignantly delightful time in -torturing an old man who had been his best friend? It did not seem -possible, so one morning the Admiral cautiously remarked: - -"By the way, have you done anything about those sketches?" - -"Not a thing." - -"You don't know anything about them?" - -"No more than when we first came North." - -"When do you intend to find out?" - -"Never, if there's no way but the one you have suggested." - -"I don't wonder," said the Admiral icily, "that you're willing to lose -your share of the money, for a man in love is generally fool enough to -think that he, and particularly his wife, can live on air, but----" - -"Admiral!" - -"Oh, be angry, if you like, but I mean it. On the other hand, do you -think it is conduct becoming an officer and gentleman to deprive -me of a lot of money when I've several times put myself to great -inconvenience, out of unselfish regard for you?" - -"I'd do almost anything in the world to oblige you, Admiral," replied -Jermyn, "but after what you've said regarding what you might do with -your share of the money, you can't blame me for being reluctant." - -"See here, dear boy," pleaded the Admiral, "I'll withdraw that threat -if you'll get merely your own sketch. I'll cheerfully lose my own -share, if I may feel entirely comfortable about your future." - -That shot told. Jermyn could not endure the thought of any man playing -martyr for him, so he answered somewhat sulkily: - -"I must do it." - -"Good! When?" - -"Very soon." - -"Time is precious, dear boy." Then the Admiral told of his plan -regarding Trixy's scrap-book, and his defeat, and finally asked: - -"Don't you suppose you could make another sketch of the surroundings of -that placer as you did at the fort?" - -"Easily." - -The Admiral hastily offered the back of a letter and a pencil, and -followed with his eyes each mark that Jermyn made. When the sketch was -almost complete, Jermyn stopped and asked: - -"Why do you want this, Admiral?" - -"For use as a voucher, in case your original should be lost." - -"Oh, that would be a forgery!" - -"Nonsense! Can a man forge his own signature? What would you say in -answer to that question, if you were member of a court-martial?" - -"I scarcely know," replied Jermyn slowly, "but--" here he paused long -enough to tear the paper into strips, and tear the strips crosswise, "I -must give my honor the benefit of the doubt." - -"Oh, you idiot," exclaimed the old gentleman angrily. "You're worse -than an idiot, for you're intimating that I, an officer and gentleman, -am counselling a crime." - -"Forgive me, Admiral. You know very well that I couldn't, for an -instant, think such a thing. Still, any man must be ruled by his own -conscience." - -Jermyn went down to the Sandy Hook proving-grounds, and the Admiral -spent a miserable day, relieved somewhat by a call upon Kate, to whom -he determined to tell the whole story, and to appeal to her, first for -Jermyn's sake and then for his own, to help him to get those sketches. -He knew women, he thought; Kate was a young woman of unusual balance -of mind, so she probably had been sensible enough to wonder on what -she and Jermyn would live after they married. They would soon marry, -the Admiral was sure; for love, like many other disturbances to which -humanity is subject, acts most powerfully where longest delayed or -avoided. - -But, alas, for human courage! The veteran who had led boarding parties -and storming parties, could not muster sufficient courage to tell a -woman that another woman had been bent upon making a match for her, and -that two men, one of whom was the young woman's own lover, had seen -the plan in black and white, while Kate herself had no thought of ever -becoming Mrs. Jermyn. - -So he called again at the Highwoods, made a full confession to Trif and -her husband, and begged for the sketches. Fortunately, the couple were -alone, Harry and Fenie having gone to a dinner which the Trewmans were -giving to both happy couples. Phil seemed greatly amused by the story, -and said: - -"So that explains the mystery of those two pictures!" Then, for the -first time, he told Trif of meeting Jermyn in Madison Square, and of -Jermyn's strange embarrassment on seeing one of the pictures, and how -Phil himself had chanced to see the other, only two or three days -before the Admiral's call, in Trixy's scrap-book, extracted it, and put -the two together to make a pretense of mystery some evening for Trif's -bewilderment and his own amusement. - -"You dreadful fellow!" exclaimed Trif. "The idea of you keeping a -secret from me--and for three whole days!" - -"But, pardon me," said the Admiral, "do either of you find it -impossible to forgive me?" - -"On the contrary," replied Phil, "it is impossible to see where you -were to blame. Trixy herself took the letter to you and asked you to -finish it, so you couldn't help reading it. Neither could you help -supposing it to be what she thought it, her own letter, for it began -'Dear Old Papa.'" - -"But," persisted the Admiral, "I was guilty, shamefully so, that in my -absent-mindedness I took it from my pocket at the club, to sketch upon." - -"Just as I frequently use letters to figure upon," said Phil. - -"Thank you--thank you. And poor Jermyn, in making his own sketch, and -knowing, of course, the subject of conversation, looked at the written -portion, supposing it to be something pertinent to the subject." - -"Quite naturally, and each of you afterward had a lot of trouble which -he didn't in the least deserve." - -"I don't see," said Trif, "that anyone is to blame but I. The -experience teaches me never again to leave a letter unfinished." - -"Thank you, my dear," said Phil. "You see, Admiral, that your loss is -to be my gain. Hereafter I'm not to be disappointed when longing for -letters." - -"What letters, papa?" asked Trixy from the sitting-room, where she was -conducting a spelling lesson for dolls. - -"None, dear--tis nothing that you would understand." - -"If there is no feeling against me, therefore," said the Admiral, -adhering to the purpose of his call, "would you mind, after erasing -Mrs. Highwood's lines, giving the sketches to me?" - -"It will give me the greatest pleasure to place them in your hands," -said Phil, taking some papers from the pocket of his coat. "Why, -they're not here! Hem! Ah, I remember; I changed some papers hurriedly -this morning to my coat at the office, and apparently those were among -them. I'll get them to you to-morrow, and leave them at your hotel as I -come up town." - -"I shall be there to receive them," said the Admiral, putting on a look -of resignation. "Excuse my eagerness and anxiety in the matter, but -those sketches have become a veritable nightmare to me." - -"I don't wonder," said Phil, "considering what they represent. Trixy, -dear, don't laugh so loud. What is the matter?" - -"Oh, I'm tellin' the dolls somethin' funny, and I have to do the -laughin' for the whole lot of them, don't you see?" - -"Bless the child!" exclaimed the Admiral. "Don't check her, please. I -wonder if the dolls would think it an intrusion if I were to look on?" - -"Phil!" said Trif, suddenly. - -"Yes, my dear." - -"Do you want to please me very much?" - -"You know I do." - -"Then go down to your office to-night for those sketches--it isn't yet -late enough for the janitor to be asleep. I'm sure that our friend the -Admiral, will sleep much easier when he has those pictures securely in -his possession." - -"Oh, I couldn't think of putting you to such trouble," said the Admiral -quickly, although he told himself that Trif was a woman of a million. -Trif insisted, and begged the Admiral to wait until Phil's return. It -seemed to the old gentleman that every minute of Phil's absence would -be an hour long, yet under Trif's influence the minutes passed almost -as quickly as seconds, so before long Phil's step was heard in the -hall. Trif and the Admiral instinctively arose, but to their surprise -they saw a very blank face as Phil exclaimed: - -"'Tis the most provoking thing that ever happened. Those sketches are -nowhere in the office." - -"What can have become of them?" murmured Trif. - -"I've not the faintest idea. Here are some more papers that were in the -same pocket." - -"'Foiled again,' as the villain always says in a melodrama," remarked -the Admiral; "kindly consider me the villain." The old gentleman was -trying to make light of his disappointment, but he looked so grave that -Phil hastened to say: - -"I assure you, Admiral, that the sketches can not possibly have been -lost, nor can any one have stolen them. I shall make thorough search -for them at once, and give myself no peace until I have found them." - -"I beg that you won't put yourself to any inconvenience," said the -Admiral. Nevertheless, he made haste to take his departure, hoping -that the search would begin at once and continue through the night, -unless the missing papers were sooner found. - -"I shall carry them to you, in person, as soon as I get them," were -Phil's parting words. - -"Come at any hour," replied the Admiral. "Don't fear that you may -disturb me." - -Then he went to his hotel, and hopefully, fearfully, remained awake -until and through the "dog watch" hours, but in vain. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE OTHER COUPLE. - - -As Harry and Fenie had no prospective fortunes complicated by scraps -of paper in another man's pocket, they had every reason to be entirely -happy, yet soon they found themselves very much to the contrary. Fenie -had begun early, like a loyal wife that was to be, to tell Harry of -everything that was on her mind, and Harry, like a good brother, began -to be concerned about his sister's prospects. The family fortunes were -not in as bad condition as Trixy had led the Admiral to fear, but what -loving brother could be entirely cheerful while his sister was in -danger of losing fifty thousand dollars? - -He began to be absent-minded at home, and Kate quickly noticed it, and -asked him what was the matter, and when he replied, "Nothing," he did -it in a tone that whatever was the matter was the reverse of nothing, -so she set herself to discovering what it could be. She at once assumed -that it was trouble of some sort between him and Fenie, and she -determined to rectify it, no matter what it might be. They were mere -children, Harry and Fenie, in Kate's estimation, and would need her -sisterly care and supervision until they were safely married. - -With the best of intentions she called upon Fenie to find out all about -it, and she found the girl in a state of high excitement, for she had -been helping Trif to search every place in the house where those awful -sketches could possibly have been put, for Phil, like many another man, -was an adept at dropping the contents of his pockets in unexpected -places. Kate was thinking of nothing but the business on which she had -come, so she proceeded promptly to business. - -"Harry seems quite unhappy," she began bluntly. "He is entirely unlike -his usual merry self." - -"Indeed?" replied Fenie vacantly. - -"Yes; he looks as if he had slept scarcely a wink last night." - -"Pshaw!" exclaimed Fenie with a slight frown. - -Kate was somewhat provoked at this, but she controlled herself and -continued: - -"I asked him what was troubling him, but he wouldn't tell me, although -he has always made me his confidant." - -Fenie looked uncomfortable, but she showed no sign of becoming -communicative, so Kate went on: - -"Don't you suppose I would be of any service to you or him in the -matter?" - -"Not in the slightest degree," said Fenie, with a start. She was -thinking only of the ridiculousness of Kate assisting at the work of -rummaging the pockets of the various garments which Phil had worn since -he missed the sketches, but Kate naturally failed to imagine that, so -she misconstrued the gesture. - -"I do hope, dear," she said, as sympathetically as she could, "that it -isn't anything serious!" - -"But it is," said Fenie, looking as if she would like the subject -dropped. For that very reason Kate clung to it determinedly. - -"Serious?--for two people who ought to love each other very dearly?" - -"Yes," replied Fenie bluntly. She was afraid to say much, for, if she -gave Kate any clue to the matter, she did not know how much further she -might be persuaded to go. She knew that her tongue sometimes ran away -with her, and she was not going to let Kate know anything about the -missing letter and its double contents. - -Suddenly Trif, who did not know that there was a visitor in the parlor, -called Fenie, and the girl, glad of an excuse, hurried away with the -promise that she would return in a moment. When, however, she explained -to her sister, Trif told her she was very silly not to see that Kate -was misunderstanding matters, and supposing there was trouble between -Fenie and Harry. - -"But," said Fenie, "as she already knows that it concerns a couple who -ought to love each other very dearly--those were her own words--she -will think there is something wrong between her and Jermyn, or between -you and Phil." Trif was perplexed by this view of the matter, so she -and her sister set themselves to devise some way of throwing Kate off -the scent, and, as neither of them had any experience in deceit, they -evolved and discarded several plans in rapid succession. - -Kate was becoming restive. She had a woman's sense of the courtesy that -was due her, and she began to feel hurt by what seemed to be neglect. -Just then Trixy meandered into the parlor, from nowhere in particular, -and Kate had no scruples about questioning her. - -"Trixy, dear," she said, "I'm very glad to see you." - -Trixy indulged in a long stare before she replied: - -"That's funny! You don't look as if you was." - -"Don't I? I'm very sorry for it. The truth is, I'm greatly troubled -about several things. I'm afraid, for one thing, that Harry and Fenie -aren't as happy as they have been." - -"I guess you're right," was the reply, "though I wouldn't have thought -of it if you hadn't said so. They talked awful solemn to each other -last night. I don't know what they was talkin' about, but once Harry -put his hands all over his face and said: 'Oh, 'twill be awful--awful!'" - -"Dear me! And what did your Aunt Fee say?" - -"She didn't say nothin' for a long time, and then she said she thought -he was makin' altogether too much fuss about it." - -"About what?" - -"I don't know, except she said somethin' about Mr. Jermyn bein' a real -fine fellow anyway, so she thought Harry ought to be quiet, and make -the best of it." - -Jermyn! Aha! Harry was jealous! How much cause had he? If any, then -she, Kate, had quite as much. Oh, the ways of very young women! Was -Fenie's head still turned by the attention which Jermyn had paid her -at Old Point? Had she really lost her heart to him? Was she tiring -of Harry, and wishing she might yet capture the officer? Jermyn had -admitted to Kate that he had been greatly impressed by Fenie until she, -Kate, herself appeared on the scene, but it couldn't be possible that -he---- - -"Trixy?" said Kate suddenly, "does Lieutenant Jermyn come here often?" -She was ashamed of herself as soon as she had spoken, for when could he -call? Was he not at the proving-grounds all day, and at Kate's own home -every evening until late? Still, the question had been asked, so she -awaited the answer. - -"Why, no. He came here this mornin', very early, and----" - -"And your mamma saw him?" - -"No, mamma was out." - -"So you entertained him?" - -"No, I didn't either. I wanted to, 'cause I like him lots, but he and -Aunt Fee began talkin' about a letter, and then Aunt Fee told me to get -all my new dolls to show him, now that they've all got new dresses, and -it took me a lot of time to get them all together, and when I came back -with 'em he was gone." - -Kate was angry, but of one thing she informed herself at once--it was -that she was not going to lose Bruce Jermyn because of any flirtation -he might have had with that flighty girl, or of any letters that might -have passed between them. Men would be flirts, she supposed--that is, -bachelors would--but she would marry Bruce Jermyn, even if he had -flirted with half the women in creation. She had long cherished the -fine belief that no man ever strays from a woman who appreciates him; -when she became Mrs. Jermyn she would be everything to him that wife -could be to husband, and then she would defy anyone, even a girl as -pretty as Fenie, to get and keep a bit of his heart. - -As to Fenie, it would break Harry's heart to lose her, and if -temptation were out of her way she probably would love Harry sincerely -after they were married. Jermyn would be out of the way in a day or -two,--but, oh, how she did wish she knew what was in the letter which -the two had talked about? - -Fenie finally returned and Kate said to her: - -"You expect Harry this evening, I suppose?" - -"Oh, yes, I suppose so." - -"I hope you will have a very pleasant evening with each other." - -"Oh, so do I. I hope it will be pleasanter than last evening. If that -dreadful let----" - -Fenie stopped abruptly, but it was too late. Kate was regarding her -searchingly, and Fenie's face became scarlet. - -"What letter do you refer to?" - -"Oh, don't ask, please." Fenie felt that she should scream. - -"A letter which has made much unhappiness for you and Harry?" - -"Yes; yes; oh, yes!" Fenie looked so miserable that Kate almost forgave -her. After all, was she not a mere girl? Perhaps a womanly word, spoken -in season, might do her good, beside providing peace for Kate's own -mind in the future. So she began: - -"I believe you're real sorry about it." - -"Oh, indeed I am; sorrier than I can begin to tell you." - -"Then, dear," said Kate, compelling a genuine pardoning spirit to take -possession of herself, "try to think no more about it, no matter what -the contents of the letter may be. Let bygones be bygones. Some things -must be lived down, if we are to be all we should. Do your share toward -it, and all may yet be well." - -"But you--and Jermyn--" - -So Jermyn really was implicated! Nevertheless, Kate set her lips firmly -and replied: - -"Jermyn shall live it down; I shall never recall the matter to his -attention, but shall do all in my power to make him forget the letter." - -"But," said Fenie, with a wondering look, "how did you chance to know -anything about it?" - -"Never mind about that. You still love Harry, don't you?" - -"Indeed, yes!" - -"And you will show him that letter--after you are married?" - -"Why, yes--if it is ever found." - -Kate wanted one more proof of Fenie's repentance; it was a hard one to -exact, but she was determined to have it. - -"You will show the letter to me too?" - -"Yes--after you are married, and if you'll promise to forgive us." - -"I do promise--now!" said Kate, and departed with the air of one who -had done a noble deed, while Fenie hurried to Trif and told her that -Kate already knew about that letter, despite all that had been done to -keep any knowledge of it from her, and Trif wondered how she could have -learned, and said that Harry must have told her, and Fenie retorted -that Harry was no tell-tale child, and that it must have been Jermyn -or the Admiral, and that whichever it was he was real mean, for hadn't -Trif, while writing the letter, planned merely what had come to pass, -to the manifest delight of the parties most nearly interested? - -Kate improved her first opportunity to warn her brother against long -engagements, and Harry asked whether she herself was willing to -practice what she preached, and Kate bravely answered that she was. - -"But let that subject rest, for the present," she said. "I've learned -some things accidentally to-day, and I don't wonder that you have been -so unhappy for a day or two. You needn't be afraid to call on Fenie -this evening. There will be nothing unpleasant." - -"My dear sister!" exclaimed Harry, "what are you talking about? What -have you learned, and where, and how?" - -"Entirely by accident. Trixy----" - -"Trixy? Goodness! Will that child never cease to make trouble?" - -Then Harry dashed out of the room. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THREE DAYS GRACE. - - -The Admiral worried himself almost sick over Phil Highwood's inability -to find the missing sketches, and his condition of mind and body was -not improved by a meeting which he had with the projector of the new -mining company. That gentleman insisted that the sketches should be -filed at once, for his promise from his fellow-incorporators had been -merely verbal, and he warned the Admiral that such promises were -frequently ignored in business, and that he, the projector, would be -powerless to force the matter should his associates vote against him. - -The Admiral explained the cause of the delay and the importance of the -matter to Jermyn in particular, and this affected the projector so -strongly, he once having been a poor young man engaged to be married, -that he succeeded in exacting from the directors a written promise that -if the sketches were deposited with the company within three days from -date the stock should be delivered; otherwise it would be disposed of -elsewhere. - -All this caused the old gentleman to once more speak to Jermyn about -the matter, and Jermyn, noting the condition to which excitement had -brought his friend, and not knowing that the Admiral had already made -a clean breast of the matter to the Highwoods, one morning went to -throw himself upon Trif's mercy, but, as already intimated, he saw -only Fenie. He succeeded in telling her the story, but when he learned -that the sketches had disappeared he became about as miserable as the -Admiral. - -Had he spoken when first the sketches were asked for, there would -have been no trouble, he learned; he therefore reproached himself -severely for his friend's sake and for Kate's, and began wondering how -he could ever make amends to the man who had done so much for him. As -an army officer's opportunities for making fifty thousand dollars are -practically non-existent, he became so moody that Kate thought her -suspicions about him and Fenie were verified. - -But Kate was not going to lose a happy evening from the short remainder -of Jermyn's leave of absence, as she persisted in calling his -assignment to duty at Sandy Hook. As she was going to be magnanimous, -and had begun finely, she resolved to complete the task, so she -exclaimed to Jermyn suddenly one evening: - -"My dear boy, I want you to stop thinking about that letter. Don't -start--nor ask me any questions. I'll promise to overlook it, and -forget all about it, in the course of time, if you will be your old -self once more." - -"But I never can forget it," replied Jermyn, "never! Think of the -cruelty of it, to you?" - -"But if I ignore it, and cast it from my mind forever, why should you -persist in cherishing it and being miserable about it?" - -"Why? Because I am a man and love you." - -"I shall love you the more, because you have been so miserable about -the matter. Won't that satisfy you?" - -How grand a woman she was, Jermyn thought! Still, how could she have -learned about that letter, and the drawings that made it so valuable? -Had the Admiral told her, and asked her to add her entreaties to his -own? Trif could not have been the informer; she had every reason for -avoiding the subject, in conversation with Kate. Kate had said he must -not ask her how she learned about the tormenting paper; but suddenly he -found out, or thought he did, for Kate said: - -"Will it make your mind any easier to know that I have fully forgiven -her?" - -"Then you really know all?" said he, looking into her eyes. He did it -very coolly, in the circumstances, Kate thought, but she was not going -to recede a bit from the greatness of magnanimity upon which she had -resolved, so she said: - -"Yes, all; but why should I harbor any ill feeling? Besides, she is -quite weak and silly. She will know more when she grows older." - -"I am sorry to hear you speak of her in that way," said Jermyn, -gravely. "I had hoped that you and she would become very warm friends; -indeed, I supposed you were so already." - -Kate darted a suspicious look at Jermyn. Was there duplicity in a man -apparently so honest? If so, her faith in human nature would be forever -lost. - -"Why do you wish us to be warm friends?" she asked, coldly. "So that -you may frequently have her near you?" - -Jermyn looked amazed and indignant as he exclaimed: - -"Kate, I swear to you that the tender regard I once had for her is gone -forever. Do believe me." - -"Then it was not you who wrote the letter about which you and she have -been so troubled about in the last few days?" - -"I? Why, you said you knew all about it! Don't you know that she wrote -it?" - -"The forward minx!" - -"I thought you said you had forgiven her?" - -"I wish I hadn't! The idea of a girl as careful as Fenie Wardlow -professes to be----" - -"My dear girl, you've been dreadfully misinformed in some way. Fenie -didn't write the letter; 'twas her sister." - -"Jermyn!" exclaimed Kate, utterly aghast. What was the world coming to? -She had heard of married women who pretended to adore their husbands, -and who intrigued with other men, but she supposed they were far from -the society in which she moved. So it was Trif and her--carelessness, -call it, over which Fenie had been so uncomfortable when Kate called, a -few hours back! Oh, the wickedness of the world! Whom now was there to -trust? - -"So," said Kate, slowly and coldly, "it was a married woman, one whom -I have respected and loved, who wrote you the letter which----" - -"Stop, Kate--at once. There is a dreadful mistake somewhere. Let us be -entirely frank with each other, for the good of all concerned. The only -letter about which I have had any discomfort is one which Mrs. Highwood -wrote to her own husband." - -"Her own husband!" echoed Kate, with a blank stare. - -"Yes. Let us begin at the beginning, and get your mind out of -this dreadful tangle. Do tell me from whom, and how, you got your -information about that unspeakably troublesome letter?" - -"From Trixy," answered Kate, feebly; at which Jermyn laughed heartily -before he replied: - -"I might have imagined it. The little marplot! Now listen: the letter -is one which Mrs. Highwood wrote her husband, from Old Point, on two -subjects, one of which was very delightful, for it was you; I was the -other. By an accident, which I will explain later, the letter fell into -the Admiral's hands, and he, not distinguishing it from several others -which he took from his pocket an hour or two afterward, made a sketch -upon the back of it; I, who chanced to be with him, made another. Both -sketches are now needed, at once, to perfect some business arrangements -in which the Admiral and I are greatly interested and by which we might -profit greatly, but Highwood, to whom his wife sent the letter when -she regained it, has mislaid the sheet, or the two parts of it, and -the Admiral and I, as well as the entire Highwood family, are greatly -troubled about it." - -"So is Harry and Fenie," said Kate, as if talking to herself. "What -an idiot I have been! How they will laugh at my expense! But oh, I am -so happy, although I don't deserve to be, for I have been jealous, -suspicious, hateful----" - -"Do restrain yourself, my dear girl." - -"I've also been meddlesome," Kate continued, "and impertinent, and, -worse than all, inexpressibly stupid, on account of that dreadful -letter. Meanwhile, I am being heartless, for you said the loss of the -letter was making trouble for you and the Admiral. How much is the -trouble--to you?" - -"Oh, merely fifty thousand dollars worth." - -"Jermyn! I supposed that I had promised to marry an army officer with -nothing but his salary, and I was priding myself on marrying for love -alone, without any of the sordid ideas which fill women's heads, as -well as men's, in these selfish days, but you seem----" - -"Don't change your mind, I beg, for I am fully as poor as you thought -me. I expect to be fifty thousand dollars better off if that letter -with my sketch comes to light within a few hours; otherwise my entire -fortune is the couple of thousand dollars I have saved." - -Kate smiled bravely and sweetly as she replied: - -"Please don't omit me, while you're giving an account of your -possessions. Not that I have any money, but----" - -"Bless you!" exclaimed Jermyn, with the demonstration appropriate to -the circumstances. There was a short silence, which Kate broke by -saying: - -"I wonder what was in that letter about you and me." - -Jermyn did not answer. - -"Do you know?" Kate asked. - -"Yes." - -"Then tell me." - -"I can't, my dear--really I can't." - -"Do you think it right that either of us should keep anything from the -other?" - -"No; but a communication from a husband to his wife belongs only to the -two--Mr. and Mrs. Highwood." - -"Never mind. I shall know it all some day. Fenie promised that I -should." - -"Indeed? When is she to tell you?" - -"After I am married." - -"And you are very, very curious to know?" - -"Wildly so!" - -"I can see but one way to assist you." - -"What is it?" - -"Can't you imagine?" - -"No. Do tell me--at once." - -Jermyn took her hands in his and replied: - -"'Tis only this; get married as soon as possible. I shall soon be -entitled to ask for two more weeks of absence, and then----" - -"I shall be ready," said Kate softly, yet with a look which made Jermyn -wonder how much happier a man could be without losing his senses. - -"One thing I must do at once, though," said Kate, suddenly regaining -her alertness and self-control. "I must apologize abjectly to Fenie for -my shameful suspicion that she had been engaged in a flirtation with -you. I must do it this very evening. Please take me around there at -once." - -"And rob myself of one of my few remaining hours of bliss?" - -"You must learn to be blissful while doing whatever I wish you to do." - -Fenie was so surprised by the communication which Kate made that she -did not think to be indignant; on the contrary, she laughed, which was -the worst punishment she could have inflicted. Meanwhile, Trif was -telling Jermyn that he and Kate must take dinner with her and Phil -the next night. The other happy couple would be present, so would the -Admiral, and the dinner would be the finest she had ever arranged. - -"Yes," said Trixy, "there's to be ice-cream, and the other kind of ice, -and mamma says I can eat a lot of both; and there's to be a s'prise, -too." - -Trif nodded warningly at Trixy. She could not remember which of her -prospective dishes had been alluded to in family conversation as a -surprise, yet she warned her daughter to be quiet. - -"She doesn't mean the letter?" whispered Jermyn. - -"Alas, no!" sighed Trif. "How I wish it might be!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THAT SURPRISE. - - -The dinner was all that Trif had promised, and the guests were in high -spirits, although some of them had believed in advance that it would -be almost like a funeral feast, for were there not two blocks of stock -which would not go out of the minds of at least two of the party? - -Good manners prevented any show of sadness, and good company soon -did the rest. There was an abundance of merry chat, and the host and -hostess, with Harry and Fenie, encouraged the Admiral and Jermyn to -tell stories of field and flood, of which civilians seem never to tire, -so it was not until late in the evening that the party arose from the -table. Then the ladies were begged for music, and the officers were -coaxed to sing, and time flew so rapidly that it was almost midnight -when the guests said they must take their leave, and Trif murmured that -Trixy ought to have been put to bed hours before, but the dear child -had been so quiet that her mother had scarcely known she was present. - -"I dislike to bring up unpleasant subjects on such an occasion," -said Phil, "but before we separate I must express my great sorrow -and mortification at the loss of those pictures. I never before had -so serious an accident, and I wish it were in my power to make some -reparation." - -"There is one way in which you can do it, my dear sir," replied the -Admiral. - -"What? Do name it and it shall be done." - -"It is merely this. Kindly persuade your wife to re-write, from memory, -and on the same kind of paper, if possible, the letter which, through -my stupidity, has caused all the trouble. Have her write it with the -same kind of ink; then give the letter to me!" - -"I'll do it at once," said Trif. - -"And you'll show me the letter?" added Kate. - -"Not for worlds!" answered Trif, with a laugh and a blush that made -Kate still more curious. - -"What then?" asked Phil. - -"Then," said the Admiral, firmly, "I shall duplicate my pencil sketch -upon the back of it; Jermyn shall duplicate his on the back of the -written page, and I shall file both as vouchers." - -"A most brilliant plan!" exclaimed Phil. "Eh, Jermyn?" - -"Brilliant enough," was the reply, "but I don't entirely like it. My -friend, the Admiral, is the most honest man alive, yet to me the plan -seems very like forgery." - -"Oh, not at all!" said Phil. "A man can't forge his own writing or -drawing. Besides, there's no question of morals involved. The company -is willing to give the stock, in payment for services rendered, the -services made by you gentlemen, showing how to get water to property -which would be worthless without it. No other man, should he find the -originals, can possibly present them or use them in any way, for he -would not know what they signified, nor could he find any one but the -existing company who could apply them to the property in question. -Neither of you have talked of the matter elsewhere?" - -"I don't believe," said the Admiral, with a long sigh, a shake of the -head, and a reminiscent wink at Jermyn, "that any matter which affected -business has ever been kept close by two men--eh, Jermyn?" - -"Quite right, Admiral. Still, as to duplicating my sketch----" - -"You can't prevent me, at least," the Admiral replied, "so I shall -beg Mrs. Highwood to re-write the letter at once. If Jermyn chooses -to throw away fifty thousand dollars--oh, Miss Trewman, you have more -influence over him than any one else; do reason with him. Better still, -command him. Don't let him throw good money to the dogs." - -"What dogs? Who's throwin' money to 'em?" drawled Trixy, who had begun -to fall asleep. - -"Mr. Jermyn, my dear, is doing it," said Phil, "and all because your -own father stupidly lost a couple of pictures." - -"Gracious!" exclaimed the child, yawning and rubbing her eyes. - -"What shall I do, my dear?" asked Jermyn, as Kate turned an anxious -face toward him. "The money, should I get it, will be practically -yours; that is, it will enable me to support my wife far better than my -unaided salary will." - -The Admiral, Fenie and Harry looked intently at Kate. Trif, at a table -in the sitting room, had been writing rapidly with her husband looking -over her shoulder. When she had finished Phil took the pen and did -something to the letter, at which Trif nodded approvingly and then -slyly drew Phil's face down to her and kissed it. Then she tore the two -leaves of the sheet apart, and gave one to each of the despoiled men, -saying, - -"Admiral, this is the portion which you used. Jermyn, this is yours. -Kate, have you brought him to his senses?" - -"Shall I?" asked Jermyn. - -"Yes," said Kate, "if you think it right." - -"But I don't." - -"Then you shan't" exclaimed Kate, snatching the paper from him. "No one -shall ever blame you, though, for 'tisn't you who are throwing away the -money; it is I." - -She stepped quickly toward the grate, extended her hand, stopped, -turned her head and said: - -"As some reward for my self-sacrifice, mayn't I read the letter before -I burn it?" - -"You poor child!" murmured Trif. - -"What? Was it as bad as that?" - -"Look at it, Kate," said Phil, "and you will know what Trif means." - -In a second Kate was under the chandelier and turning the sheet, but as -she looked her face became blank, for Phil, supposing the paper was -to go into the hands of a lot of business men, had penned over every -line so skillfully, after the manner of commercial correspondents who -make erasures in letters, that not a word of the original writing was -decipherable. - -"You shall know it all, you dear disappointed girl," said Trif. "I -shall tell you every word of it this very evening--this very moment. -Come with me; I know the others will excuse us under the circumstances." - -Together they started to leave the room, but encountered Trixy, who was -just entering. - -"I most forgot about that s'prise," said the child to Jermyn, as she -stopped before him. "The dinner was so good, and you folks talked so -much, that I didn't get a chance to say nothin', and then I got sleepy -while you was singin', and I'd have forgot all about it entirely if you -hadn't begun to talk about throwin' money to dogs, and papa explained -how it was." - -Then she raised both hands high in the air and shouted: - -"Here's your old pictures." - -"Come on, boys," shouted the Admiral, springing forward, and snatching -both sketches. He explained afterward, very sheepishly, that he -believed his mind had been weakened by long anxiety about those -sketches, for he imagined himself young again, and taking part in a -landing party in Mexico. - -"Oh, Trixy," exclaimed Trif, snatching her child into her arms, "you -naughty, precious, dreadful, blessed, awful, angelic, terrible, lovely -darling!" - -"Jermyn!" exclaimed Kate, and Jermyn opened his arms, while Fenie -gasped "Harry!" and Harry made haste to support her. The ladies being -thus disposed of, the Admiral and Phil could only shake hands, which -they did with a vigor that made each man wince. Finally Phil said: - -"My dear, will you kindly stop kissing that child long enough for me to -ask her a question? Trixy, where did you get those sketches?" - -"Why, I found out that 'twas you that took one of 'em out of my -scrap-book, and I thought it was just one of your tricks, so I'd play -one on you, and the first thing I knew I got the chance, 'cause a lot -of papers fell out of a coat of yours on a chair, and there was one of -the pictures on the outside of a letter, and 'twas my own picture, so -I took it, and afterwards I found there was one somethin' like it on -the inside part of the letter, and I was goin' to tell you, some time, -how nicely I had tricked you. Then I heard a lot of talk about pictures -that the Admiral and Mr. Jermyn wanted, and I thought mebbe I had 'em, -and I knew mamma was goin' to have both of the gentlemen here to dinner -in a day or two, and I thought I'd keep the s'prise till then, when -there'd be more people to laugh at it." - -"Suppose," said Trif with frightened eyes, "that I had set the dinner -for to-morrow instead of to-day!" - -"But you didn't, my dear madam," said the Admiral. "All the world loves -a lover, and I devoutly believe heaven does too. Suppose that you had -put Trixy to bed at the usual hour!" - -"Oh, don't!" - -"Let me see the sketches, Admiral," said Kate. She looked at them -carelessly, turned them over, and said: - -"Trif, the writing on this page has been erased. May I read it?" - -"Yes, dear, if you will take it into the next room." - -Kate was absent several moments--a long time, Jermyn said, to read what -his own eyes had seen at a glance, but when she returned she embraced -Trif effusively and Jermyn told himself that Kate's eyes were most -angelic when they were dewy. - - * * * * * - -There was a double wedding in June, and the Admiral, by permission of -both families, gave away both brides. Trixy strewed flowers in front of -each couple as they walked up the aisle of the church, and she looked -and felt as important as if she were both brides. Neither couple asked -her to be their guest on their wedding journey, which she thought -rather strange, in view of their extreme affection for her, and her -mother had much difficulty in explaining. Both brides, however, had her -visit them soon afterward, and for so long a time that Trif began to -complain that she had no daughter. - - - - -HENRY ALTEMUS' PUBLICATIONS. - -PHILADELPHIA. PA. - - - =STEPHEN. A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS=, by Florence Morse Kingsley, author - of "Titus, a Comrade of the Cross." "Since Ben-Hur no story has so - vividly portrayed the times of Christ."--_The Bookseller._ Cloth, - 12mo., 369 pages. $1.25. - - =PAUL. A HERALD OF THE CROSS=, by Florence Morse Kingsley. "A vivid - and picturesque narrative of the life and times of the great Apostle." - Cloth, ornamental, 12mo., 450 pages, $1.50 - - =VIC. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FOX TERRIER=, by Marie More Marsh. "A - fitting companion to that other wonderful book, 'Black Beauty.'" - Cloth, 12mo., 50 cents. - - =WOMAN'S WORK IN THE HOME=, by Archdeacon Farrar. Cloth, small 18mo., - 50 cents. - - =THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT=, being the gospels and - epistles used by the followers of Christ in the first three centuries - after his death, and rejected by the Council of Nice, A.D. 325. Cloth, - 8vo., illustrated, $2.00. - - =THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS=, _as John Bunyan wrote it_. 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Half Morocco, 12mo., - boxed, per set, $3.00. - - -DORE'S MASTERPIECES - - =THE DORE BIBLE GALLERY.= A complete panorama of Bible History, - containing 100 full-page engravings by Gustave Dore. - - =MILTON'S PARADISE LOST=, with 50 full page engravings by Gustave Dore. - - =DANTE'S INFERNO=, with 75 full page engravings by Gustave Dore. - - =DANTE'S PURGATORY AND PARADISE=, with 60 full page engravings by - Gustave Dore. - -Cloth, ornamental, large quarto (9 x 12 inches), each $2.00. - - - =TENNYSON'S IDYLLS OF THE KING=, with 37 full page engravings by - Gustave Dore. Cloth, full gilt, large imperial quarto (11 x 14-1/2 - inches), $4.50. - - =THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER=, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, with 46 - full page engravings by Gustave Dore. Cloth, full gilt, large imperial - quarto (11 x 14-1/2 inches), $3.00. - - =BUNYAN'S PILGRIM'S PROGRESS=, with 100 engravings by Frederick - Barnard and others. Cloth, small quarto (9 x 10 inches), $1.00. - - =DICKENS' CHILD'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND=, with 75 fine engravings by - famous artists. Cloth, small quarto, boxed (9 x 10 inches), $1.00. - - =BIBLE PICTURES AND STORIES=, 100 full page engravings. Cloth, small - quarto (7 x 9 inches), $1.00. - - =MY ODD LITTLE FOLK=, some rhymes and verses about them, by Malcolm - Douglass. Numerous original engravings. Cloth, small quarto (7 x 9), - $1.00. - - =PAUL AND VIRGINIA=, by Bernardin St. Pierre, with 125 engravings by - Maurice Leloir. Cloth, small quarto (9 X 10), $1.00. - - =LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE=, with 120 original engravings - by Walter Paget. Cloth, octavo (7-1/2 x 9-3/4), $1.50. - - - ALTEMUS' ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY OF STANDARD AUTHORS. - - Cloth, Twelve Mo. Size, 5-1/2 x 7-3/4 Inches. Each $1.00. - - =TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE=, by Charles and Mary Lamb, with 155 - illustrations by famous artists. - - =PAUL AND VIRGINIA=, by Bernardin de St. Pierre, with 125 engravings - by Maurice Leloir. - - =ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, AND THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS AND - WHAT ALICE FOUND THERE=, by Lewis Carroll. Complete in one volume with - 92 engravings by John Tenniel. - - =LUCILE=, by Owen Meredith, with numerous illustrations by George Du - Maurier. - - =BLACK BEAUTY=, by Anna Sewell, with nearly 50 original engravings. - - =SCARLET LETTER=, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, with numerous original - full-page and text illustrations. - - =THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES=, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, with numerous - original full-page and text illustrations. - - =BATTLES OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE=, by Prescott Holmes, with 70 - illustrations. - - =BATTLES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION=, by Prescott Holmes, with 60 - illustrations. - - -ALTEMUS' YOUNG PEOPLES' LIBRARY - -_PRICE FIFTY CENTS EACH._ - - =ROBINSON CRUSOE=: (Chiefly in words of one syllable). His life and - strange, surprising adventures, with 70 beautiful illustrations by - Walter Paget. - - =ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND=, with 42 illustrations by John - Tenniel. "The most delightful of children's stories. Elegant and - delicious nonsense."--_Saturday Review._ - - =THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS AND WHAT ALICE FOUND THERE=; a companion to - "Alice in Wonderland," with 50 illustrations by John Tenniel. - - =BUNYAN'S PILGRIM'S PROGRESS=, with 50 full page and text - illustrations. - - =A CHILD'S STORY OF THE BIBLE=, with 72 full page illustrations. - - =A CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST=, with 49 illustrations. God has implanted - in the infant heart a desire to hear of Jesus, and children are early - attracted and sweetly riveted by the wonderful Story of the Master - from the Manger to the Throne. - - =SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON=, with 50 illustrations. The father of the - family tells the tale of the vicissitudes through which he and his - wife and children pass, the wonderful discoveries made and dangers - encountered. The book is full of interest and instruction. - - =CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA=, with 70 - illustrations. Every American boy and girl should be acquainted with - the story of the life of the great discoverer, with its struggles, - adventures, and trials. - - =THE STORY OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY IN AFRICA=, with 80 - illustrations. Records the experiences of adventures and discoveries - in developing the "Dark Continent," from the early days of Bruce and - Mungo Park down to Livingstone and Stanley, and the heroes of our own - times. No present can be more acceptable than such a volume as this, - where courage, intrepidity, resource, and devotion are so admirably - mingled. - - =THE FABLES OF ĘSOP.= Compiled from the best accepted sources. With - 62 illustrations. The fables of Ęsop are among the very earliest - compositions of this kind, and probably have never been surpassed for - point and brevity. - - =GULLIVER'S TRAVELS.= Adapted for young readers. With 50 illustrations. - - =MOTHER GOOSE'S RHYMES, JINGLES AND FAIRY TALES=, with 234 - illustrations. - - =LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES=, by Prescott Holmes. - With portraits of the Presidents and also of the unsuccessful - candidates for the office; as well as the ablest of the Cabinet - officers. It is just the book for intelligent boys, and it will help - to make them intelligent and patriotic citizens. - - =THE STORY OF ADVENTURE IN THE FROZEN SEAS=, with 70 illustrations. - By Prescott Holmes. We have here brought together the records of the - attempts to reach the North Pole. The book shows how much can be - accomplished by steady perseverance and indomitable pluck. - - =ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HISTORY=, by the Rev J. G. Wood, with 80 - illustrations. This author has done more to popularize the study of - natural history than any other writer. The illustrations are striking - and life-like. - - =A CHILD'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND=, by Charles Dickens, with 50 - illustrations. Tired of listening to his children memorize the twaddle - of old fashioned English history the author covered the ground in his - own peculiar and happy style for his own children's use. When the work - was published its success was instantaneous. - - =BLACK BEAUTY, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A HORSE=, by Anna Sewell, with 50 - illustrations. A work sure to educate boys and girls to treat with - kindness all members of the animal kingdom. Recognized as the greatest - story of animal life extant. - - =THE ARABIAN NIGHTS ENTERTAINMENTS=, with 130 illustrations. Contains - the most favorably known of the stories. - - - - -ALTEMUS' DEVOTIONAL SERIES. - - Standard Religious Literature Appropriately Bound in - Handy Volume Size. Each Volume contains - Illuminated Title, Portrait of Author - and Appropriate Illustrations. - -_WHITE VELLUM, SILVER AND MONOTINT, BOXED, EACH FIFTY CENTS._ - - - =1= =KEPT FOR THE MASTER'S USE=, by Frances Ridley Havergal. "Will - perpetuate her name." - - =2= =MY KING AND HIS SERVICE, OR DAILY THOUGHTS FOR THE KING'S - CHILDREN=, by Frances Ridley Havergal. "Simple, tender, gentle, and - full of Christian love." - - =3= =MY POINT OF VIEW.= Selections from the works of Professor Henry - Drummond. - - =4= =OF THE IMITATION OF CHRIST=, by Thomas ą Kempis. "With the - exception of the Bible it is probably the book most read in Christian - literature." - - =5= =ADDRESSES=, by Professor Henry Drummond. "Intelligent sympathy - with the Christian's need." - - =6= =NATURAL LAW IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD=, by Professor Henry Drummond. - "A most notable book which has earned for the author a world-wide - reputation." - - =7= =ADDRESSES=, by the Rev. Phillips Brooks. "Has exerted a marked - influence over the rising generation." - - =8= =ABIDE IN CHRIST.= Thoughts on the Blessed Life of Fellowship with - the Son of God. By the Rev. Andrew Murray. It cannot fail to stimulate - and cheer.--_Spurgeon._ - - =9= =LIKE CHRIST.= Thoughts on the Blessed Life of Conformity to the - Son of God. By the Rev. Andrew Murray. A sequel to "Abide in Christ." - "May be read with comfort and edification by all." - - =10= =WITH CHRIST IN THE SCHOOL OF PRAYER=, by the Rev. Andrew Murray. - "The best work on prayer in the language." - - =11= =HOLY IN CHRIST.= Thoughts on the Calling of God's Children to be - Holy as He is Holy. By the Rev. Andrew Murray. "This sacred theme is - treated Scripturally and robustly without spurious sentimentalism." - - =12= =THE MANLINESS OF CHRIST=, by Thomas Hughes, author of "Tom - Brown's School Days," etc. "Evidences of the sublimest courage and - manliness in the boyhood, ministry, and in the last acts of Christ's - life." - - =13= =ADDRESSES TO YOUNG MEN=, by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. Seven - Addresses on common vices and their results. - - =14= =THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY=, by the Rt. Rev. Ashton Oxenden, D.D. - Sound words of advice and encouragement on the text "What must I do to - be saved?" - - =15= =THE CHRISTIAN LIFE=, by the Rt. Rev. Ashton Oxenden, D.D. A - beautiful delineation of an ideal life from the conversion to the - final reward. - - =16= =THE THRONE OF GRACE.= Before which the burdened soul may cast - itself on the bosom of infinite love and enjoy in prayer "a peace - which passeth all understanding." - - =17= =THE PATHWAY OF PROMISE=, by the author of "The Throne of Grace." - Thoughts consolatory and encouraging to the Christian pilgrim as he - journeys onward to his heavenly home. - - =18= =THE IMPREGNABLE ROCK OF HOLY SCRIPTURE=, by the Rt. Hon William - Ewart Gladstone, M. P. The most masterly defence of the truths of - the Bible extant. The author says: The Christian Faith and the Holy - Scriptures arm us with the means of neutralizing and repelling the - assaults of evil in and from ourselves. - - =19= =STEPS INTO THE BLESSED LIFE=, by the Rev. F. B. Meyer, B. A. A - powerful help towards sanctification. - - =20= =THE MESSAGE OF PEACE=, by the Rev. Richard W. Church, D. D. - Eight excellent sermons on the advent of the Babe of Bethlehem and his - influence and effect on the world. - - =21= =JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S TALK=, by the Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon. - - =22= =JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES=, by the Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon. - - =23= =THE CHANGED CROSS; AND OTHER RELIGIOUS POEMS.= - - - - -ALTEMUS' ETERNAL LIFE SERIES. - - Selections from the writings of well-known religious - authors, beautifully printed and daintily bound - with original designs in silver and ink. - -_PRICE, 25 CENTS PER VOLUME._ - - - =1= =ETERNAL LIFE=, by Professor Henry Drummond. - - =2= =LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY=, by Rev. Andrew Murray. - - =3= =GOD'S WORD AND GOD'S WORK=, by Martin Luther. - - =4= =FAITH=, by Thomas Arnold. - - =5= =THE CREATION STORY=, by Honorable William E. Gladstone. - - =6= =THE MESSAGE OF COMFORT=, by Rt. Rev. Ashton Oxenden. - - =7= =THE MESSAGE OF PEACE=, by Rev. R. W. Church. - - =8= =THE LORD'S PRAYER AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS=, by Dean Stanley. - - =9= =THE MEMOIRS OF JESUS=, by Rev. Robert F. Horton. - - =10= =HYMNS OF PRAISE AND GLADNESS=, by Elisabeth R. Scovil. - - =11= =DIFFICULTIES=, by Hannah Whitall Smith. - - =12= =GAMBLERS AND GAMBLING=, by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. - - =13= =HAVE FAITH IN GOD=, by Rev. Andrew Murray. - - =14= =TWELVE CAUSES OF DISHONESTY=, by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. - - =15= =THE CHRIST IN WHOM CHRISTIANS BELIEVE=, by Rt. Rev. Phillips - Brooks. - - =16= =IN MY NAME=, by Rev. Andrew Murray. - - =17= =SIX WARNINGS=, by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. - - =18= =THE DUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN BUSINESSMAN=, by Rt. Rev. Phillips - Brooks. - - =19= =POPULAR AMUSEMENTS=, by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. - - =20= =TRUE LIBERTY=, by Rt. Rev. Phillips Brooks. - - =21= =INDUSTRY AND IDLENESS=, by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. - - =22= =THE BEAUTY OF A LIFE OF SERVICE=, by Rt. Rev. Phillips Brooks. - - =23= =THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD=, by Rev. A. T. Pierson, D. D. - - =24= =THOUGHT AND ACTION=, by Rt. Rev. Phillips Brooks. - - =25= =THE HEAVENLY VISION=, by Rev. F. B. Meyer. - - =26= =MORNING STRENGTH=, by Elisabeth R. Scovil. - - =27= =FOR THE QUIET HOUR=, by Edith V. Bradt. - - =28= =EVENING COMFORT=, by Elisabeth R. Scovil. - - =29= =WORDS OF HELP FOR CHRISTIAN GIRLS=, by Rev. F. B. Meyer. - - =30= =HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE=, by Rev. Dwight L. Moody. - - =31= =EXPECTATION CORNER=, by E. S. Elliot. - - =32= =JESSICA'S FIRST PRAYER=, by Hesba Stratton. - - - - -ALTEMUS' BELLES-LETTRES SERIES. - - - A collection of Essays and Addresses by eminent - English and American Authors, beautifully - printed and daintily bound, with - original designs in silver. - -_PRICE, 25 CENTS PER VOLUME._ - - - =1= =INDEPENDENCE DAY=, by Rev. Edward E. Hale. - - =2= =THE SCHOLAR IN POLITICS=, by Hon. Richard Olney. - - =3= =THE YOUNG MAN IN BUSINESS=, by Edward W. Bok. - - =4= =THE YOUNG MAN AND THE CHURCH=, by Edward W. Bok. - - =5= =THE SPOILS SYSTEM=, by Hon. Carl Schurz. - - =6= =CONVERSATION=, by Thomas DeQuincey. - - =7= =SWEETNESS AND LIGHT=, by Matthew Arnold. - - =8= =WORK=, by John Ruskin. - - =9= =NATURE AND ART=, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. - - =10= =THE USE AND MISUSE OF BOOKS=, by Frederic Harrison. - - =11= =THE MONROE DOCTRINE: ITS ORIGIN, MEANING AND APPLICATION=, by - Prof. John Bach McMaster (University of Pennsylvania). - - =12= =THE DESTINY OF MAN=, by Sir John Lubbock. - - =13= =LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP=, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. - - =14= =RIP VAN WINKLE=, by Washington Irving. - - =15= =ART, POETRY AND MUSIC=, by Sir John Lubbock. - - =16= =THE CHOICE OF BOOKS=, by Sir John Lubbock. - - =17= =MANNERS=, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. - - =18= =CHARACTER=, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. - - =19= =THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW=, by Washington Irving. - - =20= =THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE=, by Sir John Lubbock. - - =21= =SELF RELIANCE=, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. - - =22= =THE DUTY OF HAPPINESS=, by Sir John Lubbock. - - =23= =SPIRITUAL LAWS=, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. - - =24= =OLD CHRISTMAS=, by Washington Irving. - - =25= =HEALTH, WEALTH AND THE BLESSING OF FRIENDS=, by Sir John Lubbock. - - =26= =INTELLECT=, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. - - =27= =WHY AMERICANS DISLIKE ENGLAND=, by Prof. Geo. B. Adams (Yale). - - =28= =THE HIGHER EDUCATION AS A TRAINING FOR BUSINESS=, by Prof. Harry - Pratt Judson (University of Chicago). - - =29= =MISS TOOSEY'S MISSION.= - - =30= =LADDIE.= - - =31= =J. COLE=, by Emma Gellibrand. - - - - -ALTEMUS' NEW ILLUSTRATED VADEMECUM SERIES. - - Masterpieces of English and American Literature, Handy - Volume Size, Large Type Editions. Each Volume - Contains Illuminated Title Pages, and Portrait - of Author and Numerous Engravings. - - Full Cloth, ivory finish, ornamental inlaid sides and back, - boxed. 40 - - Full White Vellum, full silver and monotint, boxed. 50 - - - =1= =CRANFORD=, by Mrs. Gaskell. - - =2= =A WINDOW IN THRUMS=, by J. M. Barrie. - - =3= =RAB AND HIS FRIENDS, MARJORIE FLEMING, ETC.=, by John Brown, M. D. - - =4= =THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD=, by Oliver Goldsmith. - - =5= =THE IDLE THOUGHTS OF AN IDLE FELLOW=, by Jerome K. Jerome. "A - book for an idle holiday." - - =6= =TALES FROM SHAKSPEARE=, by Charles and Mary Lamb, with an - introduction by the Rev. Alfred Ainger, M. D. - - =7= =SESAME AND LILIES=, by John Ruskin. Three Lectures--I. Of - King's Treasuries. II. Of Queen's Garden. III. Of the Mystery of Life. - - =8= =THE ETHICS OF THE DUST=, by John Ruskin. Ten lectures to little - housewives on the elements of crystalization. - - =9= =THE PLEASURES OF LIFE=, by Sir John Lubbock. Complete in one - volume. - - =10= =THE SCARLET LETTER=, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. - - =11= =THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES=, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. - - =12= =MOSSES FROM AN OLD MANSE=, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. - - =13= =TWICE TOLD TALES=, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. - - =14= =THE ESSAYS OF FRANCIS (LORD) BACON WITH MEMOIRS AND NOTES.= - - =15= =ESSAYS=, First Series, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. - - =16= =ESSAYS=, Second Series, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. - - =17= =REPRESENTATIVE MEN=, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Mental portraits - each representing a class. 1. The Philosopher. 2. The Mystic. 3. The - Skeptic. 4. The Poet. 5. The Man of the World. 6. The Writer. - - =18= =THOUGHTS OF THE EMPEROR MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS=, translated - by George Long. - - =19= =THE DISCOURSES OF EPICTETUS WITH THE ENCHIRIDION=, translated by - George Long. - - =20= =OF THE IMITATION OF CHRIST=, by Thomas ą Kempis. Four books - complete in one volume. - - =21= =ADDRESSES=, by Professor Henry Drummond. The Greatest Thing in - the World; Pax Vobiscum; The Changed Life; How to Learn How; Dealing - With Doubt; Preparation for Learning; What is a Christian; The Study - of the Bible; A Talk on Books. - - =22= =LETTERS, SENTENCES AND MAXIMS=, by Lord Chesterfield. - Masterpieces of good taste, good writing and good sense. - - =23= =REVERIES OF A BACHELOR.= A book of the heart. By Ik Marvel. - - =24= =DREAM LIFE=, by Ik Marvel. A companion to "Reveries of a - Bachelor." - - =25= =SARTOR RESARTUS=, by Thomas Carlyle. - - =26= =HEROES AND HERO WORSHIP=, by Thomas Carlyle. - - =27= =UNCLE TOM'S CABIN=, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. - - =28= =ESSAYS OF ELIA=, by Charles Lamb. - - =29= =MY POINT OF VIEW.= Representative selections from the works of - Professor Henry Drummond by William Shepard. - - =30= =THE SKETCH BOOK=, by Washington Irving. Complete. - - =31= =KEPT FOR THE MASTER'S USE=, by Frances Ridley Havergal. - - =32= =LUCILE=, by Owen Meredith. - - =33= =LALLA ROOKH=, by Thomas Moore. - - =34= =THE LADY OF THE LAKE=, by Sir Walter Scott. - - =35= =MARMION=, by Sir Walter Scott. - - =36= =THE PRINCESS; AND MAUD=, by Alfred (Lord) Tennyson. - - =37= =CHILDE HAROLD'S PILGRIMAGE=, by Lord Byron. - - =38= =IDYLLS OF THE KING=, by Alfred (Lord) Tennyson. - - =39= =EVANGELINE=, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. - - =40= =VOICES OF THE NIGHT AND OTHER POEMS=, by Henry Wadsworth - Longfellow. - - =41= =THE QUEEN OF THE AIR=, by John Ruskin. A study of the Greek - myths of cloud and storm. - - =42= =THE BELFRY OF BRUGES AND OTHER POEMS=, by Henry Wadsworth - Longfellow. - - =43= =POEMS=, Volume I, by John Greenleaf Whittier. - - =44= =POEMS=, Volume II, by John Greenleaf Whittier. - - =45= =THE RAVEN; AND OTHER POEMS=, by Edgar Allan Poe. - - =46= =THANATOPSIS; AND OTHER POEMS=, by William Cullen Bryant. - - =47= =THE LAST LEAF; AND OTHER POEMS=, by Oliver Wendell Holmes. - - =48= =THE HEROES OR GREEK FAIRY TALES=, by Charles Kingsley. - - =49= =A WONDER BOOK=, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. - - =50= =UNDINE=, by de La Motte Fouque. - - =51= =ADDRESSES=, by the Rt. Rev. Phillips Brooks. - - =52= =BALZAC'S SHORTER STORIES=, by Honore de Balzac. - - =53= =TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST=, by Richard H. Dana, Jr. - - =54= =BENJAMIN FRANKLIN=. An Autobiography. - - =55= =THE LAST ESSAYS OF ELIA=, by Charles Lamb. - - =56= =TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS=, by Thomas Hughes. - - =57= =WEIRD TALES=, by Edgar Allan Poe. - - =58= =THE CROWN OF WILD OLIVE=, by John Ruskin. Three lectures on - Work, Traffic and War. - - =59= =NATURAL LAW IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD=, by Professor Henry Drummond. - - =60= =ABBE CONSTANTIN=, by Ludovic Halevy. - - =61= =MANON LESCAUT=, by Abbe Prevost. - - =62= =THE ROMANCE OF A POOR YOUNG MAN=, by Octave Feuillet. - - =63= =BLACK BEAUTY=, by Anna Sewell. - - =64= =CAMILLE=, by Alexander Dumas, Jr. - - =65= =THE LIGHT OF ASIA=, by Sir Edwin Arnold. - - =66= =THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME=, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. - - =67= =THE CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM-EATER=, by Thomas De Quincey. - - =68= =TREASURE ISLAND=, by Robert L. Stevenson. - - =69= =CARMEN=, by Prosper Merimee. - - =70= =A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY=, by Laurence Sterne. - - =71= =THE BLITHEDALE ROMANCE=, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. - - =72= =BAB BALLADS, AND SAVOY SONGS=, by W. H. Gilbert. - - =73= =FANCHON, THE CRICKET=, by George Sand. - - =74= =POEMS=, by James Russell Lowell. - - =75= =JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S TALK=, by the Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon. - - =76= =JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES=, by the Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon. - - =77= =THE MANLINESS OF CHRIST=, by Thomas Hughes. - - =78= =ADDRESSES TO YOUNG MEN=, by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. - - =79= =THE AUTOCRAT OF THE BREAKFAST TABLE=, by Oliver Wendell Holmes. - - =80= =MULVANEY STORIES=, by Rudyard Kipling. - - =81= =BALLADS=, by Rudyard Kipling. - - =82= =MORNING THOUGHTS=, by Frances Ridley Havergal. - - =83= =TEN NIGHTS IN A BAR ROOM=, by T. S. Arthur. - - =84= =EVENING THOUGHTS=, by Frances Ridley Havergal. - - =85= =IN MEMORIAM=, by Alfred (Lord) Tennyson. - - =86= =COMING TO CHRIST=, by Frances Ridley Havergal. - - =87= =HOUSE OF THE WOLF=, by Stanley Weyman. - - - =AMERICAN POLITICS (non-Partisan)=, by Hon. Thomas V. Cooper. A - history of all the Political Parties with their views and records on - all important questions. All political platforms from the beginning - to date. Great Speeches on Great issues. Parliamentary Practice and - tabulated history of chronological events. A library without this work - is deficient. 8vo., 750 pages. Cloth, $3.00. Full Sheep Library style, - $4.00. - - =NAMES FOR CHILDREN=, by Elisabeth Robinson Scovil, author of "The - Care of Children," "Preparation for Motherhood." In family life there - is no question of greater weight or importance than naming the baby. - The author gives much good advice and many suggestions on the subject. - Cloth, 12mo., $ .40. - - =TRIF AND TRIXY=, by John Habberton, author of "Helen's Babies." The - story is replete with vivid and spirited scenes; and is incomparably - the happiest and most delightful work Mr. Habberton has yet written. - Cloth, 12mo., $ .50. - - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Notes. - -Obvious punctuation errors repaired. - -Line 590: Original "We'll, I shan't oblige you." should read "Well, I -shan't oblige you." Corrected - -Line 7425: "Thomas A“Kempis". Should "Thomas ą Kempis". - -Line 7683: "Of the King's Treasures." Should read "Of Kings' Treasuries". - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Trif and Trixy, by John Habberton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRIF AND TRIXY *** - -***** This file should be named 51788-8.txt or 51788-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/7/8/51788/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Brian Wilsden and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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