^-.Jfe** 
 

ALICE ASHLAND 
 
 A ROMANCE OF THE 
 WORLD'S FAIR 
 
 EDITH NEVILLE 
 
 iv'r-itten for " Once a 'l]'eek Library 
 
 New York 
 PETER FENELON COLLIER 
 
 1893 
 
Peteji Fk; 
 
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ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Great White City which had sprung- 
 into existence, as if by the touch of a magi- 
 cian's wand, on tlie southwest shore of Lake 
 Michigan, and known the wide world over as the 
 i( World's Fair," built in honor of the four hun- 
 dredth anniversary of the discovery of America 
 by that great navigator, Christopher Colum- 
 bus, had been opened, as the go-ahead people of 
 Chicago said it would be, on the first day of 
 May, 1893. President Cleveland had touched 
 the button, made his speech and departed. The 
 Duke and Duchess of Veragua, representative 
 of Columbus at the g-reatest show on earth, had 
 been wined and dined ; and Eulalie, Infanta of 
 Spain, had been initiated into the mysteries of 
 Western society, and the woolly West had seen 
 for the first time a real, live princess and was 
 satisfied. The great and distinguished visitors 
 had gone, and the Fair was left in possession of 
 the hundreds of thousands who had journeyed 
 
 *3 
 
4 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 over land and sea to see the might}' collection 
 of exhibits, and representatives of every coun- 
 try' under the sun were doing homage to Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 The opening scene in our story does not com- 
 mence, however, at the Fair itself, but at one 
 of the fashionable racecourses of Chicago 
 known as the *' Hawthorne" track, partly 
 owned and managed by that prince of sport, 
 Edward Corrigan, better known in the Windy 
 City as ''The Master of Hawthorne." Thou- 
 sands of visitors to the Fair, tired of the vain 
 attempt to see everything it contained, occa- 
 sionally took a day off and visited some other 
 interesting spot in or around^Chicago. On the 
 afternoon of the day on which our story begins 
 several thousand visitors and permanent Chi- 
 cagoans had journeyed to Hawthorne to wit- 
 ness the contests of thoroughbreds, and the 
 scene was one not easily forgotten — the grand 
 stand literally packed with ladies and gentle- 
 men gayly attired, and the grounds swarming 
 with a mass of struggling humanity, at this 
 particular moment straining every nerve to 
 catch a glimpse of the favorite as he flies past 
 in the preliminary canter. The last bugle has 
 sounded, all the horses are at the post, and 
 after two or three breakaways there is a wild 
 yell of " They're off .'" as the horses dash away 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 5 
 
 to a magnificent start, and the great and last 
 race of the day had begun. 
 
 "I tell you, Mar}^" said a gentleman in the 
 grand stand, to a lad^'^ by his side, ** I tell you 
 if Gendarme doesn't win I'll be stone broke." 
 
 "More fool you," replied the lady, keeping 
 her glasses on the flying steeds. 
 
 The horses sweep past the grand stand, 
 stretching across the track from rail to rail, 
 almost in a perfect line, but the favorite Gen- 
 darme soon drops back, and Sterling, an eight- 
 to-one shot, rushes to the front. As they 
 swing round the first turn a quickening of pace 
 and a change of position shows the favorite 
 creeping up, and wild yells of " Gendarme ! " 
 are heard on every side. Rosemont and Min- 
 nie Beach have fallen back, and before they 
 are half-way up the back stretch the others are 
 hopelessly beaten. 
 
 Platoni, with his merciless whip and spurs, 
 has driven Gendarme close to the flying leader. 
 Every moment the pace is quickening, and a yell 
 announces that the favorite has passed the out- 
 sider. 
 
 " That saves me ! " ejaculates the young 
 man in the grand stand. 
 
 "Not yet, Wilfred. Sterling is catching 
 him." A cry from the enormous crowd bore 
 out the lady's words. " Look at Gendarme ! " 
 
6 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 The great horse has fallen back so swiftly that 
 before his startled backers can echo the cry he 
 has been passed by Rosemont and Gold. The 
 leaders are fully ten lengths away before Plan- 
 toni once more rallies the great horse and sets 
 out in pursuit. They are now in the last one 
 hundred j^ards of the race. Sterling has again 
 assumed the lead, but Rosemont is at his 
 saddle-girths and the favorite three lengl^hs 
 awaj^, seeming to catch the leaders at every 
 stride. The excitement has become intense. 
 Friends of the favorite are shrieking encour- 
 agement to his jockey. Women are waving 
 handkerchiefs hysterically. The air is full of 
 cries. A few more strides and Gendarme is at 
 Rosemont's side ; wild and wilder grow the yells 
 of ''Gendarme wins ! Gendarme wins ! " and now 
 the gallant animal is neck and neck with the 
 leader, whose jockey has been sitting- through- 
 out the race almost motionless in the saddle ; 
 now" he is seen to lean slightly forward and 
 bring his whip across Sterling-^s flank, and 
 that noble horse, responding gamely to the call, 
 springs away from the favorite and with 
 astounding ease canters in a winner by a full 
 length. Gendarme, after one of the greatest 
 races ever run at Hawthorne, finished second 
 by a head from Rosemont ; the rest were no- 
 where. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 7 
 
 The result was too surprising- to be applauded ; 
 it required a minute or two before the aston- 
 ished crowd could catch its breath. Then the 
 winner was heartily and enthusiasticallj^ 
 cheered. 
 
 ''Well, Mr. Nevin, I'm sorry j^ou lost/' said 
 a slig-ht, eleg-ant woman by the side of the gen- 
 tleman in the grand stand, who was, at the 
 opening of the race, so interested in the favor- 
 ite ; ''' but hand me my wrap ; Mary, let us be 
 going. What is she looking at, Mr. Nevin?" 
 
 The lady addressed had been for a minute or' 
 so gazing- through her race-glass at some per- 
 son or persons standing- near the judge's box, 
 and now, turning- to Nevin, she handed the 
 glass to him. 
 
 " I wish," she said, ''you would look at that 
 man who is leaning against the fence with the 
 brown straw hat on. I really believe it is Har- 
 old Neale." 
 
 " I daresay it is. He is in Chicago, I know," 
 taking the glass and looking as she directed. 
 
 '•'Yes," he said, "it is Neale; you have a 
 good memory, Mary." 
 
 " It is a long time since I saw Harold Neale, 
 and he is a good deal changed. Why did you 
 not bring him to see me ? " 
 
 " I never thought of it," said Nevin. 
 
8 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ''Well, g-o to him now, like a good boy, and 
 invite him to supper." 
 
 Nevin raised his ej'^ebrows, put on an air of 
 submission and left the seat. 
 
 " You have a very obedient brother, Mary," 
 said the first speaker. 
 
 ''Yes, Mrs. Wainwright," returned the lady 
 addressed, " every one obe3'^s me." 
 
 '• Except Major Craven," cried Mrs. Wain- 
 w right. 
 
 " That, of course. I promised to obey him," 
 'said Mrs. Craven, a smile parting- her ripe red 
 lips and showing the white, regular teeth 
 within. She was a handsome likeness of her 
 brother, Wilfred Nevin, with more vitality. 
 
 " Come ! " resumed Mrs. Craven, " let us go. 
 Mr. Stetson " (to a gentleman by her side who 
 had been too interested in the racing to talk), 
 "you can find the carriage, and Wilfred must 
 come on the best way he can ; I do hope he 
 brings Harold Neale." 
 
 Mr. Stetson was most active and energetic, 
 and the carriage was quickly brought up, and 
 the owner, with her fair friend, carefully hand- 
 ed in by the devoted Stetson. 
 
 " I shall be at home to-morrow ; come and 
 have a cup of tea. Good-by," said Mrs. Cra- 
 ven, as the carriage rolled off. 
 
 " What a shame not to ask the poor fellow to 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 9 
 
 supper ! " said Mrs. Wainwrig-ht. *' He really 
 earns his bread (his bread of life) very hardly." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " returned Mrs. Craven ; " four 
 are companj', five an unpleasant solitude ; be- 
 sides, I have g-iven him his g-uerdon ; tea with 
 us is payment in full. I do not want him to- 
 night." 
 
 " Oh, it is to be a double tete-a-tete ? As 
 you like. But who is this mj^sterious Harold 
 Neale?" 
 
 "Harold Neale," said Mrs. Craven, slowly, 
 "^ is the son of some people who occupy a farm 
 close to ours, at Peekskill-on-the-Hudson. He 
 was my first — well, nearly my love." 
 
 ''Your first love! and you remember him ! 
 This is interesting-." 
 
 " I assure you he was very interesting, and 
 so desperately in earnest. He was ready to 
 brave the wrath of all the Nevins if I would 
 onl}' run away with him. I answered him by 
 marrying Major Craven." 
 
 '' A very wise solution. What a nuisance it 
 is, Mary, that nice men never have any 
 money ! " 
 
 '' Well, rarel}' ; but the Neales are fairlj^ well 
 off," responded Mrs. Craven, with a sig-h. 
 
 ' •' And where has xomy young- hero been hiding- 
 himself?" 
 
 '•' I don't know. He was a medical student in 
 
10 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 Philadelphia, but he broke away and went West 
 to Dakota or Pug-et Sound : in short, he was in 
 disgrace with ever}'- one, so we quite lost sight 
 of him." 
 
 " Ah ! I suppose remorse for having ruined 
 his life presses on your sourl." 
 
 " Indeed it does not ; but he was a delightful 
 lover." 
 
 "1 feel curious to see th^s hero," said Mrs. 
 Wainwright, yawning. '' What are we to have 
 for supper ? I'm hungry." 
 
 " I scarcely know. The usual sort of thing, 
 I suppose." 
 
 " My dear, with yonv means you should aim 
 at uncommon things." 
 
 A little more disjointed talk brought them to 
 a residence in Evanston that Major Graven had 
 rented for the World's Fair season. 
 
 '^'I find it rather warm,'* said Mrs. Craven, 
 as they entered the house. Then taking a 
 silver matchbox from the mantelpiece and 
 lighting the candles in the girandoles at each 
 side of the glass, she looked steadily at her own 
 image for a minute, and then turned away with 
 a slight smile. 
 
 **You think you'll do? " asked Mrs. Wain- 
 wright, who had been watching her lazily. " Is 
 the 3^oung man from the Hudson to be immo- 
 lated over again ? ". 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 11 
 
 Mrs. Craven laughed — a pleasant, joj^ous 
 laugh. 
 
 *•' Certainly not ; but I am glad my old ad- 
 mirer will not be able to say : ' Poor Mary is 
 awfully gone off. Six or seven years are some- 
 thing of a trial to the best complexion, added 
 to late hours and a rapid rate' of living.' " 
 
 ''Too true !" cried Mrs. Wainwright. "You 
 make me shiver. Here am I, a destitute widow 
 for more than three years, and I have only en- 
 joyed, not improved, the shining hour. I really 
 must find — " 
 
 '•' I hear a hack or something stop," inter- 
 rupted Mrs. Craven, quickly. '' Come, let us 
 not seem to have waited for them." 
 
 But she had not yet taken her seat when 
 "Mr. Nevin and Mr. Neale " Avere announced, 
 and she went forward to greet her early lover. 
 
 " After long j^ears ! " she said, holding out 
 her hand, with a soft smile. " I am very glad 
 to see you, Mr. Neale." 
 
 Harold Neale was tall, broad and largely 
 built. He was dark, either naturally or from 
 exposure, with nearly black hair and deep gray 
 steady eyes ; there was a certain dignity of 
 strength in his figure and movements which 
 also gave him the air of being taller than he 
 really was. 
 
 " You are very good to give me this pleas- 
 
12 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ure," replied Neale, holding- her hand for just a 
 second. "I was most ag-reeably surprised 
 when Wilfred brought me your invitation." 
 
 '* Which I could hardly persuade him to ac- 
 cept," said Nevin; "and, ladies, we had quite 
 an adventure on the road back." 
 
 ''What was it? let's hear!" cried Mrs. 
 Wain w right, excitedly. 
 
 '•' Well, while Harold and myself were wait- 
 ing for a coupe there was a commotion among 
 the crowd, and every one began to scatter like 
 mice out of a stack, and along the road came a 
 horse and buggy tearing like mad, an old gen- 
 tleman and a young woman were clinging panic- 
 stricken to the seat, powerless to grasp the 
 reins which trailed on the road. Seeing that a 
 collision would probably mean instant death, I 
 sprang into the road, and just as the maddened 
 animal, made madder still by the crowd, was 
 dashing past I fortunately grabbed the reins, 
 and after a severe struggle finally succeeded in 
 stopping *him ; the young lady was in a dead 
 faint, but the old gent thanked me heartily and 
 insisted on having my card." 
 
 "How very interesting," cried Mrs. Wain- 
 wright, "but it seems to have upset your 
 nerves, or you would introduce me to your 
 friend ; your sister seems to have forgotten my 
 existence." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 13 
 
 "You must forgive me," said Mrs. Craven. 
 '^ Let me introduce my old friend and playfellow 
 to you, Mrs. Wainwrig-ht. Mr. Neale, Mrs. 
 Wainwright." 
 
 The well-assorted party sat down to dinner. 
 
 ''How is Major Craven?" asked Harold 
 Neale, after draining a glass of wine. 
 
 " He is quite well, I hope. Perhaps you 
 think I ought not to have a supper party with- 
 out him. Pray remember it is a family affaii" 
 I have my brother's august protection, aiid 
 you" — turning her soft eyes full on his — "al- 
 most belong to us. My husband is in New 
 York ; he is always going to and fro. I hope 
 to introduce you to him on his return." 
 
 " Thank you. I shall not stay much longer 
 in Chicago." 
 
 " Oh, you must not run away so soon ; really 
 the Fair is very delightful/"' 
 
 And thus conversing on the past and specu- 
 lating on the future, the quartette contrived to 
 pass a merry evening. 
 
14 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Harold Neale was bus3' writing* letters 
 about two weeks after the events of the pre- 
 ceding- chapter, and had laid down his pen 
 before answering- an invitation to dinner from 
 Major and Mrs. Craven for the following Fri- 
 day. 
 
 *• I suppose I must accept," he said to him- 
 self. " I have refused a musical evening and a 
 party at Wilson's. I should like to see Marj^'s 
 husband. It is a droll idea to meet him, too, 
 without anj' deadly intentions. Come in," in- 
 terrupting- himself as some one knocked at the 
 door. 
 
 " A gentleman wants to know if you'll see 
 him, sir," said a waiter, presenting a card 
 which bore the name of ^* Wilfred Nevin." 
 
 '•'Yes; show him up." And in a few min- 
 utes Wilfred walked in. 
 
 " I was just thinking of looking you up," 
 cried Neale, shaking hands with him. '' I have 
 not seen anj^thing of you since we supped to- 
 gether at Mrs. Craven's. I thought you would 
 have come with me to the ' Home Rule ' meet- 
 ing to — " 
 
 '' Bah ! I have been otherwise engaged," in- 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 15 
 
 terrupted Nevin, with some solemnity, as he 
 drew a chair opposite his friend. 
 
 Neale looked at him, half amused at the min- 
 gled expression of triumph and uneasiness in 
 his ej'es. 
 
 '-'I have been very seriously occupied," re- 
 peated Nevin. 
 
 " What have you been about ? " 
 
 ''I have been securing- a wife. I have been 
 finding the means of living." 
 
 '^ What do 3^ou mean ? " 
 
 " You remember that accident ? " 
 
 ^'Yes." 
 
 " Well, the old gentleman who was driving the 
 girl that day was her guardian, and you maj^ well 
 be astonished when I tell you that he instituted 
 inquiries about their savior. Having deter- 
 mined that my pedigree was O. K., he wrote, 
 inviting me to call. I called, and after thank- 
 ing me effusively for my gallant conduct in 
 stopping the runaways, he coolly told me that 
 the young lady was ' for sale ' ; to be plain 
 about it, she is an orphan, the niece of a Cali- 
 fornia millionaire, and her two guardians, of 
 whom the pompous old gent is one, have been 
 looking for a suitable husband for the girl so as 
 to get rid of her, and the trouble she and her 
 legacy give them. Guardian No. 1 is satisfied 
 with me, and Guardian No. 2 received me yes- 
 
IG ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 terday, and we g-ot on very well, and it is agreed 
 I am to be officially introduced to the j^oung- 
 Isidy to-morrow.'' 
 
 *' But you are not in earnest? You would 
 not select a wife in this fashion?" 
 
 '' Why not ? What is worse in it than being 
 introduced by — say my sister — to an heiress 
 with a view to matrimony ? It is the same sort 
 of operation more openly and satisfactorily con- 
 ducted. I, too, have been looking into matters, 
 and it is a bona fide ready money affair. In 
 short, I am inclined to think my luck has 
 turned.'" 
 
 '' And the 3'oung lady ? " 
 
 Nevin made a grimace. *' I haven't seen her 
 since the accident, and as she fainted, she won't 
 remember me, and I'm sure I wouldn't know 
 her. I only hope she's not too utterly utter. If 
 she is, why I'll cry off. But, Harold, she has 
 close on two hundred thousand a year. That 
 will cover a host of defects. Then there are 
 many compensations for the most devoted hus- 
 band, and I intend to be a model. She shall 
 spend a fair share of her own money as she 
 likes, while I shall amuse myself my own w&y — 
 in moderation." 
 
 ''You are old enough to take care of your- 
 self," said Neale ; "1 confess I feel most for 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 17 
 
 the girl. I suppose she knows nothing- about 
 this precious scheme ? " 
 
 " Hasn't the faintest suspicion. She will be 
 enchanted with me, if I choose ; I always get 
 on with women, and Miss Ashland (her name is 
 Ashland) has been secluded all her sixteen 
 years. Since the father's death my future 
 spouse has lived in the paternal cottage, under 
 the care of No. 2 guardian's sister, and I pre- 
 sume her manners wouldn't suit Ward McAllis- 
 ter. I have got Craven's lawyer to look into 
 the matter, and he, too, says it is a bona fide 
 concern." 
 
 There was a moment's silence. 
 
 '' Why don't you congratulate me, Har- 
 old ? " 
 
 " Perhaps I may later on ; at present — well, 
 I don't like the scheme. But I suppose I take 
 things too seriously. I daresay a marriage of 
 this kind is no worse than a large proportion of 
 those which occur every day." 
 
 " On the contrar}^, it is a great deal better — 
 less nonsense and more reality. You are quite 
 too desperately in earnest — always, were, so 
 Mary says. ]3y the way, she is quite taken up 
 with my plans. Will you come with me and 
 support me in this crisis of my fate ? " 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 '' At the Fair to-morrow, in the French :!' 
 
18 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 g-aUery, at 2 p.m... to meet the object of my 
 adoration. She and Mr. Watts, the superior 
 guardian, will be there. Really it will be fun 
 for you to see the meeting." 
 
 " I will come," said Neale, slowl3\ ^' Where 
 shall I find you?" 
 
 "Oh, pick me up at the Auditorium. We'll 
 have a glass of sherry to keep up our spirits. 
 You see, if the thing can be managed it wTll be 
 a great chance for me. I am pretty well at 
 my wit's end. Indeed, I must raise funds to 
 carry out this scheme. Do 3^ou happen to have 
 a few hundreds, Neale, you would like to lend at 
 high interest ? ' ' 
 
 "Certainly not," with a grim smile. "I like 
 you too much, old fellow, to have any transac- 
 tions of that sort with you." 
 
 "Niggard!" cried Nevin, in mock heroic 
 tones. "Well, I must sell one of my horses. 
 In short, the only chance left me is this mar- 
 riage. If it fails — but it must not fail. Now I 
 have to escort Mrs. Wainwright to a garden 
 party at Englewood. So good -by till to-mor- 
 row. Mind you don't fail me. You'll make a 
 respectable sort of sponsor." With a nod he 
 left the room. 
 
 Neale looked after his old playfellow with 
 something of uneasiness as he thought, " He 
 is not to be trusted, I fear ; none of them ever 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 19 
 
 were except the old man. I must see what the 
 victim is hke ; probabl}^ she is an ordinary 
 woman, to whom a g-ood name and a higher 
 social position than her own may be all- 
 sufiacing-." 
 
 The next day was ordinary Chicag-o weather, 
 dull and heavy ; but Neale found Wilfred ISTevin 
 in hig-h spirits and faultless dress, with dainty 
 g-loves and a delicate sprig- of gardenia and 
 maiden-hair fern in his button-hole — quite a 
 bridegroom-elect, as Neale told him. 
 
 After a second glass of sherry Nevin declared 
 himself ready, and they set out on their impor- 
 tant quest. 
 
 Arriving at Jackson Park, they at once pro- 
 ceeded to the French art gallery, which was 
 crowded to the doors. Elbowing their way in, 
 Neale looked eagerly round, seeking some figure 
 that might answer to the idea he had formed of 
 Wilfred's intended bride. 
 
 There were a variety of visitors : here and 
 there the gay Parisians fluttered in and out 
 among the crowd, pointing out the beauties of 
 '^Arteraio " by Mons. Wencker, or that ghoul- 
 ish fable, '' Dealrit and the Woodchopper" ; here 
 could be seen the stolid German from Unter den 
 Linden, taking side glances at *' Saintpierre's 
 Venus " having her sandals put on, the indif- 
 ferent and lanky Australian with his ''bride 
 
20 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 from the bush," the weary Cockney gazing 
 through his eyeglass at '^Panaderos/' and a 
 motley but nevertheless interesting crowd of 
 Austrians, Swiss, Russians, Poles, and in fact 
 representatives of every nation and clime un- 
 der the sun. Harold Neale's eyes rolled over 
 the crowd evidently unsatisfied till they were 
 arrested by a group which stood before one of 
 the gems of the collection — a large, breez}^ 
 upland covered with trees and grass, some cat- 
 tle grazing in the foreground and gathering 
 rainclouds behind. A white-haired, neat old 
 gentleman was speaking to an elderly woman 
 who looked as if she might have been house- 
 keeper in a country family. A step or two in 
 advance stood a slight young girl, whose gown 
 of fawn-colored alpaca was somewhat short and 
 scant ; she wore a cape of black cashmere and 
 a rather broad-rimmed straw hat adorned with 
 a large bunch of very stiff forget-me-nots ; the 
 whole costume bore tbe stamp of Western mil- 
 linery. A quaint little figure, yet Neale's atten- 
 tion was riveted to it. While he looked Nevin 
 touched him on the shoulder and exclaimed in a 
 deep whisper : 
 
 •■' Good heavens ! there she is ! " 
 
 Neale smiled at the dismayed expression of his 
 face. 
 
 " How do you know ? " he said. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 21 
 
 " Because that is old Watts, the guardian, 
 with her ; don't j^ou see him looking round for 
 the other victim ? " 
 
 " He sees 3'^ou," said Harold. 
 
 Nevin, raising his hat, started forward mth 
 a frank, pleasant smile to meet the old gentle- 
 man who was beckoning him. 
 
 "You are a little behind time, are you not, 
 sir ? " said Mr, Watts, in a low tone ; '* at least 
 it seems a long time since we came into this 
 bewildering place." 
 
 " I flattered myself I was rather punctual," 
 said Nevin. '' Will you allow me to introduce 
 an old friend of mine, Mr. ITeale ? I thought it 
 might be as well to make some of my people 
 known to you." 
 
 " Certainly, certainly," bowing with ancient 
 politeness ; '* very happy to know any friend of 
 yours, I am sure. ITow — now I will present 
 you. It is really a curious and somewhat dar- 
 ing experiment, but with a man of honor — a 
 — I have no doubt all will go well. My young 
 ward is quite taken up with that picture of Bon- 
 heur's. A — A — Alice, my dear," touching her 
 arm. She turned quickly and looked full at 
 him with a startled expression, as if suddenly 
 recalled from another world, showing under 
 her large hat a simple, pale, gentle face, the 
 nose a little upturned, the mouth scarcely 
 
22 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 s^iall enoug-h for beauty, the eyes dsivk, but of 
 no particular color, the hair light brown and 
 smooth — an ordinar^-^ face enoug-h, but pleasant 
 and not without a certain attraction. 
 
 'L Alice, this is Mr. Nevin, the gentleman 
 who stopped our runaways on Michigan Ave- 
 nue. Mr. Nevin, Miss Ashland." 
 
 She gazed from one to the other and then 
 took Nevin's hand, saying gently: "You do 
 not know how thankful I am to you for saving 
 my life." Nevin bowed, and then, with what 
 Harold perceived to be an effort, asked : " Is 
 this 3'our first visit to the Fair ? " 
 
 " No, not to the Fair, but this is my first 
 visit to the art gallery. I never saw many 
 pictures before, except two or three at home." 
 
 " There are quite too many here for com- 
 fort ; you will be very tired before you leave." 
 
 " I feel a little giddy when I look round, 
 certainly, but I should like to staj^ on and on 
 till I saw every one." 
 
 " You must come constantly, taking a rest 
 between your visits," said Neale, who was de- 
 termined to make acquaintance with the poor 
 little heiress. 
 
 " I should like to, but it would cost so much. 
 Mrs. Williams would have to come, too, you 
 know." 
 
 " Still, I think Mr. Watts would not object," 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 23 
 
 said Nevin, looking- clown at her with a caress- 
 ing- smile. " I rather imagine he would find 
 it difficult to refuse you.*' 
 
 ''Mr. Watts — yes, he is very kind, but Mr. 
 Bond is always unhappy about money/*' she 
 returned, quite unconscious of the implied com- 
 pliment ; and she looked ag-ain at the picl^ure. 
 
 Nevin seemed checked, and, turning, ob- 
 served politely to Mr. Watts: "Your friend 
 looks very tired. I think I can find her a seat." 
 
 ''I'm sure, sir, 3^ou are very polite," said 
 the weary Mrs. Williams g-racefullj^ and Nevin 
 escorted her to a seat in the center of the room, 
 where she sat down with a groan. 
 
 "This is a clever picture, " said Harold 
 Neale, who kept his place by Miss Ashland. 
 
 " It is wonderful," she said, in a low tone, as 
 if absorbed in contemplation. Her voice was 
 soft and her accent fairly good. " I almost feel 
 the cold breeze that g-enerally comes up with the 
 rain ; and those distant blue hills, how far a. way 
 they look ! That is what I cannot do when I 
 try to paint ; I cannot make the distance look 
 far." 
 
 "A few months' study with a good master 
 would help you over that difficulty," said Har- 
 old, kindly, a feeling- of compassionate interest 
 drawing- him to the speaker. ''You are an 
 artist, then ? " 
 
24 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 "I wish I were. Mr. Watts has agrreed to 
 let me have lessons, and I shall work hard, so 
 hard."' 
 
 "Work hard!" echoed Nevin, returning to 
 her side as she spoke. '' What a tremendous 
 resolution ! May I ask what is the object to 
 be attained? " 
 
 Miss Ashland colored slig-htl}^ and looked 
 down as if she thoug-ht he was laughing at 
 her. 
 
 ''I want to learn drawing," she said, simpl5\ 
 
 ''Then Mr. Watts must find you a good mas-* 
 ter. Has he any idea whom to employ ? " 
 
 ''Oh, I suppose so." 
 
 " It's very important to find the right man," 
 said Nevin, gravely. "What master do you 
 tnink of, Mr. Watts, for Miss Ashland ? " 
 
 " I really have not an idea on the subject," 
 replied Watts, nervously. " I never had any- 
 thing to do with art or artists. No doubt Mr. 
 Bond, who is almost universally informed, will 
 be able to Supply our needs." 
 
 " I don't fanc3" art is much in his line either," 
 said Nevin, with an air of careless superiority. 
 " Now I know one or two good men, and shall 
 be most happy if I can b3 of use to Miss Ash- 
 I'and." 
 
 " It would be doing me a great service," cried 
 Mr. Watts, with a look of relief. " I have been 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 25 
 
 a g-ood deal troubled how to gratify this whim 
 of my ward's." 
 
 '' You must not call it a whim," said Nevin, 
 smiling-, and looking- down at Miss Ashland as 
 if %\\Qy understood each other. '' It is a lauda- 
 ble ambition and a charming- taste. Will j^ou 
 allow me to see some of your drawing's ? " 
 
 " Yes; then, if you understand art, you can 
 tell me if I am worth teaching-," she returned, 
 with quiet earnestness. 
 
 They moved on to look at the other paint- 
 ing's, and Harold Neale noticed that the little 
 California g'irl was always attracted by the 
 best pictures and showed a wonderful amount 
 of discrimination in her observations. 
 
 He remarked that she did not seem to care 
 for human figures and faces. 
 
 "I suppose it is because I have seen more of 
 the country and four-footed creatures than I 
 have of people," she returned. " It seems to 
 me that I understand them better. Do j'-ou 
 draw ? " she asked, with some timidity, looking 
 straight into his eyes as she spoke, "You feel 
 the pictures more than he does," and she looked 
 toward ISTevin with a little nod. 
 
 " He must know more than I do about art ; I 
 do not draw, I only ignorantly worship," re- 
 turned Harold. 
 
 "' I am sorry." Something in her voice sug- 
 
26 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 gested she would prefer being- assisted by him 
 than by his friend. 
 
 "You will find no lack of instructors, Miss 
 Ashland." 
 
 '' The difficulty will be to choose among the 
 multitude," said Nevin. 
 
 ''Well, my dear," said Mr. Watts, who 
 looked bored to death, and was frequently gaz- 
 ing toward the door, " I suppose you have seen 
 enough for one day, and I — I have an appoint- 
 ment of some importance, a — " 
 
 ''You are verj'^ tired," said his ward, kindly, 
 glancing at him. 
 
 "Why lose your time here, then?" asked 
 Nevin, blandly. "We shall be dehghted to 
 take charge of Miss Ashland and Mrs. — I did 
 not catch the name — and see them safely en 
 route home." 
 
 "If you would be so good," said Mr. Watts, 
 hesitating. 
 
 "I do not want to stay much longer," said 
 Miss Ashland, "if I can come soon again. There 
 is a great picture of a chariot race in the next 
 room ; I should like to look at it, then I shall 
 be quite ready to go." 
 
 "Then I shall bid you good-afternoon, my 
 dear, and good-by for the present. I am going 
 to Washington for a few days. Meantime, if 
 you need advice or assistance — a— a — you have 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 2* 
 
 my excellent coUeag-ue, Mr. Bond, at hand. 
 Good-day, Mr. Nevin ; g-ood-by, Mr. Neale," 
 and with a how to Mrs. WiUiams, who was 
 still noddinig- in the seat Nevin had found her, 
 the old g-entleman walked away with much 
 alacrity. 
 
 '^ Poor old fellow ! it is really too bad to drag- 
 him about. Don't you think I might fill the 
 place of guide, philosopher and friend, and 
 leave him at peace ? ' ' exclaimed Nevin, looking 
 after him with a smile. 
 
 ''Thank you, you are verj^ kind. If it would 
 not be too much trouble I should be so g-lad to 
 be shown some of the things I ought to see, and 
 I don't care about these Fair guides. Mrs. Will- 
 iams and I feel lost here, and we might almost 
 as well go about blindfolded as go about alone." 
 
 '' Good. Then I shall devote myself to j^our 
 service during the remainder of your stay. 
 What shall we do to-morrow ? Can we man- 
 age the Chinese Theater, the Japs' Village and 
 the Australian collection ? " 
 
 "If you do, Miss Ashland must have forty 
 horse-power of sight-seeing and endurance," 
 said Neale, laughing. 
 
 "I have seen the AustraUan exhibits and the 
 Chinese Theater," returned Miss Ashland, 
 gravely. ''I think Mrs. Williams must rest 
 to-morrow : but could you take me to a school 
 
28 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 of art or a drawing- class? We might find 
 out the cost of lessons and go and tell Mr. 
 Bond after. Do you know Mr. Bond, too ? " 
 
 "I have that honor" — with an air of pro- 
 found respect. Miss Ashland looked quickl}^ 
 and keenly at him. " The best plan is to per- 
 mit me to call on you to-morrow, at any hour 
 you may appoint, and we can arrange our cam- 
 paign. I shall in the meantime make some in- 
 quiries about studios, etc." 
 
 " You are very good, indeed. I feel so much 
 obliged to you." The color came slowly, softly 
 into her cheeks and a very sweet smile parted 
 her lips. " I am sure Mr. Watts will be very 
 pleased." 
 
 " Mr. Watts is very dear to me," said Nevin, 
 greatly. 
 
 " Is that so ? " 
 
 "Then you must give me j^our address," and 
 Nevin took out his note-book. 
 
 ''Two thousand and forty West Halstead 
 Street," said Mrs. Williams, who had scarcely 
 spoken before, and who now joined them. Her 
 accent was peculiarly flat and her voice of the. 
 sing-song description, thoug-h her utterance was 
 rapid. 
 
 "Near Garfield Park ! " said Nevin. "Why 
 did they banish you to so terrible a locality ? " 
 
 "Dear me ! is it that bad ? " exclaimed Mrs. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 29 
 
 Williams, in much dismay. ''Thej^'re nice 
 rooms and cost enough, I can tell 3'ou — eight- 
 een dollars a week and fifty cents extra every 
 time 3^ou want a fire." 
 
 '•' The place is perfectly respectable I have no 
 doubt," said Harold Neale, laug-hing-. *'My 
 friend Nevin is very fastidious ; anything- on the 
 West Side appears a savage wilderness to him." 
 
 " Don't believe him ; he's half a savage him- 
 self, Miss Ashland. He has alwaj^s lived in the 
 wilds." 
 
 Miss Ashland looked from one to the other 
 with a puzzled air ; then, as if wishing to atone 
 for what seemed to her the rudeness of Nevin's 
 speech, she said softlj^, with a kind look into 
 Harold's face : *' That is no matter ; it has 
 not made you rude or wild." 
 
 "You little know him!" said Nevin, in 
 tragic tones. 
 
 " You are laughing. Do you always laugh ?" 
 she asked, uneasily. " Come, Williams, let us 
 go home. I think I know the car we came on, 
 and you are too tired to walk." 
 
 " Walk ! " exclaimed Nevin — " don't think of 
 it," as they moved toward the entrance; ''I 
 will get a coupe." 
 
 " No — no — not a coupe, we came in the Cot- 
 tage Grove Avenue car. Mr. Bond told us to 
 avoid coupes, they cost so much money." 
 
30 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 " Mr. Bond is — let us say, over-cautious." 
 
 "He is a careful man, sir, and my brother," 
 put in Mrs. Williams. 
 
 "And most conscientious I am sure," said 
 Nevin, in a peculiar tone. "Still you must let 
 me insist on the coupe, and I Avill settle with 
 the driver." 
 
 "No, certainly not!" cried Miss Ashland, 
 decidedly. " I shall paj^ for it mj^self." 
 
 "I dare not contradict 3^ ou. Then at Avhat 
 hour may I present myself to-morrow ? " asked 
 Nevin, with an aif of profound deference. 
 
 " Oh, to-morrow ? Well, any time after 
 nine ; they will not give us breakfast until 
 8:30," returned Miss Ashland. 
 ^ Wilfred Nevin gazed at her Avith so be- 
 wildered an expression that Neale could not 
 resist laughing. " My friend here is not given 
 to early rising," he said. "He has a terrible 
 complaint which checks his • natural energy — 
 want of occupation." 
 
 "That is very bad, very wearisome," she 
 returned, gravely. " Will you come to-mor- 
 row ? " she continued, looking at Harold with- 
 out a shade of hesitation or embarrassment. 
 
 "I am sorry I cannot have that pleasure ; I 
 have an engagement." 
 
 " What ! at nine in the morning ? " said 
 Nevin. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 31 
 
 " Not quite so early." 
 
 " Well, Miss Ashland, if I may come after 
 luncheon, say about 3:30, we will arrange some 
 charming- plans." 
 
 ''Thank you; we shall have quite finished 
 dinner by that time." 
 
 " You ma}^ be sure I shall be punctual." 
 
 Here a hack, which Nevin had hailed, drove 
 up. 
 
 '•' Dear me ! I hate those things ! " cried Mrs. 
 Williams ; " you can never see where you are 
 going. I'm always afraid of a collision." 
 
 " The3^ are much better than the cars. All 
 the infectious diseases travel in the cars." 
 
 " Think of that now ! Isn't it a shame ? 
 What'll we do, Alice, my dear ? " 
 
 " Oh, let us take the hack;" she paused, and 
 after a moment's hesitation held out her hand, 
 first to ISTevin and then to Neale, with not un- 
 dignified simplicity. 
 
 As the vehicle drove away Nevin passed his 
 arm through Harold's, and they walked down 
 Midway Plaisance in silence for a few paces ; 
 then Nevin exclaimed with a groan : " She is 
 even worse than I expected. What a price I 
 shall have to pay for independence ! What a 
 figure ! What a toilet ! Could anything ever 
 lick her into shape ? " • 
 
 '•' I don't agree with you," returned Harold ; 
 
32 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 " she is quaint, but far from commonplace. I 
 believe if she were dressed up, like Mrs. Wain- 
 wright or your sister, she might even look 
 pretty." 
 
 " Like Mrs. Wainwright. ! Great heavens ! 
 what are jo\x thinking of? Did you see her 
 white stockings and charitj^-school shoes?'' 
 
 " I did, and I also observed that the ankles so 
 travestied were remarkably neat," 
 
 " Why, Harold, you are not going in for 
 rivalship ? " 
 
 " You are quite safe so far as I am con- 
 cerned," returned Neale, dryl3^ *•' But I doubt 
 if your game will be as easj^ as you anticipate." 
 
 '' Easy ! it is sure to be hard work in any 
 . case ; and then this craze for art ! I must get 
 Mary to help me there. In fact, I shall never 
 get through the affair without Mary's help ; 
 but I can count on her ; she wants to get me 
 off her hands." 
 
 " Why Wilfred, with your interest and sharp- 
 ness you ought to be able to make j^our own 
 living without having to sell yourself." 
 
 " Make my own living ! what a disgusting 
 phrase ! Really, Harold, there is a stronger 
 backwoods flavor about you than I thought. 
 However, I have not committed myself to an\'- 
 thing. Old Bond, the snuffy one, wants to' 
 make some final conditions before I open the 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 33 
 
 sieg-e in form. By the way, are you to dine with 
 the Cravens on Thursday? " 
 
 ^aara." 
 
 " Then pray tell Mary the enormous sacrifice I 
 am making- to a stern sense of duty." 
 
 '^ What duty ?" 
 
 '' The duty of self -maintenance." 
 
 ''I shall tell her my opinion if she asks it. 
 Now I must leave you." 
 
 ''Would you come down to Evanston ? 
 Mar5^ will be there, and she told me to bring- 
 you." 
 
 ''Sorry I can't, but I have an appointment 
 with a man who wants to rent one of our farms ; 
 I am almost late already." 
 
 " Well, good-by for the present. If you had 
 any compassion you would not leave me to vaj 
 sorrow." 
 
 "I feel sure ^''ou will not long need consola- 
 tion," said Harold, smiling, as he nodded good- 
 by to his friend at the end of the Plaisance and 
 jumped into a coupe. '' It is no affair of mine," 
 he mused, as the vehicle whirled along toward 
 the city, '' but I can't help feeling sorrj^ for the 
 girl. But women are strange animals ; I can- 
 not take credit to myself for understanding 
 them, though that fellow's sister g-ave me a 
 lesson or two." 
 
34 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 Mrs, Craven came down dressed for dinner 
 and entered her beautiful drawing'-rooms, her 
 white neck and arms g-leaming through the 
 filmy black lace which affected to cover them. 
 
 She was readj^ in good time this especial 
 Thursday, as she hoped for an opportunity of 
 speaking to her brother before Major Craven 
 appeared. 
 
 '' Wilfred is always late. I do hope he had 
 my note," she thought, as she sank on to 
 a comfortable lounge. Then rousing herself, 
 she leaned forward to glance at the clock, and 
 as she did so Wilfred Nevin was announced. 
 "I was afraid you would not come in time," 
 she exclaimed. 
 
 " What is it, Mary ? Are you in a scrape ? " 
 
 " A scrape ! Me ? ' ' she returned, with a 
 large note of interrogation. *'That is not 
 likely to happen. No ; I want to warn you 
 against confiding this matrimonial venture of 
 yours to Harold Neale. I am half afraid you 
 have done so already." 
 
 " Yes, of course I have. Did I not tell you 
 I took him with me to witness my interview 
 with my fiancee, as I consider her ? " 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 35 
 
 " Then you are a greater fool than I took 
 you for. Unless he has changed, Harold is the 
 sort of man who strains at g^nats and does not 
 swallow camels ; that is what that Scotchman, 
 Charley Richards, said about him, and you re- 
 member how the deacon used to call him Harold 
 Hardcase. He is quite capable of making- love 
 to her himself." 
 
 "And cutting- me out himself, eh ?" added 
 Nevin, laug-hing- at his sister's intimation. "I 
 think you do him injustice ; he's not quite such 
 an idiot, though he did vow eternal love to that 
 one-e^^ed Miller girl at Clallam. You don't 
 suppose he is still the credulous blockhead you 
 bamboozled ? I can tell j^ou he is both tough 
 and hard." 
 
 ''Very likely," returned Mrs. Craven, a 
 faint, almost tender, smile passing over her 
 lips. " Still, he would despise your method of 
 finding a well-dowered wife. I hope you did 
 not let him think I knew anything about it." 
 
 '' Of course I did. Whx^ I backed mj^self up 
 with your approbation." 
 
 '•'Really, Wilfred, you are too unprincipled. 
 You cannot realh^ believe that other people 
 have scruples. 1 am infinitely annoyed. What 
 will Harold Neale think of me ? " 
 
 " He won't think about you at all ; he'll 
 think more about the crease in his new Sunday 
 
36 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 pants ; and what the deuce would it matter if 
 he did ? He is not horrified — not a bit of it. 
 He is rather amused at the whole affair. If 
 anything- he is rather taken with my little 
 Quakeress ; says she reminds him of ' Toby 
 Gooch.' It is only natural, you know, that hav- 
 ing been jilted by a lioness, Harold should con- 
 sole himself with a mouse." 
 
 Mrs. Graven did not reply at once, but a 
 flash of vivid anger gleamed in her eyes, a look 
 that Wilfred knew and never trifled with. 
 
 *'It would serve you right if he won the 
 prize from you," she said, quietly. '•' It is well 
 you told me. I shall know what line to take. 
 If," she continued, after another shght pause, 
 ''if I am to assist you, j^ou must consult and 
 be guided by me. Wilfred, I have not seen you 
 for nearly a week ; have j^ou been absorbed 
 by your devotion to Miss Ashland, or to — " 
 
 "Not altogether," he interrupted, quickly. 
 ** I have escorted her to the Exposition three or 
 four times and to Lincoln Park and the races, 
 but my evenings have been my own. She is 
 raving to go to the theater, but I can not stand 
 that. It is more than any one can stand to 
 appear in public with the wall-eyed old ghoul 
 who chaperons her. Your maid, Christina 
 Croten, would disdain to associate with Mrs. 
 Williams. You must really help me, Mary, 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 37 
 
 and educate your future sister-in-law to some- 
 thing- near up-to-date before I marry her ; and 
 for Heaven's sake find her a drawing-master, or 
 a studio. She is a pertinacious little 'cuss/ 
 and more difficult to make an impressioii on 
 than I expected ; I wish George O'Brien had 
 written up the accident instead of that booby 
 Pring-le, whom nature better fitted for some 
 'Variety Dive/ or freak museum, than the 
 press." 
 
 '' Ah, indeed," returned Mrs. Craven thoug-ht- 
 fully. '' Well, Wilfred, whenever you've finally 
 settled with the acting- g-uardian, I will call on 
 this g-irl and see what is to be done. I might 
 ask her here, as Mrs. Wainwright has gone to 
 do penance with her mother-in-law. But she 
 must be obedient ; she must put herself com- 
 pletely in my hands." 
 
 "Ah, Nevin, it is something to see you in 
 good time," said Major Craven, who had en- 
 tered unperceived, and now approached them. 
 
 He was short and broad, with bowed legs and 
 anything but a soldierly bearing, and derived 
 his rank from some raw recruits he mustered, 
 but never led into the field, during the trials of 
 the early sixties. An exceedingly red, weather- 
 beaten face, small, sharp eyes contrasted 
 strongh^ with his wife's grace and dignity. 
 
 *' Yes, I am going to be practical and punct- 
 
38 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ual," returned Nevin, g-ravely. *' In short, I 
 am going" to turn over that new leaf I have been 
 so long- fing-ering-." 
 
 *' Hig-li time you should, ni^- boy." 
 
 " Why, Wilfred, you have turned over new 
 
 leaves enoug"h to make a larg-e volume," said 
 
 his sister. 
 
 "Judge and Mrs. Rohde," announced the 
 butler, and Mrs. Craven went forward to re- 
 ceive them. Mrs. Wainwrig-ht and Mr. Neale 
 quickly followed ; then Mr. James Woods, of the 
 ''Customs," a well-known dining-out man, and 
 the little partj^ was complete. 
 
 Mrs. Craven welcomed Harold Neale with 
 frank cordiality, and introduced him as an old 
 plaj^fellow to her husband, who shook hands 
 with him and said he was very glad to make his 
 acquaintance. Then . dinner was announced. 
 Neale took in Mrs. Wainwright, and found her 
 an amusing companion ; indeed, every one of 
 the party seemed gifted with the power of say- 
 ing trifles agreeably in a w^ay that sounded 
 witty. The time flew in exchange of scandal, 
 anecdote and political chit-chat, and when the 
 men rose from the table Major Craven excused 
 himself from joining the ladies on the plea that 
 he had to have his smoke. Judge Rohde, the 
 best-hearted and most genial member of the 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 39 
 
 bar in the States, but an inveterate smoker, ac- 
 companied him. 
 
 ''Do help me to get Mr. Woods to sing," 
 said Mrs. Craven to her brother, as he came 
 up to her. "Have you ever heard Mr. Woods 
 sing, Mr. Neale ? He is a real Nicolini. Nat- 
 ure and art combined. Just one song, please." 
 
 " I shall be most happy," arid the gentleman, 
 who never lost an opportunity of using his ca- 
 tarrhal tenor, went readil}^ to the piano and 
 warbled out one of Tosti's " Oh sadly sweet 
 and beautifully blue" arrangement of notes, 
 over which modern drawing-room sparrows 
 continue to croak. Mrs. Craven sat profoundl}' 
 still in her corner of the sofa, her head slightly 
 turned from Harold, showing- the graceful out- 
 line of her throat and the delicate beauty of 
 her small ear. When the singer ended, with a 
 long-drawn mee-oiv, Mrs. Craven heaved a deep 
 sigh, and looking round to Neale, who stood 
 near her, smiled as she raised her eyes to his. 
 
 '' What wonderful pathos he puts into it I 
 It is a voice that pierces the heart, or what- 
 ever does duty for that sentimental organ." 
 
 '*A fine voice," he returned, "but a most 
 doleful ditty. Do you not sing ? I think I re- 
 member your singing ' Changeless ' in what 
 I then considered a heavenly style." 
 
 '' I never sing now except when I am alone," 
 
40 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 said Mrs. Craven. " When I want to live the 
 past over again 1 sit down and croon to my- 
 self." 
 
 She drew her dress closer to her to make 
 room, and with a gesture invited him to sit be- 
 side her. Neale obeyed ; the rest clustered 
 round the piano discussing- De Wolf Hopper's 
 /'Panjandrum/' morsels of which Mrs. Wain- 
 wright played from time to time. 
 
 '^Mj'-dear," exclaimed Major Craven, who, 
 with Judge Rohde, had entered the room un- 
 seen ; " ray dear, the judge and I are going to 
 town for a couple of hours." 
 
 ** And who is to see me home ? " asked the 
 judge's wife. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Woods there will perform that serv- 
 ice for me," replied the genial judge. 
 
 And bidding good-night to all, the colonel 
 and judge took their departure. 
 
 "Tell me," said Mrs. Craven, slowlj^ opening 
 and shutting a large black leather fan, ''how 
 is it that my brother has persuaded you to as- 
 sist him in his extraordinar3^ matrimonial 
 scheme ? I did not think you could so com- 
 pletely cast aside the romantic chivalry that 
 used to distinguish you in the days when we 
 were Mary and Harold to each other." 
 
 "Romantic chivalry!" repeated Harold, 
 smiling. "1 am not aware I ever possessed 
 
ALICE ASHLAND, 41 
 
 such a characteristic. It must have evaporated 
 long- ago. But, Mrs. Craven, I had no idea 
 what Wilfred was about until he came and 
 
 ^. asked me to be present at his second meeting 
 with the young" lady whom he intends to ap- 
 propriate. I confess I was amazed and ex- 
 pressed my astonishment freely ; but you don't 
 suppose any preaching- of mine would influence 
 your brother ? " 
 
 "No, I do not think any one influences him. 
 But he has been talking* to me very seriously 
 about this strang^e idea of his and has rather 
 won me over. We have had a great deal of 
 anxiety over Wilfred. He is provoking, but 
 lovable. You see, he is one of those unlucky 
 men who can 7iot work." 
 
 " Indeed ! " said Harold, dryly. 
 '' Ah ! to a man of your energy that must 
 seem impossible or contemptible, but you are 
 quite different. You are — " She stopped, 
 
 { looked down and a soft flush stole over her 
 cheek and throat. "At all events," raising 
 her eyes to Neale's, which were bent on her 
 with calm observation that stung her with an 
 irritating sense that he was the stronger of the 
 two, " at all events, poor Wilfred has cost us a 
 good deal in every way, and really, if this 
 
 kgirl is not too dreadful, it would be well to se- 
 
 fcure her fortune for my brother. He would 
 
42 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 never be a steady- husband, nor would he be an 
 unkind one. Her monej' might be tied up, and 
 the^' Avould get on as well as half — two-thirds 
 of the married people one meets." 
 
 ''Perhaps." said Harold, half unconsciously, 
 as the recollection of the innocent, fearless eyes 
 that looked out from under Miss Ashland's 
 backwoods hat came back to him with a great 
 wave of compassion. 
 
 "Tell me, what is she really like?" pursued 
 Mrs. Craven. " I can depend on what you say 
 more than on Wilfred's report." 
 
 '' I do not think my judgment can be of much 
 use to you, Mrs. Craven ; our ideas must be as 
 widely different as our experiences. Miss Ash- 
 land is exceedingly rustic, and, even to my un- 
 instructed eyes, badly dressed, but she is rather 
 quaint than unladylike ; there is no tinge of 
 Poverty Flat about her. She is rather pretty, 
 so it seems to me." 
 
 " Then you think I might make something of 
 her ? " 
 
 '•' Oh, you could do wonders.I have no doubt." 
 
 "Ah, Mr. Neale, j'our tone is cynical, but I 
 am read}^ to bear a good deal from a^ou." 
 
 This with a smile and upward glance from her 
 soft-brown, beseeching eyes. 
 
 Harold laughed good-humoredl^-. 
 
 '• You wrong me. In sober earnest I believe 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 43 
 
 you could influence any young- g-irl, if you chose 
 to be kind to her," he said. 
 
 ''You have grown very hard in these long 
 years of wandering*, Harold — forgive me, I 
 mean Mr. Neale." 
 
 " My surroundings have certainly not been 
 calculated to soften me "' he returned, "but I 
 don't suppose I am harder or slrong-er than my 
 neighbors. However, I trust if you take up 
 this scheme of your brother's, you will give 
 some consideration to the young lady's inter- 
 ests. I suppose your womanly sympathy will 
 be her safeg-uard." 
 
 " You seem to have espoused her cause very 
 warmly," said Mrs. Craven, looking- do'wn. 
 
 "I do not think I have, only I like fair play. 
 Remember, it is a game at blindman's buff, 
 with odds of 10 to 1 ag-ainst the blind man, or 
 rather woman." 
 
 "You are rig-ht," said Mrs. Craven, g-ently. 
 " I will promise to be 7ie/' friend as well as Wil- 
 fred's." 
 
 "I have no doubt 3"ou will be," began Har- 
 old, when he was interrupted by a demand from 
 vivacious Mr, Woods. 
 
 •' Do ask Mrs. Wainwright to sing, Mrs. Cra- 
 ven. I am sure she sings, and she is going to 
 steal away to President Pottej's ball." 
 
 " But I don't sing- ; I don't do anything but 
 
44 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 cumber the earth," said Mrs. Wainwrig-ht. '"I 
 always find people to do everything- for me 
 much better than I could do them myself." 
 
 '•' You must pay your shot, however, in one 
 way or another," cried the lively James. 
 
 ''Not that I am aware of," replied Mrs. 
 Wainwright. " I can't pay anj^thing ; I anr 
 too disgustingly poor." 
 
 ' ' Yet you contribute your share, and a large 
 one," cried Nevin. ''You add the harmoniz- 
 ing- tone, the complimentary touch of color 
 needed by society." His tone, though hght, 
 had a tinge of earnestness in it. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Nevin, you must have been 
 reading- some of Ward McAllister's inane scrib- 
 bling-s in the New York World. If I get on at 
 all it is because I am a neutral tint," said Mrs. 
 Wainwrig-ht, coming- over to say good-nig-ht to 
 Mrs. Craven. " So sorry not to be with you, 
 dear. This is a delightful house you've taken 
 for the Fair season, but I must do the devoted 
 to the Potters or the result wall be insolv- 
 ency." 
 
 Mrs. Judge Rohde and Mrs. Woods were also 
 taking- their departure, andNevin escorted Mrs. 
 Wainwright. 
 
 " If you can stay a little long-er I'll sing you 
 some of our old favorites," said Mrs. Craven, 
 
ALICE ASHLAN 
 
 h. 45 
 
 as Harold turned to bid her good-evening. '' Do 
 yoTi care to stay ? " 
 So Harold stayed. 
 
 Mr. Bond occupied a suite of rooms on the top 
 story of that world-famed "sky-scraper" known 
 as the Masonic Temple. The rooms were in 
 every sense worth}^ of the occupant, a keen, 
 shrewd, nervous, yet matter-of-fact Chicago 
 lawyer, with ISTo. 1 constantly before his mind's 
 eye. Mr. Bond, with all his keenness, shrewd- 
 ness and nervousness, had only eked out a 
 modest living until the news reached him of his 
 old friend James Ashland's death in far-away 
 California, and his appointment as executor 
 and guardian, with Mr. Watts as his second, 
 to Ashland's only child, a daughter. Two 
 years after the father's death the girl's uncle 
 died intestate, and Mr. Bond had the manage- 
 ment of the large estate he left. On this occa- 
 sion of our introduction to Mr. Bond, that 
 worthy was standing beside his desk holding a 
 letter, at which he did not look — a small, lean, 
 angular man, with a large head, sharp little 
 eyes fenced with spectacles, a wide, thin-lipped 
 mouth, that seemed forever smiling, and a 
 short, upturned nose. His lips moved as if re- 
 peating something to himself. Presently he 
 muttered : " Ten thousand dollars : can't vent- 
 
46 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 
 lire to put it higher, anyhow ; and that's a 
 poor price." Then he looked at the letter and 
 read it through with a sardonic grin. ''Blessed 
 old fossil, it shall have its resurrected mam- 
 moths from Dakota, as long as it does not, 
 hinder me from gathering shekels. I can man- • 
 age business affairs better than old Watts, eh ? 
 I believe you ! Well, it's an ill wind that blows 
 nobody good ; even a Chicago wind can't do 
 that. Lord, what fools they all are ! Here's 
 another," taking up a second letter and read- 
 ing: "' When is m^' darling to come back to me? 
 She'll never be happj'- among the grand folks 
 at the World's Fair." (If Kate had an ounce of 
 sense, what a help she might be to me. It's a 
 mercy I have the bit of writing that might ruin 
 her boy. The idiot ! I have him and her in my 
 grip pretty fast.) 'Your loving sister, K. 
 Williams.' Bosh ! Why the. devil will she 
 write? Letters are always dangerous," tear- 
 ing it into a dozen pieces. " I'll turn her to ac- 
 count, for all her devotion to the girl." 
 
 Here a shock-headed ofEice-bo3% coming in, 
 interrupted him. "Gentleman, sir," he said, 
 thrusting a card into his master's hand. 
 
 " Ha ! show him in, and, mind you, I'm par- 
 ticularly^ engaged. Don't let mortal in, not 
 even Mr. Clay." 
 
 The boy nodded and went out, whereupon 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 47 
 
 Wilfred Nevin entered, perfectly dressed, fresh, 
 cool, g-ood-humt)red, an extraordinary contrast 
 to Mr. Bond and his surrounding's. 
 
 "Good-morning", sir, g-ood-morning, " said 
 the latter. ''Sit down. Warm morning", isn't 
 it ? Sun in your eyes ?" as he pulled down the 
 Wind. 
 
 '' Pray don't trouble yourself, I'm all right," 
 isaid Nevin, seating himself. 
 - " Well, well, my dear sir, how are we getting" 
 on ? " asked Bond. 
 
 " That is what you call a leading question," 
 returned Wilfred, smiling. "On the whole, 
 not badly. I have been doing" my dut3^ I have 
 presented flowers, and they have been joyouslj'^ 
 ; accepted. In a couple of weeks or so I may, 
 ^with your sanction, venture to propose." 
 I " There are just a few preliminaries to settle 
 first," said Mr. Bond, gently scratching his 
 head with the top of his pen. " I asked you to 
 come and talk them over, because Mr. Watts 
 leaves everything" to me." 
 
 *' Oh, I'm perfectly content. You have a 
 masterly way of managing- business that is 
 quite remarkable. Fr&y what are these pre- 
 liminaries ? I thoug-ht you -had sufRcientlj^ in- 
 quired as to ray walk in life, and found the par- 
 ticulars highly creditable. I had even got rid 
 of my debts before I had the pleasure of meet- 
 
48 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ing your ward, though I warn you they are be- 
 g-inuing to accumulate ag-ain." 
 
 "That I dare say," returned Bond, with a 
 grin. "lam prepared to stand your friend, 
 and, remember, without my full consent " — 
 here his eyes twinkled gleefully — "no man 
 has a chance for three or four years to come. 
 Now I am not going- to give it lightly ; aiui 
 first, are you disposed to make any sacrifice to 
 prove you are in earnest ? " 
 
 " My dear sir, I really have nothing to sacri- 
 fice but my liberty, and liberty paralyzed b\ 
 want of the almighty dollar is not much to re- 
 sig-n." 
 
 "Ahem! true for you," said Bond, with a 
 sigh. " I'm sure it Avould take a week to tell 
 all the trouble and toil I've had with the Ash- 
 land estate, to say nothing of the valuable time 
 it has taken up, and no reward for me. You 
 know old Watts and mj^self are executors as 
 well as guardians, and every blessed bit of 
 work has fallen to my share. Of course I'd 
 gladl}'^ do my best for the minor. My sister and 
 I look upon her as our own child." 
 
 Nevin bowed assent. 
 
 "As I said," resumed Bond, "I'd do any- 
 thing for the dear child. But I am a poor man; 
 my time is my money, and I have spent months, 
 of it upon her." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 49 
 
 "I begin to understand," said Wilfred. 
 " Pray go on." 
 
 "You are not a business man, Mr. Nevin," 
 continued the lawyer, with a grin. " You are 
 above these sort of things. But I had a very 
 sensible letter from a young man I once pulled 
 through an awkward fix and who has since shot 
 ahead and made a lot of money. This letter 
 contains an offer of eight thousand dollars if I 
 can find him a suitable wife. But read it for 
 yourself." 
 
 Nevin took and read the letter. 
 
 "Ah! now I understand you. You wish 
 some remuneration for your valuable time and 
 fatherly care ? I really don't see what claim 
 you have on me. If my future wife wishes to 
 bestow any trifling gift in the shape of friend- 
 ship's offering as a token of gratitude for your 
 disinterested care, I have no objection." 
 
 Mr. Bond grinned more amicably than ever. 
 
 "And suppose I withdraw my sanction, my 
 assistance, where are you ? " 
 
 " And suppose I persuade the young lady to 
 dispense with your consent ? " asked Wilfred, 
 with an ineffable air. " What shall you do ? " 
 
 " Let her money accumulate until I grant it, 
 and tie it up so tight that you can't touch a 
 cent, without her consent, during her life or 
 after her death." 
 
50 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ''But you would not sell her to this — this 
 fellow ? " asked Nevin, striking the letter with 
 his fing-er. 
 
 " Why not ? He is a good enough fellow, 
 with red hair, not unlike yourself." 
 
 "I fancy Miss Ashland would see a differ- 
 ence," he said. 
 
 '' Maybe— maybe, but that isn't the question. 
 Are you willing to make me an offer ? I am 
 foolish enough when I like a man, and I like 
 you, especially when I think you'll make our 
 ward happy, only I musn't — I mustn't allow 
 myself to be weak, for my poor sister's sake 
 as well as my own. Who'll look after me when 
 I'm past my work ? " 
 
 ' "I cannot tell, I'm sure. But how do you 
 think it would sound if I were to make your 
 proposition public ? " 
 
 " I don't know, and don't care much ; I am 
 not going to commit m3^self to writing, and my 
 word is as good as yours, who believed Judge 
 Woodman when he charged Mike McDonald 
 with attempted bribery, and what came of it ? " 
 
 Nevin laughed. " Really, your candor is 
 quite refreshing. Where do you think I'd find 
 eight thousand dollars? " 
 
 " Oh, j'^^ou'U mid that much fast enough, but 
 I want two thousand more. Now, to show j^ou 
 that I'm your friend, I'll agree to aid you for 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 51 
 
 ten thousand dollars, providing- you leave the 
 manag-ement of the property in my hands when 
 it comes into j'ours." 
 
 "You are an admirable diplomat after the 
 knock-me-down Bismarckian school, Mr. Bond," 
 said Nevin. " I cannot admire your cynical 
 frankness sufficiently." 
 
 '' It's all verj^ fine talking-," returned Bond. 
 " But I have what j'ou want, and as Joe Kuhn 
 says, and he's g-ot rich at the same game, ' If 
 j'^ou are in earnest you must come to my 
 terms.' " 
 
 ''Why, I have been here nearly an hour," 
 cried Nevin, looking- at his watch, " and it is 
 such a fine day. My time is nearly up. Let us 
 come to some conclusion." 
 
 "By all means. It rests with you. You 
 know my terms, and I'm really sorrj^ I can't 
 move an inch from them — not with justice to 
 myself." 
 
 "A sense of justice which I imagine never 
 fails you." 
 
 " I hope it never will." 
 
 "Well, look here, then. I don't mind 
 about the money, but I should like to have the 
 managing of my own affairs. In short — excuse 
 the brutality— but as j^our friend Joe Kuhn 
 would say, 'I'd rather not have you for the 
 middleman.' And Joe got rich, you say, and 
 
52 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 perhaps some of his clients' orphans went to 
 the poorhouse." 
 
 "Don't mention it," said Mr. Bond, with a 
 grin, " though you will regret the prejudice 
 by and b5^ If I fall in with your views I 
 must have an equivalent." 
 
 " What will you consider an equivalent ? " 
 cried Wilfred, again looking impatiently at his 
 watch. 
 
 "Hum! it is rather hard to say off-hand; 
 but then I will not bargain with a man like 
 3^ourself — hand me over twenty thousand dol- 
 lars within a week of your marriage and I 
 shall be satisfied." 
 
 " Twenty thousand ! that's a tremendous 
 haul, and, as you tell me, there is not much 
 ready money. Will not this cramp me ?" 
 
 " Not a bit of it. That last purchase of old 
 Ashland's, which swallowed up so much ready 
 cash, is worth nearly double what he gave for 
 it. I can get double to-morrow. Then we have 
 the Riverside orange groves, which bring in ten 
 thousand a year. Oh, there's plenty of prop- 
 erty ; you just sign a little bond, acknowledg- 
 ing yourself my debtor- for twenty thousand 
 dollars at five per cent,, and matters will go 
 smooth and easy." 
 
 " For you, perhaps. But'' I'm not such an 
 incapable as to put myself completely in your 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 53 
 
 power. Would you trust me, as you ask me to 
 trust you ? " 
 
 '•' Ay, don't you be too mistrustful ; it is a 
 bad sig-n, my 3'^oung friend." 
 
 "I will sig-n no such bond, Mr. Bond, I as- 
 sure you, unless I can be secured in some way. 
 Why, you might demand payment whether I 
 married or not," 
 
 " Why, what have I done that you think me 
 a common cheat ? " 
 
 ''Rather an Wicommon one," returned 
 Nevin, contemptuously. "Of course, I mean 
 in an intellectual sense. Show me how I can 
 be secured and I'll sign what you like as to the 
 dollars." 
 
 " Dear, dear ! what a money-lender was 
 spoiled when you were born a gentleman ; 
 how Frank Clapp would admire you!" ex- 
 claimed Bond, with an admiring leer. 
 
 *' Born a borrower instead of a lender, 3^ou 
 mean." 
 
 " Let me see, how can I satisfj^ you ? I'm 
 that obliging I'd like to make things easj^ 
 Suppose when you execute the bond I g-ive you 
 a letter, stating that unless the marriage be- 
 tween you and Miss Ashland takes place the 
 bond is void and you absolved from all obliga- 
 tion of payment." 
 
54 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 " Yes, I think that migfht do ; but I should 
 like counsel's opinion on it." 
 
 "Ah, what nonsense ! There is no use throw- 
 ing away a fee. I saw you with Judge Rohde 
 the other day ; ask him ; he is one of the few 
 straight legal lights of modern Babylon ; he'll 
 tell you 3^ou are as safe as the Constitution." 
 
 ''I will," returned Nevin ; "meantime, un- 
 less advised to the contrary, it is a bargain." 
 • "Good, good; I am glad j^ou see your own 
 interest." 
 
 "Then I can press on with m3^ suit. By the 
 way, my sister will call on Miss Ashland ; I 
 should like to invite my future wife to stay 
 with her ; she will want a good deal of brushing 
 up. If she does, Mr. Bond, I warn you she will 
 ask you for big checks." 
 
 " O Lord ! " exclaimed Bond, shrugging up 
 his shoulders as if in pain. " Does it cost such 
 a heap to start a young lady ? " 
 
 " I fancy the general run of milliners' bills 
 would make you weep. But I have an engage- 
 ment, so au revoir. I suppose I may make all 
 the running I can ? " 
 
 " Certainly ; 1 am as anxious to have her off 
 as you are to get her. You are just the man I 
 sighed for." 
 
 "Much obliged to you," said Nevin. "Let 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 55 
 
 me have a line when the bond and the letter 
 are ready. Good-morning." 
 
 "Infernal old fiend,'* muttered Wilfred, as 
 he \\';ent down the elevator. 
 
 "Got him sure," chuckled old Bond, as he 
 closed the door. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " I AM getting- rather tired of this great 
 shop," said Harold Neale to himself, as he 
 walked with a listless and half -weary step be- 
 tween the rows of showcases in the Swiss 
 Court at the World's Fair one bright after- 
 noon when all the world seemed crowded into 
 this most magnificent of all expositions. The 
 showcases were resplendent with articles of 
 Swiss ingenuity and inventions, which the en- 
 vious crowd were admiring. "There's not a 
 sight of its kind on the face of the earth," 
 mused Harold, ''but I would rather not see it 
 ever}-^ daj^ unless I had a lot of work to do in 
 connection with it. I would rather be home on 
 the Hudson. There's not much to do even 
 there, but a few days' fishing can always be 
 had. That's something I can enjoy better than 
 this gorgeous crowd." 
 
5G ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 Suddenly a look of surprised attention re- 
 placed the careless glance with which he had 
 eyed the exhibits and crowd, for a few feet 
 from him stood Alice Ashland, gazing- atimir- 
 ingly at an exhibit of tiny watches. He was 
 startled to see her alone in that motley crowd. 
 Country bred as he was, it seemed unbecom- 
 ing for a lady to be alone in such a crowd, and 
 he hastened to give her the protection of his 
 companionship. 
 
 " Miss Ashland, may I hope you remember I 
 was introduced to you by — " 
 
 "Oh, yes," she interrupted, with a bright, 
 startled look of surprise and pleasure. "I am 
 very glad to see you. ' I was just beginning to 
 feel lonely, even here, and the place is rather 
 puzzling and you will show me around." 
 
 ''I shall be most happy to assist you in any 
 way. How is it that you are alone ? " asked 
 Harold, gravely. 
 
 "Mrs. Williams is not quite well to-day. 
 So I walked down Halsted Street, and sud- 
 denly the impulse seized me to come again to 
 the Fair, for I like looking at the exhibits, 
 everything is so very beautiful.'' 
 
 "I shall certainly escort you about the place 
 and see you safely home. It is not quite safe 
 for you to be alone in Chicago." 
 
 " Why ? There is nothing to fear. I take 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 57 
 
 very little money, and no one ever interferes 
 with me." 
 
 ''Still I. do not like to see you by 3^ourself. 
 Suppose we have an outing- on the lake in one 
 of the Venetian g-ondolas ? " 
 
 " Oh ! I'm so much oblig-ed. That would 
 be splendid, and something- entirely new to 
 me." 
 
 The}^ left the building- and seated themselves 
 in one of the gondolas, which its picturesque 
 gondolier shot hither and thither ^through the 
 numerous canals, to the infinite delight of Miss 
 Ashland, who declared on their way home that 
 she had never spent such a delightful afternoon 
 since she left California. Leaving the Fair 
 grounds Harold hailed a coupe, and thej'- 
 started homeward. 
 
 " I suppose 3^ou ride when you are at home ? " 
 began Harold, who Avas curious to learn some- 
 thing- of her past. 
 
 "Not now. When I had my father with me 
 we had a nice pony, and I used often to ride on 
 him. But one da}^ afterward, you know " (he 
 understood that she meant after her father's 
 death), "Mr. Bond came to Santa Cruz and 
 saw poor old ' Billy ' feeding behind the house. 
 Then he said he was no use, and sold him, and 
 let the place to strangers, so we have only the 
 garden and orchard now." 
 
58 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 "I daresay 3^011 were sorr}'^ for the pony." 
 
 ** Sorry ? I zvas sorry ! It made me hate Mr. 
 Bond," emphatically. "Indeed, I shall never 
 like him, I have told him so ; but I am almost 
 inclined to forgive him for sending my good, 
 kind Williams to live with me. I do not know 
 what would become of me without her." 
 
 ''It is rather alarming to hear a young lady 
 confess that she hates any one." 
 
 " Is it ? Well, I did hate Mr. Bond, and I 
 hated the doctor at Santa Cruz. I cannot nor 
 could not help it. I believe I had a bad 
 temper." 
 
 ''Has time changed it, or have you nobly 
 struggled to overcome your own evil nature ? " 
 asked Neale, looking down with a smile at the 
 sweet, thoughtful face beside him. 
 
 Miss Ashland laughed a low, pleasant laugh. 
 "I'm afraid not; I grew stronger, and did 
 not need the doctor, and as I felt better and 
 brighter and able to enjoy myself I forgot Mr. 
 Bond. Now he is going to let me learn draw- 
 ing, and I feel almost friendly toward him." 
 
 There was a pause. Harold thought, with 
 growing interest and sincere compassion, that 
 this was not a nature to be satisfied with the 
 shams of society and the paste diamonds of a 
 showy setting to life. Still Nevin could be very 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 59 
 
 fascinating, and she mig-ht believe him the best 
 of men, nor have her faith disturbed all the 
 days of her life. 
 
 " If Mrs. Williams is well enough to see me, 
 perhaps jo\x will let me look at some of your 
 drawings when we reach your rooms ? " 
 
 " Yes, I will, g-ladly. I can draw very little 
 now, but I am to go to a studio on Michigan 
 Avenue, at least I hope so. They have prom- 
 ised to get Mr. Bond's consent." 
 
 ''Who have promised?" 
 
 " Mr. Nevin and his sister. Do you know 
 that he brought his sister to see me ? Was it 
 not good of him ? And she — " a look of in- 
 finite pleasure and admiration beaming over 
 her face — •' oh, she is lovely ! she is like a 
 queen, and so kind to me, a mere ignorant 
 Western girl. She has asked me to staj"- with 
 her while I am studying, and says she will do 
 all that is necessar^^ for me. Is it not wonder- 
 ful ? " 
 
 " Ah ! " ejaculated Harold, ''you mean Mrs. 
 Craven. She is certafnly charming. When do 
 you go to stay with her ? " 
 
 " I'm not quite sure. I should have gone on 
 Monday, but Mrs. Williams was unwell and I 
 could not leave her ; indeed, that is the only 
 drawback. I do not like her beins- alone — she 
 
60 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 will fret— but she says she does not mind. I 
 think Mr. Bond has told her she must 
 not." 
 
 So Mrs. Craven was not letting- the grass 
 g-row under her feet in the prosecution of her 
 brother's plan. How would it end for the 
 guileless Californian, who was probably looked 
 upon by both as a mere incumbrance to her own 
 wealth ? What would be the result of Mrs. Cra- 
 ven's training ? what of associations of Wil- 
 fred Nevin ? How much of her fearless candor, 
 her outspoken truthfulness, would be left after 
 three or four years of life under their g-uidance ? 
 Harold was conscious of almost fatherly com- 
 passion and tenderness toward his young- -com- 
 panion, and yet he could do nothing to help or 
 save her ; his interference would be worse than 
 useless. If he could induce Mrs. Craven to es- 
 pouse her cause ? But could he ? He thor- 
 oughly distrusted that charging personage, 
 although she still had fascination for him. At 
 any rate he would call on her and endeavor to 
 find her real disposition toward the lonely little 
 heiress. 
 
 All this passed through his brain rapidly, and 
 he said aloud : ''Mr. Bond appears a very po- 
 tent person." 
 
 "He is," said Miss Ashland, with a little 
 sigh. " I cannot get any money except by his 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 61 
 
 consent. I do not know what he will think of 
 all Mrs. Craven talks of buying for me." 
 
 "I have no doubt Mrs. Craven will manage 
 him, if any one can." 
 
 More desultory but friendly, sympathetic talk 
 brought them to the door of Miss Ashland's 
 temporary abode. 
 
 " Will you come in ? " she said ; and Harold, 
 with an odd feehng that he was in some way 
 trespassing, followed her into a rather nicely 
 furnished room of the " Rooms-to-let " order. 
 
 " If you wil^ sit down for a moment I will see 
 how Mrs. Williams is." She pointed to a chair 
 and left the room. 
 
 '*^ What an abode for an heiress !" thought 
 Harold, glancing round at the furniture and 
 narrow space. " I don't suppose she has the 
 faintest idea of her own possessions. She ought 
 to be informed. I'm half inclined to tell her 
 myself. I earnestly hope fhey will tie up her 
 money strictly when she marries Nevin ; for I 
 suppose she must, she can hardly escape." He 
 took up a book, it was Lew Wallace's ''Ben 
 Hur"; he took up another, ''Little Dorrit." 
 He looked inside the cover and found the name 
 "James Ashland." "A volume from the fam- 
 ily library, I suppose," he said to himself, with 
 a smile. 
 
 At this point in his meditations Miss Ashland 
 
62 ALICE ASHLAND, 
 
 re-entered. She had removed her hat^ and 
 Harold observed how niucli better and more 
 disting-uished she looked without it. Her head 
 was small and well poised, and her hair, though 
 pale in color, was abundant, while the gentle 
 composure of her manner and movements gave 
 her dignit}'. 
 
 '• I must not ask you to stay," she said. ''I 
 find Mrs. Williams so unwell I must attend 
 her ; and the dressmaker sent by Mrs. Craven 
 is waiting for me." 
 
 ^' Then I will not trespass any longer ; I hope 
 to have another opportunity of seeing your 
 drawings. As j'^ou know Mrs. Craven, I may 
 see you at her residence." 
 
 " I hope I shall. You are very good to have 
 come all this way with me. Good-by ; and tell 
 me, what is your name ? I did not heed Mr. 
 Watts when he introduced j'ou." 
 
 " My name is Neale." 
 
 " I think I did not notice jonv name because 
 I was taken up with the sort of likeness I saw 
 about your eyes to my father's. Good-by." 
 
 She held out her hand with a grave, kindly 
 smile. Harold took and lightlj^ pressed it. 
 
 ''If I can ever do anj'^thing for you," he ex- 
 claimed, with a sudden impulse, '* praj"- remem- 
 ber that I am at your service." Then, half 
 ashamed of his speech, he beat a rapid retreat. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 63 
 
 "^ Every one is very good to me/*' Avas Alice 
 Ashland's reflection^ as she hurried away to 
 the g-rand-looking-, overdressed dressmaker, of 
 whom she was a little afraid, and submitted to 
 the ordeal of 'drying- on," having been previ- 
 ously measured under Mrs. Craven's eye. Faith- 
 ful, however, to her suffering friend, she begged 
 leave to show herself to Mrs. Williams before 
 she took off the garment. 
 
 " Is it not pretty ? " she exclaimed, drawing 
 up the blind that Mrs. Williams might see 
 clearly, '^The skirt is to be trimmed with a 
 quantity of the saii^v. lace, and bows of brown 
 satin ribbon ; they look lovely against the tus- 
 sah silk. This is called a simple morning- 
 dress ! It seems to me too fine to wear. I 
 wonder what Mr. Bond will say?" 
 
 '^ Ah ! he won't mind now," returned Mrs. 
 Williams, with a sigh so deep it was almost a 
 groan, and would certainly have attracted 
 Alice's attention had she not been hurrying 
 back to the dressmaker. 
 
 " You seem worse than you were this morn- 
 ing, dear," she said, returning presently in her 
 every-^ay dress, ^'and you look as if you had 
 been crying." 
 
 '•' Well, you see, the pain has been very bad 
 and I am that weak — " 
 
 Here the poor woman broke down. 
 
64 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 *'I will get you some beef tea and a g^lass of 
 wine, and then I will trj' this wonderful stuff. 
 It is a whitish stick, and it is to be rubbed on 
 your brow until the pain goes.'' And Alice 
 went swiftly and silently' to and fro, procuring 
 the remedies she had sug-g-ested, and Mrs. Will- 
 iams g-rew more composed. 
 
 '^Whatever will I do without j^ou, Alice? 
 The sight of you does me good." 
 
 " I will not leave you till you are quite well 
 and strong." 
 
 " Ay, but you must, my dear. Brother Bob 
 has been here while j^ou were out " — a half- 
 suppressed sob. 
 
 ''Oh!" cried Alice, ''he has been here! 
 Then he has been scolding j^ou. What did he 
 say?" 
 
 "Well, he was a bit nervous, but alwaj^s 
 anxious about you, miss, my dear. And do you 
 know he has even been to see that Mrs. Craven 
 about you ? And you are to go to her Satur- 
 day or Sunday. I am to be sent home because 
 Chicago doesn't suit me, so Bob says. He has 
 grown wonderful careful of my health, all. at 
 once " — in a querulous tone. " How Tie comes 
 to know such grand people as that Mrs. Craven 
 and her brother is more than I can tell. Says 
 he knew them before the accident ; anyhow, 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 65 
 
 tliey ^re very nice and civil spoken, and Mr. 
 Nevin is very brave, I'm sure." 
 
 " Yes, they are very delightful ; but I'm not 
 g-oing- to leave you, or to be ordered about by 
 Mr. Bond," cried Alice, indignantly. 
 
 ^^ Ah, but you must, my dear. Bob is in real 
 earnest about it. He had up the landlady and 
 gave her warning on the spot, and we are to 
 be out of this, if I'm all right, by noon on Sat- 
 urday." 
 
 " Well, Williams, I will not stay long ; I will 
 come home soon to you." 
 
 " Ah, my dear, it's little I'll see of you from 
 this time forth forevermore," cried poor Mrs. 
 Williams, who was apt to grow Scriptural in 
 her sorrow. 
 
 *'Why, where am I to be sent? " said Alice, 
 laughing. ''I cannot be kept out of my own 
 home in Santa Cruz." 
 
 '''Ah! you'll soon be finding another home 
 among all these fine people." 
 
 "They are too fine for me," said Alice, put- 
 ting out her writing things. " I feel quite stu- 
 pid among them. It will be a long time before 
 I find another home." 
 
 And she began to write rapidly. 
 
 ''You remember the other gentleman that 
 Mr. Watts introduced to us," she resumed—" I 
 mean the dark one ? " 
 
66 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ''Yes, a quiet, grave man." 
 
 "I met him to-day and he rode all the way 
 back with me. I like him so much ! He is seri- 
 ous and g-entle ; he does not laug-h at every- 
 thing like Mr. Nevin, and he speaks to me as if 
 I were a reasonable being. I could tell him any- 
 thing ! It is curious, but he gives me the idea 
 that he is sorry for me. He reminds me of my 
 father when he used to look far away and 
 stroke my head, saying: 'Poor child— poor 
 child ! ' "-' 
 
 " Well, miss, don't you go and trust any one 
 too much, least of all a man. "They are a self- 
 ish lot the best of them. ISTow, dear, I'll try 
 and sleep a bit." 
 
 Alice Ashland had led a singularly secluded, 
 monotonous life. She had been the sole com- 
 panion of her widowed father. When he died 
 he left his little all to his daughter— a pretty 
 residence among the redwoods of Santa Cruz 
 and about a thousand dollars a year — appoint- 
 ing his only friends, Mr. Watts and Mr. Bond, 
 her guardians. Bond, having a sister for whom 
 he wished to provide without cost to himself, 
 sent her to his ward in California as the cheap- 
 est mode of maintaining both. About two 
 j'^ears before the beginning of this narrative 
 her uncle died intestate and she became the 
 owner of considerable wealth, as we have 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 67 
 
 stated. Alice herself knew little or nothing- 
 about it. Mr. Watts had told her, but no al- 
 teration had been made in her mode of life. 
 To Bond this change in his ward's circum- 
 stances was a positive torment. His grasping- 
 fingers itched to clutch some of the riches they 
 could touch but not take. To find a suitable (?) 
 husband for his ward before she reached the 
 independence of majority was the object near- 
 est his heart, and we have alread}^ seen how 
 accident favored his hitherto baffled search. 
 
 It was a trial for Alice to part with Mrs. 
 Williams, who had become g-reatly attached to 
 her ; and it was also something of a trial to go 
 to Mrs. Craven's, but a trial not unmixed with 
 pleasure. 
 
 Though all her life a recluse, Alice Ashland 
 was not shy ; she was naturally brave, and dis- 
 posed to trust her fellow-creatures. 
 
 '^I will write often and tell you everything ; 
 you may be sure I will ! You know I love writ- 
 ing ; and do — do write to me ! If you are not 
 well I will come to you, I iciil, whatever Mr. 
 Bond chooses to say." 
 
 So with many kisses, Alice bade her good old 
 companion farewell, and took her seat in a te- 
 spectable-looking carriage, which, to her sur- 
 prise, had been engaged by Mr. Bond's direc- 
 tions to convey her to Evanston. 
 
68 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 Mrs. Craven was at home and alone to re- 
 ceive her. She was ushered into that lady's 
 private sitting'-room, a delightful apartment, 
 looking into a beautiful garden, and furnished 
 with all that could charm the eye. 
 
 " Ah, Miss Ashland ! I am so pleased to see 
 you," cried Mrs. Craven, rising to greet her 
 with g-reat cordiality. 
 
 " It is really very good of Mr. Watts to trust 
 you with me ! But we shall take care of you ! " 
 And she drew forward a low easy-chair. " You 
 are looking pale and tired ; I am sure you must 
 be moped to death." 
 
 " You are very, very kind to ask me here," 
 said Alice, earnestly. ''I am so different from 
 you that I may be tiresome, but — " 
 
 " I shall turn you out with inexorable cruelty 
 if you are ! " interrupted Mrs. Craven, laugh- 
 ing ; " but I do not anticipate such a catas- 
 trophe ! Now you must leave all worrj^ behind 
 3^ou ; and do you know your eyes look suspi- 
 ciously like tears ! " 
 
 " Yes, I did cry a little," said Alice, coloring". 
 ''I was so sorry to see Mrs. Williams g-o away 
 alone. I have never been away from her since 
 she came to me, nearly eight years ago." 
 
 " Very sweet and nice of yon, dear, but it is 
 time you broke away from this incongruous 
 companionship. That good old woman was 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 69 
 
 only fit to be your nurse ! You need not dis- 
 card her, but you have been shamefully neg- 
 lected and kept in the background. Now you 
 must be introduced into society suited to your 
 fortune and position. 
 
 " I am afraid I am not suited to any society, 
 except that of a few people whom I like and 
 understand. It is a great pleasure for me to 
 look at you and listen to you ; I wonder if I 
 shall ever be able to paint you ! " said Alice, 
 with simple earnestness. 
 
 "1 wish you a better subject/' said Mrs. 
 Craven, laughing, though she felt flattered by 
 this honest and unstinted admiration. '^Mme. 
 Abbott," she continued, " has sent some of 
 •your things, and I see you have put on one of 
 her dresses. Now, come with me and I will 
 show you your room." 
 
 Alice followed her hostess upstairs to a 
 pretty, comfortable room, where were laid out 
 what seemed to Alice an enormous amount of 
 clothes — clothes, too, of a superb description. 
 Delicate silks, gauzy grenadines, fairj^like 
 hats, coquettish mantles. '' What a quantity 
 of money they must have cost ! " she cried, 
 aghast. ''What will Mr. Bond saj^ ? " 
 
 " That you have a right to the common 
 necessaries requisite for a young lady who is to 
 live like other people," said Mrs. Craven, care- 
 
TO ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 lessly ringing the bell as she spoke. Her 
 summons Avas almost imraediatel.y answered by 
 a young woman. " There, m\' dear Miss Ash- 
 land, is your especial maid ! She will attend to 
 your toilet. Johnston, 3'ou had better do 
 Miss Ashland's hair before luncheon ; she has 
 been living among the redwoods of California, 
 and I trust to you to do her justice." 
 
 At lunch the onl}^ guest was Nevin, who did 
 his best to be fascinating; and then came a 
 crowning joy. Mrs. Craven ordered her car- 
 riage and conveyed Alice to a studio, where she 
 feasted her eyes with the drawings, water- 
 colors and beautiful objects scattered about, 
 while Mrs. Craven arranged terms with Sign or 
 Lucca, a fashionable artist, who for a high re- 
 muneration instructed Chicago society ladies to 
 sketch and paint. They then drove to the Fair 
 grounds, and thence to the city, did some shop- 
 ping at the famous Marshall Fields, and Alice, 
 exhilarated by the unusual movement and vari- 
 ety, found herself quite equal to the ceremony 
 of dinner, as she had never seen dinner served 
 before ; an introduction to Major Craven, who 
 was quite ready to accept his wife's new favor- 
 ite unquestioning, as he never interfered with 
 her as long as she left him alone and did not 
 spend too outrageous a quantity of money. 
 
 Meanwhile, Harold Neale still loitered hy the 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 71 
 
 magical " White City " on Lake Michigan, un- 
 willing to leave. He was strong and penetrat- 
 ing enough to be not one whit blinded by Mrs. 
 Craven's real nature, and yet her beauty, her 
 grace and her evident desire to atone in some 
 way for her past heartlessness dazzled and 
 fascinated him, Harold had long ago ceased 
 to feel the smallest anger against her, and 
 there was a dash of contempt in the plenary 
 absolution he had extended to his old love, 
 Mary Craven. 
 
 " Why should I dislike her for being what 
 she is rather than what I thought her ? " had 
 been -his reflection years back ; and however 
 brilliant she might be, the core of his opinion 
 was unaltered. But Mrs. Craven's beauty and 
 softness appealed to his senses, and Harold's 
 were still fresh and keen. He could not help 
 the resisted consciousness that his old love was 
 not indisposed to sob out her penitence in his 
 arms ; and he knew — none better — how sweet 
 those ripe red lips of hers used to be in the de- 
 lightfully delusive old days when they sat by 
 banks of the Hudson. 
 
 He therefore found it very pleasant to drop 
 in now and then to dinner, though he scarcely 
 went as often as he was asked. 
 
 There was now a fresh motive for his visits 
 to Evanston. He was also anxious to see how 
 
72 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 Neviii's suit prospered ; how the Httle flower 
 bore the atmosphere of tlie splendid hothouse 
 to which she had been transplanted. 
 
 Mrs. Craven was dispensing- tea to Mrs. 
 Wainwrig-ht, Nevin, Miss Ashland, a youthful 
 New Yorker and a very thick-set, elderly man, 
 with a small allowance of neck, who breathed 
 with a snoring- sound and drank his tea noisily. 
 Alice was sitting a little apart, busy with some 
 fancj'^-work. Harold could hardly believe that 
 dress could have so improved any face and fig- 
 ure without destroying its individuality. A 
 gown of soft, creamy material all ruffled with 
 foamy lace ; her soft hair arranged a la Lang- 
 try. She looked like a modest primrose, and 
 had in no way lost her air of delicate quaint- 
 ness. 
 
 Harold felt a sense of refreshment as his 
 eyes fell upon her, and she met them with a 
 sudden brightening of her own as she rose to 
 meet him with an honest, unconcealed expres- 
 sion of pleasure. 
 
 " Mr. Neale, I thought you had left the 
 Windj^ City," cried Mrs. Craven, holding out 
 her hand. ^'What has become of you, and 
 what have we done that you should cut us in 
 this way ? " 
 
 " I have been wandering to and fro, as usual, 
 and feeling a good deal out of my element," 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 73 
 
 returned Neale, making- his way to Miss Ash- 
 land after greeting- Mrs. Wainwright and 
 Nevin. " I scarcely knew you as I came in," 
 he said; ''such a complete transformation is 
 confusing." 
 
 '' Yes/' said Nevin, ''you can see that Mary's 
 reforming fingers have swept the lines where 
 rust had lingered." 
 
 " Really, Wilfred, you are absolutely bru- 
 tal ! — to associate rust with anything half so 
 ethereal as Alice is too absurd," exclaimed Mrs. 
 Craven. 
 
 " The necessities of rhythm obliged me to 
 curtail the word rustic. Miss Ashland is strong 
 enough to bear the truth from her most de- 
 voted 2il\y. May I not say so ? " 
 
 This in a caressing tone and with a lingering 
 glance. 
 
 " Indeed 3'ou may ! Any one can see I am a 
 rustic, and will most probably always be one," 
 said Alice, with a good-humored smile. " But 
 I should be dull indeed if Mrs. Craven could not 
 improve me." 
 
 " And what do you think of the theater ? " 
 asked Harold, who had drawn a chair beside 
 Alice. 
 
 "I like it better than anything except the 
 Fair and the studio, and even better than 
 
74 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 either, sometimes," she said, earnestly. "1 
 cannot sleep afterward, it seems so real to me. 
 I think over it, and feel so glad the people are 
 made happy at last. I have never seen a 
 tragedy ; I do not think I could bear one." 
 
 " You had better realize the unreality of the 
 drama before you risk it," returned Harold, 
 smiling. "And how is Mrs. Williams ? I trust 
 she is better." 
 
 " I hope so — I think so ; at least she does not 
 complain in her letters ; but she must be lonely 
 without me. But I shall go back to California 
 when the studio closes." 
 
 "When may that be?" 
 
 " At the end of August." 
 
 " And how are jou getting on ? " 
 
 " Slowly, very slowly ; yet I have some hope 
 I may draw pretty well j^et. Will you come 
 to the studio some day with Mr. ISTevin ? He is 
 so kind ; he often comes and escorts me home. 
 Is it not good of him ? " 
 
 "Very good, indeed," returned Harold, while 
 with eyes cast down he thought : He has 
 made no impression as yet ; her unconscious- 
 ness proves that. " Then you must be very 
 well employed, with art in the morning and 
 gadding about the Fair or the city the rest of 
 the daj'-," he added, aloud. 
 
 "Mrs. Craven would make any one happy. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 75 
 
 and I never knew what it was to live before. 
 I was happ3' enoug-h, but only half awake.'' 
 
 " Then have you turned your back on the 
 humdrum routine of country life forever ? " 
 
 " No ; I should not live quite as Mrs. Craven 
 does. I like to go to bed when she g-oes out in 
 the evening- ; but I love the theaters and pict- 
 ure galleries of the Fair and driving- in the parks. 
 Then every one is very g-ood to me, only I do 
 not always understand what thej^ are talking- 
 about. I am never quite sure if they are in 
 earnest. Of course, I am very ig-norant. I be- 
 lieve I should be happier in the country. I 
 mean to have my home there."' 
 
 ''There is little that is homelike in either 
 New York or Chicag-o life," said Harold ; and, 
 after a pause, he asked : '' Who is the stout 
 g-entleman ? ' ' 
 
 " He is a friend of Mrs. Wainwright's ; she 
 brought him here a few days ago. He is a Mr. 
 Smith, I think ; but Mrs. Wainwright calls him 
 by some funny name. He has lived a long 
 time in Australia, I think, and he is very rich." 
 
 '• What treason are you and Harold hatch- 
 ing- ? " said Nevin, coming over and interrupt- 
 ing- them. '' My sister suggests we go to town, 
 taking- in the Fair en route, dine at 'Rector's/ 
 and then take in the Coghians in ' Diplo- 
 macy.' Will you come, Neale ? " 
 
76 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 "Yes, you must," cried Mrs. Craven. " We 
 shall want three gentlemen ; Major Craven is 
 otherwise eng-ag-ed, and I shall be all ung-uarded 
 if you will not come and take care of me." 
 
 Of course Harold consented. 
 
 Nevin escorted Miss Ashland, Mrs. Wain- 
 wright, somewhat to Harold's surprise, pairing 
 off with the " Kangaroo," as she called him, 
 while he himself fell to Mrs. Craven. How 
 beautiful she looked ! How brightly she talked ! 
 What subtle touches of tenderness sounded 
 through her lighter tone ! — and yet Harold was 
 unusually indifferent. His imagination would 
 stray away after Alice Ashland and the man 
 who had appropriated her. Was he teaching 
 her to love him, with the finished art of long 
 experience ? — and when he had won her heart, 
 and annexed her money, how would he repay 
 her ? The sense of profoundest pity, of guilt 
 even — for did not his knowledge of the whole 
 scheme make him an accomplice ? — oppressed 
 him, and he was powerless to assist her. She 
 was so defenseless, so friendless ! Why, it 
 would be better for her to marry him, 
 
 Mrs. Craven's voice awoke him from his 
 reverie. '^ Your judgment was the right one," 
 she was saying, as the curtain fell on the 
 second act of ''Diplomacy." "Your little 
 protegee is really very nice. Naturally a lady, 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 77 
 
 but frightfull}' neglected , she does not seem to 
 'catch on' to Wilfred's love-making', and he is 
 really most persevering. I think if she were a 
 little responsive he would grow quite fond of 
 her. Reallj', men are so accustomed to be 
 made love to now that — " She paused. 
 
 '•' It must be rather an agreeable change to 
 do the love-making one's self/' said Harold, 
 laughing. 
 
 "To men like 3'ou, yes — but joking apart, I 
 am really interested in Miss Ashland ; I want 
 them married before we return East. Really 
 Wilfred is nearly at the utmost ends of his re- 
 sources." 
 
 ''And suppose Miss Ashland proves so unen- 
 lightened as not to appreciate Wilfred ? " 
 
 "Now, Harold " — with a deprecating glance 
 — "do not be a bird of evil. She must m^irry 
 him ! " 
 
 "Dearest Mary," said Mrs. Wainwright, in 
 an aside quite inaudible to Neale, ' ' I cannot 
 stand the ' Kangaroo ' any longer. Do take 
 him off my hands, and let me have a turn with 
 your brother." 
 
 So for the rest of the evening Miss Ashland 
 was in Harold's charge, and both felt better 
 for it. 
 
AI.ICE ASHLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 It was no longer difficult to attract Harold 
 Neale to the Craven residence. He Avas ready 
 to come on the slightest provocation. He was 
 due home, yet he lingered. 
 
 Never had Mrs. Craven been so generally 
 kind and considerate. Alice thought her an 
 angel disguised in a fashionable exterior. Her 
 brother rejoiced in the spell of sunshine, though 
 he had a shrewd idea why ''Mary was so amia- 
 ble." Harold saw too clearly the utter indiffer- 
 ence which underlay Nevin's apparent devotion 
 to Alice ; he fancied that some instinctive rec- 
 ognition of this was at the root of Miss Ash- 
 land's easy, unmoved friendliness. For Nevin 
 was a favorite with women, and what was 
 there to guard that simple, untaught girl from 
 his influence but instinct ? 
 
 He felt, without the slightest disrespect to 
 her, that had he a fair field he might have won 
 her heart and made her happier than Wilfred 
 Nevin ever could. Her girlish curiosity and 
 frank questioning about himself, his histor^'^, his 
 people, half amused him. Had he both father 
 and mother living ? — and sisters ?— he was rich 
 indeed ! 
 
 "Mrs. Craven was like a mother and sis- 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 79 
 
 ter to me ; but," added Alice, looking down, 
 " I feel in an odd wa,y that sometime or other I 
 shall pass out of her life, and she out of mine ; 
 the longer I know her, the more I feel how un- 
 like we are, and when she has time to see it, 
 too, she will not like to be bored."' 
 
 "At present you are a prime favorite, so let 
 the morrow take care of itself," returned Har- 
 old ; "you are too natural and truthful to bore 
 any one." 
 
 " Do you think so ? I am very glad " — look- 
 ing candidly into his face ; and Harold thought 
 how charming it would be to see those eyes 
 avoid his with the dawning consciousness of 
 love — love for him only. 
 
 Time, however, waits neither for men nor 
 their wooing, and Nevin thought he had served 
 long enough for Rachel ; so regardless of his 
 sister's warning not to be rash, and without her 
 knowledge, he persuaded Miss Ashland to staj'- 
 at home one afternoon to see some Hungarian 
 photographs he had purchased for her. This 
 afforded him an excuse for a tete-a-tete ; and 
 then, to Alice's immense surprise, with much 
 fervor he made her an offer of his hand and 
 heart and high social position. 
 
 When Mrs. Craven returned sooner than was 
 expected she found the brother pacing to and 
 fro in deepest anger and despair. 
 
80 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 " The ii^norant little savage !*' he exclaimed. 
 " I made a confession of my feelings that would 
 have moved the Sphinx. It would have melted 
 the heart of an Apache, and the little wretch 
 was simply surprised, confused, overwhelmed ; 
 yet she told me coolly she thought I had mis- 
 taken my own feelings — that she was quite sure 
 I liked Mrs. Wainwright better than I did her- 
 self ! that she was too — too something or other 
 to be my wife, and that she liked me so nmch 
 she would rather marry some one else." 
 
 "Well, Wilfred, you are a greater fool than 
 I took you for," said his sister, frowning- 
 sternly. 
 
 Could it be the same face that looked up so 
 tenderly in Harold Neale's ? 
 
 ''You tried to shake the tree before the fruit 
 was ripe ; now you have lost the g-ame. What 
 do you intend to do ? " 
 
 " To do ! How do you mean ? I acted on 
 your instructions and made an ass of myself to 
 no purpose. By Heaven, I shall lose my char- 
 acter if it is known that I have failed with the 
 unsophisticated one." 
 
 •' You must not fail," Mrs. Craven returned. 
 " I must repair your mistake. I wonder I have 
 the patience to speak to you ; you have been a 
 worry to us all your life. Noiv you must be 
 absolutely guided by me. " 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 81 
 
 '' If 3'o» explain your plans I'll try and take 
 them in," said Nevin, who was considerably 
 crestfallen. 
 
 "Very well. Leave Miss Ashland to me for 
 the present. I will describe your heartbroken 
 condition and rouse her compassion. You must 
 g-o out of sight somewhere ; it will be the best 
 and safest Avay of showing- your despair." 
 
 '* But, Mary, I cannot go without cash and I 
 tell you I haven't a dollar. You must get Cra- 
 ven to ante up." 
 
 *' It would be no use to ask him and I would 
 not do it if it were," returned his sister. '' The 
 major has been very generous, but you have 
 tried his patience too far. I want his help my- 
 self ; I have gone far beyond my allowance. 
 Mme. Abbott has sent me in a hideous bill." 
 
 ' ' Then yon must give me some cash yourself. 
 I will run over to New York and Newport, and 
 I must pay hotel bills, etc." 
 
 "You shall not go to either place," she in- 
 terrupted. "You shall go and bury yourself 
 at Peekskill, and I wall lend 3^ou the fare." 
 
 " Great Heavens, Mary ! What on earth 
 am I to do at Peekskill? I shall cut my 
 throat." 
 
 " Better do that than live on a beggarly 
 gentleman," cried Mrs. Craven. " However, 
 
82 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 I don't mean to keep 3^011 long* in exile; and 
 there is tolerable fishing." 
 
 ''I hate fishing-," ejaculated Nevin. 
 
 " Old Mrs. Gibbons the housekeeper is a very 
 fair cook. In a week or two I will bring our 
 little startled fawn to hear reason, then you 
 can come back and do exactly as I bid you." 
 
 " Ought we to communicate with that old 
 screw. Bond ? " 
 
 " I will see Mr. Bond." 
 
 **Well, I suppose you have no more to say?" 
 
 '•^No. I never was so angry with you before. 
 •'Really, Alice Ashland is too good for you. 
 I suspect you have been betraying your absurd 
 fancy for Mrs. Wainwright more recklessly 
 than I imagined, to rouse Alice's suspicions." 
 
 " Not more recklesslj^ than you have shown 
 your absurd fancy for Harold Neale. If I were 
 ■ Craven — " 
 
 " You would be a better man than you are," 
 interrupted Mrs. Craven, quietly ; but her eyes 
 darkened and she grew pale with anger ; " and 
 not put evil constructions on a simple natural 
 liking for an old friend." 
 
 Nevin laughed aloud cynically. 
 
 " If you defy and irritate me," said his sister, 
 rising and standing erect before him, " I shall 
 give you up ; hitherto I have been weak enough 
 to care what became of you. If I turn against 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 83 
 
 you,, it will be an exceedingly bad day for you, 
 Wilfred Nevin." She opened her purse and 
 threw him a couple of bills. " I expect you to 
 repay me, remember. Now go ; I will Avrite to 
 Snooks in time for the mail." 
 
 She turned from him with a look of contempt 
 and left the room. 
 
 Mrs. Craven paused in her own sitting-room 
 and took up some notes and letters, glancing 
 through them mechanicall3\ ''I will not speak 
 to her yet," she thought. "Let her chew the 
 cud of sweet and bitter reflection for a while. 
 What a misfortune to have tw^o such idiots to 
 deal with. How did I come to have such a 
 brother?" What was Alice Ashland doing? 
 Sitting in her room in a bewildered frame of 
 mind. What would Mr. Watts sauj ? ISTevin 
 had intimated that he had secured her guardi- 
 an's consent. Would every one be angry ? 
 Then she wondered whj^ she had refused him. 
 It was curious, for he was nice and good-look- 
 ing. Next, fancy suggested: ''If Harold Neale 
 had asked you to be his wife would you have 
 refused?" Conscience instantly answered: 
 "No." Of course, he'd never think of ask- 
 ing her. 
 
 At last her maid rapped at the door to say 
 Mrs. Craven had come in and wished to know 
 if Miss Ashland would not have tea. 
 
84 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 "No, thank you ; I have a had headache and 
 will lie down till dinner-time," said Alice. 
 
 " Shall I hring j'^ou a cup of tea here, miss ? " 
 
 '*If you please," returned Alice, eager to be 
 left alone. 
 
 Then Mrs. Craven broke in upon her on her 
 way from her dressing-room to the carriage 
 and a solemn dinner party. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! certainly better." 
 
 ''Try to eat some dinner or supper and get 
 to bed early. I hope to find you quite well to- 
 morrow morning. Good-night, dear." 
 
 A gentle kiss accompanied by a sigh and Mrs. 
 Craven was gone. 
 
 Alice seldom saw her hostess in the morning 
 before she went to the studio. Her uneasiness 
 and fearful looking forward to the meeting that 
 awaited her was prolonged, after a disturbed 
 night, through the hours that preceded lunch. 
 Nevin had disappeared. 
 
 At luncheon there was only Mrs. Craven, 
 who received her kindly, but with a subdued 
 and pensive air. '' I feel quite good for noth- 
 ing to-day," she said. ''I shall not be at 
 home to any one, and at five we will take a drive 
 through Jackson Park. There are a few people 
 coming to dinner and I must brace myself for 
 my duties." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 85 
 
 ''It will be very pleasant," said Alice, 
 scarcely daring- to look up. 
 
 "It is a farce, your sitting down to table," 
 said her hostess. " You are looking pale, too, 
 dear. You must see Dr. Secomb." 
 
 ''I think I feel nervous," faltered Alice. 
 
 " Come with me. We will repose ourselves 
 in my room and have a nice long- talk." 
 
 Alice followed her as if to execution. 
 
 ''It is certainly delightful to be quiet some- 
 times," began Mrs. Craven, sinking' into a 
 chair. " I know you have a great deal to tell 
 me, a g"reat deal you ought to tell me," con- 
 tinued Mrs. Craven, slowly fanning' herself ; 
 "but it is di£B.cult to begin. My brother has 
 told me that you refused him, and I am awfully 
 sorry about it all." 
 
 "So am I," said Alice, coloring deeply. "I 
 have been deeply distressed, and so afraid you 
 would be angry with me." 
 
 " Ang-ry with you ! Why should I be ang-ry ? 
 Very disappointed, I own, but not angry. 
 But I am, of course, very, very sorry for poor 
 Wilfred ! You seemed to like him, and might 
 unconsciously have misled him.". 
 
 "But, dear Mrs. Craven, I did — I do like him, 
 only I never dreamed he would have thought of 
 marrying- me ! I am sure you do not." 
 
86 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 **I did not think it, because I learned conij 
 weeks back that he wished to marry you." 
 
 "And you were not vexed, 3'ou did not think 
 him foolish ? " cried Alice, in astonishment. 
 
 "No, dear! Listen to me, Alice. I am 
 worldly. I have hard edges here and there, 
 but I am really ver^^ fond of you. Now there 
 is much in j^ou that would be of infinite use to 
 my brother. He took to you at once, and that 
 is an unusual thing for him. I am therefore 
 wofuUy disappointed when my pretty air-castle 
 crumbled at the touch of your cruel fingers." 
 
 "You are too good, too indulgent to me," 
 said Alice. " But I do not think I -could ever 
 love Mr. Nevin, and I fancied he was very fond 
 of Mrs. Wainwright, which seemed much more 
 natural." 
 
 " Of Mrs. Wainwright ? " echoed Mrs. Cra- 
 ven. " How very absurd ! They are very old 
 friends, and in a sense he is very fond of her ; 
 but love, m3^ dear, that's another matter." 
 
 There was a pause. 
 
 "My greatest regret," began Alice again, 
 "is to have disappointed j^ou in any wa3\" 
 
 "I'm glad to hear you care a little for me, 
 Alice. I think I deserve it from you. But not 
 so much as Wilfred. Could you have seen him 
 yesterday I think you would have been sorry 
 for him.' He was so broken-hearted ! ^ What- 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 87 
 
 ever happens, Mar}^,' lie said, 'do not worry 
 Alice, do not in any way resent my disappoint- 
 ment.' He talks of going- to China or Calcutta, 
 or some other dreadful place ; indeed, I did not 
 believe Wilfred could have felt anything so 
 intensely ; he was as white as a sheet." Mrs. 
 Craven fanned herself vigorously, as if much 
 moved. 
 
 Alice trembled, and the tears rose to her 
 eyes. 
 
 ''I wish I had never come to be a trouble to 
 you ! " she sobbed. " What a return this is for 
 all j^our goodness, and Mr. Kevin's bravery in 
 saving my life ! I am very grateful to him for 
 caring so much for me, but — " 
 
 ''Oh! I suppose he could not help that,'' 
 interrupted Mrs. Craven, with a sad smile. 
 "I know that some time ago he explained his 
 intentions fully to your guardians, and secured 
 their full consent, so that" no difficulty should 
 occur in case he could win yours." 
 
 "What shall I do ? what shall I do ? " said 
 Alice, unconsciously aloud. 
 
 " Are 3'ou in earnest when you ask what you 
 shall do, Alice?" asked Mrs. Craven; "and 
 will you believe that I am disinterested in the 
 advice I offer ? " 
 
 " Believe you ! Of course I believe you thor- 
 oughly." 
 
88 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ''Then let matters stand as they are. Poor 
 Wilfred has run away to bury himself in soli- 
 tude. I begged him to go to our farm on the 
 Hudson and recuperate. There, I will not say 
 any more at present ; but for your own sake, 
 do not throw my brother away too readily', or 
 without some consideration. Of course it is 
 very likely he may not come near us again 
 while 5"ou are here. But should he do so — " 
 
 She paused, and poor Alice, who felt as if 
 some invisible net was closing round her, urged 
 timidly : 
 
 " I suppose one ought to love the man you 
 marrj^ very much ? " 
 
 " You should certainly not dislWiQ him ! But 
 why do you not like Wilfred ? Do you love 
 anj^ one else? " with a sudden, almost fiercely 
 questioning glance. 
 
 " How could I ? Whom do I know to love ? " 
 asked Alice, timidly.* 
 
 ''Very true. There, I really think we have 
 exhausted the subject, and you have made j^our 
 eyes red. Go and bathe them, dear, and do not 
 be unhappy ; I shall always be your friend." 
 
 " Ah ! do, do be my friend ; I have ^o few," 
 and Alice ventured to pass her arm through 
 Mrs. Craven's and to press her brow against 
 her shoulder with more of a caress than she had 
 ever dared before. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 89 
 
 " Oh ! rest tranquil, my dear girl. I am very- 
 loyal." 
 
 Alice hurried away, and Mrs. Craven, rising- 
 to fetch Zola's latest from the table, looked 
 after her with a slight sigh. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " I MUST dine at the Cravens to-night," 
 thought Harold Neale, as he stood on the deck 
 of one of the steamers that ply between the 
 World's Fair and the city; '/but I will get 
 away home on Monday. I am making a fool 
 of myself here." 
 
 On reaching the Grand Pacific, however, 
 where he was stopping, he found a letter which 
 compelled an earlier start. It was from his 
 father, informing him that his mother had 
 taken a chill and had been attacked with the 
 dreaded pneumonia, and it would be well if he 
 could return home at once. Harold was star- 
 tled ; something in the tone of the communi- 
 cation alarmed him. 
 
 Mrs. ISTeale was a gentle, fragile woman. 
 When Harold was in disgrace with all the 
 world she had clung to him and helped him in 
 
90 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 his hour of need. This Harold never forgot. 
 He loved his mother with all the strength of his 
 steady heart. Her daughters were married, 
 and provided with cares of their own, and Har- 
 old well knew the loneliness of the patient little 
 woman when he was not with her. 
 
 So he wrote a hasty line of excuse to Mrs. 
 Craven and with a heavy heart boarded the 
 Michigan Central, sorry for those he was leav- 
 ing behind and for those he was going to meet. 
 
 Mrs. Craven's dinner was less lively than 
 usual. Major Craven had insisted on inviting 
 two ''pork kings," who could talk of nothing 
 else but pork. And Harold was absent, so was 
 Alice, to whom her hostess had said kindly as 
 they returned from their drive : "1 daresa}', 
 dear, you would rather lie down and rest, or 
 get into j^our dressing gown and read a novel, 
 than put on evening costume and sit down to 
 dinner." 
 
 "> Yes, I should greatl}' prefer it. I want to 
 write to Mrs. Williams, too. I did not send 
 her a letter yesterday, and I rarely miss doing 
 so on Wednesday. I know she always looks 
 for one." 
 
 Alice stayed very contentedly in her room. 
 She pondered long and deeply on all Mrs. 
 Craven had said, and wished that she could 
 please ever^^ one by marrying Nevin. Wh}^ did 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 91 
 
 she not love him ? If she dared speak to Mr. 
 Neale about it ! She blushed at the idea. 
 
 Major Craven, who had alwaj's been friendly 
 to his wife's quiet little proteg-ee, inquired the 
 reason of her absence, and expressed a hope 
 that all was going- on well betAveen her and 
 Wilfred. 
 
 " Oh, as well as can be expected," re'turned 
 his wife, laughing. " She is a good little sim- 
 pleton, and not too ready to take up an idea." 
 
 "I don't find her dull by any means," said 
 Major Craven. '*It is quite a relief to meet 
 an}'- one who does not aim at talking epigrams. 
 Now I must bid you good-night, Mrs. Wain- 
 wright, if I may not escort j'^ou home." 
 
 The company had by this time departed, all 
 save Mrs. Wainwright, who remained alone 
 with her hostess. 
 
 " Craven is a good fellow, Mary," said Mrs. 
 Wainwright. " You are a lucky woman." 
 
 "I daresay I am. Now let me talk to you. 
 I want to hear what Wilfred said yesterday. 
 I hope you scolded him for his folly, his rash- 
 ness." 
 
 ''Your brother certainly came to pour Iikj 
 sorrows into my sympathizing bosom," said 
 Mrs. Wainwright. ''But I confess my warm- 
 est sympathy has been excited by his being 
 obliged to marry such a mummy. She will 
 
92 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 bore him to death. But there, it seems if he 
 does not marry her he may starve to death. It 
 is" a desperate alternative." ^ 
 
 " My dear, you did not set him against my 
 poor, rich protegee 'f He is rather infatuated 
 about 3'ou, but that is, you know, of no use." 
 
 '' I regret to saj' it is of no use, for I fmd 
 your brother very nice and most amusing. 
 What an idiot Miss Ashland is to refuse him ! " 
 
 "^ Yes. I fancied it would have been a case 
 of ' I came — I saw — I conquered ' with Wilfred 
 and Alice Ashland. I cannot understand her 
 inditference." 
 
 ''Well, I think I do," remarked Mrs. Wain- 
 wright, drj^ly, as she arranged the flowers that 
 adorned her dress. 
 
 ''You do ! Wh3^, what do you mean ? What 
 are j^ou hinting at?" cried Mrs. Craven, 
 eagerly. 
 
 "I think, Mary, that you are quite as foolish 
 and a good deal blinder than .your brother. 
 Alice Ashland does not care for Wilfred be- 
 cause she has already' fallen in love with that 
 interesting companion of your childhood." 
 
 " You cannot believe such an absurdit}^" 
 cried Mrs. Craven, flushing from throat to brow. 
 " Why, I never thought of such a thing." 
 
 "That I quite believe," significantly. "I 
 am a quiet, indolent creature ; I let others do 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 93 
 
 the talking-, but I see a great deal. Your 
 brother has been taken up with me, you have 
 been taken up with j^our farouche friend, and 
 I have watched you all." 
 
 "And what have you seen?" asked Mrs. 
 Craven in a low tone, keeping her eyes carefully 
 cast down. 
 
 "I have seen Miss Ashland's face; and 
 whenever Mr. Neale appears it lights up in 
 the most wonderful way. I don't think the 
 little fool is the least conscious of her own feel- 
 ings ; I protest she warms up into absolute 
 prettiness as soon as he comes. Now she dis- 
 trusts Wilfred; she is half afraid of him." 
 
 ' ' But how preposterous of her to throw away 
 her pale fancies on Harold Neale, who scarcely 
 notices her." 
 
 '•'Ah! are you sure he does not? My im- 
 pression is, that not a look, not a word of hers 
 escapes him." 
 
 " Come, come, this is more than observation: 
 it is creative powei\" 
 
 Mrs. Wainwright shook her head. ''Your 
 friend has \qyj expressive ej^es, as I daresay 
 you know, and they have told me more than he 
 imagines. I am disposed to think he is con- 
 siderably further gone than she is." 
 
 "It is impossible," said Mrs. Craven, in a 
 low, deep tone. 
 
94 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 '' Oh, if you like to think so. Just look back 
 over the past month. How much more he has 
 been at -yonr house since Alice Ashland went 
 into training- under your supervision. Remem- 
 ber our trips to the World's Fair. Neale had 
 man}' a good half-hour's practical tete-a-tete 
 with her there ; indeed, it might have been 
 longer at Lincoln Park had I not sent Mr. 
 Nevin to break it up." 
 
 " I do not think Harold would try to cut out 
 Wilfred." 
 
 ''Perhaps. But once a man is in love, I 
 should not give much for his g-ood resolutions." 
 
 " Really, dear, you don't seem to think there 
 is such a thing as principle." 
 
 '' Oh, yes, I do ; but I suppose he is no 
 stronger than his neig-hbors. You know all 
 about that, no doubt, much better than any 
 one else." 
 
 " There is some difference between a man and 
 a boy. At any rate, Harold is far away, or 
 Avill be far away to-morrow. He has been re- 
 called t^ Peekskill by his mother's illness." 
 
 "^Well, keep him at a distance," said Mrs. 
 Wainwright, rising; "\t will be better for all 
 parties. I must leave 3^ou now. I promised to 
 call for Mr. Smith and take him to Mrs. Pot- 
 ter's reception." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 95 
 
 " I hope affairs are prog-ressing- smoothly be- 
 tween you and the great ' Kangaroo ' ? " 
 
 " Yes, satisfactorily ; so much so that I re- 
 gret bestowing that very appropriate nick- 
 name. Good-night, Mary ; are you going to 
 bed like a sober citizen ? " 
 
 ''I am. This worry about Wilfred has up- 
 set me." 
 
 They exchanged adieus, and the observant 
 Mrs. Wainwright went down to her carriage. 
 
 Mrs. Craven sat and studied everything she 
 had heard. Had she been so fooled and blinded 
 as to rejoice in the frequent lingering visits 
 which were due to another's attractions ? The 
 more she strove to reject the idea, the more 
 corroborative trifles rose in her memory to in- 
 dorse Mrs. Wainwright's revolting suspicions. 
 
 It was bitter, very bitter, to the proud, pas- 
 sionate woman who best knew what advances 
 she had made . to a man who, she began re- 
 luctantly to believe, .was shielded by that 
 strongest armor, affection for another. It 
 was all too evident. She did not know till now 
 how he had absorbed her. She meant no hai^ 
 she told herself ; yet she never for an instant 
 regretted her own heartless conduct. To see 
 Harold once more at her feet, to tell him she 
 loved him and bid him leave her forever, this 
 would be joy ! 
 
96 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 Ah, well ! there was no use thinking- about it. 
 What needed her whole force of mind and reso- 
 lution was to accomplish her brother's mar- 
 riage to Alice Ashland. 
 
 "She shall be his wife within a month," she 
 muttered, rising- from the cushions where she 
 had writhed in impotent rage. " She shall be 
 safelj"- out of Neale's reach long- before they 
 meet ag-ain." 
 
 She turned to her writing-table, drew a 
 chair, and after a moment's thoug-ht wrote a 
 carefullj^ worded letter to Harold Neale — a 
 charming-, sj'mpathetic epistle, which the 
 major mig-ht have read with perfect impu- 
 nity. 
 
 She thoug-ht how she mig-ht best charg-e her 
 communication with the venom which disturbed 
 her own mind. She described the rapid g-rowth 
 of mutual love between Wilfred and Alice, and 
 concluded her letter with a kindly message from 
 her brother, which would convey the impression 
 that he was at her elbow. And then, com- 
 pletely restored to composure, Mrs. Craven 
 ejiingpiiished her light and fell asleep, 
 
 f 
 
 Alice Ashland longed to solace her depressed 
 spirit by writing a full and true history of the 
 trial through which she had passed to Mrs. 
 Williams, but she had the impression that it 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 97 
 
 would be disloyal to Mrs. Craven and Wilfred 
 if she told the story of her rejection of the lat- 
 ter. New needs had sprung- up. She could not 
 go back to the bare existence she had led be- 
 fore she met Nevin and his sister. Her tastes 
 were quiet enoug-h, but her eyes had been 
 opened, and, warmly as she loved Mrs. Will- 
 iams, she felt that life would indeed be dreary 
 had she no other companionship. 
 
 Mrs. Craven saw with much satisfaction the 
 pale, pensive face of her young- friend g-row 
 paler and sadder. She took no notice of the 
 remarkable fact that for four da3^s Harold had 
 not appeared. This silence was, in Mrs. Cra- 
 ven's opinion, a bad symptom, and she deter- 
 mined to break it by a bold and masterly 
 stroke. 
 
 ''I forg'ot to tell you that Mr. Neale has been 
 summoned away — his mother is dang-erously 
 ill," said Mrs. Craven to Alice, as they sat to- 
 gether in the drawing-room. 
 
 '•' I am verj'- sorrj'-," exclaimed Alice, Yhying 
 down Harper^s. " He is very fond of his 
 mother," 
 
 '^ I did not think you knew he had a nrother," 
 said Mrs. Craven, sharply. 
 
 "He has spoken of her to me sometimes," 
 said Alice, innocently, quite unepibarrassed. 
 
 " She is a charming lady. I was g-oing- to say 
 
98 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 'old lady/ but she is so youthful in appear- 
 ance. I like Harold ver}^ much, too. He used 
 to be such a good fellow, but I was not quite 
 pleased with him the other day." 
 
 'indeed." 
 
 There was no curiosity in the tone. 
 
 ''No," continued Mrs. Craven. "I thought 
 him too manly for that sort of self-conceit. 
 Perhaps I ought not to tell you." She paused, 
 and Alice looked at her in great surprise. 
 
 "We were talking of his leaving Chicago," 
 she resumed, and he said, with his grave smile : 
 ' On one account I shall not be sorry to leave ; 
 3^our little friend shows her flattering prefer- 
 ence for me in a most unmistakable manner. 
 It would really be touching were it not so 
 funny, and I am not disposed to fall in love in 
 return.' " 
 
 There was a moment's silence. The color 
 rose slowly to Alice's cheeks, as if shame and 
 mortification were penetrating her soul. Though 
 she did not dream of doubting Mrs. Craven, she 
 half unconsciously exclaimed : 
 
 " Heiould not have said that." 
 
 '•' Oh, if you imagine I invented the amiable 
 speech, why — " 
 
 " No, no, I do not ; but it seems impossible. 
 I found him so kind and — sensible. I did like 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 99 
 
 him and like to talk to him, but I am not in 
 love with him." 
 
 "1 should be sorry if you were," said Mrs. 
 Craven, with emphasis. 
 
 " Indeed — indeed I am not. I am more 
 grieved than I can say to think Mr. Neale 
 could speak of me in such a way. It is un- 
 worthy of him." 
 
 "So I think, and so I told him," said Mrs. 
 Craven. 
 
 '• Are you quite sure he meant me ? " per- 
 sisted Alice. 
 
 "My dear, who else could he mean? I did 
 expect better thing-s from Harold Neale, but 
 it seems he is no better than the rest. M}'- 
 brother would never talk of a woman in that 
 strain. Though it is rather a breach of confi- 
 dence, I am almost tempted to show you two 
 letters he has written me since you banished 
 him." 
 
 " Perhaps Mr. Nevin mig-ht not like me to see 
 them," said Alice, shrinking- back from the 
 cruel blow just dealt her. 
 
 '' He need never know. Do read them, Alice. 
 I should like you to see the sort of nature you 
 have rejected." 
 
 Alice read the effusions, which were admira- 
 bly composed, full of veiled sadness, tender and 
 passionate and touching- in their entreaties to 
 
100 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 his sister not to withdraw her friendship and 
 protection from the little darling- who seemed 
 to have no one to care for and watch over her. 
 Alice folded them up and returned them to 
 Mrs. Craven with trembling hands and quiver- 
 ing lips. 
 
 "He is too good. I do not desire that he 
 should think so much of me. I feel quite angry 
 with myself for not loving him. But I am very 
 young, Mrs. Craven ; need I marr3^ any one 
 just yet ? I don't feel as if I were fit to be any 
 man's companion." 
 
 *'My dear Alice, were you any one else I 
 should accuse you of mock modesty." 
 
 " No, I am not so modest as you fancy. I want 
 to learn so much to be at all equal to you and 
 Mrs. Wainwrig-ht and — Mr. Nevin." Harold's 
 name came to her lips, but she curbed herself 
 in time. " I cannot even know how to behave 
 myself or — or Mr. Neale would never have 
 spoken so cruelly of me," and she burst into a 
 passionate flood of tears. 
 
 "Alice, dear child," cried Mrs. Craven, de- 
 lighted at the success of her scheme, yet not 
 unmoved by the sight of her distress, "you 
 take a mere trifle far too much to heart. The 
 boasting of a man like Harold Neale, who 
 really knows nothing- of society, is not worth a 
 moment's thought. I saw nothing whatever 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 101 
 
 to remark in j-our conduct. I love your candor 
 and simplicit3^ Go bathe 3'our eyes and let us 
 drive to the Fair. Trust me, my dear, I will 
 always be j^our friend." 
 
 Alice's heart thrilled with warmest grati- 
 tude as she pressed her trembling- lips to the 
 soft, smiling mouth of the beautiful superior 
 being who deigned to love her. 
 
 But even Mrs. Craven's boundless condescen- 
 sion could not console her. 
 
 Moreover, she recognized, with a keen sense 
 of degradation, that Harold was right. She 
 loved him, and her ideal was shattered. She 
 must forget her own folly and try to be worthy 
 of the friendship so generously bestowed on her. 
 Indeed, she was almost disposed to think she 
 ought to marry Wilfred Nevin out of gratitude 
 to his sister. 
 
 " Alice is already disposed to regard you 
 with a sort of grateful kindness which will lead 
 her further. I suspect Neale has been— know- 
 ingly or not — a bit of a traitor. Be ready to 
 start for Chicago on receipt of a message from 
 me. Keep out of Neale's way. Your letters 
 do you credit ; continue them. And let me 
 have the guardian's address — I mean Bond ; I 
 maj' want to see him." 
 
 So wrote Marv Craven to her brother. 
 
102 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ' '' Could you not steal a march on your schem- 
 ing- sister and come up secretl}^ for a couple of 
 days ? I feel as if a long- talk with you would 
 do me good, for shortly the * Kang-aroo ' will 
 have me forever, except now and again, of 
 course." 
 
 So wrote the charming Mrs. Wainwright to 
 the exiled lover. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 When Harold Neale reached Peekskill he 
 found his mother in a critical condition, but 
 slightly better. The doctor in attendance had 
 wrestled with the disease successfull.y, but in 
 her weak state feared a relapse. It was not 
 until she had been carefully prepared that the 
 sufferer was allowed to see her son. His 
 mother could only smile faintly as Harold bent 
 over her and took her thin, nearly transparent 
 hand in his with infinite tenderness. He could 
 not for a few moments trust his voice. He 
 knew the loneliness of her life. She could never 
 open her heart to any of her children, except 
 to Harold, the strongest and most combative 
 of them all. Between the mother and son 
 there was profound sympathy, and the dream 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 103 
 
 of Harold's maturer manhood was to make the 
 evening- of her days peaceful, bright and full of 
 affection and warmth. With his father, Har- 
 old had little in common. Mr. Neale, Sr., was 
 narrow and domineering-, and years of rheuma- 
 tism were beginning- to enfeeble him, and make 
 his stern and once equable temper irritable, at 
 times querulous. 
 
 From the time her son returned Mrs. Neale 
 began slowly, very slowly, to gain strength ; 
 but for several weeks she required the utmost 
 care. Her son's daily visits and quiet talk 
 comforted and supported the mother. 
 
 With all his tender care for, and anxiety 
 about, his mother, Harold's thoughts often 
 strayed to the drama he knew was being en- 
 acted in Chicago. The honest preference Alice 
 had shown for him had completed the charm 
 she exercised. It would be a delicious occupa- 
 tion to win the full, womanly love of this deli- 
 cate creature, whose gentleness was not weak, 
 whose ignorance was not dull. What a con- 
 trast to his first stormy love affair and to some 
 slighter experiences through which he had since 
 passed ! Her wealth was a hindrance. What 
 had he to offer that could in any way balance 
 it ? He was pondering these things with more 
 than usual bitterness, because his anxiety about 
 his mother had been somewhat relieved. 
 
104 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 While lie was thus meditating- one of the men 
 of the farm came to tell him that a gentleman 
 at the house wished to sec him, and to his sur- 
 prise he found Major Craven. 
 
 '' Surprised to see me, eh ? " said the major, 
 shaking hands cordially. ** Chicago got too 
 hot and dusty for me, and I got tired of the 
 great Fair, but Mrs. Craven means to see it 
 out ; I am a great deal more comfortable on 
 the Hudson, anj'-hoAv." 
 
 Harold rather liked Major Craven, and by no 
 ineans envied him the possession of his peerless 
 wife. After a long and rambling talk, he reverted 
 again to his wife. " I never knew Mrs. Craven 
 stay so long in either Chicago or New York, 
 she generally wants to quit earlier ; but she 
 is on another tack now," he nodded knowingly. 
 " Of course you are in the secret ! It's her 
 anxiety about her brother that is keeping her. 
 You know what a slipper^'' fellow Nevin is. He 
 has given Mrs. Craven lots of trouble. It's 
 quite natural she should try and secure that 
 heiress she has picked up for him ; nice little 
 girl — too good for Wilfred, I think." 
 
 Harold murmured an inarticulate assent. 
 
 '* Yes ; it has given Mrs. Craven a lot of 
 trouble. She doesn't think I know it, but I 
 do ! " he chuckled. ''She is far too spunky to 
 confess herself beaten if she can help it, and so 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 105 
 
 I say nothing ; but I'm pretty sure Wilfred 
 was refused. I suspect mj-- precious brother-in- 
 law, thoug-h, is much more cut up about Mrs. 
 Wain Wright's engagement to old Smith, which 
 has just been announced." 
 
 " Has it ? " cried Harold, with vivid interest, 
 his heart beating quickly at the dim, delightful 
 possibility suggested bj^ Craven's revelations. 
 
 " Ay ! it is a good thing ; it will be diamond 
 cut diamond with them; but the poor little 
 Californian, Alice Ashland, that is a different 
 matter. However, I can't interfere. I'm quite 
 sure my wife is biding her time ; she'll bring 
 up her man to the scratch again. She holds on 
 like grim death to anything she takes up. 
 You used to be chums in your boy-and-girl 
 days, she tells me, and she is one who never 
 forgets old times. I can tell you, yow are a 
 prime favorite still," 
 
 After the major left Harold went to sit 
 a while with his mother, as was his wont in the 
 afternoon, but he scarce knew what he talked 
 about. That Nevin had been refused was more 
 than he expected. He did not anticipate such 
 decision on Alice's part. 
 
 It was by an effort he brought his thoughts 
 under control, and compelled himself to show 
 his usual care in trying to amuse and interest 
 the invalid. 
 
106 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 She was surprised and pleased to hear of the 
 major's visit. The little description of Major 
 Craven's appearance and its results excited and 
 fatigued her. Harold, therefore, seeing- she was 
 inclined to sleep, left her earlier than he usually 
 did, and calling his favorite dog, set forth on 
 a solitary ramble, to commune with his own 
 heart, to search out his spirit, and strive to 
 come to some conclusion respecting his future 
 line of conduct. 
 
 As he pressed up the side of the historic 
 Catskills with firm, elastic tread, his spirits 
 rose, his purpose disengaged itself from the 
 mist of doubt and depression which had blurred 
 it, and at length, reaching a shad^^ nook, where 
 many a time in bygone days he had secluded 
 himself to plan his future, or to think of beau- 
 tiful Mary ISTevin, he lay down, and the dog sat 
 gravely beside him with an air of alertness, as 
 if determined to keep watch while his master 
 slept or rested. 
 
 But sleep and dreams were far from Harold's 
 brain. His thoiights began to take order. If 
 Nevin had tried his hand and failed, one bar- 
 rier to his own progress was removed. Why 
 should he not do his best to win what he so 
 ardently desired ? How was it that he had so 
 quickly grown to love this quiet, half-developed 
 girl ? Only his heart answered : " I love her." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 107 
 
 What a restful home such a woman could 
 make ! And this defenseless creature was at 
 the mercy of mere intrig'uers, reckless of her 
 happiness. It was the dutj' of any disinterested 
 friend to rescue her if possible. 
 
 " She liked me better than any of the rest — 
 I think she did ; but I oug-ht not to be too sure. 
 I am half inclined to try my luck. If I fail; she 
 would be no worse off than she is now. If she 
 cares for me, I could make her happy in her own 
 way. I wish she hadn't that pot of money. I'd 
 rather she hadn't a rap ; it would only make me 
 more eager to marry her ! Then she is so 
 lonely, so unprotected ! Old Mrs. Williams is 
 a fine old woman, but no companion for Alice. 
 How desolate she is ! I must make my father 
 come to a definite arrang-ement. ' The laborer is 
 worthy of his hire.' " 
 
 Then the regular sequence of thought became 
 confused with sweet, glowing* visions of perfect 
 understanding, of rest and security, of gentle 
 caresses. Yes, as soon as his mother was a 
 little stronger he would return to Chicago and 
 risk an avowal of his hopes and fears. When 
 could he start ? His mother was distinctly out 
 of danger, and his sister could stay a couple of 
 weeks longer. Yes, he would tell his mother 
 that a matter of vital importance required his 
 presence in Chicago, and she would let him go. 
 
108 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 Soon he hoped to return Avith news that would 
 comfort and cheer her. 
 
 So, in a restless but hopeful mood, Harold 
 Neale rose up, a clear purpose once more 
 steadying his will, and walked home less rap- 
 idly than he had set forth. 
 
 At the entrance he met his sister with a let- 
 ter in her hand. " Oh, Harold, I have been 
 looking everywhere for you. I have just heard 
 from Walter " (her husband). ''His uncle is 
 going back to Texas, and has wired us to say 
 he is coming to-morrow for a Aveek just to bid 
 us good-b3% and I must be at home to do the 
 honors, for you know he is a very important 
 personage to us, and really, mother would 
 rather have j'^ou than any of us." 
 
 "But wait a bit, Annie. I want very much 
 to go to Chicago." 
 
 " I am really very sorry, Harold, but I can- 
 not stay. I have ordered Tod to bring round 
 the buggy ; I can just catch the 5:20 and reach 
 home about nine." 
 
 Harold was fairly caught. Destinj-^ was too 
 strong for him. He could not leave his mother, 
 and his sister's absence was prolonged. Mean- 
 time letters of tender inquiry from Mrs. Craven, 
 both to Harold and the invalid, came frequently, 
 but with rare mention of Alice. Yet Harold 
 could make out that she was still residing with 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 109 
 
 her fascinating- protectress. At last his sister 
 returned to take her place beside the delicate 
 mother, and the same day Harold Neale set 
 out for Chicago. 
 
 Mrs. Craven was growing cross and impa- 
 tient ; she was tired of the Windy City and its 
 "greatest show on earth." She had several 
 tempting invitations to join some friends at 
 Newport and one- still more attractive within 
 a dozen miles of Peekskill. ''If only Alice 
 could make up her mind to marry Wilfred and 
 have done with it." 
 
 Still she kept a fair face and watched un- 
 ceasingly for the right moment at which Nevin 
 might reappear, 
 
 Alice was very still and humble, looking and 
 feeling miserable. She had learned enough of 
 Ward McAllister's world to know that Mrs. 
 Craven would be leaving Chicago, and still 
 nothing was said about Alice accompany- 
 ing her. 
 
 ''1 ought to prepare for returning home, 
 dear Mrs. Craven," said Alice, timidly, one 
 morning when the servants had left the room. 
 
 "Not yet, Alice. I shall be leaving Chicago 
 for a few weeks and I need not say how much I 
 need you to stay with me. Besides — but I don't 
 like to talk of future plans just yet. Tell me, 
 
110 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 dear, would it annoy j'ou if Wilfred were to 
 come here ? I want ver^- much to see him. He 
 writes to say he wants to g-o to Mexico, or any- 
 wiiere out of the States " — with a sig-h ; "and 
 you need not mind, for he has resolved to be 
 your friend, if he can be no more." 
 
 " Of course I cannot expect .to banish your 
 brother, and I am very grateful to him for 
 wishing- to be vay friend," said Alice, coloring- 
 and looking embarrassed. " But the studio 
 will soon be closed, and then I think I oug-ht to 
 return to iwy old home and poor Mrs. Williams. 
 You have taught me much and done me a g-reat 
 deal of g-ood." 
 
 " Poor, dear child," said Mrs. Craven, " how 
 frig-htfully dull it will be for you ! " 
 
 "1 never used to be dull at Santa Cruz," re- 
 turned Alice, thoughtfullj' ; '^ yet somehow I 
 feel as if I should be now." 
 
 "You must not stay there long," said Mr^. 
 Craven. "When do you say your studio 
 closes ?^' 
 
 "On the 19th." 
 
 " Why, that is only tw^o weeks off," and Mrs. 
 Craven was silent for a few minutes ; then 
 apologizing for leaving- Alice, she soon after 
 went out. 
 
 Alice was accustomed to be left alone of late ; 
 she did not in the least resent Mrs. Craven".: 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. Ill 
 
 desertion ; she accepted it as unavoidable, but 
 it depressed her with the sense of being of no 
 importance to an}^ one. Moreover, that ter- 
 rible speech of Neale's, as reported to her, had 
 destro3^ed her self-reliance. If her conduct was 
 such as to create so false an impression, the less 
 she saw of strangers and society the better, 
 A feeling of gratitude toward ISTevin began to 
 develop in her heart, though she did not wish 
 to see him, for she had never felt quite at ease 
 with him. 
 
 She had been full of these thoughts as she 
 walked back after her morning's work, a couple 
 of days after the above conversation, and rang 
 the door-bell almost mechanically. 
 
 " Mrs. Craven is in the drawing - room, 
 ma'am," said the servant, waving her hand 
 invitingly in that direction. 
 
 Alice, taking it for granted that her hostess 
 wished to speak to her, walked into the room, 
 but instead of Mrs. Craven she found a gentle- 
 man reading a newspaper. At the sound of the 
 opening door he threw it aside and started to 
 his feet. It was Wilfred Nevin. 
 
 Alice could scarcelj^ resist the desperate in- 
 clination to run away; she was startled, 
 ashamed, disposed to cry. Nevin looked ill, 
 too, and less debonair than usual. He has- 
 tened to put her at her ease. 
 
112 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 '•' I am inclined to apologrize for being here, 
 Miss Ashland,'* he said, pressing her hand for 
 a moment. " I really did not think there was 
 any chance of our meeting this morning," and 
 he smiled pleasantly. "As it has so happened, 
 may I speak frankly — may I beg you to let by- 
 gones be b3'gones ? Allow me the privilege of 
 friendship during the short time I shall be in 
 America. It would make my last days with 
 my sister so much brighter." He paused sud- 
 denly, as if in great emotion. 
 
 ''You are very kind," cried Alice, delighted 
 with the proposition. " I shall be so glad to 
 have 3'-ou for a friend. It is more than I could 
 expect that you should care for mj^ friendship." 
 
 ''You know how much I cared," began 
 Nevin, but checking himself. "We are not to 
 revert to bygones. Tell me, how are your 
 studies progressing ? I expect to see great 
 things. I assure you I often wished you could 
 have seen the Catskills or the Palisades on the 
 Hudson. I was always finding subjects for 
 sketches ; indeed, I was almost tempted to try 
 my own hand," etc., etc. 
 
 And Ahce, a good deal to her surprise, found 
 herself launched into an easj^ conversation on 
 art and scenery with the man she shrank from 
 meeting three short hours ago. 
 
 '• Wh3% Alice," cried Mrs. Craven, coming in 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 113 
 
 quickly, "I had no idea you were here." She 
 spoke in a tone of surprise. 
 
 A little pleasant chat ensued, then Nevin said 
 he had promised to call on some friends and 
 rose to go. 
 
 *' Come back to dinner," said his sister, " and 
 be sure you do nothing' rash — nothing at all, 
 indeed, until you consult me." 
 
 Nevin laughed, bowed to Alice and with- 
 drew. 
 
 "He is looking wretchedly'- ill, isn't he ? " said 
 Mrs. Craven, turning to Alice. " Poor fellow, 
 I am so glad you have got jowo meeting over in 
 this accidental way ; it would be foolish not to 
 be good friends ; indeed, there is no reason why 
 you should not." 
 
 ISTevin's return appeared to break the spell of 
 undefined discomfort that had oppressed both 
 Alice and her hostess. He made himself a 
 pleasant, unobtrusive companion. He talked 
 of his future life in remote regions and ex- 
 pressed a manly regret for his wasted youth, his 
 lost opportunities. Alice began to feel like an 
 indulgent sister to a prodigal but penitent 
 brother. 
 
 Mr. Robert Bond was busy as usual over his 
 papers and accounts one sultry morning. He 
 wore a look of satisfaction ; a fresh victim had 
 
114 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 just effected a loan through his ''agenc}'," as 
 he termed it, and he had been calculating- his 
 immediate and prospective gains. In this 
 agreeable occupation he was roused by the en- 
 trance of his shock-headed boy, who placed a 
 note before his master, and said, interroga- 
 tively : "See her ? " 
 
 Mr. Bond shoved his glasses a little nearer 
 his eyes, opened the note and read : " Can you 
 speak to Mrs. Craven for a few minutes? " 
 
 " O Lord ! " ejaculated Bond, in a low tone, 
 hastily folding up the note again. " A.j, let 
 her come in — let her come in." 
 
 He started up and pushed away his chair, 
 and was half-way across the room when his 
 visitor entered. 
 
 What an apparition of loveliness for his sor- 
 did chamber ! A very perfect costume of sil- 
 very-gray satin and grenadine and shiny gray 
 beads ; a bonnet, also gray, with downj^ soft 
 feathers, tipped Mith silver, in the Mesdames 
 McCrae's best style; gloves and shoes and 
 parasol all delicately matching, lent to and 
 borrowed from the wearer additional beauty. 
 Even old Bond was impressed and hesitated 
 how to address this dazzling vision. 
 
 With a half -surprised, half - contemptuous 
 glance Mrs. Craven took in the details of the 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 115 
 
 room and recognized the effect she produced on 
 the owner. 
 
 " Do 3'ou know who I am ? " she asked, 
 showing- her white teeth with a frank, amused 
 smile. 
 
 " I think I do, I think I do, ma'am ; mj'- 
 lady, you are Mr. Kevin's sister ; let me give 
 you a chair." 
 
 '' I want to talk to you about my brother and 
 your ward," said Mrs. Craven, seating herself. 
 
 "I am sure, ma'am, I'm all attention. It's 
 a long time since I heard an3^thing of them ; 
 and, indeed, I did not think your brother was 
 the sort of man to let the grass grow under his 
 feet." 
 
 ''On the contrary, his precipitancy has 
 nearly ruined all our plans. I say 'our,' Mr. 
 Bond, for, though I have not the pleasure of 
 knowing j'ou, I know all your plans and the 
 bargain you made with my brother." 
 
 " Eh ! do you know ? " grinning confusedly, 
 and pressing the nib of a pen on a rather black 
 thumb-nail. "Well, I did think that little — a 
 — agreement was to be a secret between Mr. 
 Nevin and m^^self, of course." 
 
 "Of course," interrupted Mrs. Craven. "It 
 was quite right and natural that he should con- 
 fide the whole affair to me, especially as neither 
 of you could have carried out your scheme 
 
116 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 without mj' help. It is equally natural that 
 you should look after your own interests, 
 thoug-h straitlaced people might say the means 
 you took to secure them were not exactly cred- 
 itable." 
 
 '•' Well, you see, as mj^ friend Teddy says, 
 what people say of me doesn't reach my 
 ears," returned Bond, with a deprecatory 
 writhe, rubbing his hands tog-ether. ''And 
 how is Mr. Nevin getting on, may I be so bold 
 as to ask? " 
 
 "He is not getting on at all," cried Mrs. 
 Craven, with a burst. " He is such an impa- 
 tient creature, and your ward is an obstinate 
 simpleton. He proposed too soon, and she re- 
 fused him." 
 
 •' Great Scott ! think of that now. Such a 
 fine, elegant gentleman. I didn't think any 
 young lady would say him nay," and Bond 
 began nervously to gather up the papers which 
 la}'- about and sort them in an unconscious 
 way. "And do you mean to say thej^ cannot 
 agree ? " 
 
 "I intend that they shall agree," said Mrs. 
 Craven, closing her mouth firmly. 
 
 " Then, what do 3'ou mean to do, mj^ lady — I 
 mean ma'am ? " asked Bond, again nibbling the 
 top of his pen. 
 
 "Listen. I have not much time to spend 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 117 
 
 here, and if 3'ou intend to get your money you 
 must help me. I suspect that Miss Ashland 
 has taken a fanc}^ to a very unsuitable person, 
 whom she unfortunately'- met at my residence, 
 and one who would not lose an atom of his just 
 rights to save your life. He would be more 
 likely to expose what he considered a fraud 
 than lend himself to anj^ little arrangement 
 that might facilitate matters. In short, he 
 must not interfere with my brother." 
 
 '' N"o, certainly not ; that's right." 
 
 Mrs. Craven's ej^es rested with unspeakable 
 disdain on the withered, ignoble face oppo- 
 site her. 
 
 '^I'm sure you have only to command me," 
 added Bond. 
 
 ''I have managed to bring my brother and 
 Miss Ashland together again, and she is play- 
 ing at friendship with him. Let them pursue- 
 that game for a while, then you must strike a 
 blow and cut off her retreat. Your sister is 
 her companion? " 
 
 " She is." 
 
 " And I presume you have a good deal of in- 
 fluence on Mrs. — " 
 
 ''Williams," put in Bond. ''Yes," rubbing 
 his hands softly, " I rather thmli I have." 
 
 "Then you must make her give up her en- 
 gagement with Miss Ashland. Invent some- 
 
118 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 thing imperative ; rent that cottage at Santa 
 Cruz or sell it ; cut off her supports, leave her 
 no ' stand-by ' but Mr. Nevin. She is peculiarly 
 desolate ; this ought to make her thank her 
 stars that she has found such a protector as my 
 brother." 
 
 "My sister will no doubt do as I bid her," 
 said Bond, laying down his pen. " But it seems 
 a little strange to me that you should be so 
 desperately anxious to get my ward for your 
 brother. Grand people like you might have a 
 choice of heiresses, I should think." 
 
 " Heiresses fenced round with bristling 
 hedges of relatives, well up as Joseph Bulfinch 
 in the private history of every man in society, 
 and cousms anxious to keep the money in 
 the famil.y. Do not waste my time and your 
 own in idle conjecture. Will you follow my 
 suggestion, or shall we break off negotiations 
 and send your ward back to the wilds 
 from which you dragged her, poor child ! for 
 your own ends ? " 
 
 ''I don't pretend to be an angel no more 
 than Mr. Nevin does, but I thought, and I still 
 think, I was doing the best I could for Miss 
 Ashland by pushing her marriage. I'm of your 
 opinion, that this shilly-shallying ought to be 
 put a stop to ; but you are as quick as a flash of 
 lightning and down on a man before he knows 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 119 
 
 where he is. 1 think j'ouv idea is very good, 
 ver}^ good, and you'll see I'll not be long- in act- 
 ing on it. I'll get Mrs. Williams off to Puget 
 Sound and give her permanent employment 
 among tJie clams. But I hope when the knot 
 is tied hard and fast Mr. Nevin will not object 
 to a little annuity in consideration of the help 
 she is giving him." 
 
 ''She is helping you, too, Mr. Bond," said 
 Mrs. Craven, shrewdly, " and I hope you will 
 not prove ungrateful." She rose as she spoke. 
 " We understand each other, then," she con- 
 tinued. " Our interests are alike. I suppose I 
 may depend on you ? " 
 
 "I'll be as true as the needle to the pole," 
 cried Bond, enthusiastically. 
 
 Mrs. Craven laughed as, with a slight nod of 
 her head, she left the room. 
 
 "Well, I've seen a few clippers in my life, 
 but she ' takes the cake,' as they say ; regular 
 fire and tow ! There's something more than her 
 anxiety about her brother under it all. As to 
 m^'- sister, she dare not refuse me anything. 
 I must send her to Clallam or some other hole 
 in the Northwest." 
 
 Meanwhile, Mrs. Craven drove off down State 
 Street, and her carriage was obliged to stop 
 near " Serjel Coopers," on account of a block. 
 As she looked listlessly at the passers-by she 
 
120 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 suddenly rccog-nized Harold Nealo, coming- from 
 the " L " road. She waved her hand and caught 
 his eye. He came readily enough, and the next 
 instant she was exclaiming, with smiling lips : 
 "Back again in Chicago, Mr. Neale ! What 
 on earth has brought you here ? " 
 
 CHAPTER VHI. 
 
 "My mother is considerably better and out 
 of danger, and I have some important busi- 
 ness to attend to here," replied Harold, shaking 
 her hand. 
 
 " Shall you be long in Chicago ? " she asked. 
 
 '' Only a day or two.'* 
 
 " We are, unfortunately, going out to dinner 
 to-day, but can you look in and have a cup of 
 tea a little before four ? " 
 
 ^'Certainly, I shall be most happy," returned 
 Harold, his eyes lighting up with ]oy. 
 
 ''Do not be late." She kissed her hand to 
 him as she stepped back and signed to the 
 driver that he might go on. 
 
 "He is not handsome," thought Mrs. Cra- 
 ven, "but how much better looking than most 
 handsome men. Oh, no one ever loved me as 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 121 
 
 Harold did. and I treated him abominably. I 
 think he likes me a little still." 
 
 Then the horrible suspicion flashed across her 
 brain : Could the light that came to his eyes 
 have been evoked by the prospect of meeting- 
 Alice Ashland ? No, impossible ! Mrs. Wain- 
 wright was dreaming ; yet " He shall not see 
 her" was her fixed determination, as she 
 alighted within a short distance of her own 
 door and dismissed the conveyance. 
 
 "Has Mr. Nevin been here this morning?" 
 asked Mrs. Craven, as she entered the house. 
 
 ''No, ma'am," said the butler. 
 
 " Then send to the Auditorium and say I 
 want to speak to him at once ; if Mr. Nevin is 
 not there, let him be found." 
 
 "Very well, ma'am." 
 
 Mrs. Craven went to her room. 
 
 At lunch Major Craven, who had also re- 
 turned from the East, joined his wife and Miss 
 Ashland. 
 
 " I have written to Mrs. Williams and Mr. 
 Watts," said Alice, "telling them that the stu- 
 dio would be closed next week, and that you 
 cannot staj^ in Chicago much longer, therefore 
 I had better return home." 
 
 " Well, dear, I wish you had spoken to me 
 before you wrote. I shall not leave Chicago 
 before the end of next month, and though I 
 
122 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 cannot exactly fix mj^ plans, there is time 
 enough; you need not be in such a hurry to 
 run away from us." 
 
 " No, let us all go back to my place on the 
 Hudson together. You don't want to go to 
 Newport this year, Mary ? " said Major Craven. 
 
 "I shall not commit myself," she returned, 
 laughing..- Nevin preserved an expressive si- 
 lence, his eyes fixed on his plate. 
 
 *'I do not wish to go, indeed I do not," 
 said Alice, earnestly. " You are all so good to 
 me, but I fear to be in your way, and I do not 
 want to desert my own home." 
 
 ''And we are, of course, tired of so tiresome 
 and naughty a little girl," said Mrs. Craven, 
 with a pleasant smile. " However, things will 
 arrange themselves. I was going to propose, 
 as it is such a fine day, to drive to Lincoln Park; 
 unfortunately, I have had a manifesto from 
 Mme. Abbott, who is coming to try on my 
 fall costumes and plan an evening dress or two, 
 and if I lose this chance I may not catch her 
 again, for Abbott is a personage, I assure 
 you." 
 
 " I am very sorry," cried Alice, impul- 
 sively. 
 
 "Never mind. Miss Ashland ; I'm a capital 
 whip, and will drive you carefully. What do 
 you say ? " said Nevin. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 133 
 
 ''An excellent suggestion/' exclaimed Mrs. 
 Craven. " Will you accept it, Alice ? " 
 
 " Yes ; thank you very much." 
 
 " Then I will order the bug-g-y to come round 
 at three, and you'll have a nice long- afternoon. 
 Ring the bell, Wilfred." 
 
 ''Ha! Nevin, yon haven't served your ap- 
 prenticeship to drawing-room life for noth- 
 ing ! " said Major Craven, significantly. 
 
 His wife looked at him with a warning frown. 
 
 The major rose soon after and left the room, 
 saying he was going to the Hawthorne races. 
 
 Mrs. Craven soon followed his example and 
 Alice went to get herself read}--. 
 
 " I must steer with caution," thought Harold 
 Neale, as he rang the bell at the Craven resi- 
 dence and was admitted into the cool, per- 
 fumed hall. 
 
 "This way, sir," said the butler, ushering 
 him upstairs to a small room where Mrs. Cra- 
 ven sat in softened light amid a profusion of 
 delicious flowers, fresh from a second toilet. 
 
 " Bring the tea; and, Christina, I am not at 
 home." 
 
 The girl bowed obedience and retired. 
 
 "I'm quite glad to hear all about your 
 mother and dear old Peekskill," said Mrs. Cra- 
 ven. " I hope your mother improves ? " 
 
124 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 "Very slowly. Yet she does improve. I 
 doubt, however, if she will toe able to stand the 
 winter, though we have the most sheltered spot 
 on the Hudson. I think I shall take her to 
 California." 
 
 " It must be a great comfort for her having 
 you at home," returned Mrs. Craven, and she 
 continued to speak of their mutual experiences 
 in the past, approaching dexterously the scene 
 of their stormj^ parting, with the in ten fcion both 
 of eliciting some expression of his feelings from 
 Harold and of giving her own explanation of 
 the fact that she threw him over for a wealth}^ 
 suitor. 
 
 But her skill was unavailing. Harold's eyes 
 wandered nervously with an expectant look to 
 the door, by which he supposed every moment 
 Alice would appear. 
 
 '' Are you not a little distrait, Mr. Neale ? " 
 she asked, with a well-go t-up air of playful- 
 ness. " Who are you looking for — Wilfred or 
 Miss Ashland ?" 
 
 " I rather expected to find Miss Ashland with 
 you," said Harold, with such unhesitating 
 frankness that Mrs. Craven was a little re- 
 assured. '' Wilfred is not in Chicago, I heard." 
 
 ''Yes, he ivas away," said Mrs. Craven, 
 slowly, for she was making up her mind for 
 a big, bold lie. " But he came back about a 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 126 
 
 week ag-o, and I am sure you will be glad to 
 hear that my hopes have been fulfilled. Miss 
 Ashland and Wilfred are engaged ; and he has 
 driven her to Lincoln Park to-da3^ I ^i^ sure 
 Wilfred will be a very devoted husband, as he 
 ought to be, for she sincerely loves him." 
 
 Silence. It was a most unexpected blow, and 
 for a moment Harold was stunned. He rallied 
 himself by an effort. 
 
 ''I congratulate you," he said, looking down. 
 " I hope Nevin will do her justice. Miss Ash- 
 land seems to me something of a home bird." 
 
 " Like other women, she will probably be- 
 come what her circumstances make her," said 
 Mrs. Craven, shortly. " As the engagement 
 is only just made, I beg you will not speak of 
 it at present to any one." 
 
 *' Certainly'- not, if you desire it." 
 
 ''I am going back to the Hudson," continued 
 Mrs. Craven, wishing to avoid the subject, '' to 
 refresh mj^self with a glimpse of the dear old 
 Catskills." 
 
 ''Indeed! It is long since you were there. 
 New York has claimed j^ou since your mar- 
 riage." 
 
 " Yes ; but I long to see the old spot. Shall 
 you be at home in October ? " 
 
 " I suppose so." 
 
 *' Then you must be my guide, philosopher and 
 
126 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 friend in the scenes of my youth," said Mrs. 
 Craven, stealing a watchful glance at his som- 
 ber countenance. 
 
 "I am, of course, at j^our service." 
 
 ''If you are disengaged to-morrow," said 
 Mrs. Craven, as he rose to go, " come to din- 
 ner and meet the affianced ones." She told 
 herself : '' He will not come." 
 
 '' If I settle my business to-morrow morning 
 I am bound to catch the night mail home," 
 said Harold. ''Should I not see 3'ou before I 
 go, pray congratulate Wilfred for me at the 
 right moment. Good-by." 
 
 " He came here to seek her. Wainwright is 
 right, for once. How gallantly he took it. 
 How his eyes sought that door. Oh, how dif- 
 ferent he is from the willow-wands of men 
 that surround me ! " So soliloquized Mrs. 
 Craven as she stood looking after Harold 
 Neale for a minute, with her brows knit and a 
 look of victory and love written on her beauti- 
 ful face. Mrs. Craven was not surprised to 
 receive a line from Neale : " He found it neces- 
 sary to return home immediatel3\ " 
 
 " I wonder what real business he had in Chi- 
 cago," she thought. " At anj' rate, he is safe 
 out of the way. When he meets Alice again 
 she shall be Mrs. Wilfred Nevin." 
 
 Another week had nearly passed and Alice 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 127 
 
 had had no answer from Mrs. Williams. Mr. 
 Watts had paid her a visit and stayed to lunch- 
 eon, where he seemed anything- but comfort- 
 able. On Friday morning-, however, she re- 
 ceived two terrible letters. One from Mr. Bond, 
 saying that he and Mr. Watts had accepted a 
 very g-ood offer for the Santa Cruz cottag-e and 
 let it on lease. 
 
 The other was from poor Mrs. Williams, and 
 was an incoherent production ; something- about 
 a broken heart at having- to leave Santa Cruz 
 and her dear Alice, praying- God to bless her 
 and restore them to each other. 
 
 Besides the letter a scrap of paper had been 
 thrust into the envelope, on which were the 
 words : '^ I can't help myself, dear; I can't, in- 
 deed. I'll tell you all yet ; wait a bit, and 
 bum this." 
 
 Alice read both letters before she grasped 
 the situation. Without a home, a tie, a claim 
 on any one, what was to become of her ? 
 Where was she to turn ? 
 
 There was a ting-e of mystery, too, in this 
 sudden wrenching- asunder of Mrs. Williams 
 and herself that completed her distress. 
 
 Bond was at the bottom of it. She had an 
 innate distrust of Bond. Mr. Watts, thoug-h so 
 much nicer, was a mere puppet in his hands. 
 
 Alice sat down, hoping Mrs. Craven might 
 
128 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 come in before going- out, as she often did in the 
 forenoon. Once more she read Mr. Bond's let- 
 ter, thinking" all the time she heard his thin, 
 harsh voice uttering the smooth sentences, and 
 almost seeing his sycophantic grin. Her pulse 
 beat quick with an indignant sense of helpless- 
 ness. Why did they tear Mrs. Williams from 
 her, and why, oh ! why did not Mrs. Craven 
 come ? 
 
 As she thought, the handle of the door 
 turned. At the sound Alice started up and 
 went forward so eagerly that she nearly rushed 
 into Nevin's arms as he came in. She was too 
 full of her troubles to be in any way confused. 
 
 '' Oh, where — where is Mrs.- Craven ? " she 
 exclaimed, with a genuine ring of distress in her 
 voice. 
 
 ''She has just gone out," he returned, look- 
 ing earnestly at her. 
 
 " How unfortunate ! I wanted her so much," 
 and a great sob rose in her throat, in spite of 
 her brave effort to be calm. 
 
 '' What has happened ? " asked Nevin, with 
 grave sympathy. " Can I be of any use ? " 
 
 Alice looked at him for a moment of doubt 
 and then broke out : " No, no ; no one can be 
 of any use to me ! Mr. Bond can do what he 
 likes ! " 
 
 " Old rascal ! What has he been about ? " 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 139 
 
 asked Nevin, with an accent of real wrath that 
 fitted Alice's mood exactly. *' I see," he con- 
 tinued, ''3'-ou have letters. Are they the 
 trouble ? Am I presuming too much if I ask 
 to know what distresses you ? M3'' sister will 
 not return for an hour or so. It might be a 
 relief to tell me, even me,'^ with a grave 
 smile. 
 
 " I should be very glad, as you are so good 
 as to care. Read these and you will not won- 
 der at my feeling desolate." She handed him 
 the letters and threw herself on the lounge with 
 self-abandonment very new to her. 
 
 Nevin read both epistles in silence, then sat 
 down b}^ her and returned them to her. 
 
 "Very hard lines for you," he said. *' But I 
 do not see how it is to be helped." (Alice had 
 loyally burned poor Mrs. Williams's private 
 note.) 
 
 '•' Don't you see it takes away from me any 
 shadow of home ? When Mrs. Craven goes I 
 shall be quite — quite alone ! " cried Alice. 
 
 '' And Mary has so many engagements," said 
 Nevin, as if to himself, beginning to pace to and 
 fro with a troubled air. ''That will not last 
 long, however. You can make a home where 
 3^ou choose." 
 
 "I am afraid I cannot ! Where can I go ? 
 To some strange old ladj^, who will not like 
 
130 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 rae ? For I do not get on with people — I am 
 misunderstood," and she thoug-ht of Harold. 
 
 "But when they know you they love you ! " 
 cried Nevin, and continued his walk in silence 
 till Alice rose, saying : 
 
 "Nothing can be done till I see Mrs. Cra- 
 ven." 
 
 " Stay — stay for a few minutes, Miss Ash- 
 land, I have a solution to propose," said Nevin, 
 with agitation. "Pray hear it patiently." He 
 had thoroughly dramatic instincts and threw 
 himself into his part, be the part Avhat it 
 might. 
 
 Alice sat down again. He had so effectively 
 played the calm friend that Alice hardly antici- 
 pated what was coming. 
 
 " I ought not, perhaps, to revert to my own 
 wishes," he went on — "wishes I have tried to 
 resign, but cannot. Why, Alice, will you not 
 accept a home With me? No, do not speak 
 yet ; hear me out." He sat down on the lounge 
 beside her. " I can see plainly enough that you 
 have no love for me. I feel too much for you 
 not to perceive your indifference. But as a friend 
 my society gives you some little pleasure. Do 
 I flatter myself too much ? " 
 
 "No, indeed!" cried Alice, eager to make 
 some amends for her guilty coldness ; " you 
 are always nice and pleasant." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 131 
 
 Nevin smiled. " Then do you think it impos- 
 sible for me to make you happy ? Dear Alice 
 (I must call you Alice), you are so deliciously 
 pure and simple you don't know what love is. 
 I will never believe you cared a fig for any 
 man." Alice winced. " Let me try and teach 
 you ; I know your heart, your mind ; I know 
 the sort of life that would suit yow ; I am not 
 a bad fellow. I am a poor man, I cannot 
 tempt you with wealth, but we shall have 
 enough for a quiet life. If you accept me 3^ou 
 can do what you will, independent of guardians 
 or any other nuisance of that kind, and you 
 will make one man very happy." 
 
 His quiet earnestness touched Alice. JSTo one 
 else had ever loved her except poor Mrs. Will- 
 iams, and gratitude alone ought to make her 
 appreciate a ' ' f ree-v/ill " offering like Nevin's 
 love. "Why should she not accept him ; why 
 should she remain friendless any longer ? 
 
 " Will you at least consider my pro- 
 posal? " persisted Nevin, humbly, after a long 
 pause. 
 
 ''You are too good to me," said Alice, 
 softly. ''I feel ashamed of not — of not being 
 in love with yow. I am greatly surprised that 
 you care about me ; I hardly deserve it. You 
 could not like to have a wife who was not in 
 love with you ? " 
 
132 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 " I should like 3'ou to be ray wife on any 
 terms," eagerly. 
 
 ** Afterward you might be very sorry ; I'm 
 so different from — " 
 
 '' That is your greatest charm," he inter- 
 rupted. "You are so fresh, so unlike the 
 women I have been accustomed to. Listen to 
 me. 1 have had the offer of an employment in 
 British Columbia. If you will accept me I will 
 give it up. It is not a place I would take you 
 to. If 5^ou refuse, I will start next week and 
 never — I swear it — never return. My future is 
 in your hands ; do with it what you will." 
 
 Alice was greatly shaken. Firmly believing 
 all he said, it seemed all but imperative on her 
 to accept him. Who would ever care so much 
 for her again ? and she said tremulously : 
 
 " If indeed you think me so necessary to 
 you, if you are satisfied with the sort of feeling 
 I have for you, I think — I think I would try 
 to be very good and careful." 
 
 " If ! " cried Nevin, interrupting her and 
 catching her hand in both his own. "I make 
 no conditions. I only ask the right of a hus- 
 band to be wath you always, to help you, to 
 teach you to love me. Do you know — can you 
 see the delight even this faint consent gives 
 me ? Make it more, more distinct ; give me 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 133 
 
 your promise to be my wife as soon as matters 
 can be arranged." 
 
 ''Yes," said Alice, slowly, almost solemnly, 
 "I will, and I shall love 3^011 when we are mar- 
 ried, I am sure I shall." She spoke calmly, 
 without any of the blushing hesitation natural 
 at such a time. 
 
 Nevin wisely took his tone from her. 
 
 '' How can I thank jo\x enough ? Even for 
 the sake of this delightful moment, I would 
 not have tried to win your consent if I did not 
 believe I could insure your happiness, dearest." 
 
 Alice felt pleased at his earnestness ; but she 
 wanted to go away, to think, to relieve her 
 lieart by a good cry. 
 
 "Must you leave me? "said Nevin, as she 
 made a liiove as if to go ; then he continued : 
 "But I must remember there is some difference 
 in our feelings. I shall see you this evening. 
 Now I have your permission to go and speak to 
 old Bond ; he is sure to be in his office early 
 and late. Good-by, my sweet." 
 
 He opened the door and left her. Then he 
 went into Mrs. Craven's sitting-room again 
 and his sister immediately followed. 
 
 "Well, Mary," he cried, triumphantly, "I'm 
 all right this time. She is fully and completely 
 committed." 
 
 " I am glad ! " exclaimed Mrs. Craven. " I 
 
134 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 did not think you would strike home so deci- 
 sively at the first blow. I am g-lad ! " 
 
 " She is a nice little thing — really, she is ! I 
 was quite pleased with her. But, mind, she is 
 not one bit in love with me — not an atom — and 
 it's reallj^ better. I hope she won't g-row too 
 desperately fond by and by." 
 
 " Nonsense ! Now, the sooner we make it 
 universally' known that you ai^e engaged, the 
 better. Let us 'haste to the wedding.' Ah, 
 Wilfred, 'all's Avell that ends well.' I must go 
 to Alice now. Where is she ? " 
 
 "In her room weeping, I suppose. She ought 
 to have stayed and let me kiss awaj^ her tears." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Mrs. Craven wrote a long letter to Harold 
 Neale, apologizing for not writing since he had 
 left Chicago, but she had been so very busy 
 arranging for Wilfred's wedding, which was to 
 take place on the 23d of the month, for her own 
 part she would not be sorry to see the last of 
 the " billing' and cooing of the turtle-doves." 
 Wilfred talked of inviting him to be best man ; 
 and immediately it was over, she intended to 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 135 
 
 leave Chicago for Peekskill, and hoped to have 
 a good time at the old spot. 
 
 Harold Neale read this epistle over a second 
 time. The perusal justified his anticipations. 
 The letter was cunningly contrived to stab 
 him^, and accomplish its end ; but he did not 
 dream it was designed. Her letter seemed to 
 him the natural sequence of her announcement 
 that her brother and Miss Ashland were en- 
 gaged. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mrs. Craven contrived to keep 
 Alice in a constant whirl. She was positively 
 alarmed at the amount of clothes and toilet 
 accessories which her energetic friend declared 
 to be absolutely necessary. 
 
 Major Craven enforced his congratulations 
 with the gift of a handsome bracelet, and made 
 much of her in every way. 
 
 Nevin was constantly with her, and, for the 
 first two weeks, most judicious. He amused 
 her by planning routes, describing the beauties 
 and wonders he was to show her, and he kept 
 her mind full of himself and his projects. Har- 
 old was never mentioned ; indeed, Alice thought 
 she had forgotten him. The guardians were 
 smiling and satisfied. Mrs. "Williams wrote in 
 delight, and said she would beg her brother to 
 let her attend the wedding. 
 
 All looked fair and promising. Alice was 
 
130 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 almost embarrassed by the number of riiig-s 
 and lockets and little costly " charms " to hang 
 to her watch-chain with which Wilfred loaded 
 her. 
 
 " I shall never be able to wear them all. 
 Pray do not bring- me presents every day," she 
 begged. 
 
 " Very well. To hear is to obey. Only, 
 whenever I see anything extra pretty I am 
 seized with an irresistible desire to buy it for 
 5'^ou," urged Nevin. 
 
 And now the last week of Alice's girlish life 
 had begun ; on Wednesday she was to become 
 Mrs. Wilfred Nevin, and at the thought she 
 felt a carious, uneasy creepiness. 
 
 The truth was, that Nevin had begun to get 
 a little tired of the part he had hitherto played 
 with such spirit and judgment. 
 
 Alice felt rather than perceived the indefin- 
 able change ; she told herself she was nervous, 
 childish and unreasonable ; but a vague, un- 
 pleasant impression would grow upon her that 
 Wilfred Nevin, keen, jesting, brightly hard, was 
 a more natural man than the quiet, kindly 
 Nevin, who seemed to understand her thoughts 
 before she uttered them. 
 
 " You are not keeping up to the mark, Wil- 
 fred," said his sister one evening. ''You are 
 allowing the old original Adam to peep out." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 137 
 
 " You ought to remember what a desperate 
 drill I have gone through. Is it to be wondered 
 at that I break out at last ? Never mind, I am 
 going to buy her the ring to-morrow, and I 
 shall be as courteous as a young knight of the 
 troubadour days." 
 
 The 'Ho-morrow " broke brightly and softly. 
 Alice had lain long awake, thinking over her 
 quiet past. If the future promised more color 
 and variety, would it be as free from pain ? 
 
 But the self-commune told upon her, and 
 when Nevin followed her to the drawing-room 
 after luncheon, he asked, tenderly, what had 
 disturbed her, as she looked pale and sad. Of 
 course she assured him she was well and happy, 
 and they talked for a few minutes with renewed 
 confidence on Alice's part. 
 
 " I have ventured to bring you yet another 
 ring," he said, at length, drawing a very small 
 parcel from his pocket. " It is as well to ascer- 
 tain if it is the right size," he added, producing 
 a plain gold ring, and was in the act of trying 
 it on her finger when the butler entered, and, 
 addressing Alice, said : 
 
 "There's a gentleman. Miss Ashland, says 
 his name is Ashland, asking to see you." 
 
 '' Ashland ! " echoed Alice, amazed. But 
 she had scarcely uttered the word when a very 
 
13S ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 tall man, exceedingly brown and sunburned, 
 with dark hair and e^'-es, appeared behind the 
 startled butler, and, pushing- him aside, strode 
 into the room, stopping short in the middle. 
 
 After one comprehensive glance around the 
 room he fixed his piercing eyes on Alice, and 
 asked, in a rough voice : " Are you my cousin, 
 Alice Ashland ? "' 
 
 '•' I am Alice Ashland," she returned, rising 
 in her extreme surprise, " but I do not think I 
 have any cousins." 
 
 ''No, I daresaj^ not," he returned, with a 
 laugh. 
 
 "Pray, who are you, sir?" asked Nevin, 
 haughtily, advancing between Alice and the 
 intruder. 
 
 "I am Thomas Ashland, her uncle John's 
 only surviving son," nodding to Alice. ''But 
 she never even heard of me, I suppose. Our 
 fathers parted years ago. And you " — sharply 
 — " I suppose you are her lover. I'm glad to 
 make your acquaintance. Shake ! Cousin Al- 
 ice, I'll come to your wedding as yonv nearest 
 of kill," and he sat down unasked in one of the 
 brocaded velvet chairs that stood near him. 
 
 Nevin looked at him, a smile stealing around 
 his mouth. He was too sure of his own posi- 
 tion to be disturbed by the intrusion of any 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 139 
 
 eccentric relative. He would neither be uncivil 
 nor admit his claim. 
 
 "Well, my good sir, you cannot expect Miss 
 Ashland to accept you as a relative without 
 something" in the way of credentials. Very 
 possibly what you say is correct, but—" 
 
 "Ah! I understand. Well, I have left all 
 my papers — that is, the attested copies (catch 
 me parting" with the originals ! ) with that old 
 fellow down in the Masonic Temple. You know 
 him. Your guardian, I mean," to Alice. "I 
 seemed to knock him off his perch. He's in a 
 great stew. He told me 3'ou were to be mar- 
 ried Wednesday, 1 think, so I made tracks as 
 fast as I could to have a look at my little 
 cousin, and let her know I've a sense of justice, 
 and, though I'll have my rights, I'm not going 
 to be hard on a young lady, and a pretty one 
 into the bargain." 
 
 An awful fear shot through Nevin's soul. 
 Was this a claimant for Alice's inheritance ? 
 
 " If you are a cousin," she exclaimed, " I 
 shall be ver}^ glad, for I don't seem to have 
 any one belonging to me, and j^ou are a little 
 like a picture of my father's brother John that 
 hangs in the parlor at home." 
 
 " Good ! shake on it. You look like an hon- 
 est girl. I suspect you're in luck," turning to 
 Nevin, after shaking Alice's hand vigorously. 
 
140 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ^'Ma^-^ I ask to what rig-hts j'ou allude?" 
 asked the former, with cold gravity. 
 
 " Great Scott ! The right to all ray father's 
 property and cash of course," returned the 
 stranger, pronaptly. I intend, in justice to vay- 
 self, to prove who I am and to what I am en- 
 titled ; but I won't be'g-reedy if you are friendly. 
 Now, as I feel strange, not to say lost, in this 
 big city, and you seem to have a roomy house, 
 I suppose I may as well take up my quarters 
 with you." 
 
 Alice looked white and frightened. Nevin 
 was too confused to reply, so his young fiancee 
 explained : 
 
 " This is not my house or Mr. Nevin's. His 
 sister, Mrs. Craven, rents it, but I believe the 
 lease expires in a few days." 
 
 " Ha ! that alters the case. Well, a man on 
 the cars from 'Frisco told me to put up at the 
 Sherman. I only arrived late last night, so I'll 
 just stay on there. You see, I have been away 
 in New Zealand digging for gold, kauri gum 
 and everj^thing else. I thought I would take a 
 trip this year to see the great World's Fair 
 and the old man, who had not seen me for over 
 twenty-five j^ears. When I arrived in 'Frisco 
 I tumbled across an old friend of my father's, 
 who told me of his death and the property he 
 had left and how it had all been seized by my 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 141 
 
 cousin— naturally enough. I got some lawyers 
 to hunt things up, found you were in Chicago, 
 and here I am. I don't think you are too glad 
 to see me." 
 
 " You must admit your appearance on the 
 scene is a little startling," said ISTevin. ''Have 
 you seen Mr. Bond, the more active of the two 
 guardians ? " 
 
 '' Not yet. The other old boy talked of him 
 and seemed too frightened to say yes or no 
 without him." 
 
 " Suppose we go and call on Bond together," 
 said Nevin, pleasantly. " I don't want to make 
 mj'^self ridiculous by over-suspicion, but I am 
 sure you are too much a man of the world to 
 expect that I should take you simply on your 
 own word." 
 
 '' Right you are," cried the stranger, start- 
 ing up. "Come along, then; I'll see you 
 again, my pale little cousin." Another strong 
 grasp of the hand and he strode out of the 
 room as abruptly as he had come in. 
 
 Nevin paused a moment to say : '* This 
 threatens to be a serious affair, Alice. You 
 had better keep out of that Kanaka's wa}'. I'll 
 tell Jeams to send Mary to you as soon as she 
 comes in ; let her know everything," and he 
 went hurriedly out of the room. 
 
142 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 Alice had a very vague idea of what it all 
 meant. 
 
 If this strang-er was really a cousin she would 
 be g-lad. His face was kindl}^ in spite of his 
 fierce eyes, and he might be a friend. Her 
 clearest impreSsion was that Mr. Nevin was 
 very gravely and certainly not pleasurably 
 affected by his sudden appearance. Why 
 should he be ? What were the rights he 
 talked about, and what had she to do with 
 them ? Until Mrs. Craven came in it was use- 
 less to conjecture. 
 
 So Alice turned to leave the room and calm 
 herself in her own. As she did so her eyes fell 
 on the wedding-ring which Nevin had been in 
 the act of trying on when her self-called cousin 
 broke in upon them. 
 
 It had been thrown aside, paper and all, on 
 a small tea-table, utterlj'- forgotten by the 
 donor. Alice took it up with a sort of pro- 
 phetic doubt. ''How will the coming of this 
 strange man affect our life?" She only 
 thought that if this Ashland, as he called him- 
 self, proved really to be a rela.tive, it might 
 worry Nevin to associate with him. 
 
 At last, reaching the shelter of her own 
 room, she took refuge from her confused 
 thoughts in a book Harold Neale had once 
 recommended. She was interrupted after more 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 143 
 
 than an hour had elapsed by a tap at her door, 
 hnmediately followed by the entrance of Mrs. 
 Craven in her outdoor dress. 
 
 " They say you want to speak to me, Alice." 
 
 "Yes; I want to speak to you very much," 
 and she drew forward an easy-chair. *' I — we 
 rather, Mr. Nevin and myself — had a visit from 
 a wild-looking- man who says he is my cousin," 
 and she described the interview very accurately. 
 
 As Mrs. Craven listened she grew graver and 
 graver, her mouth closing tightly. When Alice 
 ceased to speak she said, almost in Nevin's 
 words : 
 
 *' This is very serious. If this man turns out 
 to be what he represents himself, it will change 
 your fortunes considerably." 
 
 "Why will it change my fortunes?" asked 
 Alice. 
 
 "Tell me," said Mrs. Craven, not heeding 
 her, " did you ever hear of your uncle having a 
 son ? " 
 
 " I never did." 
 
 " You see, if this man is your cousin and the 
 son of your father's brother, he is entitled to 
 all his father's property. But it is most likely 
 a bold attempt to extort money. He will prob- 
 ably offer to compromise matters, but we will 
 look narrowly into his pretensions. So do not 
 worry yourself, dear, until you know more." 
 
144 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 " No, 1 shall not. I ahvays had enough, you. 
 know, and there's the house at Santa Cruz. I- 
 suppose he cannot take that — it was my fa- 
 ther's." 
 
 Mrs. Craven looked at her with an expression 
 half wondering-, half contemptuous. 
 
 " You are rig"ht not to meet trouble half-way. 
 I can on\y hope this man will prove an im- 
 postor. If not — " She stopped abruptly. ''It 
 won't do to think about it. Wilfred has g-one 
 with him to Mr. Bond's, has he ? I shall not 
 g-o out till he returns. What shall you do ? " 
 
 " I will stay with you ; I have no objection 
 to meet people," said Alice. " Why are you 
 so frig-htened about me ? Surely you disturb 
 3'^ourself too much." 
 
 '•' Perhaps so. Well, chang-e your dress and 
 join me in the drawiiig'-room." 
 
 Mrs. Craven left her abruptly, thinking- as 
 she went : " Dress, indeed ! If this cannibal 
 proves his stor^^, who is to pay for the lovelj' 
 trousseau I have chosen ? It will half ruin poor 
 Alice. What an idiot she is ! Yet I rather 
 like her. How awkward it will be for Wilfred 
 if he is oblig-ed to break with her ! No doubt 
 I'll have to attend to that. Men alwaj'^s ex- 
 pect their sisters, their mothers or their wives 
 to do their dirty work." 
 
 Mrs. Craven was not less amiable to her vis- 
 
ALICE ASHLAND, 145 
 
 itors that afternoon for the unpleasant antici- 
 pations weighing on her mind. 
 
 Ahce, who since her engagement was an- 
 nounced had grown more assured and self- 
 possessed, feeling she had a certain right to her 
 position in the household, talked a little and 
 listened a* good deal to two Michigan Avenue 
 dames, who pronounced her a nice, sensible 
 girl. 
 
 Mrs. Craven observed her with surprise and 
 some compassion. How little she realized the 
 rocks ahead ! Her eyes often sought the clock. 
 When would these tiresome people go ? when 
 would Wilfred return ? 
 
 That gentleman, meanwhile, lost no time in 
 getting to the city with the strange claimant. 
 They scarcely spoke, though Ashland occasion- 
 all}' exclaimed at the crowd, the magnificent 
 buildings, the crowds of people waiting to cross 
 here and there. 
 
 Arrived at the Masonic Temj e, they found 
 Bond closeted with Mr. Wacts, and we^-e 
 obliged to wait a few minutes in the outer 
 oflace. When they were shown into Mr. Bond's 
 room they found that worthy in an evident 
 state of perturbation ; he was examining some 
 papers Avhich lay on the table. 
 
 Bond jumped up and seized Nevin's hand, ex- 
 claiming : 
 
146 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 "A most extraordinary event, a most un- 
 fortunate business ! A — this — a— is the gentle- 
 man in question, I presume? " turning his eyes 
 with an expression of dishke and dread at the 
 tall, audacious-looking stranger who towered 
 above him. 
 
 " Yes," said Nevin ; " I thought it as well to 
 come on here at once, and get to the bottom of 
 the affair." 
 
 " And I think it as well to give you this ad- 
 dress," said Ashland, taking a piece of paper 
 from his pocket. " ' Mr. S. Lloyd, Agent, 
 Bank of New Zealand, Montgomery Street, 
 San Francisco, Cal.' There you are. And 
 you may as well take my lawyer's card," and 
 he handed them another : ''^ ' C. E. Webb, At- 
 torney-at-law, Kearny Street, San Francisco, 
 Cal.' You'll find you can't dispute my iden- 
 tity. Webb knew my father and myself be- 
 fore I went on the Jeremiah Thompson to 
 New Zealand ; so make haste and get through 
 all the necessar^^ formalities," and turning to 
 Nevin : ''If you show me a proper spirit, you 
 and my cousin will find I am no niggard. 
 There ai>5^ my papers ; you just look them 
 through, and you'll see they are all right. " And 
 with this last remark he turned and left the room. 
 
 ''Do you believe this fellow's story?" asked 
 Nevin, throwing himself into a chair. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 147 
 
 ''I'm sure I do not know what to think," 
 said Mr. Watts, dejectedly. 
 
 "And I'm sure I don't know what to do," 
 cried Bond, nibbling- the top of his pen with a 
 look of vicious irritation. " I knew John Ash- 
 land had a son, but he concluded he was dead 
 and gone years and years ago ; in fact, I be- 
 lieve he heard so, and that's why he left no 
 will and Alice succeeded to the property as 
 next of kin." 
 
 ''And what do these papers show?" asked 
 Nevin. 
 
 "These are the duly attested capies of his 
 father's marriage certificate, the reg-ister of his 
 own birth, the discharge from the ship Jere- 
 miah Thompson and a letter from a New 
 Zealand^ banker stating that he knew the 
 bearer, Thomas Ashland, since his arrival in 
 New Zealand. Yes, jqb, it's all right as he 
 says, and here he is — an ugly customer, I can 
 tell you, especiall}^ if the man he mentioned, 
 Webb, knows him ; Webb is O. K." 
 
 " We must look well to the authenticity of 
 these certificates. What do j^ou i.itend to do ? " 
 asked Nevin. 
 
 " Send out an agent to New Zealand," began 
 Mr. Watts. 
 
 " Ay ! and who is to pay for it ? " interrupted 
 Bond, with a sneer. "If this man proves his 
 
148 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 claim Alice Ashland has only her father's 
 pittance,"' 
 
 " It looks bad for my poor little ward/' said 
 Mr. Watts, with much feeling-. " I think yon 
 had better submit the case for counsel's opin- 
 ion." 
 
 "There's nothing to give an opinion about," 
 cried Bond, with a vicious snap. " If this Ash- 
 land's story is true, why, he takes everything-." 
 
 " Well, I shall write to San Francisco imme- 
 diately," said Mr. Watts. " For the present I 
 will bid you good-day. I am a good deal upset 
 — a — I sha^l see you early to-morrow." 
 
 Nevitt stood up while he left the room, and 
 then drawing his seat close to Bond's desk, 
 looked full at the latter, saying, in a low tone : 
 
 '' Our bargain is at an end, I suspect. I am 
 in a devil of a fix." 
 
 '' I daresay you are ; but what's your case to 
 mine ? My hard earnings, the little profits I 
 counted on, torn out of my grasp, and Webb, 
 and this — this unscrupulous Maori, or whatever 
 they call them, routing out all the accounts I 
 have kept so — so carefully, picking holes with 
 what I did for the best and misinterpreting my 
 honest intentions." 
 
 ''Yes, I suspect he'll skin you," said Nevin, 
 cruelly. " Look here, do you think we shall be 
 obliged to admit his claim ? " 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 149 
 
 ''Looks like it." 
 
 '' And my wedding is fixed for the day after 
 to-morrow. Shade of Caesar ! I am at my 
 wits' end. If I break with Alice and this man 
 turns out an impostor, I shall be sold, indeed. 
 If I marrj^ her and he succeeds, I shall be ruined 
 and undone. Come what jnsiy, the wedding 
 must be put off." 
 
 '' I don't care a fig what you do," cried Bond, 
 with a ghastly grin. " Your elegant sister 
 may help the lame dog over the ditch. I have 
 enough to do with my own affairs. It was an 
 evil hour for me when I first saw you." 
 
 ''I wish you good-day, Mr. Bond," cried 
 Nevin, in a fury, and, seizing his hat, he ab- 
 ruptly left the room. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Nevin and his sister held high counsel that 
 night when they were alone. 
 
 "You must hold on, Wilfred, for a little 
 while. Suppose this Ashland, as he calls him- 
 self, turns out to be an impostor, how furious 
 you would be with your own cowardice." 
 
 ''But what is to be done ? I am on the brink 
 of a precipice." 
 
150 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 **What a stlipid man 3'ou are, Wilfred ! You 
 must put oflF the marriage." 
 
 " What possible excuse can I urg-e ? " 
 
 '•^ There is one before your eyes. The settle- 
 ments just readj-- for signature are nullified, or 
 would be if this man's claims hold good. Of 
 course, if we were certain her claim to the prop- 
 erty could not be shaken, it would be a good 
 opportunit}^ of doing the passionate and dis- 
 pensing with settlements altogether," she 
 laughed. ^^As it is, you must allow yourself 
 to be persuaded bj^ me, for Alice's sake, to give 
 up the immediate ceremony. She will never 
 suspect anj^thing. Then, if hers is the losing 
 side, 3^ou can back out. I am quite soyyj for 
 Alice — she will be adrift again." 
 
 '^ She will not break her heart, that yQ\x may 
 rely on. Personallj^, I shall not be sorr}^ to be 
 clear of the whole affair. I am bored to death. 
 I wish you or the major would give me a thou- 
 sand dollars." 
 
 " I think I will broach the subject to her to- 
 night," said Mrs. Craven, who had not listened 
 to him. '' I have already stopped all prepara- 
 tions for the wedding. What do jom say, Wil- 
 fred—shall I speak to Alice to-night ? " 
 
 ''Yes, \>j all means. In fact, I am dying for 
 sleep, and will go and forget m^^ troubles for a 
 few hours. I leave m3^self in your hands, Mary. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 151 
 
 I'm afraid the game's plaj-ed out. Be sure you 
 see the major's lawyers in the morning-." 
 
 Alice had onlj^ felt vaguely disturbed . She 
 saw that Nevin was greatly preoccupied. It 
 was a little remarkable that he made no at- 
 tempt to speak with her alone, no effort to im- 
 part his uneasiness or to ascertain if she, too, 
 were depressed. 
 
 It was rather a relief to Alice when Mrs. Cra- 
 ven sent for her next morning and opened the 
 subject of the wedding. 
 
 ''Poor Wilfred is half crazy, dear," she 
 said, as she drew Alice to sit beside her on 
 a sofa in' her dressing-room. "1 begged him 
 to let me tell you I have insisted on your mar- 
 riage being postponed for two or three weeks, 
 as much on 3^ our account as anything else. 
 You see, if this dreadful New Zealander turns 
 out to be really your cousin, the deed of settle- 
 ment which was prepared would be useless, and 
 your interests must be cared for." 
 
 '■Thank you," said Alice, "but I do not un- 
 derstand having 2^,ny interest separate from — 
 from Mr. Kevin's." 
 
 " Very nice and sweet of you to say so, but 
 sentiment is quite out of place in matters of 
 business. Another thing, dear — if it turns out 
 that this cousin of j'ours can rob you of your 
 fortune, poor Wilfred must get some appoint- 
 
152 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ment before he can have a home to offer 
 you." 
 
 Mrs. Craven watched lier iiarrowl}'^ as she 
 spoke. 
 
 '* Why not ? " asked Alice, quietl3^ " I am 
 very young* and ignorant. I should, perhaps, 
 make a better wife later on." 
 
 " She is utterly indifferent to him," thought 
 Mrs. Craven, " and it will be harder to en- 
 lig-hten indifference than love." But she said 
 aloud : '' It is a comfort to speak to so sensible 
 a g'irl. Now there is no use being miserable. 
 Put on your cream surah and lace dress and 
 Major Craven shall drive you over to the Fair 
 g-rounds. You are quite a favorite with him 
 and he hasn't a thing- to do, while I have no 
 end of bothers ; really, I don't know wh3'^ I 
 trouble so much about other people, " concluded 
 Mrs. Craven, with the air of a martyr and a 
 sigh of relief at the prospect of being* from 
 Alice's presence for a whole day. 
 
 A very unpleasant interval succeeded this 
 sudden reversal of all their plans. 
 
 Nevin absented himself a g-ood deal, and when 
 he joined his sister and Alice, was so moody 
 and preoccupied that the latter was half fright- 
 ened at the complete change in her hitherto 
 observant and debonair lover. 
 
 During this period Ashland called more than 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 153 
 
 once, but was refused admittance ; the bland 
 butler reported to Mrs. Craven that " he 
 threatened to lift me out of the road next 
 time if I didn't let him in." In the butler's 
 opinion the g-entleman was a dangerous lunatic. 
 
 Finally, Messrs. Bland & Twist, the learned 
 and respectable lawyers of Major Craven, ad- 
 vised their client and his brother-in-law that 
 Mr. Thomas Ashland's claim was not to be dis- 
 puted, and that the sooner matters were set- 
 tled m a friendly spirit the better for Miss 
 Ashland's interests. 
 
 " I'll g-o to her directly she comes in and just 
 tell her our engagement must be at an end," 
 said Nevin, on receipt of this intelligence. " It's 
 all a mockery hanging on in this way. Where 
 is Alice gone ? " he concluded. 
 
 '• To meet her cousin at Mr. Watts's rooms, 
 and have everything explained to her. I won- 
 der how much she will understand of it ? " 
 
 ''More than 3"ou think. I fancy she will be 
 as sharp as any of you when she is four-and- 
 twentj'. All she wants is cultivation. She will 
 always have the advantage of a slow circula- 
 tion." 
 
 '' Why, Wilfred, you really seem to dislike 
 the poor child ! " 
 
 "No; but I resent the loss of time and the 
 immense amount of trouble she has cost me." 
 
154 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 **I am sure you7' time is not of much value." 
 
 " I wish 3'ou'cl lend me a hundred dollars. 
 I'm sure Galindo will Avin at Hawthorne track 
 to-day." 
 
 " Wilfred, you are an idiot ! " 
 
 Mrs. Craven went on with her writing, while 
 her brother talked at intervals without receiv- 
 ing- much attention. 
 
 Seeing this, Nevin seized a book and settled 
 himself in an easy-chair. He had not read 
 long when he was interrupted by the entrance 
 of Alice, followed, to his surprise, b}^ Ashland, 
 who was got up quite picturesquely. 
 
 Alice looked very grave, but in no way dis- 
 turbed. "Well, ^ear, I hope you have got 
 through this unpleasant business satisfac- 
 torily," said Mrs. Craven, determined to make 
 things as pleasant as she could. '' Mr. Ash- 
 land, I presume?" 
 
 " Yes, I'm Tom Ashland, and as I said be- 
 fore, now that I have my rights I'll show you 
 I am a corker; I'll be a real kinsman to my 
 cousin, though I have robbed her of the inherit- 
 ance 5'^ou thought she had." 
 
 " The robbing has been on my side, I am 
 afraid," said Alice. ''Mr. Bond has been ex- 
 plaining to me that the money I have been 
 spending so freely of late is really my cousin's 
 and ought to be refunded." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 155 
 
 "I don't want it," said Ashland, abruptly 
 and firmly; ''if I did, that snuffy old liar 
 ought to pay me out of the savings of your 
 long minority. I haven't done with him yet. 
 My lawyer, Webb, has had an interview with 
 his sister and got at more than her precious 
 brother thinks. You and she never spent 
 more than eight hundred or nine hundred dol- 
 lars a year, you couldn't from what she told 
 Webb. Now, what has Bond done with the 
 difference ? I'm sure he'd take a penny from 
 a blind man's hat." 
 
 ''Your cousin is quite graphic," said Mrs. 
 Craven to Alice, with a pleasant laugh. 
 
 " Bond is an unprincipled old scoundrel ! " 
 cried Nevin, heartily. 
 
 ' ' Yes, my cousin Alice has been robbed right 
 and left. I shall be glad to see her safe under 
 the protection of a good honest fellow," and 
 he nodded to Nevin. "Now, I'll tell you what 
 it is. Come to the Sherman to-morrow between 
 ten and twelve, Mr. Nevin ; we'll talk over the 
 new marriage settlements, and j'-ou'U see I am 
 prepared to do the thing handsomely." 
 
 He smiled a patronizing but good-natured 
 smile. Then, drawing himself to his full 
 height, he added: "I've led a queer life — a 
 life that would make you open your eyes " (to 
 Nevin), "much as you know; but -it hasn't 
 
156 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 made a heartless blackguard of me. Now I'll 
 g-o ; I don't want to trouble you with more of 
 my companj'^ than is needful. I am not your 
 sort," turning to Mrs. Craven, ''nor you mine. 
 Once my cousin is out of yoiw house, I'll never 
 enter it again. But I have a right to look after 
 her, and Fll do it; so good-morning." He 
 shook hands with Alice ; then, grasping Nevin's 
 with startling energy, '' To-morrow before 
 eleven, then," he said; ''we'll soon put things 
 straight," and he stalked out of the room. 
 
 Mrs. Craven rang the bell, exclaimmg : 
 "Quite an effective exit, I declare;" then 
 catching an expressive glance from her brother, 
 she continued : " Now I shall leave you ; I dare- 
 say you have plent}^ to talk about." 
 
 " Plentj^ to talk about ! " repeated Nevin, as 
 soon as the door closed upon her. " No, rather 
 one painful topic that I dread and evade." He 
 spoke gravely, yet with a certain coldness in 
 his tone, and paused. 
 
 " Do not fear to speak to me on any topic," 
 returned Alice, looking kindly and candidly at 
 him. 
 
 "Mine is an ungracious task," resumed 
 Nevin, beginning again to pace the room ; 
 "but I must not shrink from it, I feel it only 
 Just toward you to set you free from any en- 
 gagement to myself. I will not drag you down 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 157 
 
 to poverty for my own selfish g-ratification. 
 No, Alice, I release you, and trust you will 
 have a fairer lot than to share the banishment 
 that must be my destiny." 
 
 Alice was greatly amazed, and even affected, 
 She was so profoundly convinced of his deep and 
 warm attachment to herself that she never 
 hesitated to offer with simple kindness to 
 share his destiny, however dark or repul- 
 sive. 
 
 " I am not easily frightened," she said, with 
 a sweet smile and downcast e3^es that might 
 well have charmed a true lover. '' I should not 
 be worthy to be your wdfe if I shrank from 
 sharing the rough as well as the smooth places 
 in your road. I have not been accustomed to 
 luxury or finery, and I may yet be as really 
 necessary as you used to say I was." 
 
 "Jupiter!" thought Nevin to himself, ''she 
 is not going to let me off. I was right ; she is 
 sharper than Mary imagined. — My dear girl," 
 he said aloud, in a more natural manner, " you 
 really don't know what you are talking about. 
 Life is very costly, even to a miserable bachelor; 
 but when it comes to married life, it is a crime 
 to marry with insufficient means. So long as 
 there was enough, I was far too much in love 
 to care on which side the money was. Now all 
 is changed. No, dear Alice, marriage is out of 
 
158 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 the question. Let us conquer all selfish weak- 
 ness and part." 
 
 His voice, even more than his words, enlight- 
 ened Alice. A sudden consciousness that he 
 wanted to get rid of the engagement dawned 
 upon her with vivid, mortifjang clearness. 
 
 "Very well," she said, in a low tone, raising 
 her eyes steadily to his, '" if I am not necessary 
 to your happiness the engagement had much 
 better come to an end. But wlij'- did you tell 
 me what was not true ? Can a fortnight have 
 destroj^ed what j'-ou told me was so deeply 
 rooted in your heart ? " 
 
 "My dear Alice," cried Nevin, blithely, 
 " you should make allowance for my feeling 
 that I was by no means essential to you. Come 
 now, be candid and let us part friends. You 
 are not the least in love with me ? " 
 
 " I do not know much about love, Mr. Nevin; 
 but when j'^ou assured me that you loved me 
 and could not face your life without me I was 
 greatly surprised, but I believed you. I was 
 very grateful. Now it is very unpleasant, but 
 we can part without much suffering. So good- 
 hy. I will send you all your many presents 
 through Mrs. Craven. The last," with slight 
 emphasis, " is, I believe, in the silver casket in 
 the drawing-room." 
 
ALICE ASHI^AND. 159 
 
 Her simplicity and composure had a curious 
 effect on Nevin. He felt as he could fancy a 
 man might do after being- kicked — cowed and 
 degraded. 
 
 " Believe me, I shall ever retain the warmest 
 regard, the highest esteem," began Nevin, 
 holding out his hand. 
 
 Alice looked at him with a smile, a quiet 
 smile, gave him her hand for a moment and 
 left him. 
 
 ''That is well ended," he said to himself, 
 " but she knows how to strike home. I must 
 get hold of Mary." 
 
 Alice' reached her room with her cheeks 
 flushed and her hands trembling. It is true 
 she was not in love with Nevin, but the notion 
 of a settled home soothed and satisfied her. 
 Now everything was wrenched aw^ay ; she was 
 despised, rejected, friendless. Gradually, how- 
 ever, her quiet good sense came to her aid y 
 she had really done nothing to be ashamed of. 
 Was she to blush because, being herself true, 
 she believed Nevin to be the same ? No, she 
 would not allow Jierself to be overwhelmed. 
 Her first effort must be to escape from Mrs. 
 Craven's ; so she sat quietly down and wrote to 
 Mr. Watts and Mr. Bond, telling them that 
 the marriage was broken off, and th?it she 
 would like to leave for California immediately. 
 
160 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 and implored Mr. Bond to let his sister join her 
 there. 
 
 Then she felt calm and equal to meeting' Mrs. 
 Craven. 
 
 These were dreadful days of trial to Mr. 
 Watts. He never knew when he was safe from 
 the incursions of the reckless New Zealander, 
 no longer able to pass on all his responsibilities 
 to his colleague, Mr. Bond, nor to escape th& 
 searching queries of the new heir, who fulmi- 
 nated the most tremendous accusations against 
 the acting guardian and almost called him ras- 
 cal to his face. 
 
 The day after Nevin had succeeded in shak- 
 ing off the shackles of his engagement Tom 
 Ashland descended on the victimized Mr. Watts, 
 before he had quite swallowed his breakfast. 
 
 " This is a pretty how-do-you-do," he ejacu- 
 lated, throwing a letter on the table and draw- 
 ing a chair violently opposite to Mr. Watts. 
 " That hound Nevin has broken with Miss Ash- 
 land. There, read that ! I appointed him to 
 be with me this morning to talk over a new 
 settlement and intended to make a handsome 
 addition to my cousin's little fortune. I un- 
 derstood he agreed to come, and instead I get 
 this precious document." 
 
 Mr. Watts, with an air of resignation, took 
 it up and read the contents. It stated in 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 161 
 
 cold, clear terms that Miss Ashland and him- 
 self had agreed to break off the engagement 
 and consequently there could be no use in Nevin 
 keeping the appointment with him. 
 
 " Well, what do you think of that ? " 
 
 " Ahem ! I am not much surprised on the 
 whole/' said Mr. Watts, slowly. ''You see, 
 it was entirely a marriage of convenience on 
 his part." 
 
 "Then why did you consent to it?" asked 
 Ashland, angrily. 
 
 " Well, you see, it was hard to know what 
 to do with the young lady, and Mr. Bond 
 thought — " 
 
 ''Never mind what he thought! He'd sell 
 her to the blackest imp in hell for a dime. I 
 suspect, for all he is such a fine gentleman, 
 Nevin and your right-bower understood each 
 other." 
 
 "Not that I know of, I assure you, Mr. Ash- 
 land. He — " But Watts was not destined to 
 finish his sentence. Another letter was laid 
 before him, which in his turn he handed to 
 Ashland. It was Alice's expressive little note. 
 
 "Ha ! it is a regular split, then," cried Ash- 
 land. " I suppose nothing is to be done ? " 
 
 "Well, no ; a breach of promise of marriage 
 case is not to be thought of." 
 
 "No — by heavens! no. I was hesitating 
 
162 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 whether I should hckthe scoundrel or not. I'd 
 like to kick him from Auckland to Timam. Yes, 
 we must get her out of that house at once. Just 
 3'ou step down to that sky-scraper and tell old 
 Bond to wire his sister to meet Alice and me in 
 'Frisco. We can stay at Monterey until those 
 tenants of his get out of her own house. I'll 
 wire Webb to secure suitable rooms for Alice, 
 Mrs. Williams and myself. Shall I go and see 
 Alice ? No, I'd better not ; I'd spoil that 
 masher's mug if I saw him. Give me pen, ink 
 and paper ; I'll drop her a line and tell her 
 to keep her heart up, and another to Nevin, 
 telling him he is a good riddance. Where's 
 your blotter? 
 
 ''There," he said, as he finished his two 
 short notes ; '' that will settle Nevin, and I 
 hope vny little kinswoman will feel she is not 
 without a backer when she reads this. Mind 
 you write, too, as kind as you can. And don't 
 forget to tell Bond, if he doesnt't let his sister 
 join Alice I'll put him in Joliet. In whatever 
 I may be obliged to undertake against him 
 I can, of course, count on your help, Mr. 
 Watts, otherwise you are an accomplice ; and 
 I believe 3'ou are an honest, well-meaning man. 
 Good-b3^ to you ! " He clattered away noisily, 
 leaving Mr. Watts in a state of collapse. 
 
 After a while he pulled himself together, and 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 163 
 
 went away in much agitation to see Bond, 
 whom he found in an indescribable condition 
 of rag-e, despair and terror, his neclctie twisted 
 around under his left ear, his spectacles pushed 
 up above his eyebrows. 
 
 ''Oh, Mr. Watts, it's you, is it? I little 
 thought 3^ou'd be talked over by that madman 
 to turn against your best friend, for that I have 
 been to you, helping you every way I could, 
 even to my own loss (there's half a year's in- 
 terest due on the little loan I got you last fall); 
 and what right has he got to come here worry- 
 ing over the savings of his cousin's minority ? 
 He'll turn against you next. His friend, 
 Mr. Webb, was here yesterday, and says his 
 mother was as mad as a hatter. What will 
 he be after next ? He can't even leave that 
 stupid creature of a sister of mine alone. It's 
 the devil's own bad luck that sent him here to 
 upset everything. Look here, now, I'll have 
 nothing more to say to youand your ward ; and 
 how will you get on by yourself, I'd like to 
 know ? " 
 
 "You have been of very great service to me, 
 I acknowledge, Mr. Bond ; but the affairs of 
 the minor are not so complicated as to be be- 
 yond m}^ power to — to conduct. I must say, I 
 think you made a great mistake when you — " 
 
 " Lord, what a weather-cock you are!" in- 
 
164 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 terrupted Uie other, with a contemptuous toss 
 of his chin. '' Was it my fault that this New 
 Zealander lias turned up to set Lake Michigan 
 on fire ? " 
 
 After much recrimination and squabbling- it 
 was agreed on between the spider and the fly 
 tliat everj^thing must present a smooth surface 
 to the new actor who had appeared so inoppor- 
 tunely to interfere with Bond's little game,- 
 even if it cost money to repair a few of the well- 
 meaning mistakes which unavoidably occurred 
 from overzeal in the minor's service. 
 
 Thomas Ashland's energj'- was of the fever- 
 ish order. He sent his laAvyer, Webb, via the 
 Union Pacific to San Francisco, to secure rooms 
 at some quiet retreat near Monterey or Santa 
 Cruz for himself, Ahce and Mrs. Williams, 
 whom Webb was to call on en route ; then he 
 forced Bond to telegraph his sister, authoriz- 
 ing her to meet Mr. and Miss Ashland and re- 
 turn to the latter 's employment. 
 
 To Alice the hours which intervened between 
 her parting with Nevin and the moment of her 
 leaving Mrs. Craven's were painful in an irrita- 
 ing sense. The consciousness of having been 
 so completely deceived lowered her in her own 
 estimation, and though far from perceiving how 
 completely Mrs. Craven had been her brother's 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 165 
 
 accomplice, common sense suggested that she 
 could not be completely innocent of his schemes. 
 Indeed, this interval was nearly as distressing 
 and irritating to Mrs. Craven as to her guest. 
 Even Mrs. Craven's Avorld-hardened self-pos- 
 session was ruffled by the constant presence^ 
 of the guileless young creature she had as- 
 sisted to Mind. 
 
 The only allusion Alice made to the sudden 
 rupture of her engagement was when she gave 
 Mrs. Craven the packet containing Nevin's gifts, 
 saying: '' This is -for your brother. You know 
 what it is. Do not let us say anything 
 more about him. I have a note from Mr. 
 Watts ; he promises to take me away to-mor- 
 row, or next day at furthest, so I need hamper 
 your movements no longer. You have been 
 very, very good to me, whether you reall}'^ like 
 me or not, and I am heartily grateful." 
 
 " My dear," cried Mrs. Craven, with tears in 
 her beautiful eyes (they came quite readily 
 whenever she wanted them), '' no words can 
 express how grieved and ashamed I feel. It is, 
 all too painfully fresh to talk about now. Later 
 I hope to explain away some of the blame 
 which naturally seems to attach to me." So 
 saying, she kissed her brow, patted her shoul- 
 der and hurried away to give orders respecting 
 the packing up. 
 
1G6 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 Thomas Ashland was announced the next 
 morning, and Alice felt like a prisoner about 
 to be released. 
 
 *'Now, are you ready to start? We must 
 catch the one-o'clock for 'Frisco. I suppose 
 you can come at once ? " 
 
 *' Yes, I can ; but I'm ashamed to say I have 
 too much bagg-ag-e for a coupe." 
 
 " Well, we'll get an express, then. Now, go 
 get on your things and say good-bj^ if it's nec- 
 essary. I don't want to see Mrs. Double-face 
 again." 
 
 ''Mrs. Craven is out. I hardly like to leave 
 without seeing her." 
 
 ''Nonsense ! " growled Ashland, in his hard- 
 est tones. "If they had her in Timam she'd 
 be picking oakum. I shall not leave you in 
 this house any longer, so hurry up." 
 
 Alice was somewhat afraid of Ashland — his 
 height, deep voice and rugged manners made 
 her shrink into herself. Moreover, she knew 
 that any one looking at the bare facts of the 
 case would not think her charming hostess de- 
 serving of much consideration, though she could 
 not help liking her. She compromised matters, 
 however, by writing a few lines of farewell, 
 which she left in the hands of her maid, and 
 hastily donned her traveling attire. 
 
 As soon as Alice left the room Ashland ap- 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 167 
 
 plied himself vigorously to the bell, which 
 immediately evoked the splendid apparition of 
 the butler. 
 
 ''I say, g-et down Miss Ashland's trunks, and 
 call an express ; look alive, will you, and there's 
 for your trouble." 
 
 The tip was handsome enough to make him, 
 in Chicago parlance, ''get a move on himself," 
 and he responded with a gracious " Thank'ee 
 sir," and retired to execute the ''tipper's" 
 commands. 
 
 It was with a new sense of safety and exhila- 
 ration that Alice found herself being whirled 
 along over the Union Pacific to San Francisco, 
 where she and her cousin arrived safe and sound 
 on the fourth day, to find her old companion, 
 Mrs. Williams, awaiting her at the Lick House. 
 To be sitting opposite to Mrs. Williams in the 
 old familiar fashion, as if the last two months 
 had been an unsubstantial dream, was some- 
 thing so strange and delightful that she could 
 hardly persuade herself that her ardent desire 
 was really fulfilled. She was tempted every 
 now and then to catch her arm or seize her 
 hand, to assure herself it was really her old 
 friend in the flesh. 
 
 By degrees she mastered her excitement and 
 they fell into their old confidential tone. Alice, 
 before she slept the first night in California, 
 
1G8 * ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 had told the whole stor^' of her engagement 
 and its mortifying conclusion. Over this re- 
 cital she shed no tears, and the mental exercise 
 seemed to clear her own impressions and reveal 
 to her the systematic deception practiced on 
 her in its fullness. The strongest feeling left 
 in her mind was a conviction that there was 
 something in herself not lovable, as the man 
 she liked had avoided her because she sho\ved 
 her liking, and the man who seemed to like 
 her forsook her with unflattering readiness di- 
 rectly she proved deficient in those solid attrac- 
 tions which real and personal estates possess. 
 
 ''Ah, dear Williams," said Alice, at the end 
 of her story, ''if you had not deserted me I 
 might have escaped a good deal. I should not 
 have made so great a fool of myself." 
 
 "Ah, dear, but I couldn't help it," cried 
 Mrs. Williams, eagerly. " I won't submit to 
 seem a cold-hearted, selfish creature. I did 
 not desert you of my own free will, that yoli 
 may be sure. I never said a word against my 
 brother before, but I am mad at him, and you 
 are wiser and older and won't betray me. I 
 have had to obe}^ him. He has been hard on 
 me. You know^ I am a widow, with one boy, 
 kind and gentle, but weak and easily led, and 
 God only knows what I went through to give 
 him food and clothes and a little schooling. At 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 169 
 
 last I was struck down with illness, and then I 
 was oblig-ed to beg- my brother for bread. He 
 wasn't bad, for he gave me a trifle and sent me 
 to look after you. My dear child, it healed mj' 
 heart to have j'^ou to love. Well, my brother 
 took Johnny into his oflBce and promised to 
 look after him, but he was just an unpaid 
 errand-boy. One unlucky day my poor boy, 
 who had fallen in with bad companions, was 
 tempted to try his luck at Garfield Park races, 
 and won and won, and then lost all. Robert 
 had, for a wonder, left some gold and notes just 
 inside his desk and my misguided boy took some 
 of it, thinking he would win back everything ; 
 but he l9st. Oh ! it was an awful time. Well, 
 to end he storj^, Johnny was sent away to 
 Cleveland, Ohio, to learn the building trade, 
 and when Bob wrote for me to leave the cot- 
 tage at Santa Cruz I refused ; but he sent 
 word that if I didn't do as he bade me he 
 would expose Johnnj^ and warn his employers 
 that he was a thief. What was I to do ? " 
 
 Here Mrs. Williams broke down and sobbed 
 loudl3^ Alice kneeled down bj^ her and soothed 
 her with tender caresses, exclaiming with in- 
 dignant fervor against Bond's unfeeling harsh- 
 ness. 
 
 " But why did he want to separate us ? " 
 asked Alice, with a puzzled look. 
 
170 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ''Your cousin swears that Bob sold you to 
 Mrs. Craven and her brother, but was sold 
 himself, because he, Mr. Ashland, turned up. 
 He is a kind, g-enerous man, that Mr. Ash- 
 land." 
 
 " Yes, he is ; he is indeed ; but I am afraid of 
 him. I don't know why, but I am certainly 
 afraid of bim." 
 
 " Nonsense, my dear ; lie will be a good, kind 
 friend, and he will not stand any of Bob's 
 tricks." 
 
 '' Well, thank Heaven, we are together 
 again," said Alice. " I want no more finery, 
 or grand people, only to be at rest and safe." 
 Then the tears stole from under her downcast 
 lids, and she had the relief that a copious 
 though quiet flood of tears affords. 
 
 Thomas Ashland found himself pretty busy 
 in San Francisco, and Alice was rather aston- 
 ished at his many absences from her. One 
 evening, however, about a week after their ar- 
 rival, he dined with them at the hotel, and pro- 
 posed a trip to the Golden Gate Park. " It is 
 a lovely evening," said Ashland, "and one can 
 hardly breathe here. Get your hat and sketch- 
 book and we'll drive through the park to the 
 Cliff House. There will be some air to be had 
 on the beach. I'd like to see you sketch the 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 171 
 
 ' seal-rocks ' on the spot. It seems a wonder- 
 ful thing- to be able to do it." 
 
 ''Very well," said Alice, readily enough. 
 She was always glad to shake off thought 
 and niemorj' by motion, and missed, more than 
 she would like to say, her frequent drives with 
 Mrs. Craven. 
 
 '•' Ah ! the air is fresher out here," said Ash- 
 land, as they approached the cliff ; " it may 
 bring some color to your cheeks. I don't like 
 to see you so white." 
 
 ''It's my nature, Thomas." 
 
 "When we get to Monterey j^ou'll be all 
 right. I fancj^ you'd like life in New Zealand. 
 Most wonderful country on earth." And he 
 talked on not ladly, describing his adventures 
 among the Maoris, his ascent of Mount Cook, 
 the wonderful Rotamahana lakes, the marvel- 
 ous pink and white terraces of Tarewera, etc. 
 
 Alice listened with interest and sjnnpathy, 
 asking a leading question here and there, and 
 so, in good humor with each other, they reached 
 a spot, on the beach where Alice thoug-ht she 
 might attempt a sketch of the world -famed 
 "seal-rocks." Alice was not easilj^ satisfied 
 with her work and rubbed out a good deal. At 
 last she succeeded in making a \qyj fair sketch 
 of the scene before her, wiiich elicited strong- 
 expressions of approbation from her cousin. 
 
172 ALICE ASHL-AND. 
 
 She began slowly to close and strap her book 
 and pencil-case. Ashland rose, stretched him- 
 self and sat down ag-ain, 
 
 " I say/' he exclaimed, " it wasn't very nice 
 for that old Bond, putting- down j'our wedding 
 clothes in his bill of accounts," 
 
 "He did not mean anything unpleasant," 
 returned Alice, coloring faintly. 
 
 ''Perhaps not. But I say, Alice, if you'd 
 rather not have them wasted, or you'd like 
 just to stamp out all memory of that unlucky 
 business, I am quite at your service. Suppose 
 you marry me? Then, you know, you'd get 
 the proper t^j- back again." 
 
 He looked at her earnestlj^ as he spoke, but 
 without the least of a loverlike expression, 
 
 Alice almost dropped her book, ''What can 
 have put such an idea into your head ? " she 
 exclaimed, in profound amazement. 
 
 " Well, you see, it's the best sort of way to 
 make matters comfortable for you ; so — " 
 
 ''' You are kindly disposed to sacrifice your- 
 self for my comfort. Thank you, Thomas," 
 and she laughed merrily, but not unkindly. 
 " Why, you don't care the least for me." 
 
 " Yes, I do. I am very fond of you. I don't 
 mean to say I am in love. I have been In love 
 two or three times, and it was a desperate busi- 
 ness. You really might do worse ; I'm not a 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 173 
 
 bad-looking fellow. You mig-ht keep me in 
 order ; we would have plenty of money and 
 grow fond of each other. Now just think it 
 over.'' 
 
 " You are very kind," said Alice, still laugh- 
 ing. '' I never thought any one would be so 
 accommodating. Seriously, never let us talk 
 of this project again. I am sure you will agree 
 with me, when you reconsider your kind wash 
 to prevent my trousseau being useless." 
 
 "All right," Ashland exclaimed. "I sup- 
 pose you know what you want ; and I daresay 
 you are a great deal too good for me, so we 
 will say no more about it. I'll be your friend, 
 only if j^ou change your mind let me know." 
 
 "Oh, yes," said Alice, smiling, " I will pro- 
 pose for you in due form." 
 
 Ashland laughed. "I'm your man, if you 
 will," he said. ''I've not been as steady as I 
 ought, and I've a notion that a wife and a home 
 would settle me." 
 
 No more was said on the subject. Alice was 
 a good deal startled and amazed, but Ashland 
 seemed to forget the conversation completely. 
 He was very irregular in his waj's ; he would 
 call every now and then, and then absent him- 
 self for a week. When he reappeared he gen- 
 erally^ looked ill and haggard. " I'm always 
 bothered with headaches," he said, when Alice 
 
174 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 asked if he felt unwell. '' I have had one or 
 two bad bouts lately, and as I am not fit to be 
 spoken to 1 keep out of the way when thej^ 
 come on. I would take you to Monterey at 
 once, but Webb cannot find a house for rent, 
 and I hate these big- hotels ; I'm not used to 
 them." 
 
 " A great friend of mine," said Mrs. Will- 
 iams, " used to keep a very superior boarding- 
 house about four miles out of Monterej^, a beau- 
 tiful house with a conservator5^ It's years 
 since I heard of her. I'll give you her address, 
 Mr. Ashland ; you might inquire about her, 
 and if she's still there, I know that you'd en- 
 jo3" her surroundings. Her terms are high, but 
 there's every comfort." 
 
 " Oh, we needn't put on the screw," said Ash- 
 land, who, though ready to exact the last cent 
 from Bond, was lavish in providing any luxury'- 
 or amusement for the kinswoman he had taken 
 under his somewhat tyrannical protection. 
 ''Will you get me a glass of brown pop," he 
 continued, ''and write the address for me? I 
 shall start early to-morrow. We'll leave here 
 this week." 
 
 "Well, you are abstemious," cried Mrs. 
 Williams, admiringly, as she handed him the 
 beverage. " Are you a total abstainer ? " 
 "Not quite," returned Ashland: "but this 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 175 
 
 is better than old rye. Well, I'll report to you 
 the daj' after to-morrow ; so g-ood-nig-ht. I 
 will be off early in the morning-, and we will 
 make all arrangements when I come back." 
 
 ''How very kind he is ! " cried Alice, when 
 he had left. ''I wish— " 
 
 " What, m.y dear — what do you wish ? " 
 
 ''I wish I were not so afraid of him some- 
 times. When he walks up and down and 
 seems looking at something far away that dis- 
 pleases him, I do not quite like to be in the 
 room with him." 
 
 " Ah ! that's only when his poor head has 
 been bad. I'm sure he would do anything on 
 earth for you." 
 
 Under Thomas Ashlaad's energetic g"uidance 
 things were soon in train for Alice's change of 
 abode. He had succeeded in finding- Mrs. Will- 
 iams's old friend. She was still the proud pro- 
 prietor of a very successful boarding-house, 
 and was highly pleased at the idea of receiving 
 Mrs. Williams and her charge. The liberal 
 arrangements of Mr. Ashland met her entire 
 approval, and a few days later Alice and her 
 chaperon settled in Mrs. Jarrett's comfortable 
 mansion — Mission House. 
 
 The hack which conve^-ed them to the South- 
 ern Pacific Depot had just driven away when 
 a gentleman, broad-shouldered and dark-eyed. 
 
1T6 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 stepped into the Lick House and inquired of 
 the clerk if Miss Ashland was there. 
 
 " ThQy have just driven to the Southern 
 Pacific Depot/' said the clerk. 
 
 " Do you know where they are going- ? " 
 
 "1 am sure I do not, sir, though I fancy 1 
 heard the gentleman mention Montere.y." 
 
 '* The gentleman ! What gentleman ? " 
 
 "' Mr. Ashland, sir." 
 
 ''Well, I'll leave my card, at any rate; they 
 may return to this hotel." 
 
 The card was inscribed ''Harold Neale." 
 Time had gone heavily with him since his last 
 brief visit to Chicago. He had been more 
 severely hit than he at first thought, and the 
 feeling of profound compassion for Alice, as the 
 victim of Nevin's unprincipled schemes, helped 
 to keep his tenderness for her constantly alive. 
 
 He waited and waited for the announcement 
 of the wedding, but none came. He did not 
 like to write to Mrs. Craven for an explanation. 
 So 'he waited and dreamed, though apparently 
 occupied with the work of harvesting at Peeks- 
 kill. 
 
 Early in August Mrs. Craven came to illu- 
 minate Peekskill with her bright presence. On 
 her arrival she sent a message to Harold and 
 trusted to the old attraction to draw him to her 
 side. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 177 
 
 Nor was she mistaken. The day but one 
 after her arrival being- Sunday, Harold went 
 over a little before noon, looking-, Mrs. Craven 
 fancied, darker and g-raver than ever. 
 
 He was welcomed with quiet warmth per- 
 ceptible to himself onl}-. 
 
 After a pause he asked : 
 
 '' What has become of Nevin ? " 
 
 "I do not exactly know at this moment," 
 she returned. ''He is somewhere in Dakota, I 
 think. But I have a good deal to tell j^ou 
 by and b5^" 
 
 The weather was so tempting that after a 
 little lunch Harold asked Mrs. Craven if she 
 felt equal to a walk up the hills. 
 
 Mrs. Craven was delighted, and went away 
 for her hat and parasol. 
 
 ISTeale thought he had seldom seen a fairer 
 woman as they left the house together. Her 
 dress of thin, pale-brown stuff, with red sash 
 and ribbons, her wide-brimmed straw hat 
 turned up on one side, where a couple of 
 creamy roses lay on her rich hair, the softened, 
 happy expression of her eyes, made up a lovely 
 picture. 
 
 " I suppose you are dying to know what hap- 
 pened to break off Wilfred's marriage?" she 
 said, when they were well aAvay from the 
 house. 
 
178 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 *' I might survive a little longer without the 
 knowledge, but I should like to know." 
 
 " Hasn't Wilfred written to you since — since 
 the bubble burst ? " 
 
 " Not a line." 
 
 ''What an idle fellow he is! He promised 
 he would tell you ever^'^thing, or I should have 
 done so. Well, here is the story," and she de- 
 scribed the sudden appearance of Thomas Ash- 
 land, th6 irresistible character of his claim and 
 the consequent breaking off of the engagement 
 with Nevin. 
 
 It was lightly and amusingl^^ told, with a 
 tinge of rose-color on Nevin 's share in the 
 business. 
 
 " Really," exclaimed Harold, ''this has been 
 a trying aflfair. Nevin has gone off to Dakota, 
 3'^ou saj^ ? What has become of his loving 
 fiancee ? " 
 
 " I believe she went back to California and 
 Mrs. Williams. But do you know, I don't 
 think she cared a fig for Wilfred ; she was 
 rather obtuse in some directions." 
 
 " Then she must have imposed on you very 
 successful!}^, for in the last letter you were so 
 good as to send me you spoke of the extremely 
 demonstrative nature of her affection. In short, 
 it bored you." 
 
 "Did I?" said Mrs. Craven. "I suppose 
 something suggested the idea to me at the 
 time ; but looks do not prove deep affection." 
 
 " Certainly not," returned Harold, carelessly. 
 " The most ardent caresses are no guarantee 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 179 
 
 for fidelity. They are, no doubt, a matter of 
 temperament." 
 
 Mrs. Craven colored. 
 
 "You are more philosophic than you were 
 when we last walked here tog-ether." 
 
 *'l should think so," said Harold, laug-hing. 
 '' And, if your ideas are not greatly chang-ed 
 since those primitive days, I must have bored 
 you infinitel3\" 
 
 "Do you think you did ? " asked Mrs. Cra- 
 ven. 
 
 " I dare not answer. Do you think j^ou are 
 able to climb as far as the rock ? You re- 
 member it ? " 
 
 "Remember it ? Yes," she replied, in a tone 
 that said much more than the words. 
 
 Harold struck into a track that led up the 
 side of the hill, and conducted her to their old 
 try sting-place. 
 
 Harold talked pleasantly and lightly of the 
 past, of the beautiful scenerj^, of many things, 
 but Mrs. Craven was silent ; she had intended 
 that Harold should, during this visit of hers to 
 the old scenes, avow the bitter agony of feeling 
 that she was lost to him. Now she felt in some 
 indescribable way that the mastery of the situa- 
 tion had passed out of her hands. 
 
 At last they reached the well-known spot. 
 Mrs. Craven seated herself on a mossy stone 
 and Neale leaned against the stem of a tree. 
 They both looked out over the fair scene before 
 them for a minute or two, and then their eyes 
 met. No need for words to tell what the other 
 was thinking of, p.nd Mrs. Craven exclaimed, 
 
180 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 impulsively : '' Harold, here, where we last 
 parted, I humbly ask your forgiveness for my 
 heartless, cruel conduct. I was so young- and 
 thoughtless. I was scarce responsible. How 
 often since have I longed for a nature stronger, 
 truer than my own to lean on, to — to love as I 
 knew not how to love then. I am more lonely 
 than you think, dear Harold. Let me hear 
 you say that you can forgive me, and restore 
 me to something like the position I once held 
 inj^our esteem." She held out her hand, which 
 he took and held for a moment, her beautiful 
 lips quivering, her soft ejQS suffused with 
 tears. 
 
 ''Ah, Mary," returned Harold, touched for 
 a moment, " a man might well forgive you 
 much." Then, in his usual tone: ''My dear 
 Mrs. Craven, I by no means deserve so am- 
 ple an amende. Do not give a thought to 
 the past if it brings you pain. I am glad to see 
 you surrounded by everything that can make 
 life bright and pleasant." 
 
 "Everything!" echoed Mrs. Craven, turn- 
 ing her eyes full on his. " Yes, heaps of toys, 
 but nothing that can really touch the heart. 
 My husband cares more for his horse than for 
 me. I may do what I like, because he never 
 needs my society. He — 
 
 "Come, come!" interrupted Harold, smil- 
 ing. "No man ever adored a wife as he does. 
 I really must stand up for the major. He may 
 not be a hero of romance, but he is a right 
 good fellow and quite justifies the opinion you 
 must have formed of him at one time." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 181 
 
 '^ I had no opinion at all/' she murmured. 
 *'I married him because I was told to marry." 
 ''We none of us realize our early dreams," 
 said Harold. "But your, lot has fallen in 
 pleasant places compared to the majority. 
 Look at your quondam protegee, Miss Ashland 
 — a mere shuttlecock between her guardian and 
 intended husband, whose bowels of compassion 
 are mere catg-ut. She is bought and sold, pet- 
 ted, blinded, flattered till the supreme moment 
 when she is found wanting in her chief title to 
 regard and consideration, and then she is at 
 once dropped, disavowed, sent back to ob- 
 scurity, from which she was dragged to suit 
 the schemes of those who wished to appropriate 
 her mone3\ What would you think and feel 
 had you been subjected to such treatment ? " 
 " My dear Mr. Neale, you are really quite ex- 
 
 , cited. Of course, it was all very bad, and I am 
 ashamed of my part in the affair ; but it was a 
 great chance for Wilfred. I hoped all would 
 turn out well ; but as it didn't, why, you could 
 not expect Wilfred to marry on nothing. It was 
 unpleasant for Alice. I cannot imagine being 
 subjected to such treatment myself, I confess, ' ' 
 looking up with a smile intended to be candid 
 and winning ; but Harold's gravity did not 
 relax. 
 
 '"Yet Miss Ashland is a delicate, tender wo- 
 man like yourself, with less streng'th, less ex- 
 perience — a simple, innocent child, the soul of 
 
 . truth and honor. Why — " 
 
 ^ ''Why," interrupted Mrs. Craven, surprised 
 
 =^ at his tone, "why, Mr. Neale, you seem to be 
 
183 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 absolutely in love with tha t very colorless, g-ood 
 little girl." 
 
 "I am," he returned, meeting- her eyes fully 
 and calml}'. '' I was interested in her from the 
 first, but could not interfere with Wilfred, who 
 trusted me all throug-h. Now I reproach my- 
 self with acting a cowardlj^ and unmanly part, 
 Avhich, if I can repair, I will." 
 
 " Would you marrj' her ? " with a gasp. 
 
 " Yes, if I am so fortunate as to win her, 
 which is doubtful. I can fancy nothing sweeter, 
 nothing to be more ardentl}' desired than to 
 find her true eyes, her gentle face by the fire- 
 side to welcome one back after the troubles of 
 the day. She is the very embodiment of 
 home." 
 
 ''It is a pretty picture," said Mrs. Craven, 
 coldly. *' But I am feeling a slight chill — shall 
 we return ? I. see you think I have deserted 
 your little ideal. It would be awkward and 
 senseless to keep up with her under the circum- 
 stances. Besides, if I am any judge of indica- 
 tions, I suspect she will find a potent protector 
 in her Maori cousin," 
 
 Mrs, Craven rose decidedly, and though Har- 
 old was most careful of her during their de- 
 scent, the walk back seemed infinitely longer, 
 infinitely more fatiguing, than when they were 
 outward bound. 
 
 Two days after this episode a telegram from 
 Major Craven obliged his wife to curtail her 
 visit very abruptly. 
 
 As soon as he could Neale escorted his mother 
 to California for the winter, and, having Alice's 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 183 
 
 address from Mr. Bond, called, as we have seen, 
 fruitlessly at Miss Ashland's hotel. 
 
 "^ If — if onl3^ the cousin is not a formidable 
 rival ! I'd like to see him. I'll not g-ive up, 
 though," he muttered, as he walked slowly 
 down Montgomery Street. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 It was dark and foggy when Mrs. Williams 
 and Alice arrived at Monterey ; but the inde- 
 scribable odor of the soft salt sea breeze of 
 that beautiful spot was very delicious to the 
 latter. 
 
 She felt her spirits rise on leaving- the bus- 
 tling- and noisy cities far behind her, as if a 
 fresh stream of ideas had been set in motion and 
 the weary lang-uor which had oppressed her 
 been swept away. 
 
 Mrs. Williams's old friend, a stout matron 
 with rosy cheeks, a widow's cap and a solid 
 fi.g-ure, professed herself overjoj^ed to meet 
 Mrs. Williams again and declared Alice to be 
 a sweet young lady, etc., etc. 
 
 Then she ushered them into their apart- 
 ments. 
 
 ''And Mr. Ashland was most particular, I 
 assure you. Nothing but the. best would do for 
 him. This is a new wing. I built it mj^self 
 over three years ago. I have had heaps of 
 trouble since last I saw you, Mrs. Williams. 
 But though I have got on Avonderful, I couldn't 
 have done that only a poor old gentleman, who 
 
184 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 lived four or five years with us and gave such 
 a lot of trouble that no one had patience with 
 him but mj'self, left me some money in his 
 will. So here is your suite : a sitting--room — 
 there, you can see the bay out of that window, 
 and this one opens into the conservatory, and 
 here are your bedrooms just behind, opening- 
 into each other. I have put a fire in Miss Ash- 
 land's room ; she might be a little chilly after 
 the drive here and the gentleman told me she 
 wasn't too strong. And now you'll have time 
 to dress for dinner. I have only a small party 
 now, but the^'- are quite elegant people." 
 
 Having rattled off this long address with 
 immense volubility, she threw open the bed- 
 room door, stirred up the fire, and with a nod 
 and a smile bustled away. 
 
 ''Well, I declare, she is just the same as 
 ever ! " cried Mrs. Williams, beginning to untie 
 her bonnet strings, '' as busy and active, only 
 a trifle stouter." 
 
 "It is quite a pretty room," said Alice, look- 
 ing around ; " and how much better furnished 
 than our Chicago lodgings ! " Her residence 
 witli Mrs. Craven had developed a taste for 
 beautiful surroundings which had been rather 
 a source of suffering latel3^ 
 
 " Oh, I'm sure you'll be delighted Avhen you 
 get up to-morrow, dear," said Mrs. Williams. 
 " Now, hadn't yon better get readj^ ? " 
 
 The party assembled there w^as rather small. 
 Three or four old gentlemen, accustomed to a 
 yearly trip from the Golden Gate to Monterey, 
 a childless married couple, a much-traveled 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 185 
 
 spinster with strong social and political con. 
 victions, and a sweet-looking" old lady with 
 silvery hair, soft dark eyes and regular, refined 
 features. She was dressed in black silk and 
 black lace, and had an air of distinction. 
 
 Yet there was something timid and dependent 
 about her that touched Alice, who sat beside 
 her at dinner and showed her sundry little at- 
 tentions which come so natural to the young 
 of a better class. 
 
 Mrs. Williams sat opposite, next the hostess, 
 who seemed to have much to say, for Mrs. 
 Williams looked deeply interested in her con- 
 versation. Dinner was nearly over before 
 Alice's neighbor addressed her, then she said : 
 
 " You have only just arrived, I believe ? " 
 
 '"^ Scarcely an hour ago." 
 
 " I have been here nearly a week, and find 
 the air very strengthening and delightful. You 
 will find the outlook from this house very 
 pretty." 
 
 "I long for daylight," returned Alice, "for 
 it seems ages since I went to Chicago. I feel 
 quite excited at the thought of being near the 
 sea again." 
 
 This avowal seemed to interest the old lady, 
 and they continued to talk at intervals till 
 dinner was over and the ladies left the room. 
 
 Alice paused a moment till Mrs. Williams 
 joined her. On reaching the hall they found 
 the white-haired lady standing at the foot of 
 the stairs, holding one corner of her shawl 
 against her mouth. 
 
186 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 *'I am afraid there is a draft here/' said 
 Alice, pausing-. 
 
 " There is a little. I am waiting- for Mrs. 
 Jarrett, who is so g-ood as to help me upstairs 
 every day." 
 
 "She has been called away, I think," said" 
 Alice, and then added, with shy politeness : 
 *•' Our room is opposite — will you sit down there 
 till Mrs. Jarrett comes ? Pray, do." 
 
 "You are very g-ood — if I do not trouble 
 you." 
 
 " There is a nice fire — do come in," urged 
 Mrs. Williams, and the invitation was accepted. 
 
 A little conversation, not too fluent or ready, 
 ensued, and thus a new acquaintance was 
 formed in the outset of this fresh page in 
 Alice's life. 
 
 " Well, Mrs. Neale, I could not tell what had 
 become of you," exclaimed the mistress of the 
 house, coming- in a few minutes later. " It is 
 very nice for you to be comfortable here. I do 
 hope j^ou'll excuse my seeming- neglect, but 
 I was called away. Will you come into the, 
 drawing-room to-night, ladies ? " 
 
 But AKce and Mrs. Williams preferred re- 
 maining in their own apartment, and spent a 
 cheerful evening arranging their belongings. 
 
 The next morning was bright and beaming. 
 Alice was up early and called Mrs. Williams 
 to share her delight at the view from the win- 
 dow of their sitting-room. 
 
 "How lovely ! how delightful ! " cried Alice. 
 " Oh, let us make haste and get out ; 1 long to 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 187 
 
 be down bj' the sea; you will come with me, 
 will you not?" 
 
 *' To be sure I will ; but I must eat my break- 
 fast first." 
 
 " Well, do not be long, dear." 
 
 The complete change — the newest of every- 
 thing — was of infinite benefit to Alice. Yet the 
 lesson she had received taught her the deepest 
 self-distrust. She shrank from making any 
 acquaintance, and was quite happy with her 
 good friend Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Neale, 
 between whom and herself a degree of intimacy 
 sprung up. 
 
 Mrs. Neale required much care — care beyond 
 what her hostess could give. She loved read- 
 ing, but her eyes soon grew wear3^ 
 
 Alice was heartily glad to read to the gentle, 
 cultivated woman hy the hour, and enjoyed the 
 discussions which naturally arose on the sub- 
 jects of their reading. On sunny days the 
 invalid crept to the beach, supported by Alice's 
 arm, and thus soothed and cheered, grew won- 
 derfully better. 
 
 Meantime, Alice was not without conjectures 
 as to the possible relationship which might 
 exist betAveen her new friend and the offending 
 Harold. These had been answered at an early 
 stage of their acquaintance by some reference 
 on the part of Mrs. Neale to her home on the 
 far-off Hudson ; but even then Alice could not 
 bring herself to mention that she had ever 
 known her son ; she had no wish to renew her 
 acquaintance with him. 
 
 But now and then there were tones in his 
 
188 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 mother's voice, a peculiar, grave, almost sad 
 smile, that brought Harold Neale back to her 
 memory with a strange pang amazing to her- 
 self. 
 
 Of Ashland they saw and heard nothing for 
 fully a week after they had settled at Mission 
 House. This was the most extraordinary, as he 
 had engaged a bedroom to be kept read3'^ for 
 his occupation ; and Mrs. Jarrett, as well as her 
 guests, were quite excited about his coming, as 
 the former had proclaimed him a millionaire of 
 unbounded generosity and *'as handsome a 
 fellow as ever you saw in your life." 
 
 He came, however, one warm, thunderous 
 afternoon. Alice was struck by his gaunt and 
 ghastly looks, the dull, sad look of his heavy 
 eyes. 
 
 '•' Have you been ill, cousin ? " she asked, with 
 genuine anxiety. " Is that the reason we have 
 not heard from you or seen yon ? " 
 
 "Yes. I have had a bad turn this time : an 
 attack of my old fever and ague, but I'm all 
 right now. And you are sorr^^ for your un- 
 couth cousin ? I see you are, and that does me 
 a heap of good. You know I have never had 
 any one to care for me." 
 
 ''Well, I do, Tom, and I ought; no one has 
 been so good to me as you have." 
 
 As she spoke a flash of lightning, accom- 
 panied by a peal of thunder, made Mrs. Will- 
 iams cover her face with her hands, exclaiming: 
 "God bless us ! " 
 
 Alice unconsciously clung to Ashland. He 
 with a sudden gesture threw one arm around 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 189 
 
 her and pressed her closcily to him^ almost 
 painfully close. The darkness slightly cleared 
 and Alice, startled^ alarmed, quickly disen- 
 gaged herself. 
 
 '*I beg your pardon," cried Ashland, con- 
 fusedly. " I forgot, I believe I was nervous. I 
 didn't know what I was doing. Did I hurt 
 you ? You are such a delicate creature I ought 
 never to touch you." He threw himself on the 
 lounge. " When the row is over get me a cup 
 of tea, like a good girl; my head aches still." 
 He pressed his hands to his brow. 
 
 Alice hastened to bring the desired beverage 
 herself, placing it with kindliest care on a small 
 table beside the sufferer, and then bathed his 
 brow with eau-de-cologne, all in so simple and 
 sisterly a fashion that the most conceited cox- 
 comb that ever believed in his own irresistible 
 attractions could not have misconstrued her. 
 She gradually recovered the uneasiness his un- 
 usual looks and manner had aroused, and by 
 dinner-time all things seemed as usual. 
 
 Thomas Ashland's visit lasted three days. 
 He seemed reluctant, yet obliged to go, and 
 made many promises to return soon. 
 
 Alice was ashamed of herself : she felt such a 
 relief at his departure. His words had been 
 extremely variable ; often he seemed to strug- 
 gle against some impulse, some unaccountable 
 ill-temper, of which Alice could not help being 
 conscious. Her attention to Mrs. Neale — why 
 should she give so much of her time to a 
 stranger ? 
 
 ' ' One might think you were paid to run and 
 
190 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 care for that old woman/' he gro'^'led, just 
 before starting' for 'Frisco. '' I believe you 
 would rather read to her than talk to me." 
 
 "But, cousin, Mrs. Neale is ill and lonely; 
 I am really of some comfort to her. She wants 
 me a great deal more than you do." 
 
 " How do 3^ou know that ? I have more trou- 
 bles than you know of. Look here, I have a 
 great mind to tell j'ou all about them when I 
 come back ; would j-ou care to hear ? " 
 
 *'Yes; I should care very much, indeed," 
 she said, earnestly. " I should be very g-lad to 
 be of the least use to you." 
 
 "Thank you," said Ashland, hoarsely, and 
 he smoked with energy for some moments. 
 " You've a kind heart, Alice, and if loneliness 
 is a claim on it I am lonely enough. Well, 
 when I come back you and I will take a ride to- 
 gether, and I will tell you my troubles. Now, 
 little cousin, good-bj^; but I'll come back soon — 
 soon." He pressed her hand painfully hard and 
 hurried away, leaving her by no means happy. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 All things fell into the ordinarj^ routine when 
 Ashland's disturbing presence was withdrawn, 
 and Alice's readings and conversations with 
 Mrs. Neale grew more frequent and prolonged. 
 She generally spent the evening in her friend's 
 room, as Mrs. Williams deeply enjoyed the gos- 
 sip and cards in the drawing-room. Although 
 the least inquisitive of mortals, Mrs. Neale 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 191 
 
 asked her young- favorite a few questions re- 
 specting- her relative, which, though very- 
 guarded, impressed Alice with the idea that 
 she was somehow distrustful of him. 
 
 " I imagine he has known neither mother nor 
 sisters. Family life is of enormous importance 
 to every one, but especially to men ; they need 
 softening so much." 
 
 Alice assented ; and as Mrs. Neale did not 
 seem disposed to talk any more, she took up 
 the hook the}'- had been reading and began. It 
 was one of Bulwer's novels. Time went 
 quickly ; Alice was absorbed in the trials and 
 tribulations of " Gentleman Waife." 
 
 Without, it was a wild night ; within, it was 
 homelike and cheerful. A bright fire and gay 
 chintz hangings, Mrs. Neale in her armchair, 
 Alice in a pretty soft gray dress, with lace 
 about the throat and arms, seated on a low 
 seat, her book on her knees, the lamp on the 
 table beside her, shining down on her graceful 
 head, her earnest, thoughtful face — it was a 
 sweet picture, at least it seemed so to some one 
 who opened the door softly, so softly that for a 
 moment they were not aware a third person 
 was added to their number ; then the sudden 
 sense of a disturbing presence made Alice look 
 up— to meet Harold Neale's eyes. 
 
 With a bow and a smile to her he went 
 quickly across to Mrs. ISTeale, and exclaiming, 
 " Well, dear mother, how goes it ? " kissed her 
 tenderly. 
 
 Alice put down her book gently and had al- 
 most reached the door when Mrs. ]!*Teale cried : 
 
193 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 "T>o not run away, my dear. Let me at 
 least introduce my son to you." 
 
 She was oblig-ed to return and stood, witli 
 downcast eyes and crimson cheeks, unspeakably 
 annoyed. 
 
 ''I have alread}^ the pleasure of knowing- 
 Miss Ashland," said Harold, with a joyous ring* 
 in his tone, as he advanced to shake hands with 
 her, and then stopped. Her attitude, her whole 
 expression, showed she was not going- to g-ive 
 him her hand, or to respond to his g-reeting- be- 
 yond what civilit}' required. 
 
 "How! — you know Miss Ashland?" asked 
 his mother, greatly surprised. ''Why did you 
 not tell me so before ? " 
 
 '' Because, until your last letter you never 
 mentioned the name of the young lady who 
 has made your stay here so pleasant and profit- 
 able. I have to thank you heartily, Miss Ash- 
 land ; but I fear you have forgotten me ? " 
 
 "No," returned Alice, recovering herself, 
 and remembering that it would not do to let 
 her disappointment in him appear. " I was a 
 little startled when you came in so unexpect- 
 edly." 
 
 "Then you had no idea he was my son?" 
 asked Mrs. Neale. 
 
 " I thought it probable when you spoke of 
 Peekskill, but — " She paused. 
 
 "No doubt you had many more interesting 
 topics to discuss," said Harold, laughing. He 
 wished to change the subject. He thought 
 Alice's silence respecting himself arose from 
 reluctance to revert to the mortifjang cir- 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 193 
 
 cumstances connected with their acquaintance- 
 ship. 
 
 '^ Good-evening-," returned Alice, with a 
 pretty, slight, respectful courtes}^ to Mrs. 
 Neale. " I have put a mark in the book ; 
 you can find the place easily. Good-evening," 
 and, with a little hesitation, she g-ave her hand 
 to Harold. 
 
 ''If 3^ou ivill go," he said, oi)ening' the door 
 for her. " I can see my mother is a different 
 creature and I am sure much of the improve- 
 ment is due to 3^ou." 
 
 Alice smiled, shook her head and escaped 
 downstairs ; but not to the drawing'-room ; she 
 wanted to be alone. In their own apartment 
 the "fire burned cheerfully and brig-htly, 
 and lig-hted the room sufEiciently. Alice sat 
 down on the hearthrug and thoug-ht, in a hur- 
 ried, confused way. "He has come — he is here," 
 was the phrase that repeated itself over and 
 over again in her ears — the man who had 
 thought so lig-htly of her as to say he had bet- 
 ter avoid her evident liking for him. Mrs. Cra- 
 ven was not honest, but she could not invent 
 such a stor3^ Was it possible that that un- 
 affected, grave, composed man could be guilty 
 of such a piece of boyish coxcombry ? 
 
 Guilty or not, she was almost dismayed to 
 feel so very, very glad to see him. She was 
 angry with herself ; it wasn't want of proper 
 pride. 
 
 Then the past came back to her — oh, how 
 vividly ! — all those months since their mem- 
 orable meeting at the great World's Fair ! 
 
194 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 At her first plunge in the brilliant life to 
 which Mrs. Craven had introduced her, the 
 only one whose presence gave her a sense of 
 safety, of solid ground, was Harold Neale. 
 But since they last met Alice had learned 
 much ; she had eaten of the fruit of the tree of 
 knowledge and profited by the repast. She 
 must not allow this consciousness of Harold's 
 puerile vanity to disturb either her mind or her 
 manners ; she must be strong to live her own 
 life, to mark out her own road. Mr. Neale 
 could be nothing to her ; she had much to see 
 and to do apart from him. Indeed, she would 
 resist these unprofitable musings now. 
 
 She rose as she came to this conclusion and 
 looked round for her work-basket. She would 
 take it to the drawing-room, and if Miss Miller, 
 the locomotive, elderly young lady, was not 
 playing the piano, she would ask her to go to 
 the old Mission Church with her tc-morrow. 
 It was contemptible to sit and dream about 
 follies. 
 
 The succeeding da^^s, however, showed Alice 
 that in the matter of avoiding Harold hers was 
 not the onlj'^ will at work. 
 
 He had evidently made up his mind to see as 
 much as possible of her, and his mother sec- 
 onded him in her gentle, kindly way. Mrs. 
 Williams was soon won over completel3^ 
 
 She quite well remembered Harold once she 
 saw him again, though when out of sight he 
 slipped her memor3^ 
 
 To Alice, in spite of her resolutions to be 
 coldly prudent and steadily distrustful, these 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 195 
 
 days were unaccountably^ delightful. The 
 hearty gratitude of Harold for her kind atten- 
 tions to his mother touched her heart. His 
 sincerity could not be doubted. A g-reat long-- 
 ing- to g-ive him her whole confidence strugg-led 
 within her against a stern determination to 
 show no preference in her manner. 
 
 The weather was delightful and Harold often 
 took his mother out driving. Alice was always 
 asked to accompany them and sometimes ac- 
 cepted ; but Harold Feale could not resist the 
 impression that she quietly avoided him. Was 
 it that the associations connected with him were 
 painful ? Could she class him with Nevin ? 
 Did she think him a poltroon like his friend ? 
 Or, had Mrs. Craven made mischief? This 
 was possible. 
 
 As Harold Neale pondered these things on his 
 way back from a ramble along the beach, he 
 caught sight of a certain brown hat and 
 pheasant's breast which he knew well and soon 
 overtook. 
 
 " Has Mrs. Williams a lazy fit that you are 
 walking alone,. Miss Ashland ? " he asked. 
 
 She looked up quickly, the color rising in her 
 cheek for a moment. How well those delicate, 
 flitting blushes became her ! 
 
 ''She is busy Avriting to her son," replied 
 Ahce. " My cousin, Mr. Ashland, has got him 
 a good situation at Auckland, New Zealand, 
 and dear Mrs. Williams is so glad." 
 
 "I suppose so," throwing away his cigar. 
 " I did not know she had a son. You expect 
 your cousin down here, do you not ? " ^ 
 
1% ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 " We always expect him ; he is a little un- 
 certain/' 
 
 A pause. Neale was puzzled how to bring 
 the conversation round to herself and the 
 chang-e he perceived in her manner. 
 
 " My mother is not quite so well to-day. I 
 persuaded her to stay indoors. Will you look 
 in on her when you go in ? You have done her 
 so much good ; you suit her exactly. In short, 
 if you do not think it audacious of me to men- 
 tion such a possibility^ as your growing old , I 
 should say you will, in the course of inexorable 
 time, be just such an old lady as my mother 
 now is." 
 
 '* That is a high compliment," said Alice, 
 with a pleased smile. 
 
 " Still it is diflacult to fancy you anything but 
 young. Now do not turn toward the house. 
 It is so fresh and invigorating, though a little 
 wild ; the air will do you good and I want j-ou 
 to explain something that puzzles me." 
 
 " What can it be ? " asked Alice. " I am not 
 likely to know more than you." 
 
 "You must not think me presumptuous; in 
 short, will you grant me plenary absolution for 
 anything I am going to say ? " 
 
 *'Do not say anything disagreeable," said 
 Alice, looking up entreatingly. 
 
 " Do you think I would pain you in any 
 waj^?" asked Harold, meeting her ej'-es, the 
 expression in his own thrilling her with a 
 strange, wild delight that had in it something 
 of pain. "Well, I will trust to your under- 
 standing me," he resumed. ''When I first 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 197 
 
 met you. Miss Ashland, we soon became 
 friends ; and I was under the impression that 
 you felt how thoroughlj^ I appreciated the 
 frankness, the delightful sincerity of your nat- 
 ure ; in short, that you were inclined to trust 
 me, that j^ou might, perhaps, if you needed it, 
 have asked me to do j^ou a service as naturally 
 as you would an elder brother. Now, this is 
 all changed. I cannot say where the change is, 
 but you have closed your petals and hidden 
 your heart. Tell me, has any one spoken 
 against me to 5^0 u ? Why do you treat me as 
 if I were more a stranger than the first day I 
 met you ? " 
 
 Alice was greath' puzzled how to answer. 
 She could not repeat Mrs. Craven's speech re- 
 specting him ; she could not otherwise account 
 for the change in herself. 
 
 " No one has spoken against you, Mr. 
 Neale, '"' she said, keeping her eyes fixed on 
 the ground. "I did not think I was so 
 changed." 
 
 '' Then you are changed ? " 
 
 "I am very much changed— in every way. I 
 feel so much older, so different. It seems years 
 and years since I first met you. I do not in- 
 tend to be — to be uncivil — " 
 
 *' I want a great deal more than civility," 
 said Harold, trying to steal a look into her 
 eyes ; " I want as much as I give, as I have 
 given." 
 
 "It is growing very stormy," exclaimed 
 Alice, abruptly, and, turning, she began to 
 
198 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 walk fast. Harold felt checked, but was not a 
 man to be easily daunted. 
 
 "When I rushed off to see my mother, " he 
 resumed, " full of warmest g-ratitudeto you for 
 all your tender care of her, and looking- forward 
 to the pleasure of renewing our former friend- 
 ship just at the same stage as we had been when 
 separated by no fault of mine, I did not expect 
 such a disappointment." 
 
 " I have read somewhere," said Alice, with a 
 transparent attempt at evasion, " that nothing 
 once broken off can ever be renewed again ex- 
 actly as it was." 
 
 "I am sorry to hear yoxx say so," said Har- 
 old, gravely. " I hoped earnestly that jom would 
 not think me less worthy of your frank friendli- 
 ness now than you did four months ago. I 
 can only accept your decision, feeling as poor 
 Tom Moore must have done when he penned 
 those exquisite lines in 'Lalla Rookh': 
 
 " ' 'Twas ever thus, from childhood's hour 
 
 I've seen my fondest hopes decay, 
 I never loved a tree or flower 
 
 But 'twas the first to fade away. 
 I never reared a dear gazelle 
 
 To glad me with its bright blue eye, 
 But when it came to know me well 
 
 And love me, it was sure to die.' " 
 
 "You are verj'- good. I do not wish to be 
 rude or unkind," faltered Alice, deeply touched. 
 Oh ! ought she to have believed Mrs. Craven ? 
 Was it possible that he loved her, and she re- 
 pelling him ? Yet how could she explain ? 
 
 "Rude or unkind," repeated Harold, "that 
 you could never be. But I need not pain j^ou 
 by compelling you to speak more plainly. So 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 199 
 
 g-ood-by for the present. You will see my 
 mother this evening", if you can ? ' ' 
 
 They had reached the g-ate. He opened it 
 and raised his hat as she passed through. 
 Then, setting- it hard down, he turned and 
 walked rapidly away in the teeth of the wind. 
 
 " Mr. Ashland arrived 4bout half an hour 
 ag-o, miss," said a servant whom she met in 
 the hall. 
 
 Thankful for the timely notice, Alice slipped 
 away to her own room to take off her hat, to 
 think over the hopeless tang-le in which she 
 seemed involved. 
 
 As soon as she recovered herself she went 
 into the little drawing-'room to g-reet her cousin. 
 
 Mrs. Williams was sitting- by the fire, knit- 
 ting- in hand, and a l omewhat troubled expres- 
 sion on her countenance. Thomas Ashland 
 was striding- to and fro, his brow knit, his 
 hands plunged in the side pockets of his coat. 
 
 ''How do you do, Thomas?" said Alice, 
 cheerfully. " I hope you are better ? " 
 
 "No, I am not," roughly, stopping- short in 
 front of her ; '' and you are not well, either. 
 You have been cr^dng- your eyes out. Don't 
 d&nj it ! — I see you have. W hat's the matter, 
 little cousin ? Can I help you ? " These last 
 words in a wonderfullj^ softened tone that 
 touched Alice. 
 
 ''There is nothing the matter, Tom," she 
 returned, stretching- out her hands. " I have 
 been walking- ag-ainst the wind, and it has made 
 my eyes red and sore." 
 
 "Lies ! lies ! " muttered Ashland to himself. 
 
200 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 *' Where does that fellow Neale come from ? 
 How do you know him ? I saw you walk past 
 with him, and I watched and watched, and 
 thought you'd never come back ; but you did, 
 still with him. How did you come to know 
 him ? " 
 
 '' He is a friend of Mrs. Craven's," said Alice, 
 dreadfullj^ alarmed and much surprised. 
 
 " Ha ! traitors every one. He is a traitor, 
 too. You must speak to him no more, Alice ; 
 I forbid you." 
 
 " Cousin, I cannot be rude to an unoffending 
 acquaintance because jon bid me," returned 
 Alice, firml3^ '' I do not particularly wish to 
 walk or talk with Mr. Neale, but I will not be 
 forbidden by you to speak to any one ! " 
 
 " I suppose not ! I am of no account in your 
 eyes. I had better go. I am. not wanted here." 
 
 ''Oh, my gracious, Mr. Ashland!" cried 
 Mrs. Williams. 
 
 ''Really, Thomas, 3^ou are too silly," said 
 Alice, with a pleasant laugh. "You must be 
 hungry and out of temper to make a quarrel 
 out of notiiing. Don't you see how foolish it 
 all is ? Suppose I were to be angry with you 
 if you walked out with — say Mrs. Jarrett,or even 
 her daughter — " 
 
 Ashland interrupted her with a boisterous 
 laugh. 
 
 "Just so. That tvould be a queer turn. 
 Never mind, Alice ; I wouldn't walk with a 
 living soul if it would vex you." 
 
 "Well, do not vex me by being cross," she 
 returned. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 201 
 
 '' All rig-ht ; I am a little out of sorts. Don't 
 let us say anything- more about it." 
 
 It had been a most trying day for Alice. She 
 looked forward with infinite dread to dinner. 
 She feared that her cousin might break out 
 with some insulting speech to Harold. To her 
 infinite relief, however, Harold Neale was not 
 at table and the evening went over quietly. 
 
 ''You are home early/' said Mrs. Neale, 
 when her son came to say good-night. 
 
 " And 3^ou are late ; I hardly expected j^ou 
 to be still up." 
 
 '' I have been spending the evening with Mrs. 
 Williams and Miss Ashland. She could not 
 come to me because her cousin arrived to-day." 
 
 " Ah ! what is he like ? What do you think 
 of him ? " asked Harold, eagerl3^ 
 
 '' I cannot quite understand him ; I do not 
 exactly like him. He was very silent at first 
 this evening ; then he burst into talk, and 
 talked well enough." 
 
 '' Do "you think he is more than a cousin to 
 Miss Ashland ? Do you think she will marrj^ 
 him ? " asked Harold, slowly. 
 
 " It is impossible to sa5^ I think not ; I 
 hope not. I fanc}' she is a little afraid of him." 
 
 " I hope she is." 
 
 " Why, what has put such a wish into your 
 head?"' 
 
 '' Because— because I should like to marry 
 her myself," returned Harold. 
 
 ''Yes," said his mother, softly, "I have 
 seen that \o\x love her ; I wish that she may 
 return vour affection. She would be a sweet 
 
202 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 daughter to me. Do you tliink she hkes you, 
 Harold?" 
 
 " I cannot tell. I thought so last spring, but 
 there was a rascally plot weaving round us at 
 the time, and I was bound hand and foot. I 
 will tell you all some day. Now I feel con- 
 vinced some one has pat her against me. She 
 has changed ; she distrusts me. Yet I have a 
 sort of instinctive feeling that she might have 
 loved me at one time." Harold passed his 
 hand over his brow, but the mother's loving 
 eyes caught an expression of pain. 
 
 " You love her very much, dear ? " she asked, 
 tenderly. 
 
 '^With all my soul ! " said Harold, emphat- 
 ically. '' But I have lost heart since she re- 
 buffed me this morning. Still, I will hold on a 
 while longer. I will see her and this cousin tOr 
 gether, arid judge for myself. If there is no 
 hope I will be off home." 
 
 " I do not for a moment believe that you will 
 find a rival in Mr. Ashland. I do not think 
 Alice is even glad when he comes. She gives 
 me, as I said, the impression of being afraid of 
 him." 
 
 '' Afraid ? Oh, that can hardly be ! Well, 
 good-night. I fear I am not a lucky fellow, 
 except in having such a dear old mother." He 
 stooped, kissed her affectionately and went 
 away to his room. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 203 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 At dinner the next daj' Harold encountered 
 Ashland. That eccentric person sat opposite 
 to Harold and watched him all through dinner 
 with a scowl of dislike, and, when by chance 
 they spoke together, Ashland made a point of 
 contradicting him on every point in the rough- 
 est and most abrupt manner. Harold bore all 
 this with unshaken good - temper, occasion- 
 ally sending a keen, inquiring glance across the 
 table at his wordy vis-a-vis. 
 
 Dinner over, Mrs. Neale asked Alice and her 
 friends to her room, and, though Ashland ac- 
 cepted, he did not stay long. With a confused 
 apologj^ about having promised some ''fel- 
 lows " to p\a,y a game of pool at the Monterey 
 Hotel;^.he said good-night. 
 
 His p^irting glance made Alice uneasy. 
 
 It rested on Harold with so murderous an 
 expression of hate and furj^ that she could not 
 collect her thoughts for a few minutes. What 
 danger did it threaten ? or was her fancy groAvn 
 morbid ? She felt altogether unnerved and 
 glad to retire, though there had been pleasant 
 moments during the evening. 
 
 When Thomas Ashland next presented him- 
 self to his cousin he was in a very quiet, melan- 
 choW mood. He asked her to come out for a 
 walk. The afternoon was soft and quiet, and 
 Alice, glad to be able to grant a request of his, 
 at once assented. 
 
 "We will go toward the old Mission," said 
 
204 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 Ashland, as they passed through the gate. 
 " There are not so many people that way." 
 
 ''Very well," returned Alice, meekly. 
 
 " So that fellow Neale lives in the house," re- 
 sumed Ashland. "I see him writing- in his room." 
 
 "It is nice for him to be with his mother," 
 said Alice, turning her eyes away. 
 
 "Very likely" — grimly. "Well, I'm not 
 going to stay in the same house. I moved off 
 to the hotel last night ; didn't they tell jou ? 
 No?" 
 
 "You would have been more comfortable 
 here, would you not ? " 
 
 To this Ashland made no reply, and ' they 
 walked on in silence till they reached a shady 
 nook, "Let us sit down," he said, abruptly. 
 " It is not too cold for you, eh ? " 
 
 "Oh, not at all," returned Alice, w^ho was 
 feeling uncomfortable. 
 
 " I said I would tell you mj troubles when I 
 came next, if you cared to listen," he began. 
 
 "Yes, I remember; and I shall be glad to 
 hear them." 
 
 "It isn't a stor}^ to be glad about," said 
 Ashland. " Well, here goes. I suppose now, 
 Alice, you think I am a quiet, steady, stay-at- 
 home man? " 
 
 "You always seem happy enough with us, 
 and we are quiet, I am sure." 
 
 " Happy I — a3^, that I am, if I could always 
 be with you ! Now I shall tell you what I 
 really am — a desperate drunkard, nearly- a 
 hopeless one." 
 
 "That is impossible, Thomas!" cried Alice, 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 305 
 
 amazed. "Why, yon rarely touch a glass of 
 wine ; you take only tea or milk or — ' ' 
 
 ^' Ay, when I am with you. Don't you see, 
 I dare not taste anj^thing- strong- or I couldn't 
 stop? Sometimes I keep clear of it for a month 
 and begin to think I am cured ; then the dread- 
 ful, desperate longing- for spirits, wine, any- 
 thing, comes over me and I must have it, if I 
 tore down walls and murdered men to g-et it ! " 
 He stopped and wiped his brow in great agita- 
 tion. " When I first came over from New 
 Zealand there was a g-ood deal of excitement 
 over both our affairs. I g"ot better, calmer, 
 stronger ; but after a bit the old craving- came 
 back. I have something more to say. Do you 
 remember I once offered to marry you ? I 
 didn't care much about it, but I thought it 
 might suit you at the time. Now I want you 
 to marry me for my sake. Don't shrink away 
 as if 3^ou feared me, Alice ; you must marry 
 me. It drives me mad to see other people 
 come near you, even women. I want you all to 
 myself, away from every creature. ThatNeale 
 dares to look at you and love you ! I'd like to 
 cut his throat ! Answer me, Alice. Will 3'ou 
 save me, and marry me ? " 
 
 ^' I never dreamed you wished to marry me, 
 Tom ; I have learned to think of you as a dear 
 brother. I will do everything I can for you — 
 hut marry you, that I cannot do." 
 
 " What is your objection ? " 
 
 " In truth, I have not the courage to — to 
 marrj^ you, after your account of j^our tenden- 
 cies — your difficulties — " 
 
206 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ''Then you arc cold-hearted, indifferent." 
 He burst into a ming-led torrent of reproaches 
 and entreaties. Alice, thoug-h trembUng from 
 head to foot, continued tenderly though firmly 
 to refuse. At last, with a wild, despairing- cry, 
 he started up and rushed away toward the 
 shore, and was soon out of sight. 
 
 Alice, though hardly able to stand, hastened 
 in the opposite direction, growing calmer as 
 she went, and at last reached the shelter of her 
 own room, where she described to the astonished 
 and sympathizing Mrs. Williams the trying in- 
 terview she had just had. 
 
 " What will he do ? " was Alice's cry. " He 
 seemed quite out of his mind. I am afraid of 
 his hurting himself." 
 
 ''Oh, no, I don't suppose he will," returned 
 Mrs. Williams, soothingly. ''He is odd and 
 eccentric, but I don't think he is so foolish as 
 to do himself any harm. I will get Mrs. Jar- 
 rett to send over to the Monterey a little later 
 on and find out if he has come in." 
 
 "It is all so unfortunate," said Alice. 
 "Where can we turn? Mr. Bond seems to 
 have quarreled with you, and Mr. Watts is so 
 undecided, and now we have lost Thomas ! I 
 shall always be afraid of him, though I would 
 give anything to be able to help him. Oh, how 
 my head throbs ! " 
 
 " Will you lie down ? Perhaps 3'ou will get 
 a little rest." 
 
 Mrs. Jarrett's messenger reported, first, that 
 Mr. Ashland had gone out early and had not 
 j^et returned, and, on being again sent, brought 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 207 
 
 word that Mr. Ashland had just come in and 
 was in his room. 
 
 When Mrs. Jarre tt's g-uests sat down to din- 
 ner Harold Neale was much exercised in his 
 mind by the absence of Miss Ashland, especially 
 as Mrs. Williams's honest face showed uneasi- 
 ness and expectancy. She g-lanced at the door ; 
 she forg-ot to answer when spoken to ; she 
 scarcely ate. He remembered seeing- Alice go 
 with her cousin in the afternoon, and he drew 
 the conclusion that they had come to some 
 understanding— or misunderstanding-. 
 
 ''Mother, perhaps Miss Ashland will see 
 you," he said in a low voice, as they rose 
 from table. 
 
 She guve a little nod of assent, and went 
 round to join Mrs. Williams at the door. 
 
 Harold saw them go out together, and went 
 to his mother's room to await her return. Her 
 visit seemed to him of portentous length, but 
 she came at last. " Well ? " he said, drawing 
 her chair forward ; " well ? " 
 
 " She is better and only feared the heat and 
 smell of dinner might bring back her head- 
 ache ; but, Harold, I think she has had a 
 shock of some kind, she is so tremulous and 
 shaken. I am sure the cousin has something 
 to do with it, for Mrs. Williams said when we 
 had left the room : ' If the poor dear had a 
 father or a brother, or any one to look after 
 her; I am no good.' I began to say some- 
 thing about her cousin, when she exclaimed : 
 ' Don't talk of him ; he frightens the life out 
 of her.' " 
 
208 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ''That is evident," cried Harold, much dis- 
 turbed. " What is best to be done ? I am so 
 uncertain of her feelings toward me I fear to 
 propose. As a rejected lover I should be no 
 use whatever to her ; as a friend I mig-ht be 
 some help." 
 
 "Let us see what a few daj'^s may bring- 
 forth. I do not think she is averse to you." 
 
 Harold shook his head. 'SShe never g-ives 
 me the faintest encouragement. We are not 
 even as good friends as we were at first. I 
 wish her life were more fortunate." 
 
 " You will make it more fortunate yet, Har- 
 old," said Mrs. Neale, lovingly. ''We know 
 not what to-morrow may bring us." 
 
 The morrow brought a climax little antici- 
 pated .- 
 
 Mrs. Williams had to post a parcel to her son 
 that morning, a parcel she did not care to trust 
 to any one's hands, but she lingered, loath to 
 leave Alice in her nervous condition. 
 
 "I am too foolish," said Alice. "Go, dear, 
 and mail your parcel ; I will pay Mrs. Neale a 
 visit while you're gone," and in a few minutes 
 Mrs. Williams took her departure. 
 
 Alice was standing at a book-shelf, with her 
 back to the open window which faced on to the 
 conservatory, when the sound of a footfall 
 made her turn round. To her dismay she saw 
 Tom Ashland coming through the window. 
 
 " I frightened you yesterday ; I know I did," 
 said he. " I have been thinking a great deal 
 since." 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 209 
 
 " Will you not sit clown, Thomas ? " said 
 Alice, feeling- that a crisis was at hand. 
 
 " No ; there is no use in sitting- down ; I can- 
 not rest. I must end all this. I shall never 
 leave off drinking- ; I know it. I shall go down 
 — down ! Now, I am determined that shall 
 never he. I was awfully tempted to finish 
 Neale as I went by and saw him." A terrible, 
 fierce, wild look came into his eyes. " But I 
 had a duty to accomplish, and I resisted — I re- 
 sisted ! Alice, life is hard on us both. I will 
 deliver us both. Look here ! " He drew from 
 his pocket a revolver, while Alice stood petri- 
 fied with terror, yet keeping- her wits about 
 her, knowing- that her first move meant death. 
 "This will end all our troubles. You mustn't 
 be frightened, my dear; it will not hurt you. I 
 know the spot, and all I have to do is to touch 
 the trigger and off you go ; then I'll send a 
 bullet through my own brain and join you. 
 Don't look at the door. I'd be sorry to hurt 
 you, but if you try to get away I will. I will 
 never let you out of this alive." 
 
 "I am not going," said Alice, with marvel- 
 ous, desperate self-control. "1 think your 
 plan is a good one, for hfe is so puzzling." 
 
 The unfortunate madman's countenance re- 
 laxed. " Ah, that is right. You are true after 
 all; come! " 
 
 " One thing, however, I must do before — be- 
 fore we die. I promised Father Ignatius of the 
 Mission to bring over the picture of the infant 
 St. John this morning. You or I must take it, 
 for I cannot break my word at such a time." 
 
210 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 ''Ah, perhaps; yes, you ought not. Well, 
 get the picture and I will wait till you return. 
 Don't be long, for I'm anxious we should be off." 
 
 Alice opened the door, went out, and then 
 fled wildly along the veranda — not into the 
 house, not to call assistance, but to Harold 
 Neale's room. She felt sure that Ashland 
 would rush to wreak vengeance either on her 
 or his supposed rival. 
 
 Harold was writing, as he often did, at a 
 table beside the window, which was open. He 
 was resting his head on his hands, tihinking 
 over his mother's advice and balancing the 
 pros and cons, when Alice, white as death, her 
 eyes wild with terror, flew into the room. 
 
 Harold started up, his first idea being that 
 she was making her escape from danger or 
 pursuit ; but before he could speak she began in 
 frantic haste to close the window, then the 
 shutters, w^hile she kept repeating : ''Lock the 
 door— bolt it ! Oh, do— do lock it ! " 
 
 " What is the matter, for Heaven's sake ? " 
 cried Harold. " My dear Miss Ashland, you are 
 safe with me." 
 
 "No — no ! I want to save you ! He will mur- 
 der you ! Oh, come back into the corner ! Do 
 not hold me : I must fasten the door ! " Then, 
 leaning back against it exhausted, she went on : 
 " He is mad — quite mad, Thomas is. He wanted 
 to murder me ; he was very near murdering you. 
 Her will come now ; he has a horrible revolver." 
 
 Here a step was heard in the passage. Quite 
 beside herself with fear, Alice darted to Harold 
 and threw her arms around him. 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 211 
 
 " He is coming" — he is coming- ! " she whis- 
 pered, as she clung- to him. 
 
 "Dearest," said Harald, straining her to his 
 heart, "you will be ill. Let me take you to 
 my mother. If your cousin is mad, he must he 
 prevented from doing- mischief to himself or 
 others. You are trembling — you can hardly 
 stand," and he tried to lift her, but she evaded 
 him. 
 
 ''I will not let you g-o," she said, faintly. 
 " He will murder you. I will not let you go." 
 
 " Ashland is not coming- here," said Harold ; 
 ''he would have been here before. Let me take 
 you away; I must know what is g-oing- on." 
 Still supporting her, he opened the door. All 
 was quiet, but a distant buzz of talk came from 
 the hall. 
 
 ''You must come upstairs. You shall be 
 safe with my mother. I will see to it." 
 
 Half leading-, half carrjang- her, Harold took 
 Alice with infinite care to his mother. 
 
 "She has had an awful frig-ht," he said; 
 "get her some wine. I scarcely know what is 
 the matter, but don't leave her, I shall return 
 when I find Mrs. Williams." 
 
 " My dear child, you are more dead than 
 alive," cried Mrs. Neale. "Put her on the 
 lounge, Harold." 
 
 Alice could not speak. She tried still to hold 
 Neale, but he, gently kissing her hand, disen- 
 gaged himself and hurried away. 
 
 In the hall he found Mrs. Jarrett and all the 
 servants talking eagerly. "Oh, Mr, Neale ! " 
 said the lady of the house, "we are all so 
 
212 ALICE ASHLAND. 
 
 frig-htened. Jim here — the stable-boy — about 
 ten minutes ag-o saw Mr. Ashland without his 
 hat, and a great pistol in his hand, tearing- 
 across the lawn as hard as he could, and look- 
 ing- quite wild." 
 
 ''Indeed!" cried Harold. '' What direction 
 did he take ? " 
 
 " He turned right, and ran straight toward 
 the beach," said the bo3^ '' He seemed to 
 come from Miss Ashland's room." 
 
 " Heavens ! I hope he hasn't hurt the dear 
 young lady," cried Mrs. Jarrett, fussing away 
 in the direction of her room. 
 
 ''My mother has Miss Ashland quite safe," 
 said Harold, reaching his hat and going out 
 to see what had become of the madman. 
 
 When Mrs. Williams returned she found 
 everything topsy-turv3^ and when she heard 
 of Ashland's mad act her dismaj^ can be im- 
 agined. It was some little time before Alice 
 could speak calmly to Harold. She felt cer- 
 tain that in her intense excitement she had be- 
 trayed herself. 
 
 "How is my poor cousin ? " she said to Mrs. 
 Neale, who was sitting with her. 
 
 "My dear, I'm afraid his is a hopeless case. 
 He was last seen tearing toward the pier, 
 and " — but looking toward the door — " here is 
 Harold." 
 
 As she spoke Harold Neale entered the room. 
 It was a moment of profound embarrassment. 
 
 "I am sorry to see that you have not quite 
 recovered the dreadful shock you have sus- 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 213 
 
 tained ; and you must brace j^ourself for an- 
 other." 
 
 '' What do j^ou mean ? "' cried Alice. 
 
 " Your cousin^ poor fellow, I'm heartily sorry 
 for him ; but perhaps it is for the best. Mine 
 is an un^ateful task, but you had better hear 
 it from one who loves you than from a stranger. 
 Your cousin, after leaving- your room, rushed 
 down to the beach, revolver in hand. Several 
 men tried to capture him, but he flourished his 
 weapon and fled. On reaching the beach he 
 mounted the pier, where the fishing boats are, 
 and ran along it. When he reached the end 
 of it he turned for a moment, placed the pistol 
 to his head, fired and fell backward into the 
 water. The fishermen recovered the body and 
 an inquest will be held." 
 
 There was a long silence. 
 
 '' Heaven have mercy on him ! " sighed 
 Alice, at last, resuming her seat on the lounge. 
 ''But it will be long before I can forget this 
 dreadful day. Poor Cousin Thomas ! my heart 
 aches for him ; but better dead than mad." 
 
 " Yes, poor fellow ! " said Harold. " But I 
 want to speak of something else, even at this 
 awful time — something which concerns the fut- 
 ure of my life. You know what it is. I have 
 longed for weary months to say : ' Alice, I love 
 you.' I almost despaired, when something in 
 your fears for me to-daj^ — something in the 
 clasp of your arms— gave me a faint hope." 
 
 He paused, and Alice, "half charmed, half 
 frightened, made a little hesitating movement, 
 as if to give him her hand, and then drew back. 
 
uie ill the torture of snp< 
 
 ''I .hMVj.> been vexed V. ., , ...... ' ..-...,. * 
 
 with natural sweet franlmo!,s " m^d I am 
 most ashamed to sri^ ''"'•" I 'ut I will < '• ■ 
 Wlicn 3'ou went h 'ekskiU ff 
 
 cai-'o I was sor.v. v.f;u always .-.-•, 
 true- and earnest — ax-en) f;-iond --riii<l J. sr. ' 
 wa.s sorry. Then Mrs. C'raven told m<^ yotl t 
 plt^ased to go B(.-cause~beca.Llse you Lhougii 
 was in lovi' with you and showed ib toe mi^: 
 
 ^•'It was an infernal lie," cried Harold, . 
 more energy than po]it<?uess, "invented h. 
 unset upnlous woman ! Look in niv eyes, A 
 and tell me whom you believe — Mrs. Cmvr 
 I am iiicapablo of rnal'livfr P'lch' '^^ sp 
 
 me 
 
 about any v/oinan. 
 
 8iv3 raised her <■ ^ r^- iohi'- 
 •>uii1e broke o ..Mi is^»ui, 
 
 low and stead' 
 
 ••'I believe you. 
 
 "Then one diilkulty ' 
 have loved you almost iroui the bc^uinuv 
 our acquaintance' : c: u \id ^r.w mj ;i '■* 'i 
 return? '■ 
 
 He hoi ^-i M.. ^ ■ 
 into it. 
 
 ''Dea^;^^l.^ ... ..■-.:;.. ;■ > -. j...:. ■■ • 
 around me ar;d say : 'Harold, l.lov 
 r* • ;'-' -vi -v.:s to his neck and t.:,. 
 
 : passioTtate force. "\' 
 
ALICE ASHLAND. 215 
 
 terance ; past, present and future all merged in 
 that intense moment. 
 
 Mrs. Craven was seated in the drawing'-room 
 of her Twenty-first Street mansion, New York, 
 reading the latest society novel, when her hus- 
 band, the gallant major, entered somewhat ab- 
 ruptly. " Well, Mary, my dear, I told you and 
 that fool of a brother of 5^0 urs that it was an 
 evil day for him, though a day of blessing for 
 her, when he broke off his engagement to Alice 
 Ashland." 
 
 . '' Why, my dear husband, you couldn't ex- 
 pect poor Wilfred to marry on nothing." 
 
 '' Poor Wilfred — bah ! With all respect to 
 you, my love, all my sympathies were with 
 Miss Ashland, and" I think Heaven itself must 
 have interfered to save her from a fellow con- 
 tent to live off the crumbs that fall from my 
 table. Read that." He thrust a newspaper 
 into her hand ; it wa^ the latest San Francisco 
 Examiner. 
 
 The leading page had a column headed with 
 the startling headlines : 
 
 " Suicide of a Millionaire. — Mr. Thomas Ash- 
 land Suicides at Montewey after Attempting the 
 -Life of His Cousin. — Sensational Scenes at the 
 Mission House," etc., etc. 
 
 The article then went on to detail with the 
 minuteness which h?is made the Examiner 
 famous on the Pacific Slope the account of the 
 tragedy with which the reader is acquainted, 
 and closed with stating: *'It is rumored that 
 Miss Ashland, who inherits his vast estate, will 
 
.- iisa. 
 
 ■J.icio 
 
 with 
 
fis 
 
 mi