that the other was noticed enough to make up for
it, who would fail to see that Kate couldn't separate
herself without a cruel pride? That lesson became
sharp for our young lady the day after her interview
with her father.

"I can't imagine," Marian on this occasion said
to her, " how you can think of anything else in
the world but the horrid way we re situated."

"And, pray, how do you know," Kate inquired
in reply, " anything about my thoughts? It seems
to me I give you sufficient proof of how much I
think of you. I don t, really, my dear, know what
else you ve to do with!"

Marian's retort, on this, was a stroke as to which
she had supplied herself with several kinds of prep
aration, but there was, none the less, something of
an unexpected note in its promptitude. She had
foreseen her sister's general fear; but here, omi
nously, was the special one. " Well, your own busi
ness is of course your own business, and you may
say there's no one less in a position than I to preach
to you. But, all the same, if you wash your hands
of me for ever for it, I won t, for this once, keep
back that I don't consider you ve a right, as we all
stand, to throw yourself away."

It was after the children's dinner, which was also
their mother s, but which their aunt mostly con
trived to keep from ever becoming her own
luncheon; and the two young women were still in
the presence of the crumpled table-cloth, the dis-

[[40]]

p039 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p040w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p041

v?