But this was only one aspect of the subject that filled the girl's
thoughts. She knew that Prescott loved her and she was glad of it; but
here she stopped. She was sanguine, impulsive, courageous, but, with all
that could be said for it, the change she must face if he claimed her was
a startling one. Besides, he must clear himself of suspicion, and because
the part of a mere looker-on was uncongenial, there was a course which
she would urge on him. She must see him and convince him of the necessity
for it. Soon after she had made up her mind on this point, Jernyngham and
Colston came in, and she had to talk to them.

CHAPTER XXV

A WOMAN'S INFLUENCE

Muriel found it needful to wait several days for an opportunity for
speaking to Prescott. It did not seem advisable to visit his house again,
and she was at a loss for a means of meeting him when she overheard
Leslie tell his wife that he would ask Prescott, who was going to
Sebastian the next morning, to bring out some stores they required. The
next day Muriel borrowed a team and, contenting herself with an
intimation that she was going for a long drive, set off for the
settlement. It would be time enough to confess her object if her sister
taxed her with it, and there were one or two purchases she really wished
to make.

She had never gone so far alone, though she had occasionally driven to an
outlying farm, and the expedition had in it the zest of adventure.
Moreover, she was boldly going to undertake a very unusual task in
showing Prescott what he ought to do. So far, she had been an interested
spectator of the drama of life, but now she would participate in it,
exercising such powers as she possessed, and the thought was additionally
fascinating because among her intimate friends she could not pick out a
man who owed much to a woman's guidance. Her sister had some mental
gifts, but Harry Colston, disregarding her in a good-humored but dogged
fashion, did what he thought best; while the idea of Jernyngham's
deferring to Gertrude was frankly ridiculous. Neither man had much
ability; indeed, it was, as a rule, the dullest men who were most
convinced of their superior sense. Prescott far surpassed them in
intellect; but she pulled herself up. She was not going to dwell on
Prescott's virtues unduly, and she had not convinced him yet.

The team gave her no trouble, the trail was good, and reaching Sebastian
safely, she spent some time in a drygoods store, an