hing eye than her cousin, Dick
Venner. He had kept more out of her way of late, it is true, but there
was not a movement she made which he did not carefully observe just so
far as he could without exciting her suspicion. It was plain enough to
him that the road to fortune was before him, and that the first thing was
to marry Elsie. What course he should take with her, or with others
interested, after marrying her, need not be decided in a hurry.

He had now done all he could expect to do at present in the way of
conciliating the other members of the household. The girl's father
tolerated him, if he did not even like him. Whether he suspected his
project or not Dick did not feel sure; but it was something to have got a
foothold in the house, and to have overcome any prepossession against him
which his uncle might have entertained. To be a good listener and a bad
billiard-player was not a very great sacrifice to effect this object.
Then old Sophy could hardly help feeling well-disposed towards him, after
the gifts he had bestowed on her and the court he had paid her. These
were the only persons on the place of much importance to gain over. The
people employed about the house and farm-lands had little to do with
Elsie, except to obey her without questioning her commands.

Mr. Richard began to think of reopening his second parallel. But he had
lost something of the coolness with which he had begun his system of
operations. The more he had reflected upon the matter, the more he had
convinced himself that this was his one great chance in life. If he
suffered this girl to escape him, such an opportunity could hardly, in
the nature of things, present itself a second time. Only one life
between Elsie and her fortune,--and lives are so uncertain! The girl
might not suit him as a wife. Possibly. Time enough to find out after
he had got her. In short, he must have the property, and Elsie Venner,
as she was to go with it,--and then, if he found it convenient and
agreeable to, lead a virtuous life, he would settle down and raise
children and vegetables; but if he found it inconvenient and
disagreeable, so much the worse for those who made it so. Like many
other persons, he was not principled against virtue, provided virtue were
a better investment than its opposite; but he knew that there might be
contingencies in which the property would be better without its
incumbrances, and he contemplated this conceivable problem