as you want him."

Mr Brandon rode on, leaving Junius to pursue his way. "It is very
pleasant," thought the young man, who had said scarcely a word during
the interview, "to hear Mr Brandon talk about all turning out well, but
when he gets home he may discover that there is something to be done at
Midbranch as well as on the Keswick place."

Mr Brandon's reflections were very different from those of Junius. It
appeared to him that a reconciliation between the two families, even
though it should be a partial one, was reasonably to be expected. That
newly arrived cousin was an angel. She was bound to do good. A marriage
between his niece and Junius Keswick was the great object of the old
gentleman's heart, and he longed to see the former engagement between
them re-established before Roberta went to New York, where her beauty
and attractiveness would expose his cherished plan to many dangers.

The road he was on led directly north, and it was joined about a
quarter of a mile above by the road which ran through the woods to the
Green Sulphur Springs. On this road, at a point nearly opposite to him,
he could see, through the foliage, a horseman riding toward the point of
junction. Something about this person attracted his attention, and Mr
Brandon took out a pair of eye-glasses and put them on. As soon as he
had obtained another good view of the horseman he recognized him as Mr
Croft. The old gentleman took off his glasses and returned them to his
vest pocket, and his face began to flush. In his early acquaintance with
Mr Croft he had not objected to him, because he wished his niece to have
company, and he had a firm belief in the enduring quality of her
affection for Junius. But, latterly, his ideas in regard to the New York
gentleman had changed. He had thought him somewhat too assiduous, and
when he had unexpectedly returned from the North, Mr Brandon had not
been at all pleased, although he had been careful not to show his
displeasure. This condition of things made him feel uneasy, and had
prompted his visit to the widow Keswick. And now that everything looked
so fair and promising, here was that man, whom he had supposed to have
left this part of the country, riding toward his house.

Mr Brandon was an easy-going man, but he had a backbone which could be
greatly stiffened on occasion. He sat up very straight on his horse, and
urged the animal to a better pace, so that he arrived first at the point
where the roads met