ing of the kind. If my money
can be of any assistance to my brother--to my brother and you--you
are welcome to the use of it, without any mortgage. I will show you a
copy of the letter I sent to Mr Slow."

"Thanks; a thousand thanks! and may I see the letter which Mr Slow
wrote?"

"No, I think not. I don't know whether it would be right to show it
to you."

"I shouldn't think of doing anything about it; that is, resenting it,
you know. Only then we should all be on the square together."

"I think I'd better not. Mr Slow, when he wrote it, probably did not
mean that I should show it to you."

"You're right; you're always right. But you'll let me see your
answer."

Then Miss Mackenzie went to her desk, and brought him a copy of the
note she had written to the lawyer. He read it very carefully, twice
over; and then she could see, when he refolded the paper, that his
eyes were glittering with satisfaction.

"Miss Mackenzie, Miss Mackenzie," he said, "I think that you are an
angel!"

And he did think so. In so much at that moment he was at any rate
sincere. She saw that he was pleased, and she was pleased herself.

"There need be no further trouble about it," she said; and as she
spoke she rose from her seat.

And he rose, too, and came close to her. He came close to her,
hesitated for a moment, and then, putting one hand behind her waist,
though barely touching her, he took her hand with his other hand. She
thought that he was going to kiss her lips, and for a moment or two
he thought so too; but either his courage failed him or else his
discretion prevailed. Whether it was the one or the other, must
depend on the way in which she would have taken it. As it was, he
merely raised her hand and kissed that. When she could look into his
face his eyes were full of tears.

"The truth is," said he, "that you have saved us from ruin;--that's
the real truth. Damn all lying!"

She started at the oath, but in an instant she had forgiven him
that too. There was a sound of reality about it, which reconciled
her to the indignity; though, had she been true to her faith as a
Stumfoldian, she ought at least to have fainted at the sound.

"I hardly know what I am saying, Miss Mackenzie, and I beg your
pardon; but the fact is you could sell us up if you pleased. I didn't
mean it when I first got your brother to agree as to asking you for
the loan; I didn't indeed; but things were going wrong with us, and
just at that moment