p, he thought. No doubt it was the
old story of some cowardly anonymous letter. His thoughts flew
involuntarily to Isabel King.

Emily shook her head.

"No. He was just a half-grown fellow with reddish hair and he limped a
little."

"Oh, that is the postmaster's son," said Alan disappointedly. "That
puts us further off the scent than ever. The letter was probably
dropped in the box at the office and there will consequently be no way
of tracing the writer."

"Well, I can't tell you anything more," said Emily. "You'll have to
ask Lynde for the truth."

This Alan was determined to do whenever he should meet her. He did not
go to the house with Emily but wandered about the shore, watching for
Lynde and not seeing her. At length he went home, a prey to stormy
emotions. He realized at last that he loved Lynde Oliver. He wondered
how he could have been so long blind to it. He knew that he must have
loved her ever since he had first seen her. The discovery amazed but
did not shock him. There was no reason why he should not love
her--should not woo and win her for his wife if she cared for him. She
was good and sweet and true. Anything of doubt in her antecedents
could not touch her. Probably the world would look upon Captain
Anthony as a somewhat undesirable father-in-law for a minister, but
that aspect of the question did not disturb Alan. As for the trouble
of the letter, he felt sure he would easily be able to clear it away.
Probably some malicious busybody had become aware of his frequent
calls at Four Winds and chose to interfere in his private affairs
thus. For the first time it occurred to him that there had been a
certain lack of cordiality among his people of late. If it were really
so, doubtless this was the reason. At any other time this would have
been of moment to him. But now his thoughts were too wholly taken up
with Lynde and the estrangement on her part to attach much importance
to anything else. What she thought mattered incalculably more to Alan
than what all the people in Rexton put together thought. He had the
right, like any other man, to woo the woman of his choice and he would
certainly brook no outside interference in the matter.

After a sleepless night he went back to Four Winds in the morning.
Lynde would not expect him at that time and he would have more chance
of finding her. The result justified his idea, for he met her by the
spring.

Alan felt shocked at the change in her appearance. S