nce. Her bursting heart, for she was giving up her life to
her pride, rightly interpreted the meaning of this change in the
pressure of his hand, and she thought of the tendrils spoken of in his
mother's letter. Yes, they clung to her heart, and she could not roughly
tear them away. So she lingered.

He gave her hand a pull, bending it until the wrist would not give way.
Holding it thus, he said despairingly.

"I thought, Lizzi, you could arrange it some way."

He tried to lift her hand to his lips, but her wrist was firm.

"Can't you help me, Lizzi?"

The wrist yielded, her hand was at his lips. She let him kiss it, and
then set down her basket.

Gill knew he had won. But she would have her hand free, for that would
give her a feeling of independence. At the first hint he released it.
She interlocked it with the other and looked meditatively at the ground,
moving a loose stone with the toe of her shoe.

"I don't like bein' married as if I was ashamed of it."

She was suggesting a clandestine marriage, just what he wanted. He met
the question frankly.

"It does look cowardly in me to ask such a thing; but if I get that
money, I could buy an interest in the furnaces from Colonel Hornberger,
and we could live as well as they do."

"It would be nice to have a home like the Hornbergers'. If we was rich,
I'd want long hair. Guess it will grow, though;" and she ran one hand
through it, shaking it out.

"I like it better as it is," and he played with it too.

"Do you, dear? Then I'll never have it long again."

"And your father is old enough to quit working. We could give him and
your mother a good home, and I'd help Levi become a lawyer. We could do
lots of things if we had mother's money. She is old and won't live long,
perhaps a couple of years."

"Let us wait for two years."

"No, I will not. If you do not marry me, I will go away."

"John, would you marry me and give up the money--marry me before people
and send your mother word?"

"I would, indeed."

"Then I will marry you and not let people know."

"Thank you, sweetheart. You are so good!"

He would have kissed her again, but she would not let him. Her heart was
sore at having consented to a secret marriage.

"Let us be married on Wednesday night after prayer-meeting."

"Oh! I couldn't get a new dress by that time."

Gill laughed at her vanity.

"I thought you looked the prettiest I ever saw you on your birthday."

"Would you like me to w