ost
lovely girl he had ever seen, and that he was filled with grief at losing
the delights of her society, might have been disagreeable to her, or it
might not. But to have him even in the lightest way intimate that her
housekeeping was preferable to that of his own sister nettled her
self-esteem.

"I will show him," she said, "that he is mistaken."

In the pleasant coolness of the great barn, Ralph stretched himself on a
pile of new-made hay to think. He was a farmer, and he intended to try
to be a good farmer, and he knew that good farmers, during working
hours, do not lie down on piles of hay to think. But notwithstanding
that, in this hay-scented solitude, looking out of the great door upon
the quiet landscape with the white clouds floating over it, he thought
of Dora. He had been thinking of her in all sorts of irregular and
disjointed ways ever since he had risen in the morning; but now he
wished to think definitely, and lay down here for that purpose. One
cannot think definitely and single-mindedly when engaged in farm work,
especially if he sometimes finds himself a little awkward at said work
and is bothered by it.

Whenever he could do it, Ralph Haverley liked to get things clear and
straightforward in his mind. He had applied this rule to all matters of
his former business, and he now applied it to the affairs of his present
estate. But how much more important was it to apply the rules to Dora
Bannister! Nothing had ever put his mind into a condition less clear and
straightforward than the visit of that young lady. The main point to be
decided upon was: what should he do about seeing her again? He was filled
by an all-pervading desire to do that; but how should he set about it?
The simplest plan would be to go and see her; but if he did so, he knew
he ought to take his sister with him, and he had no reason to believe
that Miriam would be in any hurry to return Miss Bannister's visit. If he
had been acquainted with the brother, the case would have been different,
but that gentleman had not yet called upon him.

Having thought some time on this subject, Ralph sat upright, and
rearranged his reflections.

"Why is it," he said to himself, "that I am so anxious to see her again,
and to see her as soon as possible?"

To the solution of this question, Ralph applied the full force of his
intellectual powers. The conclusion that came to him after about six
seconds of deliberation was not well defined, but it in