be a great--a great--great--man--I'll
be--rep--rep--sentive--ofs--ofs--dear pe--pe."

His head fell like a lump upon the cushion of the sofa, and he breathed
heavily, until the solemn, dark, formal parlor smelled like a bar-room.

CHAPTER LXIII.

ENDYMION.

Lawrence Newt had told Aunt Martha that he preferred to hear from a young
woman's own lips that she loved him. Was he suspicious of the truth of
Aunt Martha's assertion?

When the Burt will was read, and Fanny Dinks had hissed her envy and
chagrin, she had done more than she would willingly have done: she had
said that all the world knew he was in love with Hope Wayne. If all the
world knew it, then surely Amy Waring did; "and if she did, was it so
strange," he thought, "that she should have said what she did to me?"

He thought often of these things. But one of the days when he sat in his
office, and the junior partner was engaged in writing the letters which
formerly Lawrence wrote, the question slid into his mind as brightly, but
as softly and benignantly, as daylight into the sky.

"Does it follow that she does not love me? If she did love me, but
thought that I loved Hope Wayne, would she not hide it from me in every
way--not only to save her own pride, but in order not to give me pain?"

So secret and reticent was he, that as he thought this he was nervously
anxious lest the junior partner should happen to look up and read it all
in his eyes.

Lawrence Newt rose and stood at the window, with his back to Gabriel, for
his thoughts grew many and strange.

As he came down that morning he had stopped at Hope Wayne's, and they had
talked for a long time. Gabriel had told his partner of his visit to Mrs.
Fanny Dinks, and Lawrence had mentioned it to Hope Wayne. The young woman
listened intently.

"You don't think I ought to increase the allowance?" she asked.

"Why should you?" he replied. "Alfred's father still allows him the six
hundred, and Alfred has promised solemnly that he will never mention to
his wife the thousand you allow him. I don't think he will, because he is
afraid she would stop it in some way. As it is, she knows nothing more
than that six hundred dollars seems to go a very great way. Your income
is large; but I think a thousand dollars for the support of two utterly
useless people is quite as much as you are called upon to pay, although
one of them is your cousin, and the other my niece."

They went on to talk of many things.