ly not wantin' you. Miss Milly's all time stoppin' an'
tellin' me how proud she air ter have you here under her roof an' how
glad she air ter have sech a zample as you fer her gals ter foller in
the footsteps er 'portment an' 'havior. An' Marse Bob air continuously
singin' yo' praises. I hearn him tellin' Mr. Philip Throckmorton las'
night that you were a gues' it wa' his delight ter honor. An' Mr.
Philip Throckmorton said as how as soon as he had a home er his own
you would be the fust pusson ter occupew his gues' chamber. An' then
Mr. Little Josh he said how noble an' 'stinguished you were an'
s'perior. I tell you, Miss Ann, these here folks air all proud er
bein' yo' kin. They's all quarrelin' 'bout whar you air gonter visit
nex'."

Thus the old man soothed her troubled spirit and lulled it into a
semblance of repose. At any rate it was easier to pretend that she
believed him. At least it made him happy, and in pretending she almost
persuaded herself that her kinsmen were glad and anxious to have her.
She drank the coffee her old servant brought her and settled herself
for a morning of rest, although the house was buzzing with the
breaking up of the house party.

The young people, too, were feeling the effect of last night's
dissipation. The ball was not over at twelve o'clock, as the
invitations had intimated it would be, but had gone on into the wee
small hours of morning. It was not often that Ryeville had the chance
to trip the light fantastic toe to the music of a Louisville band and
the eager dancers had begged for more and more. The old people had
dropped out, one by one, but the youngsters danced on and on.

Then it was that Judith had come into her own as it were, and all of
the young men who had been denied before supper seemed determined to
make up for lost time. The most persistent of the clamoring swains
were Jeff Bucknor and Tom Harbison. This popularity of a person who
had always rubbed her the wrong way was wormwood to Mildred Bucknor,
and for her brother and Tom Harbison to be rivals for Judith's favor
added gall to the wormwood. Not that Mildred was not having a very
good time herself. Indeed, she was always something of a belle and
never lacked for partners, but she had other plans for her brother on
the one hand and on the other Tom Harbison had paid her enough
attention for her to consider him in a measure her property. She had
even announced to several of her friends, in the strictest confide