which she had begun her explanation cooled
with every word. Her gratitude vanished, to give way to implacable
resentment at his attitude of virtuous superiority. Her judgment of him
was no less bitter than that she received. Angry reproaches would have
stung her less than this courteous contempt.

"And how many persons are in this secret?" he asked finally.

"Mr. Emmet has taken Mr. Leigh into his confidence, I believe," she
answered, a faint colour creeping into her face.

"Ah, Leigh," he returned, thrown off his guard by surprise. He thought
he saw now what her intimacy with the young professor really meant. She
was pledging him to secrecy, and the young man had now the motive of
revenge to turn and reveal what he knew.

"It would perhaps be better to keep him in the college, after all," he
mused.

"What do you mean, father?" she demanded. "To keep him in the college?
You had n't asked him to go?"

To this question he made no reply, but she saw confusion plainly written
in his face.

"I naturally supposed that he was a fortune hunter"--

She rose to her feet, flaming with an anger that appalled him. "You
asked him to go," she cried, "because you thought I might marry him, and
not give my mother's money and mine to the college! A fortune hunter!
It does n't seem to me, father, that you have much cause to talk about
fortune hunting!"

The taunt stung him to the quick, and his face grew scarlet and livid by
turns. Never had this question come to an open issue and caused an
explosion like the present.

"I am not a fortune hunter," he said raspingly. "If you are so dead to
the most inspiring of God's works, yours be the blame, Felicity, and
yours the condemnation."

"I have no idea of marrying Mr. Leigh," she went on passionately, "but
one thing I can tell you once for all. If you think I am going to give
one cent to the college, you are utterly mistaken! Don't I know your
plans? Haven't I seen the drift of your casual remarks about the glory
of serving God? I know you would have me give every cent I possess to
the college and become a deaconess--repent of my sins--retire from the
world. You already see an opportunity in my mistake to profit by my
repentance. Oh, I know all the choice phrases by heart! You never loved
my mother, nor me, but you wanted the money for your St. George's Hall.
It was you that drove me into this marriage. God knows, I admit I was
wrong, but I made the mistake in