effect
that Dick Swinton was still alive. Dora, as it chanced, heard nothing;
but Vivian Ormsby--who thought that he alone shared the colonel's
secret--heard the gossip circulating through the city.

"Dick Swinton is not dead," said the report, "he is hiding in New York."

Mr. Barnby spoke of this as laughable. But Ormsby knew that the truth
must out sooner or later, and it was necessary that he should be ready.
The police were on the alert--reluctantly alert, for they respected the
rector. The banker, however, was a more important person than the
clergyman, and his evident anxiety to lay hands on the forger was a thing
not to be overlooked. There was also a little private reward mentioned.

The colonel, when Ormsby arrived to continue his courtship, heard of
these rumors with alarm, and took every precaution to keep them from Dora
by maintaining a constant watch over her. He was as impatient at the
protracted engagement as was Ormsby himself, and one morning he attacked
Dora upon the question of the marriage.

"Dora, your engagement is a preposterous thing, child. It's a shame to
keep Ormsby waiting and dangling at your heels as you do. To look at you,
no one would suspect you two were lovers."

"We are not, father. You know that very well."

"Fiddlesticks! You're willing enough to let him fetch and carry for you,
and motor you all over the country, and smother you with flowers, and
load you with presents. Yet, you are always as glum as a church-warden
while he's here. And, when he's away, you seem to buck up and show that
you can be cheerful, if you like."

"I have submitted to an engagement with Mr. Ormsby more to please you,
father, than to please myself."

"Then, my child, why can't you please me by settling things right away.
Marriage is a serious responsibility. It is a woman's profession, and the
sooner she gets the hang of it, the quicker her promotion. I'm getting an
old man, and I want to see you married before I die."

"Don't talk like that, father."

"Well, I'm not a young man, am I? The doctor told me this morning--but
what the doctor told me has nothing to do with your feelings for
Ormsby."

"Father, father, you're not keeping anything from me. What did the doctor
say?"

The colonel saw his advantage, and, although he was inclined to smile,
pulled a long face, and sighed.

"My child, I want to see you comfortably settled before I die. You
wouldn't like me to leave you here alone with no on