let' whenever you find 'leave' on the end of your tongue, and
vice versa," he advised, with a smile.

She looked at him doubtfully. "Are you joking?"

"Indeed, no! I couldn't give you a better rule."

"There's another thing I wish you would tell me, please," she said, her
eyes downcast.

"Well?"

"I can't call you 'Mr.' Fairchilds, because such complimentary speech
is forbidden to us New Mennonites. It would come natural to me to call
you 'Teacher,' but you would think that what you call 'provincial.'"

"But you say 'Miss' Margaret."

"I could not get out of the way of it, because I had called her that so
many years before I gave myself up. That makes it seem different. But
you--what must I call you?"

"I don't see what's left--unless you call me 'Say'!"

"I must have something to call you," she pleaded. "Would you mind if I
called you by your Christian name?"

"I should like nothing better."

He drew forward a volume of Mrs. Browning's poems which lay among his
books on the table, opened it at the fly-leaf, and pointed to his name.

"'Walter'?" read Tillie. "But I thought--"

"It was Pestalozzi? That was only my little joke. My name's Walter."

On the approach of Sunday, Fairchilds questioned her one evening about
Absalom.

"Will that lad be taking up your whole Sunday evening again?" he
demanded.

She told him, then, why she suffered Absalom's unwelcome attentions. It
was in order that she might use her influence over him to keep the
teacher in his place.

"But I can't permit such a thing!" he vehemently protested. "Tillie, I
am touched by your kindness and self-sacrifice! But, dear child, I
trust I am man enough to hold my own here without your suffering for
me! You must not do it."

"You don't know Nathaniel Puntz!" She shook her head. "Absalom will
never forgive you, and, at a word from him, his father would never rest
until he had got rid of you. You see, none of the directors like
you--they don't understand you--they say you are 'too tony.' And then
your methods of teaching--they aren't like those of the Millersville
Normal teachers we've had, and therefore are unsound! I discovered last
week, when I was out home, that my father is very much opposed to you.
They all felt just so to Miss Margaret."

"I see. Nevertheless, you shall not bear my burdens. And don't you see
it's not just to poor Absalom? You can't marry him, so you ought not to
encourage him."

"'If I refused to le-LET Absalo