nt on the company's guarantee."

An oath, a tribute to her obstinacy, winged through his brain. In his
exasperation he forgot caution.

"That guarantee--"

"Well?"

"There's nothing to hold us after you've become the owner of the
property. If we find that running your orchard isn't profitable, as we
might easily do after one or two bad seasons, we could slip from under,
and you could use the guarantee as you call it, for curl papers.
That's all it would be good for."

He was glad to see that he had shaken her foolish stubbornness at last.
She caught her breath like one jerked back from an unrealized danger by
a friendly hand.

"I--I guess it's lucky I consulted you, Justin. It's foolish for a
woman to think that she's up to all the tricks in business nowadays."
The slight trembling of her hand tempted him to kiss it, though he
compromised by merely taking it again.

"If I've helped you a little, Persis, dear girl, I'm very happy. I
only wish you were willing to make use of me always." His hope that
this was the psychological moment was dashed when ignoring the
attempted caress, she grasped his hand and shook if vigorously.

"Good night, Justin. Thank you for setting me right in that matter. I
believe that's the baby starting to cry. I'll have to hurry up before
she rouses the house."

But she got no farther than the foot of the stairs on this errand, and
Justin, letting himself out, gave voice to the oath he had thought more
than once that evening. Persis stood listening as he made his way down
the walk, but up-stairs all was still. She returned to the living-room
rather slowly. Through all the various changes in the household,
indicative of increased prosperity, the photograph in the blue plush
frame had triumphantly retained its post of honor on the mantel, a
landmark of constancy. Now she took it up with hands that trembled.

"It's not that I've got anything against you." She addressed it as if
there were an intelligence back of the vacuous pleasantness of the
young face. "It's only that there's not any you and hasn't been for I
don't know how long. It's so much deader than death, all ashes to
ashes and dust to dust and the spirit turned into something different."
And then Justin's hopes would have soared high had he seen her, for she
kissed the lips that smiled at her, a strange kiss in which pity
blended with forgiveness.

Holding fast to the blue plush frame, Persis passed through the