ld have set free in ardent words what he was honestly striving to
control.

"Thank you, my dear Leila, I could wish I were all you think I am; but
were it all true, there would remain things that sweeten life and which
must always be forbidden to me."

He rose to his feet once again master of his troubled soul. "I leave
you," he said, "and your tireless youth to your walk. We cannot have
everything, I must be contented in some moment of self-delusion to half
believe the half of what you credit me with."

"Then," cried Leila, laughing, "you would have only a fourth."

"Ah! I taught you arithmetic too well." He too laughed as he turned away.
Laughter was rare with him and to smile frequent. He walked slowly away
to the rectory and for two days was not seen at Grey Pine.

Leila, more at ease and relieved by the final gay banter, strolled into
the solemn quiet of the pines the Squire had so successfully freed from
underbrush and left in royal solitude. At the door of the old log-cabin
she lay down on the dry floor of pine-needles. The quick interchange of
talk had given her no chance to consider, as now she reviewed in
thoughtful illumination, what had seemed to her strange. She tried to
recall exactly what he had said. Of a sudden she knew, and was startled
to know. She had come into possession of the power of a woman innocent of
intention to inflict pain on a strong and high-minded man. A lower nature
might have felt some sense of triumph. It left her with no feeling but
the utmost distress and pitiful thinking of what had gone wrong in this
man's life. Once before she had been thus puzzled. The relief of her walk
was gone. She gathered some imperfect comfort in the thought that she
might not have been justified in her conclusions regarding a man who was
in so many ways an unexplained personality.

During the next few days the village was in a state of anticipative
pleasure and of effort to find for the rummage-sale articles which were
damaged or useless. At Grey Pine John and Leila Grey were the only
unexcited persons. She was too troubled in divers ways to enjoy the
amusement to be had out of what delighted every one else except John
Penhallow. To please his aunt he made some small and peculiar offerings,
and daily went away to the mills to meet and consult with the Colonel's
former partners. He was out of humour with his world, saw trouble ahead
if he did as he meant to do, and as there was an east wind howling
t