posed to be engaged!" She
twisted her hands away from him, and came down the steps to her aunt.
"It all happened so unexpectedly--really, I never dreamed I cared
anything for him, Aunt Phoebe, until he made me care. And last night
I couldn't tell you, and this morning I was going to, but all this
horrible trouble came up--and, anyway," she finished with a flash of
pretty indignation, "I think Grant might have told you himself! I don't
think it's a bit nice of him to leave everything like that for me. He
might have told you before he went chasing off to--to Hartley." She
put her arms around her aunt's neck. "You aren't angry, are you,
Aunt Phoebe?" she coaxed. "You--you know you said you wanted me to be
par-TIC-ularly nice to Grant!"

"Great grief, child! You needn't choke me to death. Of course I'm not
angry." But Phoebe's eyes did not brighten.

"You look angry," Evadna pouted, and kissed her placatingly.

"I've got plenty to be worked up over, without worrying over your love
affairs, Vadnie." Phoebe's eyes sought Grant's anxiously. "I don't doubt
but what it's more important to you than anything else on earth, but I'm
thinking some of the home I'm likely to lose."

Evadna drew back, and made a movement to go.

"Oh, I'm sorry I interrupted you then, Aunt Phoebe. I suppose you and
Grant were busy discussing those men in the orchard--"

"Don't be silly, child. You aren't interrupting anybody, and there's no
call for you to run off like that. We aren't talking secrets that I know
of."

In some respects the mind of Good Indian was extremely simple and
direct. His knowledge of women was rudimentary and based largely upon
his instincts rather than any experience he had had with them. He had
been extremely uncomfortable in the knowledge that Evadna was angry,
and strongly impelled, in spite of his hurt pride, to make overtures for
peace. He was puzzled, as well as surprised, when she seized him by the
shoulders and herself made peace so bewitchingly that he could scarcely
realize it at first. But since fate was kind, and his lady love no
longer frowned upon him, he made the mistake of taking it for granted
she neither asked nor expected him to explain his seeming neglect of her
and his visit to Miss Georgie at Hartley.

She was not angry with him. Therefore, he was free to turn his whole
attention to this trouble which had come upon his closest friends. He
reached out, caught Evadna by the hand, pulled her close to h