g what kind. I didn't know, before, that you were as cautious a
man as that."

"Does your satire find nothing sacred, Martin?" returned the other, "not
even the Honorable Kedge Halloway?"

"I wouldn't presume," replied old Tom, "to make light of the catastrophe
that overtook the heedless fly. When Halloway went on to other subjects
I was so busy picturin' the last moments of that closin' life, stuck
there in the fly-paper, I couldn't listen to him. But there's no use
dwellin' on a sorrow we can't help. Look at the moon; it's full enough
to cheer us up." They had emerged from the court-house and paused on
the street as the stream of townsfolk divided and passed by them to take
different routes leading from the Square. Not far away, some people were
getting into a buckboard. Fisbee and Miss Sherwood were already on the
rear seat.

"Who's with him, to-night, Mr. Fisbee?" asked Judge Briscoe in a low
voice.

"No one. He is going directly to the office. To-morrow is Thursday, one
of our days of publication."

"Oh, then it's all right. Climb in, Minnie, we're waiting for you." The
judge offered his hand to his daughter.

"In a moment, father," she answered. "I'm going to ask him to call," she
said to the other girl.

"But won't he--"

Miss Briscoe laughed. "He never comes to see me!" She walked over
to where Martin and the young man were looking up at the moon, and
addressed the journalist.

"I've been trying to get a chance to speak to you for a week," she said,
offering him her hand; "I wanted to tell you I had a friend coming to
visit me Won't you come to see us? She's here."

The young man bowed. "Thank you," he answered. "Thank you, very much. I
shall be very glad." His tone had the meaningless quality of perfunctory
courtesy; Miss Briscoe detected only the courtesy; but the strange lady
marked the lack of intention in his words.

"Don't you include me, Minnie?" inquired Mr Martin, plaintively. "I'll
try not to be too fascinatin', so as to give our young friend a show. It
was love at first sight with me. I give Miss Seliny warning soon as your
folks come in and I got a good look at the lady."

As the buckboard drove away, Miss Sherwood, who had been gazing
steadfastly at the two figures still standing in the street, the tall
ungainly old one, and the taller, loosely-held young one (he had not
turned to look at her) withdrew her eyes from them, bent them seriously
upon Fisbee, and asked: "What did you mean