s. Of course, we must still be careful."

I nodded, and followed him into the house. Then I stopped in
astonishment, for Miss Vaughan was sitting in a chair in the library.
She rose as I entered, came a step toward me and held out her hand.

"You must not think too badly of me, Mr. Lester," she said. "I won't
give way again, I promise you."

"You have had a great deal to bear," I protested, taking her hand in
mine. "I think you have been very brave. I only hope that I can be of
some service to you."

"Thank you. I am sure you can. Let us all sit down, for we must have
quite a talk. Dr. Hinman tells me that I shall need a lawyer."

"Undoubtedly," I assented. "Your father's estate will have to be
settled, and that can only be done in the courts. Besides, in the eyes
of the law, you are still a minor."

"Will you be my lawyer, Mr. Lester?"

"It will be a great privilege," I answered.

"Then we will consider that settled?"

"Yes," I agreed, "we will consider that settled."

"But it is not business I wish to discuss to-day," she went on,
quickly. "There are other things more urgent. First, I wish to get
acquainted with you. Have you not wondered, Mr. Lester, why it was
that I chose you to deliver my letter?"

"I suppose it was because there was no one else," I answered, looking
at her in some astonishment for the way she was rattling on. The
colour was coming and going in her cheeks and her eyes were very
bright. I wondered if she had escaped brain fever, after all.

"No," she said, smiling audaciously, "it was because I liked your
face--I knew you could be trusted. Of course, for a moment I was
startled at seeing you looking down at me from a tree. I wondered
afterwards how you came to be there."

"Just idle curiosity," I managed to stammer, my face very hot. "I am
sorry if I annoyed you."

"Oh, but it was most fortunate," she protested; "and a great
coincidence, too, that you should be Mr. Swain's employer, and able to
get hold of him at once."

"It didn't do much good," I said, gloomily; "and it has ended in
putting Swain in jail."

I happened to glance at her hands, folded in her lap, and saw that
they were fairly biting into each other.

"In jail!" she whispered, and now there was no colour in her face.

"Forgive me, Miss Vaughan," I said, hastily. "That was brutal. I
forgot you didn't know."

"Tell me!" she panted. "Tell me! I can stand it! Oh, you foolish man,
didn't you see--I was trying to n