the guide who had gone down
for the mail, and such passengers as he might find in waiting. They saw,
as he came in sight, a single lady in the stern of the little boat,
deeply veiled, whose name they could not guess. When she debarked among
them, and looked around upon the waiting and curious group, Harry was
the first to detect her, and she smothered him with kisses. Mr. Benedict
stood pale and trembling. Harry impulsively led her toward him, and in a
moment they were wrapped in a tender embrace. None but Mrs. Balfour, of
all who were present, understood the relation that existed between the
two, thus strangely reunited; but it soon became known, and the little
romance added a new charm to the life in the woods.

It would be pleasant to dwell upon the happy days and the pleasant
doings of the summer that followed--the long twilights that Mr. Benedict
and Mrs. Dillingham spent upon the water, their review of the events of
the past, the humble confessions of the proud lady, the sports and
diversions of the wilderness, and the delights of society brought by
circumstances into the closest sympathy. It would be pleasant to remain
with Jim and "the little woman," in their new enterprise and their new
house-keeping; but we must return to the city, to follow the fortunes of
one who, if less interesting than those we leave behind, is more
important in the present stage and ultimate resolution of our little
drama.

Soon after Mrs. Dillingham's departure from the city, Mr. Belcher missed
her. Not content with the position in which he had left his affairs with
her, he called at her house three days after her disappearance, and
learned that the servants either did not know or would not tell whither
she had gone. In his blind self-conceit, he could not suppose that she
had run away from him. He could not conclude that she had gone to
Europe, without a word of her purpose breathed to him. Still, even that
was possible. She had hidden somewhere, and he should hear from her. Had
he frightened her? Had he been too precipitate? Much as he endeavored to
explain her sudden disappearance to his own advantage, he was left
unsatisfied and uneasy.

A few days passed away, and then he began to doubt. Thrown back upon
himself, deprived of the solace of her society, and released from a
certain degree of restraint that she had always exercised upon him, he
indulged more freely in drink, and entered with more recklessness upon
the excitements of