he freshest and cleanest world he had ever seen and she
was one with it.

"I only told her what she already knew," he said.

"She knew?"

He spoke in a lower voice--a voice gentle and trembling.

"She said you came in last night after she had gone asleep--"

Sally covered her face with her hands.

"Oh," she gasped, "she--she told you that?"

He reached up and gently removed her hands. He held them tight in both
of his.

"It was good of you to think of me like that. It was like you," he
said.

All the while he was drawing her nearer and nearer to him. She
resisted. At least she thought she was resisting, but it didn't seem
to make any difference. Nearer his eyes came to hers; nearer his lips
came to hers. She gave a quick gasp as one before sudden danger. Then
she felt his warm lips against hers and swayed slightly. But his arms
were about her. They were strong about her, so that, while she felt as
though hanging dizzily over a precipice, she at the same moment never
felt safer in her life. With his lips against her lips, she closed
her eyes until, to keep from losing herself completely, she broke
free. Her cheeks scarlet, her breath coming short, her eyes like
stars, she stared at him a moment, and then like a startled fawn
turned and ran for the house. He followed, but her feet were tipped
with wings. He did not catch her until she had burst into the kitchen,
where in some fear Mrs. Halliday gathered her into her arms.

"She hasn't answered me even yet," he explained to Mrs. Halliday.

"Oh, Don," cried the trembling girl, her voice smothered in Mrs.
Halliday's shoulder. "You dare say that after--"

"Well, after what?" demanded Mrs. Halliday.

CHAPTER XXXII

BARTON APPEARS

The details of the wedding Mrs. Halliday decided to take over into her
own hands.

"You two can just leave that to me," she informed them.

"But look here," protested Don, "I don't see why we need bother with a
lot of fuss and--"

"What business is this of yours?" Mrs. Halliday challenged him.

"Only we haven't much time," he warned.

"There's going to be time enough for Sally to be married properly,"
she decided.

That was all there was to it. It seems that tucked away up in the
attic there was an old trunk and tucked away in that a wedding dress
of white silk which had been worn by Sally's mother.

"It's been kept ag'in' this very day," explained Mrs. Halliday,
"though I will say that I was beginnin' to git dis