conceal it.

"Of course, nothing ever hurts me!" she said bitterly. "I am steel and
iron, and all that! Your heart is tender, and such things hurt you!"

Elsie did not know what to say. She had tried to feel for a time that
Inza had ceased to care for Frank, and then had told herself that Inza
had no longer any right to care for him. She was beginning to realize
that questions of right and wrong cut very little figure in affairs of
the heart--that, in fact, love obeys no such laws.

When Inza turned back, her face had lost its trace of pain.

"Elsie," she said, "we will not quarrel about Frank, for Frank's sake.
It would distress him if he knew it. He must never know it. Promise me
that you will not say a word to him about it."

"Of course I won't say anything about it," Elsie agreed. "I should fear
to, and I shouldn't want to."

"Then we'll keep it to ourselves. You have discovered that I haven't
ceased to care for Frank Merriwell. Perhaps I never shall. But that is
neither here nor there."

The old wave of jealousy swept across the tortured soul of Elsie
Bellwood.

"Do you mean that you intend to win him if you can, after you have told
me that you surrender all claim on him?"

"I haven't said anything of the kind. But I claim the right and
privilege of talking to him and with him as much as I please. You and he
are not engaged, even if he has seemed to prefer you. He may change his
mind, just as he did before, but remember that I'm not trying to get him
to!"

"Then you do intend to try to win him?"

"My dear, you must recognize the fact that Frank is the one to do the
winning. I shall never run after any man."

Elsie's blue eyes flashed.

"Do you mean to insinuate that I would?"

"I thought we weren't going to quarrel!"

The look of pain came back into the dark, handsome face, and this time
Elsie saw it. A feeling of remorse began to tug at her heart.

"I am not worthy of Frank Merriwell," she said softly. "I know that. But
I thought----"

"You thought nothing could hurt me!"

"No, not that. I thought he was to be mine, and recently that hope has
been slipping through my fingers. I can't tell you, Inza, how I have
felt."

"I can understand!" said the dark-haired girl. "I have good cause to
understand!"

"I know that really you are more worthy of him, Inza, than I am. I have
always thought that, when I wasn't crazy with the fear that you might
win him away from me. But I just can't surrender