again.

She smiled happily and said: "He shan't cut it down. I'll see that he
doesn't. When I've had a talk with him, he'll be glad enough to leave it
as it is."

"It's very likely that he's only trying it on. It's the kind of thing he
would do. But you'll find it difficult to get that talk. He's bent on
shirking it," said Mr. Manley.

"I'll see that he doesn't get the chance of shirking it," she said, and
her eyes gleamed again.

"I believe you're the only person in the world he's afraid of," he said
in a tone of admiration.

"I shouldn't wonder," she said. "At any rate, I seem to be the only
person in the world to whom he's always been civil. At least, I've never
heard of any one else."

"I'm afraid he won't be civil when you get that talk with him--if ever
you do get it," said Mr. Manley, frowning rather anxiously.

"That'll be all the worse for him," she said dauntlessly. "But, after
all, if I did fail to make him leave my income at six hundred, we should
still have this house and four hundred a year. We should still be quite
comfortable. Besides, you could keep on as his secretary, and that would
be another two hundred a year."

"I can't do that! It's out of the question!" cried Mr. Manley. "I'm
getting so to loathe the brute that I shall soon be quite unable to stand
him. As it is, I sometimes have a violent desire to wring his neck. Now
that I know that he played this measly trick on you, it will be more
violent than ever. Besides, we must have a flat in town. It's really
necessary to my work! I can do my actual writing down here fairly well.
But what I really need is to get in touch with the right people, with the
people who are really stimulating. Besides, I'm gregarious; I like mixing
with people."

"Yes. You're right. We must have a flat in town. Therefore, I must make
the hog keep to his bargain, and I will," she said firmly.

"I believe you may," he said, gazing at her determined face with
admiring eyes.

There was a pause. Then she said carelessly: "When are we going to tell
people that we're engaged?"

"Not yet awhile," said Mr. Manley quickly. "At least I don't want the
people about here to know about it. And if you come to think of it,
things being as they are, Loudwater would probably make himself more
infernally disagreeable to me than he does at present. He'd not only try
to take it out of me to annoy you, but it's just as likely as not that he
would consider my getting engaged to yo