old that she and Mr. Hayne had met twice. And now
she was sitting there, true to herself and her resolution, telling Mr.
Van Antwerp all about it. Can one conjecture the sensations with which
he received and read that letter?

Mr. Hayne, too, was having a wakeful night. He had gone to Mrs.
Waldron's to pay a dinner-call, with the result just told. He had one or
two other visits to make among the cavalry households in garrison, but,
after a few moments' chat with Mrs. Waldron, he decided that he
preferred going home. Sam had to call three times before Mr. Hayne
obeyed the summons to dinner that evening. The sun was going down behind
the great range to the southwest, and the trumpets were pealing
"retreat" on the frosty air, but Hayne's curtains were drawn, and he was
sitting before his fire, deep in thought, hearing nothing. The doctor
came in soon after he finished his solitary dinner, chatted with him
awhile, and smoked away at his pipe. He wanted to talk with Hayne about
some especial matter, and he found it hard work to begin. The more he
saw of his patient the better he liked him: he was interested in him,
and had been making inquiries. Without his pipe he found himself
uninspired.

"Mr. Hayne, if you will permit, I'll fill up and blow another cloud.
Didn't you ever smoke?"

"Yes. I was very fond of my cigar six or seven years ago."

"And you gave it up?" asked the doctor, tugging away at the strings of
his little tobacco-pouch.

"I gave up everything that was not an absolute necessity," said Hayne,
calmly. "Until I could get free of a big load there was no comfort in
anything. After that was gone I had no more use for such old friends
than certain other old friends seemed to have for me. It was a mutual
cut."

"To the best of my belief, you were the gainer in both cases," said the
doctor, gruffly. "The longer I live the more I agree with Carlyle: the
men we live and move with are mostly fools."

Hayne's face was as grave and quiet as ever:

"These are hard lessons to learn, doctor. I presume few young fellows
thought more of human friendship than I did the first two years I was in
service."

"Hayne," said the doctor, "sometimes I have thought you did not want to
talk about this matter to any soul on earth; but I am speaking from no
empty curiosity now. If you forbid it, I shall not intrude; but there
are some questions that, since knowing you, and believing in you as I
unquestionably do, I would like to