onsider the
matter from--from a practical point of view. Now you can't deny--"

"A woman can deny anything," laughed Eve, "especially if it's logic."

"This isn't logic; it's incontrovertible fact."

"Good gracious! No, I don't believe I'd have the courage to deny such a
thing as that. I'm sure it would be quite unlawful, wouldn't it, Mr.
Herrick?"

"Won't you please be serious?" he begged.

"No, not to-day, thank you."

"Then we'll talk about it some other day."

"No, but we won't, please. I'd like you to understand, Mr. Herrick, that
I appreciate your--your kindness, your generosity, but all the argument
in the world won't shake my resolution to take none of Cousin Edward's
money. Now we understand each other, don't we?"

"I suppose so," answered Wade, regretfully. "But you're making a
mistake, Miss Walton. Won't you just think about it?' Won't you take
advice from--from your friends?"

"The last thing I'd do," Eve replied, smilingly. "One's friends are the
very ones to avoid when you want unbiased advice. For instance, there's
Carrie Mullett. I told her what you said the other night, and what do
you suppose her advice was?"

"I'm sure it was sensible," said Wade. "She's a very sensible, as well
as a very charming, lady."

"H'm; well, she said: 'Accept enough to live on, my dear. Your father
would never have wanted you to be dependent on yourself for your
living.'"

"Well?" asked Wade, hopefully.

"She never knew papa," replied Eve. "Besides, I am not dependent on
myself for my living. I have enough to live on even if I never sold a
thing. I'm not so poverty-stricken as you imagine."

"If you'd talk it over with a lawyer--"

"But it isn't a question of law, Mr. Herrick. It's something between me
and my conscience, you see. And surely," she ended with a smile, "you
wouldn't consult a lawyer about an affair of conscience? Why, I might
have to explain what a conscience was!"

"Well," said Wade, grimly. "I've made no promises, and I haven't given
up yet. And you'll find, Miss Walton, that I'm a tiresome chap when it
comes to having my own way."

"And you'll find, Mr. Herrick, that I'm a stubborn woman when it comes
to having mine. There, the battle is on!"

"And I shall win," said Wade, looking up at her with a sudden gleam in
his eyes. For an instant she met his gaze and found herself a little
dismayed at some expression she found there. But--

"We'll see," she answered, calmly. "Is it to be war