fingers into any dirty job that offers!"

Elizabeth sat silent a minute with a very disturbed look. Rose
had gone back to her netting, only glancing up once in a while
at the faces of the other two.

"Upon what plea does he pretend to hinder it, father?"

"A plea he won't be able to bear out, I fancy," said Mr. Haye,
turning round in his chair so as to bring his other side to
the fire, and not ceasing to look at the paper all this while.

"But what?"

"What does it signify _what!_ Something you can't understand."

"I can understand it, father; and I want to know."

"A plea of _fraud_, on my part, in selling the cotton. I suppose
you would like to cultivate his acquaintance after that."

Elizabeth sat back in her seat with a little start, and did
not speak again during the conversation. Rose looked up from
her mesh-stick and poured out a flood of indignant and
somewhat incoherent words; to which Mr. Haye responded
briefly, as a man who was not fond of the subject, and finally
put an end to them by taking the paper and walking off.
Elizabeth changed her position then for a low seat, and
resting her chin on her hand sat looking into the fire with
eyes in which there burned a dark glow that rivalled it.

"Lizzie," said her companion, "did you ever hear of such a
thing!"

"Not 'such a thing,'" she answered.

"Aren't you as provoked as you can be?"

"'Provoked' is not exactly the word," Elizabeth replied.

"Well you know what to think of Winthrop Landholm now, don't
you?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you surprised?"

"I wish I could never be surprised again," she answered,
laying her head down for an instant on her lap; but then
giving it the position it held before.

"You take it coolly!" said Rose, jerking away at her netting.

"Do I? _You_ don't."

"No, and I shouldn't think you would. Don't you _hate_ those
Landholms?"

"No."

"Don't you! You ought. What are you looking at in the fire?"

"Winthrop Landholm, -- just at that minute."

"I do believe," said Rose indignantly, "you like Winthrop
Landholm better than you do Mr. Haye!"

Elizabeth's eyes glared at her, but though there seemed a
moment's readiness to speak, she did not speak, but presently
rose up and quitted the room. She went to her own; locked the
door, and sat down. There was a moment's quiver of the lip and
drawing of the brow, while the eyes in their fire seemed to
throw off sparks from the volcano below; and then the head
bent, with