d with alert suspicion, thinking that
perhaps in her absence he had been conniving to this end with Marian.

Bassett smiled at his daughter's adroitness in taking advantage of
Harwood's presence to introduce this subject; it had been the paramount
issue with her for several years.

"I shall be glad enough to stay at Fraserville the rest of my days if I
get through another Waupegan summer safely," said Mrs. Bassett. "The
mere thought of moving is horrible!"

"Oh, we wouldn't exactly move in coming here; we'd have an apartment in
one of these comfortable new houses and come down while the
legislature's in session, so we can be with papa. And there's ever so
much music here now, and the theatres, and I could have a coming-out
party here. You know I never had one, papa. And it would be nice to be
near Aunt Sally; she's getting old and needs us."

"Yes; she undoubtedly does," said Bassett, with faint irony.

Her daughter's rapid fire of suggestions wearied Mrs. Bassett. She
turned to Harwood:--

"Mr. Bassett and Marian have been telling me, Mr. Harwood, that Aunt
Sally went back to college with Sylvia Garrison after Professor Kelton's
death. Poor girl, it's quite like Aunt Sally to do that. Sylvia must be
very forlorn, with all her people gone. I think Aunt Sally knew her
mother. I hope the girl isn't wholly destitute?"

"No, the Professor left a small estate and Miss Garrison expects to
teach," Dan answered.

"Dan is the administrator," remarked Bassett "I'm sure you will be glad
to know that Miss Garrison's affairs are in good hands, Hallie."

"Aunt Sally is very fond of you, Mr. Harwood; I hope you appreciate
that," said Mrs Bassett. "Aunt Sally doesn't like everybody."

"Aunt Sally's a brick, all right," declared Marian, as an accompaniment
to Dan's expression of his gratification that Mrs. Owen had honored him
with her friendship.

"It's too bad the girl will have to teach," said Mrs. Bassett; "it must
be a dog's life."

"I think Miss Garrison doesn't look at it that way," Harwood
intervened. "She thinks she's in the world to do something for somebody;
she's a very interesting, a very charming young woman."

"Well, I haven't seen her in five years; she was only a young girl that
summer at the lake. How soon will Aunt Sally be back? I do hope she's
coming to Waupegan. If I'd known she was going to Wellesley, we could
have waited for her in New York, and Marian and I could have gone with
them to see Sylvia