hich embraced
him from head to heel. And the glance was satisfied--self-satisfied.
It was such a glance as Dave might give a horse, when he would say, "A
good horse, but I can handle him." It was evident from that glance
that Forsyth had no fear of rivalry from that quarter. And having no
fear he could afford to be friendly.

Dave had no distinct remembrance of what happened just after that, but
he was conscious of an overwhelming desire to hear Miss Duncan sing.
How like Reenie she was! And just as he was beginning to think Mr.
Duncan must surely have forgotten his lesson, he heard her asking him
if she should sing. And then he saw Forsyth at the piano--why couldn't
he leave her to do it herself, the butt-in?--and then he heard her
fine, silvery voice rising in the notes of that song about the land
where the sun should never go down. . . And suddenly he knew how
lonely, how terribly, terribly lonely he was. And he sat with head
bowed that they might not know. . .

And then there were other songs, and at last Mrs. Duncan, who had
slipped away unnoticed, returned with a silver teapot, and cups of
delicate china, and sandwiches and cake, and they sat about and ate and
drank and talked and laughed. And Edith refilled his cup and sat down
beside him, leaving that Forsyth quite on the opposite side of the
room. And suddenly he was very, very happy. And when he looked at his
watch it was eleven o'clock!

"I guess we didn't get any lesson to-night," he said, as he shook hands
with Mr. Duncan at the sidewalk.

"I am not so sure," replied his tutor. "The first thing for you to
learn is that all learning does not come from books. A good listener
can learn as much as a good reader--if he listens to the right kind of
people." And as Dave walked home the thought deepened in him that it
really had been a lesson, and that Mr. Duncan had intended it that way.
And he wondered what remarkable fortune had been his. The air was full
of the perfume of balm-o'-gilead, and his feet were light with the joy
of youth. And he thought much of Edith, and of Reenie Hardy.

In subsequent lessons Dave was rapidly initiated into many matters
besides parlour manners and conversation. Mr. Duncan placed the first
and greatest emphasis upon learning to write, and to write well. They
had many philosophic discussions, in which the elder man sought to lead
the younger to the acceptance of truths that would not fail him in the
strain of