ords recorded at the beginning
of the chapter; and Marjorie answered him quietly and deliberately.

She continued with her knitting.

IV

A great melancholy fell upon him, if it were indeed possible for him to
become more dispirited, against which he was powerless to contend. There
was revealed to him on the instant a seeming predilection on the part of
Marjorie for this man, Anderson. The longer they conversed, the deeper
did that conviction grow. This made him careless and petulant. Now a
feeling of deep regret stole over him because he had been so
unsympathetic. In presence of her feeling of grief and disappointment,
his pity was aroused.

"I deeply regret the pain I have caused you," he said to her quietly and
kindly. "It was altogether rude of me."

She bit her lip violently, tremulously, in an effort to restrain the
flood of emotion which surged within, which threatened to burst forth
with the pronunciation of the merest syllable.

She did not reply, but fumbled with the knitted portion of her garment,
running its edges through her fingers.

"I had no intention of speaking of him as I did," he went on. "I would
not, did you not ask me."

"I am not offended."

"Your composure reveals to me that you have been hurt."

"I did not mean that you should know it."

"Very likely. But you could not disguise the fact. I shall give you the
assurance, however, that the subject shall not be a topic for discussion
by us again. He must not be mentioned."

"Please! I--I----"

"It was solely for yourself that I was concerned. Believe me when I say
this. Insofar as I myself am concerned, I am wholly disinterested. I
thought you desired to know and I told you as much as it was possible
for me to tell. You must ask me no more."

"He has not revealed this side of his character to me and I have been in
his company on several occasions. Always has he been kind, gentlemanly,
sincere, upright."

Her eyes were centered full upon him, those large brown eyes that seemed
to contain her whole being. Whether she was gay or sad, jocose or sober,
enthusiastic or despondent, the nature of her feelings could be
communicated solely by her eyes. She need not speak; they spoke for her.

"You are right in believing every man virtuous until he has proved
himself otherwise," he replied. "There should be one weight and one
measure. But I regulate my intercourse with men by the opposite
standard. I distrust every man until he has prov