or two, to answer the invitation of the uncle I
have not seen for years." She paused, and, raising her glasses, turned a
politely questioning eye towards Mrs. Price. "One of our relations?" she
said smilingly to Spindler.

"No," said Spindler, with some embarrassment, "a--a friend!"

The half-niece extended her hand. Mrs. Price took it.

But the fair stranger,--what she did and said were the only things
remembered in Rough and Ready on that festive occasion; no one thought
of the other relations; no one recalled them nor their eccentricities;
Spindler himself was forgotten. People only recollected how Spindler's
lovely niece lavished her smiles and courtesies on every one, and
brought to her feet particularly the misogynist Starbuck and the
sarcastic Cooledge, oblivious of his previous speech; how she sat at
the piano and sang like an angel, hushing the most hilarious and excited
into sentimental and even maudlin silence; how, graceful as a nymph, she
led with "Uncle Dick" a Virginia reel until the whole assembly joined,
eager for a passing touch of her dainty hand in its changes; how, when
two hours had passed,--all too swiftly for the guests,--they stood with
bared heads and glistening eyes on the veranda to see the fairy coach
whirl the fairy princess away! How--but this incident was never known to
Rough and Ready.

It happened in the sacred dressing-room, where Mrs. Price was cloaking
with her own hands the departing half-niece of Mr. Spindler. Taking that
opportunity to seize the lovely relative by the shoulders and shake her
violently, she said: "Oh, yes, and it's all very well for you, Kate, you
limb! For you're going away, and will never see Rough and Ready and poor
Spindler again. But what am I to do, miss? How am I to face it out?
For you know I've got to tell him at least that you're no half-niece of
his!"

"Have you?" said the young lady.

"Have I?" repeated the widow impatiently. "Have I? Of course I have!
What are you thinking of?"

"I was thinking, aunty," said the girl audaciously, "that from what
I've seen and heard to-night, if I'm not his half-niece now, it's only a
question of time! So you'd better wait. Good-night, dear."

And, really,--it turned out that she was right!

WHEN THE WATERS WERE UP AT "JULES'"

When the waters were up at "Jules'" there was little else up on that
monotonous level. For the few inhabitants who calmly and methodically
moved to higher ground, camping out