m for one
brief moment to take the girl to him. He was filled with a strange
desire to force this rude shanty maid from her surroundings and place
her in another life with him.

CHAPTER XXVI

That night, as Tessibel slept and dreamed of Frederick, another girl
waited for her lover. Teola Graves watched for the approach of Dan
Jordan with strange emotions. When he was with her, his great strength
and constant assurances that everything would go rightly with them gave
the girl courage and confidence. But in the night-watches, when youthful
sleep refused to come, she was afraid--afraid!

She stood just outside the door, upon the veranda, shrinking from the
raw winter wind. Relievedly she noticed Dan's tall form, when he swung
around the corner.

"You should not stand in the night wind, dear," Dan chided, gently
kissing her. "There! now, I have come for a good chat. Teola, do not
look so sad--please."

The little drawing-room in the Rectory was partially dark when they
seated themselves on the divan.

"I am so unhappy Dan; so different from what I used to be. Then, life
was sweet and I was glad to live--"

"But you don't want to be dead now, sweetheart!--Think of it, Teola.
When I shall have finished college, I shall be of age. We will go away
from Ithaca, and no one will ever know--"

"But we shall know, Dan. If I had only been a good girl!"

Dan was visibly moved.

"Let's make a bargain," said he suddenly. "To-night we won't talk of
anything but the pleasantest of things. I have something funny to tell
you."

"I have something to tell you, too," breathed Teola.

"Is it pleasant?" demanded the boy, bending and forcing the lowered eyes
to his.

Teola shook her head.

"Then we will leave it until to-morrow," he exclaimed. "I'll tell you my
news. Shorts, Spuddy and Swipes are in disgrace at the fraternity. If
Shorts would keep away from those other two fellows, he might get
through college. It was really their fault Frederick was stolen."

"What have they done now?" asked Teola listlessly. She had little
interest in the boys of the society, for, nestled close to her heart,
was a secret she could not forget. She had a realization that something
unusual had fallen upon her of which she was afraid.

"Well, you see," explained Dan, "there is a comic opera playing here.
This afternoon, Swipes, Shorts and Spuddy took some of the chorus girls
to the house, when the other fellows were away. They might ha