he did
not forbid it to him. Harley was a bold man, and, being ready to push
his fortune to the utmost in a cause that he believed righteous, he
resolved to write her another letter in a few days, and to repeat in it
much that he had said in his first, or to say words to the same effect.

Meanwhile his countenance assumed a joyous cast, which was noticeable
because he was habitually of grave demeanor, and his associates,
observing the change, taxed him with the fact and demanded an
explanation, Hobart in particular wishing to know. Harley lightly
ascribed it to the rarefied air, as they were ascending a plateau, and
the others, though calling it the baldest and poorest of replies, were
forced to be content.

But one man who noticed Harley, and who said nothing, guessed much
closer to the cause. It was Mr. Grayson himself, who had seen the
address on the envelope, and it aroused grave thoughts in him. Nor were
these thoughts unkind to Sylvia or Harley. It was the custom of the
candidate to subject himself at intervals to a searching mental
examination, and now he made James Grayson walk out before him again and
undergo this minute process.

He was extremely fond of Sylvia, whose grace, intelligence, and loyalty
appealed to the best in him, and he was anxious to secure her happiness
and her position in life, on which, in a measure, the former depended.
For these reasons he had received with pleasure the news that Sylvia was
going to marry Mr. Plummer. Despite the disparity of ages, the match
seemed fitting to him; he knew the worth and honor of the "King" to be
so great that the happiness of any young girl, especially that of one
who owed so much to him, ought to be safe in his keeping. But now the
doubts which had begun to form were growing stronger. He saw that nature
was playing havoc with mere material fitness, and there came to him the
question of his own duty.

The candidate now knew well enough that Sylvia did not love Mr. Plummer
as a girl should love the man whom she is going to marry, but that she
did love Harley. He conceived it, too, to be a true and lasting love
with both the young man and the young woman, and again came to him that
question of his own duty, a question not only troublesome, but dangerous
to him in his present situation. He knew that Sylvia, despite all, would
marry "King" Plummer unless the unforeseen occurred, and make herself
unhappy all her life. Should he, then, tell "King" Plummer, o