r own peace of mind? Doesn't such a course seem just the
least bit selfish? Think the matter over from that point of view, and
we'll speak of it later in the day. I shall be with George all the
morning, and I may be able, by a little management, to find out his
views on the subject of birth and family, and all that. Some men are
very liberal, and love is a great leveler. I'll sound him, at any
rate."

He kissed the baby and left Rena to her own reflections, to which his
presentation of the case had given a new turn. It had never before
occurred to her to regard silence in the light of self-sacrifice. It
had seemed a sort of sin; her brother's argument made of it a virtue.
It was not the first time, nor the last, that right and wrong had been
a matter of view-point.

Tryon himself furnished the opening for Warwick's proposed examination.
The younger man could not long remain silent upon the subject uppermost
in his mind. "I am anxious, John," he said, "to have Rowena name the
happiest day of my life--our wedding day. When the trial in Edgecombe
County is finished, I shall have no further business here, and shall be
ready to leave for home. I should like to take my bride with me, and
surprise my mother."

Mothers, thought Warwick, are likely to prove inquisitive about their
sons' wives, especially when taken unawares in matters of such
importance. This seemed a good time to test the liberality of Tryon's
views, and to put forward a shield for his sister's protection.

"Are you sure, George, that your mother will find the surprise
agreeable when you bring home a bride of whom you know so little and
your mother nothing at all?"

Tryon had felt that it would be best to surprise his mother. She would
need only to see Rena to approve of her, but she was so far prejudiced
in favor of Blanche Leary that it would be wisest to present the
argument after having announced the irrevocable conclusion. Rena
herself would be a complete justification for the accomplished deed.

"I think you ought to know, George," continued Warwick, without waiting
for a reply to his question, "that my sister and I are not of an old
family, or a rich family, or a distinguished family; that she can bring
you nothing but herself; that we have no connections of which you could
boast, and no relatives to whom we should be glad to introduce you.
You must take us for ourselves alone--we are new people."

"My dear John," replied the young man