y beside Mandy towards the gap
in the fence leading to the high road. Behind him came Perkins with his
group of friends, chaffing with each other and with the girls walking
in front of them. As Cameron was stepping over the rails where the
fence had been let down, one of the young men following stumbled heavily
against him, nearly throwing him down, and before he could recover
himself Perkins had taken his place by Mandy's side and seized her arm.
There was a general laugh at what was considered a perfectly fair and
not unusual piece of jockeying in the squiring of young damsels. The
proper procedure in such a case was that the discomfited cavalier should
bide his time and serve a like turn upon his rival, the young lady
meanwhile maintaining an attitude purely passive. But Mandy was not so
minded. Releasing herself from Perkins' grasp, she turned upon the group
of young men following, exclaiming angrily, "You ought to be ashamed
of yourself, Sam Sailor!" Then, moving to Cameron's side, she said in a
clear, distinct voice:

"Mr. Cameron, would you please take my book for me?"

"Come on, boys!" said Perkins, with his never failing laugh. "I guess
we're not in this."

"Take your medicine, Perkins," laughed one of his friends.

"Yes, I'll take it all right," replied Perkins. But the laugh could not
conceal the shake of passion in his voice. "It will work, too, you bet!"

So saying, he strode off into the gathering gloom followed by his
friends.

"Come along, Mr. Cameron," said Mandy with a silly giggle. "I guess we
don't need them fellows. They can't fool us, can they?"

Her manner, her speech, her laugh rudely dissipated all Cameron's new
feeling towards her. The whole episode filled him only with disgust and
annoyance.

"Come, then," he said, almost roughly. "We shall need to hurry, for
there is a storm coming up."

Mandy glanced at the gathering clouds.

"My goodness!" she cried; "it's comin' up fast. My! I hate to git my
clothes wet." And off she set at a rapid pace, keeping abreast of
her companion and making gay but elephantine attempts at sprightly
conversation. Before Cameron's unsympathetic silence, however, all her
sprightly attempts came to abject failure.

"What's the matter with you?" at length she asked. "Don't you want to
see me home?"

"What?" said Cameron, abruptly, for his thoughts were far away. "Oh,
nonsense! Of course! Why not? But we shall certainly be caught in the
storm. Let us hurry