ave no gun--and consequently no chance at all!" laughed the squire, as
they turned to go up the hill.

They reached the house just as the first fine flakes of snow began to
fall.

"It will be a white Christmas, with fine sleighing, after all, perhaps,"
said the squire, cheerily, as they entered the house.

"Dinner has been waiting full half an hour, papa. And I would like to know
where you and Odalite have been gadding to without saying a word to
anybody. And I would like also to know--oh! how I should like to
know--what has come to everybody in the house, that nobody but Elva and I
and Miss Meeke have any common sense left!" exclaimed Wynnette, meeting
the returning couple.

"Whereas the simple and exact truth is, that you three are the real and
only lunatics in the house, and, like all lunatics, think everybody else
but yourselves mad," laughed the squire, as he led his eldest daughter
straight to the dining room.

CHAPTER XII

ODALITE AND LEONIDAS

Before the week was ended Wynnette, as well as every other member of the
family, knew "what was the matter."

Beever, the overseer of Greenbushes, came to consult Miss Force about the
size and quality of the Persian rugs to be bought for the bedrooms of the
farmhouse.

And Mr. Force, in the presence of the whole family, said that henceforth
all these consultations were to be suspended, as Miss Force had nothing
further to do with the fitting up of the house.

This caused much surprise, not only to the overseer, but to Wynnette and
Elva, who became importunate in their inquiries, and in a manner compelled
an explanation.

Great was the indignation of those two young ladies on learning that their
dear Le was to be "thrown over" for the sake of that "big, yellow dog,"
Col. Anglesea.

Wynnette and Elva went off to take secret counsel together.

Wynnette declared that she meant to talk to Odalite about it, and also to
Col. Anglesea, and to tell him, if need were, that he was no gentleman to
come into the house to cut out--

"No, I won't say 'cut out,' either, for it is vulgar; I will say
supplant--that is the word, and I will say something better than I first
thought of, too! I will stand straight up before him and lift up my head
and look him straight in the face, and I will say to him:

"'Col. Angus Anglesea, do you consider it conduct becoming an officer and
a gentleman to come into this house to supplant a gallant young
midshipman, who is serving