the two others."

"Do you mean," said Margery, "that if I were to agree to have three, and
then, if I were to ask you to do it, you would go away quietly with one of
the others and leave me in peace with the third one?"

Mr. Clyde half smiled, but instantly grew serious again, and a flush came
on his face. "Margery," said he, "I cannot bear trifling any more about
this. No matter what anybody has said to you, whether it is any one in
this camp or any one out of it, there is not a man in this world who--"

"Oh, Mr. Clyde," interrupted Margery, "you must not sit there and speak to
me in such an excited way. If any one should see us they would think we
were quarrelling. Let us go down to the lake; the air from the water is
cool and soothing."

Together they walked from under the shade of the tree, and so wended their
way that it brought them to a mass of shrubbery which edged the water a
little distance down the lake. On the other side of this shrubbery was a
pretty bank, which they had seen before.

"It always tranquillizes me," said Margery, as they stood side by side on
the bank, "to look out over the water. Doesn't it have that effect on
you?"

"No!" exclaimed Clyde. "It does not tranquillize me a bit. Nothing could
tranquillize me at a moment like this. Margery, I want you to know that I
love you. I did not intend to tell you so soon, but what you have said
makes it necessary. I have loved you ever since I met you at Peter
Sadler's, and, no matter what you say about it, I shall love you to the
end of my life."

"Even if I should send you away with one of the others?"

"Yes; no matter what you did."

"That would be wrong," she said.

"It doesn't matter. Right or wrong, I'd do it."

Margery gave him a glance from which it would have been impossible to
eliminate all signs of admiration. "And if I were to arrange it
otherwise," she said, "would you undertake to keep the others away?"

There was no answer to this question, but in a minute afterwards Clyde
exclaimed: "Do you think any one would dare to come near you if they saw
you now?"

"Hardly," said Margery, raising her head from his shoulder and looking up
into his sparkling eyes. "Really, Harrison, you ought not to speak in such
a loud voice. If Aunt Harriet were to hear you she might dare to come."

Margery was late to dinner, although the horn was blown three times.

Much to the surprise of his wife, Mr. Archibald returned to camp about an
hour be