always wears her so much, poor girl," Mrs. Burton answered with a
sigh. Then she said, with an involuntary lowering of her voice as
she glanced at her father: "Katherine does not like the idea of our
telling Father that Mr. Selincourt has come. She says it may
excite him, and be very harmful. What do you think about it?"

Jervis glanced at the invalid, who sat in a chair by the open door,
gazing out at the evening sky, where the twilight still lingered.
'Duke Radford was sitting with his head stooped a little forward,
and smiling placidly as if his thoughts pleased him.

"I don't think it would hurt him; he takes so little notice," the
young man answered slowly. Then he added: "But Miss Radford would
know better about that than I do, and if she is afraid of the
effect upon him, it would be well to be careful."

"I don't think Katherine knows more about Father than I do, because
you see she is not much with him, and I don't think he understands
the difference between one person and another," said Mrs. Burton.
"He seems to find as much pleasure in talking to Oily Dave as to
Astor M'Kree, and that is certainly different from what he used to
be. But it will be very hard if we have to shut nice people like
the Selincourts out of the house just because it may upset Father,
who probably won't even realize that they are strangers at all."

"Well, we can but try him. Let us see if the name brings any worry
to him," said Jervis, and going across to the door he began to talk
to the invalid. "Mr. Selincourt and his daughter have come to
spend the summer here; they live in the hut across the river that
Astor M'Kree has done up so nicely. Would you like them to come
and see you?"

'Duke Radford looked at him curiously, as if not understanding what
he was talking about; then he said slowly: "Oh yes, I like to see
people, nice people; where do they come from?"

"England," replied the young man.

The invalid shivered, then said more haltingly than before: "I
don't like to think of England, it makes me sad; but Selincourt is
a pretty name--a very pretty name indeed!"

CHAPTER XV

Mr. Selincourt is Indiscreet

When Katherine reached home that night after doing the "backache
portage" it seemed to be the last straw to her burden of endurance
to be told that Mr. Selincourt had arrived. The loss of the supper
fish did not trouble her, for she and Phil had brought home a fine
salmon, which they had taken from an I