exactly hospitable to you; has laughed at you--sneered at
you--given you the cold shoulder."

"Has it? What do I care!"

"It would be sort of nice, now wouldn't it," he continued slowly,
keenly, with his subdued excitement, "sort of heaping coals of fire on
Westville's roofs, if the town, after having cut you dead, should find
that it had been saved by you. I suppose you've never thought of that
aspect of the case--eh? I suppose it has never occurred to you that in
saving your father you'll also save the town?"

She flushed--and smiled a little.

"Oh, so we've already thought of that, have we. I see I can't suggest
anything new to you. Let the old town jeer all it wants to now, we'll
show 'em in the end!--is that it?"

She smiled again, but did not answer him.

"Now you'll excuse me, won't you, for I promised to call on father
this afternoon?"

"Certainly." He rose. "How is your father--or haven't you seen him
yet?"

"I called at the jail first thing this morning. He's very cheerful."

"That's good. Well, good-by."

Old Hosie was reaching for his hat, but just then a firm step sounded
on the porch and there was a ring of the bell. Katherine crossed the
parlour and swung open the screen. Standing without the door was
Bruce, a challenging, defiant look upon his face.

"Why, Mr. Bruce," she exclaimed, smiling pleasantly. "Won't you please
come in?"

"Thank you," he said shortly.

He bowed and entered, but stopped short at sight of his uncle.

"Hello! You here?"

"Just to give an off-hand opinion, I should say I am." Old Hosie
smiled sweetly, put his hat back upon the piano and sank into his
chair. "I just dropped in to tell Miss Katherine some of those very
clever and cutting things you've said to me about the idea of a woman
being a lawyer. I've been expostulating with her--trying to show her
the error of her ways--trying to prove to her that she wasn't really
clever and didn't have the first qualification for law."

"You please let me speak for myself!" retorted Bruce. "How long are
you going to stay here?"

Old Hosie recrossed his long legs and settled back with the air of the
rock of ages.

"Why, I was expecting Miss Katherine was going to invite me to stay to
supper."

"Well, I guess you won't. You please remember this is your month to
look after Jim. Now you trot along home and see that he don't fry the
steak to a shingle the way you let him do it last night."

"Last night I was reading yo