l her wayward mood when it rose against her will and
urged her back to her hoydenish exploits once more.

Miss Blake, lying back against her snowy pillows, had a look of such
inexpressible sweetness to Nan that often and often the girl would
fling herself beside the bed with her arms about the fragile figure,
crying:

"Oh, you dear, you dear! how I love you!" and then the other, with a
very happy smile would invariably answer, "And I you, Nan."

It was all understood between them now. Pardon had been humbly asked
and freely granted, and there was now only the remaining regret of
impending separation; the dread of the parting that was to come.

At one time they had thought that it would occur within a few weeks'
time, and the joy that Nan felt in her father's return was overshadowed
by the grief she experienced in the coming loss of her friend.

But now the date of Mr. Cutler's home-coming had been postponed. He
would leave Bombay as he had at first intended, but business would
detain him in London, and he could not expect to reach home until that
was completed--so Mr. Turner said.

Thus Nan had to reconcile herself to her disappointment and the
indefiniteness of her father's return, in the thought that if her
meeting with him was deferred, why, so was her parting from Miss Blake.

The weeks that passed before the governess was fairly convalescent had
brought them well into November. They had been busy, helpful weeks for
Nan. In her thought for her friend's comfort she had unconsciously
learned a lesson in gentleness and patience that nothing else could
have taught her. Her voice grew lower, her step lighter, and the touch
of her fingers more delicate. All this could never have been
accomplished in such a short space by ordinary means, but Love is a
magical teacher and he instructed her in his art.

As the dear invalid grew stronger Nan tried to beguile the long hours
by reading aloud to her from her favorite authors, sage philosophers,
wise poets, and tender tale-tellers. Sometimes she did not at all
comprehend the meaning of the pages she read, but Miss Blake was always
ready to give her "a lift" over the hardest places, and to her surprise
she grew really to love these serious books, and to get an insight into
the beauty of their character.

Once in awhile she would take up the daily paper to give her friend an
idea of "what was going on in the world," seriously reading discussions
about this "bill" o