"What of that?" asked Fleda. "She wanted to know what right you had to meddle. She said you were not honest."!

The girl hesitated. "You said a while ago that for me you would do it." He appeared puzzled by this statement, but he presently rejoined: "You haven't then said to mamma what you think?"

"If you do any such thing, you shall never see me again,—absolutely, literally never!" "She's not, she's not: there's nothing in it! Doesn't a fellow know?—except with you!" Owen ruefully added. With this he came out of the room, lowering his voice to secret supplication, pleading with her really to meet him on the ground of the negation of Mona. It was this betrayal of his need of support and sanction that made her retreat—harden herself in the effort to save what might remain of all she had given, given probably for nothing. The very vision of him as he thus morally clung to her was the vision of a weakness somewhere in the core of his bloom, a blessed manly weakness of which, if she had only the valid right, it would be all a sweetness to take care. She faintly sickened, however, with the sense that there was as yet no valid right poor Owen could give. "You can take it from my honor, you know," he whispered, "that she loathes me." "He answered it sufficiently by rushing off on the spot to see you."