Mrs. Gereth was silent a moment; then "Nonsense!" she sharply replied. "Tells her what?" Fleda inquired.!

"Then why doesn't she do it?" At this she knew. "Poynton's on fire?"

"Wouldn't it perhaps after all be better," she asked, "before doing this, to see if we can make his whereabouts certain?" The ring of his question made his anger at Mona almost resemble for a minute an anger at Fleda; and this resemblance in turn caused our young lady to observe how handsome he looked when he spoke, for the first time in her hearing, with that degree of heat, and used, also for the first time, such a term as "perpetrated." In addition, his challenge rendered still more vivid to her the mere flimsiness of her own aid. "Yes, you've been perfect," she said. "You've had a most difficult part. You've had to show tact and patience, as well as firmness, with your mother, and you've strikingly shown them. It's I who, quite unintentionally, have deceived you. I haven't helped you at all to your remedy." Fleda hesitated a moment; after which she exclaimed with a certain hard pride: "He's enough in love with me for anything!"