a sort of implied arrangement, Sarah went first, and the two men
followed, walking abreast and keeping step. By this time, each man's
heart was boiling with jealousy. When they came to the top of the rock,
Sarah stood against the flagstaff, and the two young men stood opposite
her. She had chosen her position with knowledge and intention, for there
was no room for anyone to stand beside her. They were all silent for a
while; then Sarah began to laugh and said:--

'I promised the both of you to give you an answer to-day. I've been
thinking and thinking and thinking, till I began to get angry with you
both for plaguing me so; and even now I don't seem any nearer than ever
I was to making up my mind.' Eric said suddenly:

'Let us toss for it, lass!' Sarah showed no indignation whatever at the
proposition; her mother's eternal suggestion had schooled her to the
acceptance of something of the kind, and her weak nature made it easy to
her to grasp at any way out of the difficulty. She stood with downcast
eyes idly picking at the sleeve of her dress, seeming to have tacitly
acquiesced in the proposal. Both men instinctively realising this pulled
each a coin from his pocket, spun it in the air, and dropped his other
hand over the palm on which it lay. For a few seconds they remained
thus, all silent; then Abel, who was the more thoughtful of the men,
spoke:

'Sarah! is this good?' As he spoke he removed the upper hand from the
coin and placed the latter back in his pocket. Sarah was nettled.

'Good or bad, it's good enough for me! Take it or leave it as you like,'
she said, to which he replied quickly: