possible Uncle Charles had simply taken a mate without any such
formality, was a subject of conjecture.

Still, if the recreant lover had married another, would Aunt Jane
have kept her treasure chest and her wedding gown? Ruth knew that
she herself would not, but she understood that aunts were in a
class by themselves. It was possible that Charles Winfield was an
earlier lover, and she had kept the paper without any special
motive, or, perhaps, for "auld lang syne."

Probably the letters would have disclosed the mystery, and the
newspaper instinct, on the trail of a "story," was struggling
with her sense of honour, but not for the world, now that she
knew, would Ruth have read the yellowed pages, which doubtless
held faded roses pressed between them.

The strings of sea-shells, and the larger ones, which could have
come only from foreign shores, together with the light in the
window, gave her a sudden clew. Aunt Jane was waiting for her
lover and the lamp was a signal. If his name was Charles
Winfield, the other woman was dead, and if not, the marriage
notice was that of a friend or an earlier lover.

The explanation was reasonable, clear, and concise--what woman
could ask for more? Yet there was something beyond it which was
out of Miss Thorne's grasp--a tantalising something, which would
not be allayed. Then she reflected that the Summer was before
tier, and, in reality, now that she was off the paper, she had no
business with other people's affairs.