"So have I--you'll come again, won't you?" The sweet voice was
pleading now, and Ruth answered it in her inmost soul.
Impulsively, she came back, threw her arms around Miss Ainslie's
neck, and kissed her. "I love you," she said, "don't you know I
do?"

The quick tears filled Miss Ainslie's eyes and she smiled through
the mist. "Thank you, deary," she whispered, "it's a long time
since any one has kissed me--a long time!"

Ruth turned back at the gate, to wave her hand, and even at that
distance, saw that Miss Ainslie was very pale.


Winfield was waiting for her, just outside the hedge, but his
presence jarred upon her strangely, and her salutation was not
cordial.

"Is the lady a friend of yours?" he inquired, indifferently.

"She is," returned Ruth; "I don't go to see my enemies--do you?"

"I don't know whether I do or not," he said, looking at her
significantly.

Her colour rose, but she replied, sharply: "For the sake of
peace, let us assume that you do not."

"Miss Thorne," he began, as they climbed the hill, "I don't see