he regarded as a child, and she turned her glances on Gordon. Gordon
also was impervious to her charms. He was by no means indifferent to
girls; several little damsels who attended St. Martin's Church had at
one time or another been his load-stars for a while; but he was an
aristocrat at heart, and held himself infinitely above a girl like Miss
Euphronia.

Ferdy Wickersham had no such motives for abstaining from a flirtation
with the young girl as those which restrained Rhodes and Keith.

Euphronia had not at first taken much notice of him. She had been
inclined to regard Ferdy Wickersham with some disfavor as a Yankee; but
when the other two failed her, Wickersham fell heir to her
blandishments. Her indifference to him had piqued him and awakened an
interest which possibly he might not otherwise have felt. He had seen
much of the world for a youngster, and could make a good show with what
he knew. He could play on the piano, and though the aged instrument
which the old countryman had got at second-hand for his granddaughter
gave forth sounds which might have come from a tinkling cymbal, yet
Ferdy played with a certain dash and could bring from it tunes which the
girl thought very fine. The two soon began to be so much together that
both Rhodes and Keith fell to rallying Ferdy as to his conquest. Ferdy
accepted it with complacency.

"I think I shall stay here while you are working up in the mountains,"
he said to his chief as the time drew near for them to leave.

"You will do nothing of the kind. I promised to take you with me, and I
will take you dead or alive."