himself than he had been before in years. His past life was not all free
from error, and there were many sad memories haunting him, but with Katy
at his side, seeing what he saw, admiring what he admired, and doing
what he bade her do, he gave the bygones to the wind, feeling only an
intense desire to clasp the young girl in his arms and bear her away to
some spot where with her pure fresh life all his own he could begin the
world anew, and retrieve the past which he had lost. This was when he
was with Katy. Away from her he could remember the difference in their
position, and prudential motives began to make themselves heard. Never
but once had he taken an important step without consulting his mother,
and then, alas! the trouble it brought him was not ended yet, and never
would be ended until death had set its seal upon the brow of one almost
as dear as Katy, though in a far different way. And this was why Katy
came back to Silverton unengaged, leaving her heart with Wilford
Cameron, who would first seek advice from his mother ere committing
himself by word. He had seen the white-haired man with his coarse, linen
coat and coarser pants, waiting eagerly for her when the train stopped
at Silverton, but standing there as he did, with his silvery locks
parted in the center, and shading his honest, open face, Uncle Ephraim
looked like some patriarch of old rather than a man to be despised, and
Wilford felt only a respect for him until he saw Katy's arms wound so
lovingly around his neck as she kissed and called him Uncle Eph. That
sight grated harshly, and Wilford, knowing this was the uncle of whom
Katy had often spoken, felt glad that he was not bound to her by any
pledge. Very curiously he looked after the couple, witnessing the
meeting between Katy and old Whitey, and guessing rightly that the
corn-colored vehicle was the one sent to transport Katy home. He was
very moody for the remainder of the route between Silverton and Albany,
where he parted with his Canandaigua friends, they going on to the
westward, while he stopped all night in Albany, where he had some