Beacham's--
. . . County--
Cal.

It was the sight of the dashes that caused the hiatus in her sentence, and
made her heart give one great rushing bound. The enclosure was to the
point.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 18, 188--.

MISS RUTH LEVICE:

MY DEAR FRIEND, --That you may not denounce me as too presumptuous, I shall
at once explain that I am writing this at Bob's urgent desire. He has at
length got the position at the florist's, and tells me to tell you that he
is now happy. I dropped in there last night; and when he gave me this
message, I told him that I feared you would take it as an advertisement.
He merely smiled, picked up a Marechal Niel that lay on the counter, and
said, "Drop this in. It's my mark; she'll understand." So here are Bob's
rose and my apology.

HERBERT KEMP.

She was pale when she turned round to the courteously waiting boy. It was
a very cold note, and she put it in her pocket to keep it warm. The rose
she showed to Will, and told him the story of the sender.

"Didn't I tell you," he cried, when she had finished, "a doctor has the
greatest opportunity in the world to be great--and a surgeon comes near it?
I say, Miss Ruth, your Dr. Kemp must be a brick. Isn't he?"