Jessie; whether his unfortunate passion had brought out all his latent
manliness, or whether he had hitherto kept his serious nature in the
background, certainly he was not a boy. And certainly his was not a
passion that he could be laughed out of. It was getting very tiresome.
She wished she had not met him--at least until she had had some clearer
understanding with her sister. He was still walking beside her, with his
hand on her bridle rein, partly to lead her horse over some boulders in
the trail, and partly to conceal his first embarrassment. When they had
fairly reached the woods, he stopped.

"I am going to say good-by, Miss Carr."

"Are you not coming further? We must be near Indian Spring, now; Mr.
Hall and--and Jessie--cannot be far away. You will keep me company until
we meet them?"

"No," he replied quietly. "I only stopped you to say good-by. I am going
away."

"Not from Devil's Ford?" she asked, in half-incredulous astonishment.
"At least, not for long?"

"I am not coming back," he replied.

"But this is very abrupt," she said hurriedly, feeling that in some
ridiculous way she had precipitated an equally ridiculous catastrophe.
"Surely you are not going away in this fashion, without saying good-by
to Jessie and--and father?"

"I shall see your father, of course--and you will give my regards to