case in the woods. It will be only me. There's some creature--confess,
you expected me to say 'critter'--hanging round the barn. It may be a
bear. Good-by." She missed the creature,--which happened to be really a
bear,--much to Mainwaring's illogical satisfaction. "I wonder why," he
reflected, with vague uneasiness, "she doesn't leave all that sort of
thing to girls like that tow-headed girl at the blacksmith's."

It chanced, however, that this blacksmith's tow-headed daughter, who, it
may be incidentally remarked, had the additional eccentricities of large
black eyes and large white teeth, came to the fore in quite another
fashion. Shortly after this, Mainwaring being able to leave his room and
join the family board, Mrs. Bradley found it necessary to enlarge
her domestic service, and arranged with her nearest neighbor, the
blacksmith, to allow his daughter to come to The Lookout for a few
days to "do the chores" and assist in the housekeeping, as she had on
previous occasions. The day of her advent Bradley entered Mainwaring's
room, and, closing the door mysteriously, fixed his blue eyes, kindling
with mischief, on the young Englishman.

"You are aware, my dear boy," he began with affected gravity, "that you
are now living in a land of liberty, where mere artificial distinctions
are not known, and where Freedom from her mountain heights generally
levels all social positions. I think you have graciously admitted that
fact."

"I know I've been taking a tremendous lot of freedom with you and yours,
old man, and it's a deuced shame," interrupted Mainwaring, with a faint
smile.

"And that nowhere," continued Bradley, with immovable features, "does