looking up, "is either flighty, or--or suthin'," he added in vague
disgust, pushing the table from him as if it were the lady in question.
"Don't tell me!"

Ruth's eyes quickly sought his brother's, and were as quickly averted,
as he asked hurriedly, "How?"

"What gets me," continued Rand in a petulant non sequitur, "is that YOU,
my own twin-brother, never lets on about her comin' yer, permiskus like,
when I ain't yer, and you and her gallivantin' and promanadin', and
swoppin' sentiments and mottoes."

Ruth tried to contradict his blushing face with a laugh of worldly
indifference.

"She came up yer on a sort of pasear."

"Oh, yes!--a short cut to the creek," interpolated Rand satirically.

"Last Tuesday or Wednesday," continued Ruth, with affected
forgetfulness.

"Oh, in course, Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday! You've so many folks
climbing up this yer mountain to call on ye," continued the ironical
Rand, "that you disremember; only you remembered enough not to tell me.
SHE did. She took me for you, or pretended to."

The color dropped from Ruth's cheek.

"Took you for me?" he asked, with an awkward laugh.