follow."

"Well, I guess my wishes will be unavailing in the future, as they
have been in the past; and as I leave the Queen City to-morrow, old
Defiance will fade from my sight though not from my memory, for a
long, long time. So for the present I wish it no ill."

"Indeed," replied George Marshall in surprise, "do you leave the
Queen City to-morrow--so soon?"

"Yes, I go by steamer--by the Firefly, that leaves to-morrow for the
port of --, in my native State, and from there to Melrose, where I
live."

"At what hour does the steamer leave?" inquired the young man
thoughtfully.

"At six P.M., uncle tells me."

"And you leave so soon--six P.M. to-morrow?" he asked. "Maybe I am
selfish in monopolizing you so long, Miss Heartwell. I have two
friends you must know before the evening closes--Edwin Calhoun and
Emile Le Grande. Have you met them? The dancing has ceased again,
and we'll look them up."

"Thank you."

"Before we leave this moonlit spot, however, Miss Heartwell, I beg
that you make friends with old Defiance, for my sake, and recall
that cruel wish concerning him," he said playfully, and with an arch