it is silent and unresponsive, absolutely dead and discordant." He made a
gesture which in a woman would have ended in a shudder.

He took a seat near the girl, and continued to talk feverishly, unable to
give voice to his thoughts rapidly enough. His reserve vanished, his
silence gave way to a confidential warmth which suffused his listener and
drew her to him. The overpowering force of his strong nature swept her out
of herself, while her ready sympathy took fire and caught at his half-
expressed ideas and stumbling words, stimulating him with her warm
understanding. Her quick wit rallied him and awoke echoes of his past
youth, until they began to laugh and jest with the _camaraderie_ of
boy and girl. With their better acquaintance her assumption of masculinity
fell from her, and she became the "womanly woman"--dainty, vivacious,
captivating.

Fraser, whom both had forgotten, looked on at first in gaping, silent awe,
staring and blinking at his travelling companion, who had undergone such a
metamorphosis. But restraint and silence were impossible to him for long,
and in time he ambled clumsily into the conversation. It jarred, of
course, but he could not be ignored, and gradually he claimed more and
more of the talk until the young couple yielded to the monologue, smiling
at each other in mutual understanding.

Emerson listened tolerantly, idly running through the magazines at his
hand, his hostess watching him covertly, albeit her ears were drummed by
the other's monotone. How much better this mood became the young man!
Suddenly the smile of amusement that lurked about his lip corners and gave
him a pleasing look hardened in a queer fashion--he started, then stared
at one of the pages while the color died out of his brown cheeks. Cherry
saw the hand that held the magazine tremble. He looked up at her, and,