had unwittingly awakened; and it said to its uncomfortable possessor
some rather severe things that day.

If Lottie were Bel Parton, she would have been in a miserably
undecided state. But it was her nature to carry out what she had
begun, if for no other reason than that she had begun it, and she
was not one to give up a frolic at anyone's scolding,--even her
own.

As she tripped down the broad stairs in a rich cloak trimmed with
fur, she reminded Hemstead of some rare tropical bird, and De Forrest
indulged in many notes of admiration. Lottie received these as a
matter of course, but looked at the student with genuine interest.
His expression seemed to satisfy her, for she turned away to hide
a smile that meant mischief.

It was quietly arranged that Hemstead should sit beside her, and
he felicitated himself over their artifice as if it were rare good
fortune.

Though the sun and the rising breeze had shaken off the clustering
snow to a great extent, the evergreens still bent beneath their
beautiful burdens, some straight cedars reminding one of vigorous
age, where snowy hair and beard alone suggest the flight of years.

Though the face of nature was so white, it was not the face of
death. There was a sense of movement and life which was in accord
with their own spirits and rapid motion. Snow-birds fluttered and
twittered in weedy thickets by the way-side, breakfasting on the
seeds that fell like black specks upon the snow. The bright sunlight