cried the girl.

"I think I shall need your aid," said that lady, with a smile. "Come,
Alford, it is next to impossible to get you away."

"Papa's unfortunate barometer will prove correct, I fear," said Miss
St. John, following them out on the piazza, for a thin scud was
already veiling the stars, and there was an ominous moan of the wind.

"To-morrow will be a stormy day," remarked Mrs. Mayburn, who prided
herself on her weather wisdom.

"I'm sorry," Miss St. John continued, "for it will spoil our fairy
world of blossoms, and I am still more sorry for papa's sake."

"Should the day prove a long, dismal, rainy one," Graham ventured,
"may I not come over and help entertain your father?"

"Yes," said the girl, earnestly. "It cannot seem strange to you that
time should often hang heavily on his hands, and I am grateful to any
one who helps me to enliven his hours."

Before Graham repassed under the apple-tree boughs he had fully
decided to win at least Miss St. John's gratitude.



CHAPTER III

THE VERDICT OF A SAGE