their acquaintance abroad, and they knew it would be absurd to put on airs with us; so the ladies of the two families have exchanged more or less formal visits, but in the main they have little to do with the society of this region.  As boys Willard and myself did not care a fig for these things, and became very good friends.  I have not seen him for several years; they have all been abroad; and I hear that he has become an awful swell.”

“Why then, if he ever returns, you and he will be good friends again,” Marian had laughingly replied and had at once dismissed the exclusive Merwyns from her mind.

On the morning of the 4th of July Strahan had come over to have a quiet talk with Marian, and had found Mr. Lane there before him.  By feminine tactics peculiarly her own, Marian had given them to understand that both were on much the same footing, and that their united presence did not form “a crowd;” and the young men, having a common ground of purpose and motive, were soon at ease together, and talked over personal and military matters with entire freedom, amusing the young girl with accounts of their awkwardness in drill and of the scenes they had witnessed.  She was proud indeed of her two knights, as she mentally characterized them,—­so different, yet both now inspiring a genuine liking and respect.  She saw that her honest goodwill and admiration were evoking their best manhood and giving them as much happiness as she would ever have the power to bestow, and she felt that her scheme of life was not a false one.  They understood her fully, and knew that the time had passed forever when she would amuse herself at their expense.  She had become an inspiration of manly endeavor, and had ceased to be the object of a lover’s pursuit.  If half-recognized hopes lurked in their hearts, the fulfilment of these must be left to time.

“By the way,” remarked Strahan, as he was taking his leave, “I hear that these long-absent Merwyns have deigned to return to their native land,—­for their own rather than their country’s good though, I fancy.  I suppose Mrs. Merwyn feels that it is time she looked after her property and maintained at least the semblance of loyalty.  I also hear that they have been hob-nobbing with the English aristocracy, who look upon us Yankees as a ‘blasted lot of cads, you know.’  Shall I bring young Merwyn over to see you after he arrives?”

“As you please,” she replied, with an indifferent shrug.

Strahan had a half-formed scheme in his mind, but when he called upon young Merwyn he was at first inclined to hesitate.  Great as was his confidence in Marian, he had some vaguely jealous fears, more for the young girl than for himself, in subjecting her to the influence of the man that his boyhood’s friend had become.

Willard Merwyn was a “swell” in Strahan’s vernacular, but even in the early part of their interview he gave the impression of being something more, or rather such a superior type of the “swell” genus, that Marian’s friend was conscious of a fear that the young girl might be dazzled and interested, perhaps to her sorrow.