"Cora," said the Iron King, abruptly, to his granddaughter, at the breakfast table, on the morning after this conversation, and in the presence of their guest, "do you object to Mrs. Stillwater joining our traveling party to West Point?" "Certainly not, sir. What right have I to object to any one whom you might please to invite?" "No right whatever. And I am glad that you understand that," replied Mr. Rockharrt. Rose was trembling for fear that her benefactor would betray her as the suggester of the question, but he did not. Cora had received no letter from her Uncle Fabian in answer to hers announcing the fact of Mrs. Stillwater's presence at Rockhold. Mr. Fabian wrote no letters, except business ones to the firm, and these were opened at the office of the works, and never brought to Rockhold. If Cora should ever inquire of her grandfather whether he had heard from Mr. and Mrs. Fabian Rockharrt, his answer would be brief-- "Yes; they are both well. They are at Paris. They are at Berne. They are at Aix," or wherever the tourists might then chance to be. Sylvan was a better correspondent. He answered her letters promptly. His comments on the visit of Rose Stillwater were characteristic of the boy. "So you have got the Rose 'that all admire' transplanted to the conservatories of Rockhold. Wish you joy of her. She is a rose without a single thorn, and with a deadly sweet aroma. Mind what I told you long ago. It contains the wisdom of ages. 'Stillwater runs deep.' Mind it does not draw in and submerge the peace and honor of Rockhold. I shall see you at the exhibition, when we can talk more freely over this complication. If Mrs. Stillwater is to remain as a permanent guest at Rockhold, I shall ask my sister to join me wherever I may be ordered, after my leave of absence has expired. You see I fully calculate on receiving my commission." Cora looked forward anxiously to this meeting with her brother. Only the thought of seeing him a little sooner than she should otherwise have done could reconcile her to the proposed trip to West Point, where she must be surrounded by all the gayeties of the Military Academy at its annual exercises. Cora had yielded to her grandfather's despotic will in going a little into society while they occupied their town house in the State capital. But she took no pleasure--not the least pleasure--in this. To her wounded heart and broken spirit the world's wealth was dross and its honors--vapor! The only life worth living she had lost, or had recklessly thrown away. Her soul turned, sickened, from all on earth, to seek her lost love through the unknown, invisible spheres.