Her first thought was that now she could go back to Stonecliff, away from the city that had held Jesse Devereaux, whose proud glance and chilling bow had stabbed her heart with such cruel pain. But on making this request, the old woman scowled in disapproval. "Back to Stonecliff? No, indeed!" she cried. "I hate the place, and I left it for good when we came away. You can get a place to work in Boston, and we will stay here." "Yes, it will be easy to get in as a salesgirl at the store where I work. I'll recommend you," said the sick girl kindly. Liane knew there was no appeal from granny's decision, and, after thanking Lizzie for the loan of her gown and hat, she returned to the shabby little room, longing to seek solitude in her grief. But granny soon entered, carrying a bundle, and exclaiming: "Mrs. Brinkley says you bought this dress to-day, and paid for it, too! Now, where'd the money come from, I'd like to know?" Liane had to confess the truth about the beauty contest, and, as soon as the old woman took it in, she cried furiously: "And you dared to spend that money for finery, you vain hussy?" "It was my own, granny," Liane answered. "Where is the rest of it? Give me every penny that is left, before I beat you black and blue!" raged the old termagant. "Granny, you promised never to beat me again if I would stay and work for you in your old age," reminded Liane. "I don't care what I promised! Give me the rest of the money before I kill you!" hissed the savage creature, clutching Liane's arm so tight that she sobbed with pain. "Let go, or I'll call for help!" "Dare to do it, and I'll choke you before any one comes!" winding her skinny claws about the fair white throat. Liane felt as if her last hour had come, and she was so unhappy she did not greatly care, but she struggled with the old harpy, and succeeded in throwing her off, while she said rebelliously: "I will never give you the money while I live, and if you kill me to get it, it will do you no good. You will be hanged for my murder." Perhaps granny saw the force of this reasoning, for she desisted from her brutality, whining: "I'm so poor, so miserably poor, that you ought to give me every penny you get." "And dress in rags!" cried the girl indignantly. "No, granny, I will never do it again, and if you illtreat me any more, I will run away from you, and then you will starve." She knew she would never have the heart to carry out her threat, but she had found out that she could intimidate the old woman by the threat of leaving, so she put on a bold air, and continued: "Here is five dollars for a present, and it is all you will get of that money. I gave away twenty-five dollars in keepsakes to my girl friends before I left Stonecliff, and I have spent thirty dollars for some decent clothes to wear. Now, I have given you five dollars, and I have but forty left, and I shall keep that for myself, in case I have to run away from you and hide myself from your brutality."