“Oh, Miss Allyn!” cried both girls in half serious horror. “Who ever would have dreamed of you harboring such sentiments?” “Well, I’ve got ’em, and I might as well be honest,” was the answer. “Dollie’s too pretty to have to spend her life in a poor man’s home. I want to see diamonds in her golden hair and fine lace on those white shoulders, and I don’t see why she can’t love a rich man as well as a poor one.” “If she could it would be all right, and I would agree with you,” said Marion, thoughtfully. “Well, I’ll never love any one but Ralph,” said Dollie, stoutly, “and I don’t care if he is poor. It just makes me love him still the harder.” “You are a brave little kitten,” said Marion, smoothing the golden hair, “but what is it, Alma, you look so terribly serious?” Miss Allyn was just raising her hand to turn off the gas for the girls before going to her own room, but she waited long enough to make a candid statement. “I know a young man that would make a lovely husband for one of you girls,” she said, slowly. “He’s an only child, and he’s as rich as Crœsus.” “Who is he?” asked Marion, half rising on her pillow. Miss Allyn turned off the gas before she answered. “His name is Reginald Brookes, and he is a medical student. He’s exactly the kind of a man you should marry.” CHAPTER V. MISS ALLYN’S SECRET. Marion never quite knew what kept her silent after Miss Allyn had mentioned the name of Reginald Brookes, but she allowed her friend to leave the room without saying a word, although she had news that would have interested both of her companions greatly. “I am surprised that she did not see him at the depot,” she thought, as she lay silently beside Dollie, “but I guess they left too quickly.” For an hour after that Marion’s mind wandered restlessly. It had been an exciting day as well as a painful one. She rehearsed over and over the scene in the old kitchen—her parents’ grief when she first saw them and their rejoicing later. The glimpse of the old home had stirred memories of her childhood, but it had also brought back all the old loathing for country life and made her wondrously contented with her present surroundings. “Poor Sallie! How I pity her!” she exclaimed, then listened breathlessly to see if she had awakened Dollie. “The dear child! How happy she is in her love for Ralph!” she mused. “Well, if she loves him and he is kind to her, what does it matter? After all, it is one’s happiness that is to be considered first. Oh, I wonder if I shall ever be really and truly happy?” Then, strangely enough, two faces appeared suddenly before her mind. They were both handsome, both young, and both fired with manly purpose, and peculiarly enough, they were both of men who possessed great riches. The first picture was that of a tall young man, with dark, trusting eyes and a tender smile that was almost irresistible.