"Indeed, you mistake me, entirely, Miss Van Arsdel," he said, eagerly. "You _must_ know my feelings; you _must_ appreciate my reasons; you see why I cannot and ought not." "I am quite in the dark as to both," I said. "I cannot see any reason why we should not be on the old footing, I am sure. You have acted of late as if you were afraid to meet me; it is all perfectly unaccountable to me. Why should you do so? What reason can there be?" "Because," he said, with a sort of desperation, "because I _love_ you, Miss Van Arsdel. Because I always shall love you too well to associate with you as the wife or betrothed bride of another man." "There is no occasion you should, Mr. Henderson. I am not, so far as I understand, either wife or betrothed to any man," I said. He looked perfectly thunderstruck. "Yet I heard it from the best authority." "From what authority?" said I, "for I deny it." "Your mother." "My mother?" I was thunderstruck in my turn; here it was to be sure. Poor mamma! I saw through the whole mystery. "Your mother told me," he went on, "that there was a tacit engagement which was to be declared on Mr. Sydney's return, and cautioned me against an undue intimacy." "My mother," I said, "has done her utmost to persuade me to this engagement. I refused Mr. Sydney out and out in the beginning. She persuaded me to allow him to continue his attentions in hope of changing my mind, but it never has changed." He grew agitated and spoke very quickly. "Oh, tell me, Miss Van Arsdel, if _I_ may hope for success in making the same effort?" "I shouldn't be surprised if you might," said I. There followed a sort of electric flash and a confusion of wild words after this--really my dear I cannot remember half what he said--only the next I knew, somehow, we were walking arm in arm together. "What a talk we had, and what a walk up and down those tangled alleys! going over everything and explaining everything. It was a bright long twilight and the great silver moon rose upon us while yet we were talking. After a while I heard Ida calling up and down the paths for me. She came up and met us with her sketch-book under her arm." "Ida, we're engaged, Harry and I," I said. "So I thought," she said, looking at us kindly and stretching out both hands. I took one and he the other. "Do you think I have any chance with your parents?" asked Harry. "I think," said Ida, "that you will find trouble at first, but you may rely on Eva, she will never change; but we must go home." "Yes," said I, "it would not do to introduce the matter by getting up a domestic alarm and sending a party to drag the lake for us; we must drive home in a peaceable, orderly manner," and so, it being agreed among us that I should try my diplomatic powers on mamma first, and Harry should speak to papa afterward, we drove home.