They stopped near the C. C. & O. siding. Granny Wolfe knocked the fire from her first cigar, and put the half-smoked weed in her pocket to save it. Alex Singleton took up one of the lighted lanterns, and set his feet in a narrow, laurel-lined trail that led off westward. Behind him in the order named went Granny Wolfe, the Masons, the Fairs, young Wolfe, and Tot Singleton. Miss Alice Fair began to lag purposely, and soon there was a distance of some fifteen yards between her and her father, who carried the second lantern. "That bank of clouds ahead looks like rain, Arnold," she said--plainly, to make conversation. "Yes," agreed Wolfe; "and we need it." "You've been avoiding me, Arnold." He admitted it. "Because you didn't want to be near me--which, of course, is a very simple conclusion!" "Er, yes," he said. "Why didn't you want to be near me?" "Because we have nothing in common now, Alice," he told her. "It's--er, your own decree, and it's the best for both of us, I'm sure. I'm not the kind of fellow you'd care for with the only affection worth while. We'd be unhappy if we were married to each other. The time to part ways is now. Don't you agree with me, Alice?" "I certainly do!" There was a tiny note of desperation in her voice; she had tried to make up, and failed. "I don't wonder at your forgetting me so easily," she went on. "You fell in love with me so easily, you know." "Yes. I'm twenty-four. I felt the real need of the fine, understanding companionship of a good woman. You were the only young woman I knew intimately; I'd studied almost day and night trying to make up for a youth that had been entirely lost, so far as education was concerned, and I hadn't time to be a sociable fellow. I didn't stop to consider whether we'd be suited to each other--you were so pretty, you know, Alice." [Illustration] "Thanks!" with stinging sarcasm. "But I'm fading now--am I?" "I think you'll always be pretty," he said very seriously. She looked backward and laughed at him scornfully. "But the impossible Miss Singleton----" "She's not impossible," interrupted Wolfe, who was now somewhat incensed. "In fact, she's one of the finest specimens of humanity I've ever met." Without another word, Miss Fair hurried on and overtook her father. Suddenly a hand was placed lightly on Wolfe's arm from behind. He stopped and faced about, and confronted a slender, but well-rounded figure, a feminine figure in dark blue. It was Tot Singleton, and she was trembling violently. "I overheard--I eavesdropped!" she whispered nervously. "I feel mean about it, Little Buck, and I wanted to tell you for my conscience's sake. To--to think that you, after the way I treated you this afternoon, would take up for me to Miss Alice! It hurts, and I'm ashamed o' myself. Please forgive me, if you can, will you?" He took both her hands and pressed them warmly. The touch gave him a comfortable thrill. "Forget it!" he smiled.