“It is just to the girl to give her a chance to defend herself against Mrs. Groves, who, I must say, is very bitter against her. I’ll do it,” Alex. said; “but will wait till after lunch, when Craig Saltus will be here. He must know of the girl’s family in Buford, where he has a country house. I’ll ask him about them. Craig always braces me up.” Craig had written that he would arrive on the eleven o’clock train, but Sherry knew nothing of it till lunch time, when she was rather late at her post. Her head was still aching frightfully with that nausea so hard to bear. Two or three times she had sat down overcome by dizziness before she could rally sufficient strength to go to the dining-room, where the sight and odor of the food nearly overmastered her as she moved slowly up to her table after all were seated, seeing the back of a strange man, but never dreaming who it was until she stood beside him. “Why, Miss Sherman, you here! This is an unexpected pleasure. Alex. never told me,” Craig exclaimed, offering her his hand, and as quickly as he could, on account of his lameness, getting upon his feet and beginning to pull out the vacant chair next to him. Then sense and sight for a moment forsook Sherry, who would have fallen if Alex., too, had not risen and taken her arm. “There is a mistake, and there has been one all the time,” he said to Craig, who was looking at one and then another, but mostly at Sherry, whose white apron and cap struck him at last. He knew what they meant, but why was she wearing them, and why did Mrs. Marsh and Amy and Ruth seem so bewildered and Alex. so nervous, and why was Sherry so white? An awful dizziness was coming over her again, and the black specks were thick before her eyes. Turning to No. 4, she said: “Polly, will you take my place? I must have air.” She was white as a corpse, and the rings around her eyes grew darker as she left the room, with Alex. beside her. “What is it, Miss Sherman?” he said, adopting the name Craig had given her. “Why have you never told us you were Craig Saltus’ friend?” “I don’t know,” Sherry answered faintly, as she sat down on the side piazza, where she had waltzed with Alex., and where the dog came bounding to her and began to lick her cold hands. “Go back,” she said to Alex. “I shall be better alone. By and by I’ll tell you why I was so foolish.” Alex. went back, finding his mother and Amy and Ruth in a state of great excitement, and Craig quite as much surprised, as each listened to the other and told what they knew of the young lady,—Miss Sherry Sherman, Craig called her, repeating to Alex. what he had already said to the ladies. “One of the very best families in Buford,” he said. “We know them well; and Rose is very fond of Sherry and her sister Katy.” “Sherry,” Alex. exclaimed. “I thought her name was Fanny.” “So it is in part,” Craig answered; “Fanny Sheridan Sherman, but she is called Sherry in Buford.”