"Would you like to have the ring, Miss Conway?" "I, Mr. Winans? Why, certainly not. I was only teasing Aura; she seemed to prize it so highly and declared she would throw it in the river before I should have it," asserted Ladybird, gayly. "I will get the ring for you any minute you say you'll wear it, Ladybird. You know what I mean--as my betrothed," murmured her handsome young lover eagerly. Ladybird blushed rosy red, then smiled brightly and whispered back: "I'll give you my answer to-morrow." And all his pleading would not induce her to shorten his probation. "To-morrow--you must wait till to-morrow," she repeated, but her drooping eyes and rosy blushes made him almost certain what her answer would be. Aura Stanley watched the lovers with a jealous pang, for it was a cruel blow to lose Earle, whom she had hoped to captivate, not only because she loved him, but because he was the son of a great man and had a fortune in his own right. She was ambitious and longed to reign a social queen. By some clever maneuvering she managed to get a _tête-à-tête_ by the river bank with Earle that day, and then she said coldly: "Ah, really, I must return your ring, Mr. Winans." She held the glittering circlet toward him on the end of her taper finger, and somehow, just as he was about to accept the ring, it slipped off Aura's finger, flashed like an evil eye in the sunlight, then rolled into the river. "Oh, I am so sorry--but it was an accident," cried Aura quickly. The young man's eyes flashed with anger, and he cried with stinging contempt: "Oh, no, you did it on purpose, because you thought I meant to give it to Miss Conway. But it does not matter; I will buy her a prettier one to-morrow." Aura sprang to her feet, her eyes blazing, her cheeks crimson, and exclaimed in a loud, angry voice: "You villain! How dare you insult me like that?" CHAPTER XIII. LADYBIRD'S LOVE-TEST. "Proud young head, so lightly lifted, Crowned with waves of gleaming hair; Eyes that flash with tell-tale mischief, Fearless eyes to do and dare; Cheeks that start to sudden flame, Willful mouths that none can tame." --ELAINE GOODALE. Those angry words to Aura Stanley had barely passed Earle Winans' lips ere he regretted them, although he knew quite well that she had deserved them, and had dropped the ring purposely, as she had told Ladybird she would do. But he regretted his exhibition of temper, and was about to apologize, when her angry words arrested the speech on his lips. "You villain! How dare you insult me like that!" Although they seemed to be alone on the river-bank, there were several young men near by under a tree, and, catching Aura's angry denunciation, they hurried to the spot. Aura turned quickly toward them, exclaiming maliciously: "Gentlemen, Earle Winans has insulted me, and if I had a brother to take my part he should knock the coward down!"