This little incident had made Laurie Meredith a hero in the eyes of the beautiful twin sisters. They vied with each other in gratitude, and even the cold, indifferent Mrs. Fielding could not choose but regard the brave young gentleman with favor. Jewel fell in love in the most approved novel fashion with her handsome preserver, and for a short while it seemed as if he returned the compliment. The most delicious flatteries fell from his lips, the most daring glances shone from his glorious brown eyes. He was often by her side and Flower's, and he said to himself that it would be quite in keeping with this romance if he should make dark-eyed Jewel Fielding his adored bride. Then a change came gradually over him. He began to grow impartial in his attentions to the two girls; he began to think in secret of Flower's beautiful blue eyes and golden hair. When he parted from her he would press the white hand tightly in his own, and from thinking that he could not decide which was more beautiful, he began to perceive that if one must decide he should say it was Flower. Then the situation began to grow embarrassing. He wanted to make love to Flower, but he realized that he had been too imprudent with her sister. He had responded too readily to her coquettish advances, and he was afraid of the lightning that could flash upon occasion from those night-black eyes. "Confound my luck! The girl thinks that I belong to her because I saved her life. I wish it had been blue-eyed Flower who owed me that sweet debt of gratitude," he thought, uneasily. He was frank and noble, and he despised anything underhand or mean, but he could no more help making surreptitious love to Flower than he could help breathing. When in the presence of both girls he tried to be quite impartial in his words and looks, that Jewel might not have the pain of seeing her sister preferred before her, but if the dark-eyed beauty left the room for one moment, he would be sure to make some excuse to get by Flower, that he might gaze into her eyes with that long, sweet look before which her glance fell so shyly, while the lovely color flushed up high in her cheeks. Sometimes he ventured to touch the soft, white hand, and by its tremor he realized that the shy, gentle girl was not wholly indifferent to his love. His passion began at length to find relief in that outlet for the lover's heart--poetry. Passionate "sonnets to his lady's eyebrow" began to overflow perfumed sheets of note-paper. These found their way to Flower in all the romantic methods a lover's fertile brain could invent. Jewel was on the alert. A jealous pang had begun to tear her passionate heart. She watched her sister and Laurie Meredith with silent distrust. Little by little the bitter truth began to dawn on her mind.