"Supposing he what?" demanded the other. "I don't know--I have such strange thoughts--I never know what they're going to do next. Mr. Ricaby doesn't know, either. There's this strange, inexplicable silence, these strange visits of Dr. Zacharie. It is as if they were waiting for--for-- It's the uncertainty that gets on my nerves so." The old lady shrugged her shoulders. "Why don't you get married and settle the whole business?" she said. "Get married!" cried Paula, compelled to smile in spite of her anxiety. "Certainly. Then your husband can do the worrying, and your uncle could whistle for the money. "Yes, yes; but who could I marry?" laughed Paula. The old woman shook her head sagaciously. "Oh, just look around a little. You won't have to look very far. My Harry's a good boy--as different from his father as chalk is to cheese. He's fine looking, too, and he's a good son--and, Paula, a good son makes a good husband." "Get married," said Paula musingly, "and get away from here? Yes. That's it--that's it." "I was speaking to Mr. Ricaby about it," went on Mrs. Parkes. Paula looked up, surprised. "Mr. Ricaby? What--what did he say?" she demanded. "He said it was a splendid idea--but you'd have to get your uncle's consent--or the consent of the court--or something. My advice is to marry first and ask consent afterward." Paula was silent and thoughtful for a moment. Then she asked: "Did Mr. Ricaby seemed pleased at the idea?" "Well, not--not--exactly pleased. He didn't throw up his hat and dance a hornpipe, but he congratulated me on having such a fortunate son." The young girl stared at her landlady as if dumbfounded. "What!" she cried, "did you tell Mr. Ricaby that your son--what did he say?" "I said that Harry loved you and would make you a good husband," replied the mother proudly. "How did you dispose of me in the matter?" smiled the girl. Mrs. Parkes seemed embarrassed for an answer. Hesitatingly she answered: "I said--that you--that you were not exactly opposed to the idea." It was only with difficulty that Paula could keep her face straight. Controlling herself, she said: "Mrs. Parkes, you have said that a good, cheerful lie is sometimes very comforting, but--in this case it's not only cheerless and uncomfortable--it's also most embarrassing. As it happens, I'm very much opposed to the idea." The mother looked at her blankly. That her Harry was not a suitor any girl would eagerly jump at had never entered her mind. "You could learn to love him," she said testily. Paula was getting rather weary of the subject. Impatiently she replied: "But I don't want to learn to love him. Forgive me, Mrs. Parkes, if I ask you not to refer to the subject again." "The poor boy is eating his heart out," said Mrs. Parkes, wiping away a solitary tear. Just as she spoke the door opened and the object of the conversation put his head in. "Say, _mater_," he grinned, "do you know Mr. Chase has been waiting downstairs half an hour?"