She feared instantly that she had made a mistake, but in the consciousness of his suffering, she could not bear to refuse. She remembered, also, that she would soon be going away, and that would end it all. So she said falteringly: “Yes, as a friend--but--but--I should think you would be too angry to care to see me again.” “Angry with you, Daisie, when I have loved you so dearly? How could such a thing be?” he exclaimed, with a thrilling glance, as he bowed himself out, taking with him the rejected ring, but vowing to himself that she should wear it yet if patient persistence counted for anything. “When she finds that Bain has gone, never to return, she will be ready to take me back again,” he thought, confident of the ultimate triumph of his golden charms if not of his personal attractions. As for Daisie, she wept wildly when he was gone, yielding to the cruel strain on her emotions. She felt herself the most unhappy girl in the world. Dallas was gone from her in anger, and she had no hope of ever seeing him again. Yet Daisie knew in her heart that this was the love of her life, and that she never could forget her handsome, dark-eyed lover. The joy and the sorrow of this brief love dream would stay with her forever. One bitter drop in the cup of Daisie’s sorrow was the anger of her Aunt Alice at her broken engagement. The old lady had been so proud of her niece’s rich catch that she could hardly believe it when Daisie confessed to her the truth of the broken engagement. She became violently angry, but neither scolding nor reproaches could “bring that silly girl to her senses,” as she termed it, then she relapsed into sullen silence. There was neither pity nor sympathy in that house for poor Daisie. Worst of all, Royall Sherwood kept coming every day to call, and he let her see quite plainly that he did not despair of winning her yet. “You will forget Dallas Bain, now that you see him no more,” he said confidently. “In fact, I am not sure that he was worthy of your regard. There was something very mysterious about the fellow, and I have no idea what has become of him.” Daisie had no answer to give; but she knew that the memory of Dallas Bain would never leave her mind. When she was alone the music of his voice seemed to echo in her ears, the flash of his dark eyes to light up the darkness, and always, always, she could feel the touch of his hand and the thrill of his lips as they met her own--no, such love as hers could never die. Though she never spoke his name aloud, she would tremble and thrill when it was uttered by another. After Annette’s accident and the cruel failure of Daisie’s letter to reach Dallas, there seemed nothing left to hope for now. Daisie determined to leave Gull Beach and return to the city. When Royall Sherwood came to call the next evening she bid him farewell, saying that she was going to New York the next day. He cried out reproachfully: