The  round  stone  which  Melissa  used  to  keep
it  open  had  been  pushed  away.  Nelly  was
a  little  annoyed  ;  she  liked  to  hear  what  was
going  on ;  but  she  was  just  then  holding  her
work  with  great  care  in  a  place  that  was
hard  to  sew,  so  she  did  not  move.  She
heard  the  murmur  of  voices,  and  thought,
after  a  while,  that  the  old  vagabond  ought
to  go  away  by  this  time.  What  could  be
making  her  cousin  Horatia  talk  so  long  with
him  ?  It  was  not  like  her  at  all.  He  would
beg  for  money,  of  course,  and  she  hoped
Miss  Horatia  would  not  give  him  a  single
cent.
It  was  some  time  before  the  kitchen-door
opened,  and  the  man  came  out  with  clumsy,
stumbling  steps.  "I'm  much  obliged  to
you,"  he  said,  "  and  I  don't  know  but  it  is
the  last  time  I  '11  get  treated  as  if  I  was  a
gentleman.  Is  there  anything  I  could  do


A  LOST  LOVER.  241

for  you  round  the  place  ?  "  he  asked  hesi-
tatingly, and  as  if  he  hoped  that  his  offer
would  not  be  accepted.
"  No/'  answered  Miss  Dane.  "  No,  thank
you.  Good-by !  "  and  he  went  away.
The  old  beggar  had  been  lifted  a  little
above  his  low  life ;  he  fell  back  again  directly
before  he  was  out  of  the  gate.  "  I  'm  blessed
if  she  did  n't  give  me  a  ten-dollar  bill !  "  said
he.  "  She  must  have  thought  it  was  one.
