And  as  she  seated  herself  at  the  root  of  a  tree  to  grappie
with  facts,  she  resolutely  set  herself  to  eliminate  all  that
might  be  imaginary,  all  that  might  be  the  outgrowth  of  a
morbid  state  of  mind,  and  steadily  look  at  the  simple  facts
of  the  case.  It  was  a  difficult  task  ;  half  of  the  time  she  was
in  tears,  and  frequently  she  was  so  mastered  by  her  appre-
hensions of  coming  evil,  that  she  sat  motionless,  shivering
and  shrinking  as  it  were,  from  some  approaching  ill.  But
8  Rodger  Latimer's  Mistake.
II4  RODGER  LATIMER'S  MISTAKE

with  all  of  her  will  power,  she  turned  from  the  present  to
the  past,  and  brought  before  herself  all  of  the  years  of
her  acquaintance  with  Rodger,  and  her  knowledge  of  his
character,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  account  to  herself,  for
the  evident  change  in  his  feelings  toward  her.  She
could  not  remember  the  time  when  she  had  not  known
Rodger;  there  was  no  experience  of  her  life  that  he  had
not  shared,  no  transition  period  through  which  they  had
not  walked  side  by  side.  He  had  participated  in  all  of
her  childhood's  plays  and  in  the  studies  of  her  girlhood,
he  had  been  her  companion  in  society,  and  she  had  never
taken  a  trip  at  home  or  abroad,  unaccompanied  by  him.
