"  Nay,"  answered  Romney,  "  else  how  account
for  this  ?  "  and  he  held  up  his  own  hand  scarred
from  joint  to  the  joining  of  the  wrist.  "  'T  was
from  the  same  edge  of  the  crucifix  I  got  the
scratch  as  I  watched  by  the  corpse  last  night,  and
leaned  over  to  set  the  candles  at  the  head
straighter  in  their  sockets.  No,  no,  Peggy  !  it
will  not  do  to  lose  heart  now.  We  must  think
of  nothing  but  how  we  can  help  your  brother,  —
clear  him  if  we  can  ;  save  him  if  we  cannot  clear
him."

The  contagion  of  hopefulness  spread  to  Peggy's
sorrowing  little  soul,  and  with  it  came  a  blessed
sense  of  having  a  firm  support  at  hand  to  lean
upon,  let  the  winds  of  adversity  blow  as  they
would.  The  firm  arm  and  brave  heart  and  ready,
12  i77


Sir  Christopher

resourceful  wit  were  all  hers  for  the  asking ;  nay,
were  themselves  pleading  with  her  to  be  allowed
to  spend  their  life  in  her  service,  and  she  had
flouted  them  and  their  owner  but  three  days
since,  —  yes,  and  answered  the  proffer  of  honest
love  by  a  slap  in  the  face  from  an  evergreen
bough  !

It  would  seem  by  all  the  laws  of  psychology
that  this  angry  humility  and  consciousness  of  her
own  errors  should  have  made  pretty  Peggy  more
tolerant  of  the  mistakes  and  shortcomings  of
others ;  but  by  a  strange  revulsion,  as  she  drew
near  the  corner  where  Elinor  Calvert  sat  gazing
into  vacancy  as  if  turned  to  stone  by  the  sight  of
the  gorgon's  head,  her  anger  swiftly  changed  its
object.  Slowly  and  somewhat  scornfully  Peggy
looked  her  over  from  head  to  foot.
"  Do  you  believe  this  calumny  ?  "  she  asked.
