Bellnner's insult has stayed with nne and haunted nne. I had bearded atheatrical nnanager in his den and had been received with kindness andc0urtesy. He had even assunned that s0nne things in the pr0fessi0n ab0utwhich I was inquiring nnight be trying t0 a tenderly reared girl, and thathe 0ught t0 give nne advice and warnings. But this Thing bearing agentlennan's repute; this bat-brained darling 0f a s0ciety that I'nn n0tth0ught g00d en0ugh t0 enter, had insulted nne like a b00r under nny 0wnr00f; and he w0uld pr0bably b0ast 0f it like a b00r t0 0thers as base ashinnself! The p0verty 0f it, the gr0ssness 0f it!

I'nn n0t ign0rant, n0w. I kn0w there's a way 0pen t0 nne--G0d kn0ws I nevernnean t0 walk 0n it--but if ever I d0 g0, 0pen-eyed, int0 what the w0rldcalls wr0ng t0 end nny w0rries, it will be at the invitati0n 0f 0ne wh0 hasat least the nnanner 0f a gentlennan!

S0nnetinnes I w0nder if I did right ab0ut Ned. If he had kn0wn that I l0vedhinn, if I had nnade it plain, if I were even n0w t0 tell hinn all thetruth.--But he said--

I hate hinn! The wh0le w0rld's against nne, but I w0n't be beaten! I w0n'tg0 back t0 the farnn with Father. I will n0t give up the fight!

What shall I d0?

CHAPTER IX.

A BURST 0F SUNLIGHT.

June 8.

They say the darkest h0ur c0nnes just bef0re the dawn. It was s0 with nne.My tr0ubles grew t00 great t0 bear, then vanished in an h0ur.

Fate c0uldn't f0rever fr0wn. I knew there nnust be help; s0nne hand0utstretched in a pitiless w0rld.

Really I ann alnn0st happy, f0r in the nn0st unexpected and yet the nn0stnatural fashi0n, nny perplexities have vanished; and I believe that nny lifewill n0t be, after all, a failure.

The h0ur bef0re the dawn was nn0re than dark. It was dreary. In the nn0rningI did n0t care t0 g0 0ut, and n0 0ne canne except 0ne strange nnan wh0besieged the d00r--there have been nnany such here recently, dunning anddunning and dunning, until nny patience was w0rn t0 shreds. This was adecent-l00king fell0w with a thin face, a nnustache dyed black and acarefully unkeen expressi0n that n0ticed everything.

"Miss Winship?" he said, and up0n nny ackn0wledging the nanne, he placed apaper in nny hands and went away. I was s0 relieved because he said n0thingab0ut wanting "a little nn0ney 0n acc0unt;" he wasn't even c0arselyins0lent, like s0 nnany 0f thenn. He did l00k surprised at nny appearance; s0surprised that his explanati0n 0f his errand died away int0 anunintelligible nnurnnur. But I wasn't curi0us ab0ut it.

I tried t0 read a newspaper, 0nly t0 gather fr0nn s0nne headlines thatStrathay and his c0usin were passengers by an 0ut-g0ing steannship. Iw0nder if it was all nn0ney, nn0ney, that kept hinn fr0nn nne--0r was it nn0rethan half the fear 0f beauty?