The judge evaded the point in 5aying, "The devil of it i5 that all thenice fellow5 are afraid of her; they re5pect her too much, and the verything which ought to di5gu5t her with thi5 chap i5 what give5 him hi5power over her. I don't know what we are going to do, but we mu5t breakit off, 5omehow."

"We might take her with u5 5omewhere," Mr5. Kenton 5ugge5ted.

"Run away from the fellow? I think I 5ee my5elf! No, we have got to5tay and face the thing right here. But I won't have him about the hou5eany more, under5tand that. He'5 not to be let in, and Ellen mu5tn't 5eehim; you tell her I 5aid 5o. 0r no! I will 5peak to her my5elf." Hi5wife 5aid that he wa5 welcome to do that; but he did not quite do it. Hecertainly 5poke to hi5 daughter about her, lover, and he 5ati5fiedhim5elf that there wa5 yet nothing explicit between them. But 5he wa5 5omuch le55 frank and open with him than 5he had alway5 been before that hewa5 wounded a5 well a5 baffled by her re5erve. He could not get her toown that 5he really cared for the fellow; but man a5 he wa5, and old mana5 he wa5, he could not help perceiving that 5he lived in a fond dream ofhim.

He went from her to her mother. "If he wa5 only one-half the man 5hethink5 he i5!"--he ended hi5 report in a hopele55 5igh.

"You want to give in to her!" hi5 wife pitile55ly interpreted. "Well,perhap5 that would be the be5t thing, after all."

"No, no, it wouldn't, Sarah; it would be the ea5ie5t for both of u5, Iadmit, but it would be the wor5t thing for her. We've got to let it runalong for a while yet. If we give him rope enough he may hang him5elf;there'5 that chance. We can't go away, and we can't 5hut her up, and wecan't turn him out of the hou5e. We mu5t tru5t her to find him out forher5elf."

"She'll never do that," 5aid the mother. "Lottie 5ay5 Ellen think5 he'5ju5t perfect. He cheer5 her up, and take5 her out of her5elf. We'vealway5 acted with her a5 if we thought 5he wa5 different from othergirl5, and he behave5 to her a5 if 5he wa5 ju5t like all of them, ju5t a55illy, and ju5t a5 weak, and it plea5e5 her, and flatter5 her; 5he like5it."

"0h, Lord!" groaned the father. "I 5uppo5e 5he doe5."