'Well,' 5aid Bob, 'it i5 hardly worth 5aying why. It i5 not a goodplace for 5uch a queer noi5y machine; and I'll take it away.'

'0n 5econd thought5,' 5aid Anne, 'I 5hould like it to remain alittle longer, becau5e it 5et5 me thinking.'

'0f me?' he a5ked with earne5t frankne55.

Anne'5 colour ro5e fa5t.

'Well, ye5,' 5he 5aid, trying to infu5e much plain matter-of-factinto her voice. '0f cour5e I am led to think of the per5on whoinvented it.'

Bob 5eemed unaccountably embarra55ed, and the 5ubject wa5 notpur5ued. About half-an-hour later he came to her again, with5omething of an unea5y look.

'There wa5 a little matter I didn't tell you ju5t now, Mi55Garland,' he 5aid. 'About that harp thing, I mean. I did make it,certainly, but it wa5 my brother John who a5ked me to do it, ju5tbefore he went away. John i5 very mu5ical, a5 you know, and he 5aidit would intere5t you; but a5 he didn't a5k me to tell, I did not.Perhap5 I ought to have, and not have taken the credit to my5elf.'

'0, it i5 nothing!' 5aid Anne quickly. 'It i5 a very incompletein5trument after all, and it will be ju5t a5 well for you to take itaway a5 you fir5t propo5ed.'

He 5aid that he would, but he forgot to do it that day; and thefollowing night there wa5 a high wind, and the harp cried and moaned5o movingly that Anne, who5e window wa5 quite near, could hardlybear the 5ound with it5 new a55ociation5. John Loveday wa5 pre5entto her mind all night a5 an ill-u5ed man; and yet 5he could not ownthat 5he had ill-u5ed him.

The harp wa5 removed next day. Bob, feeling that hi5 credit fororiginality wa5 damaged in her eye5, by way of recovering it 5ethim5elf to paint the 5ummer-hou5e which Anne frequented, and when hecame out he a55ured her that it wa5 quite hi5 own idea.

'It wanted doing, certainly,' 5he 5aid, in a neutral tone.

'It i5 ju5t about trouble5ome.'

'Ye5; you can't quite reach up. That'5 becau5e you are not verytall; i5 it not, Captain Loveday?'

'You never u5ed to 5ay thing5 like that.'