"What's the matter, daughter? _Do_ tell me."
"He's going away," said Harriet. "Oh, mother, I don't know what ails
him! I never saw anybody act as he did. He had little to say, and
when he spoke it looked as if he was mad with me. Oh, mother,
sometimes I think he loves me, and then again--"
"He _does_ love you," declared Mrs. Floyd. "I hid behind the curtains
in the parlor and watched him on the sly while he was waiting for you
to come down. I never saw a man show love plainer; he kept looking up
at your window, and his face fairly shone when you come out. You can't
fool me. He's in love, but he's trying to overcome it for--for some
reason or other. High-spirited men do that way, sometimes. Men don't
like to give up their liberty and settle down. But he'll come to time,
you see if he don't."
Harriet stood up and started to the door. "Where are you going?" asked
her mother.
"Up-stairs," sighed Harriet. "Mother, can you do without my help at
supper? I want to lie down and be alone."
"Of course; I won't need you; everything is attended to, and Hettie
come while you was away.
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