It is as good as telling him, in plain words, that you are fond of him!" "I _am_ fond of him." "Hush! hush! Keep it to yourself, until you are sure that _he_ is fond of _you._ It is the man's place, my love--not the woman's--to own the truth first in matters of this sort." "That is very hard on the women.

If they feel it first, they ought to own it first." She paused for a moment, considering with herself--and abruptly got off my knee.

"I _must_ speak to him!" she burst out.

"I _must_ tell him that I have heard his story, and that I think all the better of him after it, instead of the worse!" She was again on her way to get her hat.

My only chance of stopping her was to invent a compromise.
"Write him a note," I said--and then suddenly remembered that she was blind.