Meanwhile--will you keep Miss Foster here ?'--he pointed to the garden--'out of the way ?' 'I must think of Aunt Pattie, remember,' said Eleanor quickly.
'Ah! dear Aunt Pattie!--but bring her too .-- I see perfectly well that Alice has already marked Miss Foster.

She has asked me many questions about her.
She feels her innocence and freshness like a magnet, drawing out her own sorrows and grievances.

My poor Alice--what a wreck! Could I have done more ?--could I ?' He walked on absently, his hands behind his back, his face working painfully.
Eleanor was touched.

She did her best to help him throw off his misgivings; she defended him from himself; she promised him her help, not with the old effusion, but still with a cousinly kindness.

And his mercurial nature soon passed into another mood--a mood of hopefulness that the doctor would set everything right, that Alice would consent to place herself under proper care, that the crisis would end well--and in twenty-four hours.
'Meanwhile for this afternoon ?' said Eleanor.
'Oh! we must be guided by circumstances.