GRAYDON MUIR Madge Alden was almost seventeen, and yet she was in many respects a child.

Scenes portrayed in books had passed before her mind like pictures, having no definite significance.

Mr.Muir was to her like some of the forces in nature--quiet, unobtrusive, omnipotent--and she accepted him without thought.

Her sister was one whom she could love easily as a matter of course.

She was an indulgent household providence, who cared for the young girl as she did for her own little children.