Why, she told me--" He began to enumerate some of the things Keziah had told concerning the Hammond family.

They were all good things, and he couldn't help seeing that the recital pleased her.

So he went on to tell how his housekeeper had helped him, of her advice, of her many acts of kindness, of what he owed to her.

The girl listened eagerly, asking questions, nodding confirmation, and, in her delight at hearing Keziah praised, quite forgetting her previous eagerness to end the interview.

And, as he talked, he looked at her, at the red light on her hair, the shine of her eyes, like phosphorus in the curl of a wave at night, at her long lashes, and-- -- "Yes," said Miss Van Horne, "you were saying--" The minister awoke with a guilty start.