If this young man thought by mere perfunctory civilities to her HOST to make up for his clownishness to HER, he was mistaken.

She would let him see it when he called to-morrow.
She quickly turned the subject by assuring the major of her sympathy and her intention of sending for her father.

For the rest of the afternoon and during their al fresco dinner she solved the difficulty of her strained relations with Mrs.Randolph and Emile by conversing chiefly with the major, tacitly avoiding, however, any allusion to this Mr.
Bent.

But Mrs.Randolph was less careful.
"You don't really mean to say, major," she began in her dryest, grittiest manner, "that instead of sending to San Francisco for some skilled master-mechanic, you are going to listen to the vagaries of a conceited, half-educated farm-laborer, and employ him?
You might as well call in some of those wizards or water-witches at once." But the major, like many other well-managed husbands who are good-humoredly content to suffer in the sunshine of prosperity, had no idea of doing so in adversity, and the prospect of being obliged to go back to youthful struggles had recalled some of the independence of that period.

He looked up quietly, and said:-- "If his conclusions are as clear and satisfactory to-morrow as they were to-day, I shall certainly try to secure his services." "Then I can only say I would prefer the water-witch.