it is doubly so, as it has the effect of making the master of it
unbearably morose for the remainder of the day or night on which
it occurs.

Knowing this, and feeling the roof that covers papa to be, in his
present state, unsafe, I steal noiselessly to the hall door and,
opening it, find refuge in the outer air.

As evening falls, however, I am warned of the approach of
dinner-hour, and, returning to the house, am safely up the
stairs, when Billy comes to meet me, his face full of indignant
information.

"It is a beastly shame," he says, in a subdued whisper, "and I
would not submit to it if I were you. When luncheon was over,
Dora went to papa and told him she would not go to Aunt Martha;
and when papa raged and insisted, she began to blubber as usual,
and said if you were to take her place it would do just as well;
and of course papa jumped at the idea, knowing it would be
disagreeable, and says you _shall_ go."

"What!" cry I, furious at this new piece of injustice. "I shall,
shall I? He'll see!"

I turn from my brother with an ominous expression on my lips, and
move towards my bedroom door. The action means, "Not words, but
deeds.""That's right," says Billy, following close in the character of a backer-up, and openly delighted at the prospect of a scrimmage. "Fight it out. I would give the governor plenty of cheek if I were you; he wants it badly. It's a shame, that's what it is; and you engaged and all! And what will Carrington say? Do you know"--mysteriously--"it is my opinion Miss Dora thinks she could get inside you, if you were once out of the way? She was always a sneak; so I would not give in on any account. But"--despondingly--"you will never have the pluck to go through with it when it comes to the point. I know you won't." "I will," I return, gazing back at him with stern determination in my eyes, and then I go into my room to prepare for dinner, leaving him both astonished and pleased at my new-found courage.

In this defiant mood I dress and go downstairs. All through dinner Dora is more than usually agreeable. She smiles continually, and converses gayly in her pretty, low-toned elegant way. To me she is particularly attentive, and is 

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