had endured without a sign, except the marble pallor of his handsome face. But, alas! by his proud reserve and lack of curiosity over the girl he had rescued, the young man had excited, together with gratitude and tenderness, a bitter pique that swelled the young heart almost to bursting. She tossed and turned restlessly all night on the pillow by her mother’s side, thinking of the dark-blue eyes that had looked at her so gravely, and wondering if her confession that she was only a working girl had indeed been the cause of his coldness. More than once she sighed to herself, with earnestness: “Oh, if only I were his equal in birth and[Pg 35] wealth, and he was my lover, I should have nothing left to ask for on earth!” [Pg 35] She was so troubled and restless all night that her mother became very anxious over her wound, and in the morning forbade her going to work. Fair did not insist upon it, for she felt weak and nervous, and dreaded meeting the girls who had rallied her so much yesterday. “I do not like to lose the money for my day’s work, yet I am glad to stay at home to-day and rest,” she owned frankly; and when Mrs. Fielding looked at the pale face and heavy eyes with dark circles under them from her sleepless night, she felt that she had done wisely in keeping her at home. “I feel almost certain that that young gentleman will call to-day to inquire how you are,” she said presently, and at the words Fair started and colored. “Oh, you do not think so!” she exclaimed, with a ring of hopefulness in her voice. “I should not be the least surprised,” declared Mrs. Fielding. She had puzzled over the matter until she had come to the conclusion that the young man was[Pg 36] romantic. He had purposely withheld his name in order to excite Fair’s curiosity, and to-day he would certainly call and clear up the mystery that now surrounded him. [Pg 36] So the summer day dawned and waned, and all day long the mother and daughter, while busy over their domestic tasks, listened with almost equal eagerness for a step upon the stairs and a hand upon the door, but no one came until almost sunset, and then it was Sadie Allen’s homely yet cheerful face that beamed upon them as she entered and exclaimed: “I
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