After a day of delightful enjoyment, the hour arrived for them to return home, and having so much less to pack up than there was at starting, they were soon on the journey homeward.

Before the picnickers separated, there was a driving party arranged to go to Rustico Beach, Brackly Point or Cove Head, for another day’s outing, and the day was set for the drive.

CHAPTER XXIII.

The next morning, when the mail was opened, Dexie received a letter from home, in which, beside the commonplace news, there were pages devoted to a startling and amusing announcement.

“Just think,” Gussie wrote, “there is a man at the Gurney’s who has come all the way from Australia to find Hugh, and to tell him about the fortune left him by his father.  It amounts to a very large sum, and will make Hugh one of the wealthiest men in the Province, so, of course, he is now quite a different person in my eyes than when he was a mere clerk.  Unfortunately for me, he is not so agreeable and friendly as he used to be, and he does not come in to see me nearly so often as formerly, but I manage to meet him frequently, and treat him with so much favor that I am quite sure I will have no difficulty in securing him.  I have been teasing mamma to buy me some more new dresses, for I feel quite shabby now that there is a prospect of possessing so much wealth.  I am sure we will be a fine-looking couple, for Hugh looks particularly handsome lately, but rich men always look well in the eyes of a young lady.  If you are asked to stay for a long visit, I would advise you to do so, as it is much more convenient for me to have you away just now.”

Dexie smiled at this, but turned over the page and read on:  “I shall send you word as soon as I am engaged, for then I shall want your help on my trousseau.  As you are visiting among fashionable people, I wish you would keep in mind whatever dressy garments you see that would suit my style.  Hugh wished to be remembered to you, and was anxious to know when you would return, but I do not see that your movements concern him.”

There were more pages in the same strain, and Dexie smiled at the many things Gussie had disclosed without being aware of it.  She could read between the lines, and the reason of Hugh’s inquiries on her behalf were not hard to guess.  But Dexie knew it would be a great disappointment to Gussie if she failed in her schemes, and she was willing enough to prolong her visit if it favored Gussie’s future prospects, but she knew that Hugh’s pocket-book was far dearer to Gussie than Hugh himself.