“What is the matter with Hugh?” said Lancy, as he seated himself beside his sister.  “I do think he might keep his temper occasionally.  What has gone wrong, now?” and he looked over at Dexie for his answer.

“I fear I am the wicked person that has gone wrong and as his eloquence prevailed not in turning me from my evil ways he feels heart-sick.”

“Heart-sick!” cried Elsie, in surprise; “that would not put him in a temper, surely.”

“Love-sick, then,” said Dexie, with a smile; “that might account for it.”  “Well,” said Elsie, in a tone of disgust, “he must be awfully in love with your Gussie, if he can’t leave her long enough to drive us to the depot without pining for her,” whereupon Dexie forgot her surroundings and burst into such a rippling laugh that Lancy felt forced to join her.  The infection spread to their fellow-travellers, and caused a smile to pass around, although the cause of the merriment was unknown beyond the little group from which it started.

“I fancy I can guess the cause of the trouble,” said Lancy.  “I daresay Hugh found the parting painful.  Am I right?”

Just then the starting-signal sounded, and the train sped away across the country, and our travellers settled down to whatever comfort there is to be obtained in a railroad car.

As soon as Lancy could get a word with Dexie, he asked her again what Hugh had said to her, and she, willing to put his mind at ease, replied: 

“He wanted me to promise that I would answer a letter he wished to write to me, and I gave him to understand that I wanted no correspondence with my sister’s lover, so we had a few words over it and then parted—­not friends, I fear!”

Lancy knew that Hugh was only waiting his opportunity to oust him from his favored position, and it delighted him to hear Dexie speak of him in that strain.

“Thank you, Dexie; I guess Hugh can hear all he needs to know of you second-hand.”

Dexie smiled, and she did not pull away her hand when, for a moment, Lancy laid his own shapely one across it.  Lancy was her good friend; why should he not feel sure of it?  And a warm pressure of the hand goes a great way towards proving friendship, to say nothing of a stronger feeling.

We must go back to Hugh, whom we left driving furiously along the road, his heart full of bitter, angry feelings.  He reproached Dexie for her cold, heartless words, and himself for his ungovernable temper.  He would give worlds to recall those hasty words spoken on the roof, but it was too late; he doubted if ever Dexie would forgive them.  He felt that he could not meet Mrs. Gurney’s searching glance while in such a mood, so he kept on, seeing nothing and hearing nothing of what was passing around him, his only thought being to get away from human sight until the heat of the battle had somewhat passed away.

It was not until some hours later that he made his appearance at Mrs. Gurney’s.  She was becoming quite anxious at his long absence, as she wished to hear the latest news of Elsie.  Even when Hugh did return, he lingered so long in the stable that she had to send a message to him before he made his appearance.