352 GARRYOWEN 



to make up her mind on the question, and she had 

 come here, apparently, to argue the question out. 



Now that she was brought face to face with the 

 matter, the chivahy of these two gentlemen one 

 towards the other was the thing that perplexed 

 her most. 



She had come here, apparently, to argue the 

 matter out, but in reahty her subUminal mind 

 had already made the decision as to which of 

 these two gentlemen she would choose as her 

 natural protector for Hfe. 



She had no one to confide in, no one to make a 

 confidant of her choice; she had taken her seat 

 on a httle ledge of the parapet, and with that 

 charming impulse which prompts a woman to put 

 her name on paper coupled with the name of the 

 man she loves, the girl, with the point of her 

 parasol, dreamily, and hke a mesmerist under the 

 dictation of a spirit, wrote upon the dust of the 

 old road's face, 



VIOLET. 



Then, with a haK-blush, she was preparing to 

 add the fateful other name, and the blue tits in the 

 branches above were craning their necks to see, 

 when from beyond the hill-top the sound of a 

 motor car rapidly approaching broke the spell. 



As it passed she was standing looking at the 

 river, and name on the dust of the road there was 

 none, nor anything to hint of love but the graceful 

 figure of the girl and the beauty of the morning. 



THE END. 



