"She is very intimate with Miss Archer," Mrs. Simonson replied.

"And I suppose _he_ and that Quimby are in there with them every evening, are they not?" pursued Miss Kling.

They called quite often, Mrs. Simonson acknowledged, as did Mr. Norton, and Miss Fishblate.

"They seem to have good times, too," added kindly Mrs. Simonson. "Young folks will be young folks, you know. And why not? Bless you! we never can enjoy ourselves again as we do when young. There are too many cares and worries when we get to our age."

Miss Kling rose stiffly; this allusion to "our age" disgusted and offended her beyond pardon, and she flew into a spasm of sneezing.

"Well, I, for one, do not think such conduct is proper," she said, as soon as possible. "I was brought up to understand that young ladies should never receive the visits of gentlemen except in the presence of older people!"

Mrs. Simonson only laughed a little forced laugh she had when she did not know exactly what to say. For her own part, although not willing to offend Miss Kling by saying so, she was glad to see her lodgers enjoying themselves; more than glad to have Clem there, as on his arrival she had promptly tacked an extra dollar on the room rent, under the plea that the wear and tear on furniture was greater with two in a room.

Miss Kling, fearing, perhaps, another reference to "our age," left her, and next attacked Celeste Fishblate, having long ago discovered Nattie to be impregnable to the process known as "pumping," a fact that had augmented her ever-increasing dislike towards her lodger.

From Celeste, she learned that they had "_such_ nice times!" that Mr.

Stanwood was "_so_ splendid!" and that "Miss Archer was just _dead_ in love with him, and he with her!"

"Humph!" thought Miss Kling with a sneeze. "It's that Miss Archer then, is it?" Her next move was to arrest poor Quimby in the hall, intending to put him through a series of interrogations regarding the antecedents of his friend, and the length of his acquaintance with Miss Archer. But in this she was baffled, for at the first question, Quimby exclaimed,

"I--I don't know! Don't ask me!" and fled.

Miss Kling, much to her dissatisfaction, was therefore compelled to make the little she had gathered go as far as it would, for the present. But she lived in hopes.

It was perhaps not wonderful, that Miss Kling sitting lonely by her fireside, and pining for her other self, should feel envious because her lodger, whom she took ostensibly for company, was enjoying herself over the way evening after evening, and telling her absolutely nothing about it, but confining their intercourse to the necessary civilities.

Undoubtedly the few weeks that had pa.s.sed since Clem's appearance on the scene ought to have been the happiest in Nattie's. .h.i.therto lonely life, happier even than those in which she talked to the then unseen "C," and speculated about him with Cyn. But yet--she sometimes felt that a certain something that had been on the wire was lacking now; that Clem, while realizing all her old expectations of "C," was not exactly what "C" had been to her. One reason of this she knew was her own inability to conquer a sort of timidity she felt in his presence, a timidity from which Cyn was certainly free. Well aware that beside the gay and brilliant Cyn she was nowhere, Nattie had a sensitive fear that he might be disappointed in her. But she did not yet know that the foundation of all these uneasy misgivings of hers was a selfish emotion, the same that had prompted that jealous pang at Cyn's "we" the day he first discovered himself, and this was, that on the wire "C" had been all hers, but in Clem, Cyn seemed to have the largest share.

Twice he had called on Nattie at the office, but neither time could stop, and as it happened on each occasion, she was in the midst of a rush of business, hat left no chance for conversation. But one rainy Sat.u.r.day afternoon, when a general dullness prevailed, and she was fervently wishing the hands of the clock might move on faster towards six, Clem holding a very wet umbrella, and with water dripping from his curly locks, presented himself. If he was not, he certainly ought to have been flattered by the blush with which Nattie involuntarily welcomed him.

"Did you rain down?" she hastily exclaimed, hoping by this trite commonplace to distract attention from the blush, of which she was conscious.

"It appears like it, doesn't it?" he answered merrily, giving himself a little shake, and placing his wet umbrella and hat in a corner. "It was so dull at the store, I thought I would run around to the scene of former exploits. Do you not sometimes wish I was back at X n to keep you company such days as these?"

Without thinking twice before she spoke once, Nattie answered candidly, as she placed a chair for her visitor,

"Yes, I believe I do, often."

"I do not know whether to take that as a compliment or otherwise," Clem said, looking at her as if half vexed.

Nattie glanced up inquiringly

"It certainly is a compliment to my abilities for, making myself agreeable at a _distance_. But--" said Clem, with a shrug of his shoulders, "a poor fellow does not like to feel as if the farther away he is, the better he is liked!"

"Oh! I did not mean it that way at all!" exclaimed Nattie, in hasty explanation. "Only, you know, I had more of your company on the wire!"

Clem looked pleased.

"If that is the trouble--" he began, but Nattie interrupted, her face very red.

"I did not mean that, either; I meant it was in such a different way, you know--and I--I could talk more easily, and--I do not believe I know what I do mean!" stopping short in embarra.s.sment.

Clem looked at her and smiled.

"Let us see if it is any easier talking on the wire," he said; and taking the key, he wrote,

"Good P m, will you please tell me truly, and relieve my mind, if you like me as well as you thought you would?"

Taking the key he relinquished, and without looking at him, she replied, "Yes; and suppose I ask you the same question, what would you say, politeness aside?"

"I should answer." wrote Clem, his eyes on the sounder, "that I have found the very little girl expected!"

And then their eyes met, and Nattie hastily rose and walked to the window, for no ostensible purpose, and Clem said, going after her,

"It _is_ nicer talking on the wire, isn't it?"

Nattie was saved the necessity of replying by some one down the line who just then inquired,

"Who was that talking soft nonsense just now? We don't allow that sort of thing here!"

"How impertinent!" exclaimed Nattie.

"Possibly our red-headed friend is somewhere about," Clem said; then taking the key, responded to the unknown questioner,

"Don't trouble yourself; I shall not talk soft nonsense to you!"

"That sounds like 'C's' writing! Is it?" was asked quickly.

"My style must be very peculiar to be so readily detected," Clem said to Nattie, laughingly; then replied on the wire, "If you will sign I will tell you."

"Em."

"Ah!" said Clem, and immediately acknowledged himself. Then followed a short chat with "Em," in which she endeavored to make him confess what office he was then sending from, which he persistently refused to do.

Having bade "Em" good-by, and closed the key, he said to Nattie, verbally, "We ought to have a private wire of our own, since a wire is so necessary to our happiness! I see," glancing around the office, "that you have an extra key and sounder here."

"Yes;" Nattie replied, "we had at one time a railroad wire, and when it was taken out, the instruments were left, and have been here ever since."

"Do you suppose you could take them home--to practice on, say?" queried Clem, a sparkle in his brown eyes.

"Doubtless, if I asked permission, they would allow me that privilege; why?" asked Nattie, curiously.

"I have a brilliant idea!" replied Clem, gayly. "But do not be alarmed, I am used to it, as Quimby would say; it is this. I myself have a key and sounder, relics of college days, beauties, too, and if you can take home those over there, we will have telegraphic communication from your room to ours, immediately. The wire and battery I will fix all right, and when Cyn is out, and you can't come over, and at odd times, we will have some of our old chats."

"But," said Nattie, hesitatingly, although evidently delighted with the idea, "Miss Kling' will never--"

"Hang Miss Kling!" interrupted Clem, emphatically; "excuse the expression, but she deserves it; she never need know. I will undertake to arrange everything, and keep the secret from her. To account for the instruments in your room, tell her you are going to practice at home, and have a pupil. Cyn, I know, will be delighted to amuse herself by learning."

"I should like it very much," acknowledged Nattie, "but--"