LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 Chap.- ._ Copyright Xo. 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 

 
 1 
 
 
 Anindian Giver 
 
 A COMEDY 
 
 By W. D, Ilowells 
 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 
 Houghton^ Mifflin and 
 Company m d ^ c c c 
 
 
 
 
6835G 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY HARPER & BROTHERS 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY W. D. HOWELLS 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
 34686 
 
 Libpapy of Gonarcse 
 
 Two Copies :^fc:ec ed 
 AUG 151900 
 
 Copyright ^try 
 
 SECOND COPY. 
 
 Oeiiverftd to 
 
 ORDER DIVISION, 
 
 Alia 22 1900 
 
0-^ 
 
 An Indian Giver 
 
 A COMEDY 
 I 
 
 MRS. LILLIAN INGLEHART AND MISS 
 ROBERTA LAWRENCE 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart: "My dear! I will 
 not hear another word. He is yours I 
 The idea of making such a fuss about a 
 little thing like the gift of a young 
 man ! " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " It 's only that I 
 was afraid you might want him your- 
 self, Mrs. Inglehart. It would make 
 me unhappy if I thought you had de- 
 [3] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 prived yourself of a cousin you might 
 regret. They don't grow on every bush, 
 I believe." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Such as Jim don't, 
 I'll admit. But I hope I know the 
 duties of a hostess, and the first of them 
 is to get a young lady visitor engaged if 
 possible. You 've never seen Jim, have 
 
 you?" 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Never. What 's 
 he like ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Are you very fond 
 of tall men?" 
 
 Miss Laiorence : "Is he tall ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Not so very. I 
 should say he had more breadth and 
 thickness than length." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Oh, I like them 
 broad and thick." 
 
 [4] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart: "Do you?" She 
 speaks with a certain intonation of mis- 
 giving, and then she has the effect of 
 pulling herself together : " Do you like 
 them brown-complexioned and dark- 
 eyed?" 
 
 Miss Lawrence : "Is he brown-com- 
 plexioned and dark-eyed ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " He 's brown-com- 
 plexioned and blue-eyed." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Oh, that sort of 
 contradiction is adorable. The blue 
 eyes always have such a funny look in 
 the dark face. I shall like him, I know. 
 When 's he coming? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Any moment, 
 now." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Oh ! " She jumps 
 to her feet. Mrs. Inglehart remains 
 
 [5] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 seated, but leans forward to look in 
 throngli the door at the clock in the 
 hall, from the veranda where, with a 
 pretense of sewing in her lap, she is 
 talking with her guest. To the right of 
 this haU the windows of a wide drawing- 
 room open to the floor, and people come 
 and go through them as if they were 
 doors. From the veranda, which ex- 
 tends around three sides of the house, 
 broad steps descend to a driveway curv- 
 ing in front of it. Beyond the road 
 green lawns, wept over by drooping 
 white birches, slope to the red rocks 
 that keep Mrs. Inglehart's place from 
 the sea. 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Or not moment^ 
 exactly. He promised to be here by 
 the half past four, but he probably won't 
 
 [6] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 come till the five-ten ; it 's only four 
 now." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Time enough to 
 prink, then." She sinks back into her 
 chair, provisionally. " Is Mr. Fairford 
 punctilious about prinking?" 
 
 Mrs. Liglehart : " I see you would 
 dread that." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " I don't know that 
 I should. They have to have some 
 fault." 
 
 Mrs. Iiiglehart: "And you think 
 that is a fault ? " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : "I can't say that I 
 do. Do you ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ with an air of great 
 candor : " To tell you the truth, I don't 
 believe Jim cares about women's dress." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Then he is the 
 [7] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 most dangerous kind. He '11 not see 
 anything, but lie '11 feel everything. I 
 shall have to dress at his nerves." 
 
 Mrs. IngleJiart : " It 's clear that 
 you 've made your observations, my 
 dear." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " By twenty-six, 
 one has." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " I should never 
 have dreamt twenty-six." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " I have n't dreamt 
 it myself. In my dreams I 'm still six- 
 teen. It 's only in my waking moments 
 that I 'm twenty-six." 
 
 3£rs. Inglehart, thoughtfully : " You 
 have courage." 
 
 Miss Lawrence ; " I have conviction. 
 It 's best to be honest — unless the man 
 prefers lies." 
 
 [8] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Don't they all ? " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Nearly all. But 
 if Mr. Fairford should happen to be the 
 exception that does n't, will you please 
 tell him I owned to twenty-six, but you 
 don't know how much older I really 
 am?" 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ with open admiration 
 and covert alarm : " You 're a strange 
 girl!" 
 
 Miss Lawrence: "Will that scare 
 him ? Should you advise me to be less 
 strange ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ with a sigh : " No ; 
 he will like you so." 
 
 Miss Lawrence^ laughing : " What 
 despair ! Poor Mrs. Inglehart ! You 're 
 sorry already you gave him to me ! 
 Well, you may have him back." 
 
 [9] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart^ with noble constancy : 
 " No, no ; you 're the very one for him." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Then our only 
 hope is that he is n't the one for me." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " You think I 'm 
 not in earnest. Well, then, the only 
 thing left is to convince you by prac- 
 tical"— 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Demonstration ? 
 I don't see how it can be done. You 
 can't pass this yoimg man along to 
 me without consulting his inclinations. 
 Has he very decided inclinations ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Yes, he has. That 
 was the trouble, I suppose." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " So there was 
 trouble." She smiles intelligently. 
 
 M7'S. Inglehart: "It was a great 
 while ago. It was before I was — - there 
 [10] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 was any — Mrs. Inglehart. And there 
 would be the same trouble again, if I 
 were not — there were not any — Mrs. 
 Inglehart. So it 's best to have it over 
 before it begins." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : "I see what you 
 mean. He 's one of those terrible crea- 
 tures who know their own minds; or 
 think they do ; and — may I be a little 
 critical of your gift ? I know it seems 
 ungracious ! " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart: "Not in the least. 
 People change their wedding-presents, 
 even." 
 
 Miss Lawrence: "I shouldn't wish 
 to change the present ; only the name : 
 Jim! If it were only Jack, now, I 
 should know what to do. The Jacks 
 are all alike. They smoke, they flirt 
 
 [11] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 desperately, but they are very warm- 
 hearted, and conceal a great deal of 
 sentiment under the mask of cynicism 
 — like Thackeray's men. They would 
 do anything for you — at least any little 
 thing like jumping overboard from a 
 yacht to fish your hat up, or marrying 
 a girl that you 've found out is in love 
 with them, and you think they ought, 
 though you 're dying for them yourself. 
 You can twist them round your fingers ; 
 but it must be different with Jims. Jim ! 
 It suggests something rather grim ; per- 
 haps it 's because it rhymes with it. 
 Jim ! I should say one's little arts, 
 one's little airs and graces, would be 
 thrown away on Jim. He sounds like a 
 person of convictions: he sounds like 
 a person of opinions, too, and very stiff 
 [12] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 ones. I suspect that Jim is serious, and 
 he likes seriousness in women. He has 
 ideas of home and a wife, and of being 
 master in his own house. All that could 
 be easily taken out of him if he were 
 Jack, of course; but being Jim, it 
 could n't. He 's masterful ; I feel that 
 he 's masterful. He has all sorts of 
 preconceived notions. He would be 
 very domestic, and intellectual, and he 
 would rather read to you than talk to 
 you. He would want to respect you, 
 and if you would n't let him, he would 
 — make it hot for you. Yes, I know 
 the type : adoring, domineering, devoted, 
 and utterly intolerable." 
 
 Mrs. IngleTiart^ who has been leaning 
 forward more and more, and edging al- 
 most out of her chair, in her intentness : 
 [13] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 " You 've met him ! You know him ! 
 You Ve been letting me give myself 
 away ! " 
 
 Miss Lawrence: "Mr. Fairford? 
 You ? I ? You 've given him away, but 
 not yourself, at least to me, Mrs. Ingle- 
 hart. I never saw Mr. Fairford in my 
 life. I never heard of him till I came 
 here." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Then I don't know 
 but it 's worse, for you 've guessed him. 
 How you must dread the idea of him ! " 
 
 Miss Ijawrence, thoughtfully : " I 
 don't know. I rather like the notion 
 of grappling with such a — problem. 
 It would be fun to get the better of it." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " And if you got 
 the worse ? " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " I don't believe I 
 [14] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 should get the worse. But now, really, 
 hadn't I better go and prink, Mrs. 
 Inglehart ? I don't believe Jim would 
 like to find me unprepared." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart: "No. Go and 
 prink." 
 
 Miss Lawrence, going in through the 
 open door: "If he should happen to 
 come before I get down, I know I can 
 trust him with you, Mrs. Inglehart." 
 She vanishes, with a smile over her 
 shoulder at Mrs. Inglehart, who remains 
 silent and motionless, apparently insen- 
 sible of her withdrawal, though she 
 keeps a mechanical smile of parting on 
 her face. Her mother enters from the 
 door that Miss Lawrence has passed 
 through. 
 
 [15] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 II 
 
 MRS. WENHAM, MRS. INGLEHART 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " When do you ex- 
 pect James, Lilly ? " 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart, with a deep sigh : 
 " Oh, any time, now. He said he would 
 be here at half past four." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Then he '11 he here 
 at haK past four." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Yes, I suppose he 
 will, — with his tiresome punctuality." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Tiresome ? If 
 there is one thing more than another 
 that I like in James Fairford, it is his 
 punctuality. It 's something that I can 
 thoroughly sympathize with him in. If 
 it had not been for 7ny habits of punctu- 
 [16] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 ality, where would you have been at 
 this moment, Lillian ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Perhaps not born. 
 But now don't preach, mother. Advise. 
 You '11 like it almost as well." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham^ looking doubtful, but 
 as if assenting for argument's sake : 
 " Well ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " What do you 
 think of Miss Lawrence ? " 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " What do you mean 
 by thinking ? If you 've been behaving 
 foolishly in any way, and want me to 
 help you out of it by blaming Miss 
 Lawrence " — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Blame ? Who 's 
 talking of blame ? I simply wish to 
 know if you don't think she 's something 
 of a cat." 
 
 [17] 
 
A71 Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Cat ? How, cat ? " 
 
 3Irs, Inglehart : " I mean very purr- 
 ing, and sly, and velvety." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " No, not at all. " 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart: "Well, then, very 
 sharp and clawy." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " What have you 
 been doing, Lillian ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Nothing. I 've 
 been wTidoing. How do you think she 
 and Jim will like each other? " 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " What difference 
 how they like each other ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " One does n't want 
 one's guests to be at sword's points." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " I don't know why 
 you asked her when you knew he was 
 coming." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " I 'm sure they '11 
 [18] 
 
Ail Indian Giver 
 
 like each other. He '11 respect her. I 
 respect her myself. She has a great 
 deal of character, and all that; but I 
 think there 's a vein of coarseness in 
 her. Yes, she is coarse. She has a bold 
 way of talking about men. It may be 
 very modern, and the rest of it, but I 
 don't like it, and I don't think it's 
 nice." 
 
 3frs. WenJiam : " What men has she 
 been talking about ? " 
 
 Mrs. IngleJiart : " Oh, — none." 
 
 3frs. WenJiam : " What has she been 
 saying about them ? " 
 
 Mrs. IngleJiart : " Oh, — nothing. 
 But girls seem to say anything, nowa- 
 days. Especially old ones! How old 
 am I, mother ? " 
 
 [19] 
 
A71 Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs, WenJiam : " You 're twenty- 
 seven. You know that well enougfli." 
 
 Mrs. Ingleliart : " And she 's twenty- 
 six, and looks every day of it." Vaguely, 
 after a moment : " I 'm sure / don't 
 know how I came to ask her here." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " Why do you say 
 that, now P Have you been making a 
 fool of yourself , Lilly?" 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart ; " I wonH be scolded 
 in my own house, mother ! " 
 
 Mrs. Wenham: "Very well, if you 
 call it scolding." Mrs. Wenham sits 
 very erect in her chair, and gathers all 
 her dignity about her ; Mrs. Inglehart 
 rocks to and fro in a reckless and dis- 
 traught manner. " May I ask a simple 
 question ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " I suppose so." 
 [20] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Are you going to 
 accept James ? " 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " What an idea ! 
 No!'' 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Then, if it is n't 
 scolding, allow me to say that he will 
 have a right to feel trifled with. Your 
 letting him come here, after what 's 
 past, is tantamount to your saying you 
 would marry him if he asked you " — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Very well, I '11 
 keep him from asking me, then. There 
 are ways of staving men off." 
 
 Mrs. We7iham : " Not such men as 
 James Langton Fairford. You have n't 
 forgotten how he behaved when you 
 tried it before — before your marriage." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " That was a great 
 [21] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 while ago. I considered him a mere 
 boy, and he might have known it." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " He was two years 
 older than you." 
 
 Mrs. Ingleliart : " And how old was 
 I, pray ? Nineteen ! A perfect chit ! 
 That proves that he was a boy. And 
 he was very rude. If he had been a 
 little more — thoughtful, and patient I 
 You know how it was, mother. After 
 Jim's outrageous conduct, I had no 
 alternative but to marry Mr. Inglehart ; 
 and I am not going to have it said, now, 
 after all I 've been through on his ac- 
 count, that I was in love with him all 
 along, and married him the minute I 
 decently could. I trust I have too much 
 regard for Mr. Inglehart's memory for 
 that.'' 
 
 [22] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Then allow me to 
 say, my dear, without scolding, that I 
 don't know what you 're after." 
 
 3Irs. Inglehart : " I 'm not after any- 
 thing, if you prefer such a common ex- 
 pression. It 's Jim that 's after me ; 
 and I shall not feel in the least bound 
 to be overtaken. I have other plans for 
 him." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " Other plans ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " He may fancy Ro- 
 berta Lawrence. I 'm sure I don't see 
 what men find in her, all of them. But 
 if it 's frankness, as they call it, I wish 
 them joy of it. Of all the detestable 
 hypocrites in this world commend me 
 to a frank woman. Why, it 's nothing 
 but mask upon mask, all the way- 
 through ! " 
 
 [23] 
 
An Indiaii Giver 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " Is this why you are 
 so down upon the poor girl ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart: "Down upon her? 
 Well, yes ; it may be hate to throw 
 such a husband as Jim Fairford in her 
 way. At any rate I 've set my heart 
 upon making a match between them. 
 That will let me out and it will be such 
 fun." She expresses her exultation in 
 rather a lugubrious note of laughter, 
 and tries to escape the severe gaze which 
 her mother fixes upon her. 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Just one word, 
 Lillian Inglehart! Does Miss Law- 
 rence know anything of this fine 
 scheme ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart: "No. That is, I 
 have put it out of my power to accept 
 Jim Fairford by telling Roberta Law- 
 [24] 
 
A71 Indian Giver 
 
 rence she may have him if she can get 
 him. If she does, or can, that 's the 
 end of it ; and it 's the end of it any- 
 way." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham: "Well, Lillian, if 
 you are in earnest in what you say, you 
 are certainly the greatest fool — But 
 perhaps you consider this scolding ? " 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " Not at all. I call 
 it reasoning. Go on." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham: "Oh, I've nothing 
 more to say. But if you have really 
 told the girl — if you have put this idea 
 into her head, you have done a wrong 
 and wicked thing, and you '11 have to 
 answer for the consequences. It would 
 be no more than you deserve if James 
 did take a fancy to her, and I hope he 
 will ; and if you have a spark of gener- 
 [25] 
 
An hidian Giver 
 
 osity in your composition, you at least 
 won't try to prejudice him against lier." 
 Mrs. IngleJiart : " You have such a 
 low opinion of me, mother, that I won- 
 der you associate with me at all. But 
 now I 'm going to wring your bosom by 
 an act of the most exemplary magna- 
 nimity you ever heard of. A splendid 
 idea has just occurred to me. I 'm go- 
 ing to send Roberta down to see Jim 
 first and receive him. She 's upstairs 
 now, prinking, and I 'm going straight 
 to my room, and I 'm going to be so slow 
 getting ready that she '11 have to go 
 down, and she can have him all to her- 
 self for a first impression ; and a girl of 
 twenty-six knows how to make hay 
 while the sun shines. Now what do 
 you say ? " 
 
 [26] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 M7'S. Wenham, going in : " Humpli ! " 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " You don't believe 
 I '11 do it?" 
 
 3frs. Wenham : " I know you won't." 
 3Irs, Inglehart^ calling after her: 
 " Well, I 'm so glad you approve of the 
 idea, mother. I only wish you could see 
 how expressive your back looks, as you 
 disappear in the distance. It 's every- 
 thing that 's appreciative and flattering." 
 As Mrs. Wenham vanishes : " Well, I 
 don't care." In the course of her two 
 dialogues a great many sewing materials 
 and appliances have dropped about Mrs. 
 Inglehart on the floor ; as she now rises, 
 her scissors fall out of her lap, and as 
 she stoops to pick them up she is re- 
 minded of the other things. " What a 
 bother ! " When she has got them all 
 [27] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 in her lap again, she turns to the door, 
 but is arrested by the sound of a quick, 
 decided footfall on the steps of the ve- 
 randa. She looks round over her shoul- 
 der, and in this very pretty and engaging 
 attitude she meets the blue eyes flashing 
 out of the brown face of James Fairf ord. 
 He has a robust hand-bag in one hand 
 and an umbrella in the other ; over his 
 arm hangs a light overcoat. He is 
 dressed in summer stuffs, but in no con- 
 cession to the negligence of summer 
 fashion ; his shirt is white ; his firm legs 
 are cased in trousers that descend to his 
 black shoes ; his whole keeping is that 
 of a man who despises the appearance 
 of recreation, and puts business before 
 pleasure. " James ! " Mrs. Inglehart's 
 exclamation expresses mingled pleasure, 
 [28] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 surprise, and dismay. She drops all the 
 things out of her lap again. " What are 
 you doing here at this unearthly hour ? 
 You said you would be here at half past 
 four ! " She sinks back into her chair. 
 
 Ill 
 
 FAIRFORD AND MRS. INGLEHART, WITH 
 MOMENTS OF MISS LAWRENCE 
 
 Fairford : " It 's half past four now." 
 He sits heavily down in one of the ve- 
 randa chairs, plants his bag before him, 
 and then pushes it away with his foot, 
 while he mops his forehead with his hand- 
 kerchief. 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Did you walk ? " 
 Fairford : " Do I seem to have driven ? 
 And in what ? " 
 
 [29] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart, hiding a smile with 
 her hand : " I wonder how you found 
 the way." 
 
 Fairford : " They told me at the sta- 
 tion." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart., gracefully sinking 
 into a chair : " Did they tell you that if 
 it had n't been for your ridiculous punc- 
 tuality you 'd have been met at the train ? 
 Now you see what comes of being on 
 time ! " 
 
 Fairford ; " I dare say they would if 
 they could have spared a moment from 
 the celebration of your charms and vir- 
 tues. You seem to have cast your con- 
 founded glamour over the neighborhood, 
 as usual." 
 
 Mrs, IngleJiart: "Yes, it 's new to me. 
 It must have been the telegraph girl ! '^ 
 [30] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Fairford : " There was a girl, and 
 there was a telegraph. I didn't see them 
 in combination." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " They were one, all 
 the same. Yes, I may say she 's quite 
 an ardent admirer." 
 
 Fairford: "So am I, Lillian." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Oh yes. But you 
 must n't say it. I hope you were n't rude 
 to the poor girl on that account ? " 
 
 Fairford : " Why must n't I say it ? 
 I 've come here to say it ! " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart, to gain time : " But 
 you 've said it before — and you ought 
 to be a little more diversified in your 
 remarks." 
 
 Fairford, getting to his feet : " Lillian, 
 how can you trifle with me so ? Surely 
 you know what I must understand — 
 [31] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 must hope — from your allowing me to 
 come here to-day ? " He starts toward 
 her and stumbles over his bag ; he kicks 
 the bag : Mrs. Inglehart laughs. " Oh, 
 laugh at me, make a fool of me ! " 
 
 3£rs. Inglehart : " You know you 
 don't approve of me, Jim ; you know 
 you don't." 
 
 Fairford : " I believe you can make 
 me approve of you if you choose. And 
 if you don't choose, I want you any- 
 way." 
 
 Mi'S. Inglehart : " Oh ! Do you think 
 that 's very logical ? " 
 
 Fairford, bitterly : " No, I 'm not 
 proud of it. As you say, it is n't logi- 
 cal ; it is n't reasonable ; but I always 
 wanted you; I wanted you long ago, 
 before you were married." 
 [32] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Why do people say 
 you don't know how to flatter ? I 'm sure 
 it 's enough to turn my poor head to have 
 a man say he is n't proud of caring for 
 me, but he keeps on doing it regardless 
 of consequences." 
 
 Fairford : " You know what I mean. 
 I never pretended that you were my 
 ideal in character, but " — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " I thought it was 
 customary to tell the lady that she was 
 your ideal. That 's what they always 
 tell me ! " 
 
 Fairford : " I don't care what other 
 people tell you. / tell you the truth ; 
 and I tell you that you are not my 
 ideal." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " What am I, then, 
 if I 'm not your ideal ? " 
 [33] 
 
A71 Indian Giver 
 
 Fairford : " You 're — you 're my 
 love. But you know that." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " I 've heard you 
 say so. But I 'm not sure that I know 
 it." 
 
 Fairford : " Not sure ! " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " You may not be 
 sure of your own mind." 
 
 Fairford : " This is trifling, Lillian. 
 What do you say to me ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " What can I say 
 till I 'm convinced you 're in earnest ? " 
 
 Fairford : " And what will convince 
 you ? It seems to me that it 's proof 
 enough of my sincerity that I 'm here 
 to offer myself to you and to ask you to 
 be my wife. Did n't you know that I 
 was coming to do that ? What else do 
 you expect ? Do you want me to say 
 [34] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 that you are my ideal, that you are 
 everything in nature and character that 
 I have dreamed of, and that I would not 
 have you different ? " 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " You might try it. 
 I don't know what effect it would have." 
 
 Fairford : " You wish me to minis- 
 ter to your vanity, to fill your head with 
 nonsense. Well, I will never do it ! " 
 
 3frs. Inglehart: "Then I don't see 
 how it 's going to end. You might at 
 least say you believe I could become 
 your ideal." 
 
 Fairford : " But if I don't believe 
 you could, and therefore I renounce my 
 ideal ; if I throw it away, and I tell you 
 that you, whatever you are, are a thou- 
 sand times dearer than anything I've 
 ever imagined ? And yet you might be 
 [35] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 all that I 've ever dreamed of in woman, 
 prompt, energetic, constant in purpose, 
 with a high sense of duty, a devotion to 
 noble " — 
 
 Mrs, Ingleliart : " Another James 
 Fairford. What egotism ! Yes, I 
 could easily be all that, if I wanted to. 
 The trouble is I could n't want to." 
 
 Fairford ; " I know it, and I don't 
 ask it of you. I ask you merely to be 
 yourself, — and to be mine." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Do you think that 's 
 so little, that you say merely f Asking 
 a woman to be herself and to be yours 
 is asking everything." 
 
 Fairford : " Then don't be yourself ; 
 don't be anything but mine." 
 
 Mrs, Inglehai't: "Now you are be- 
 ginning to talk sense " -r- 
 [36] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Fairford^ starting toward her ; " And 
 you consent — ■ you " — A sound as 
 of a lifting window above the veranda 
 roof is heard, and then, after a mo- 
 ment, the voice of Miss Koberta Law- 
 rence. 
 
 MisB Lawrence, : " Mrs. Inglehart ! " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart, in a low key to Fair- 
 ford : " Oh, good gracious, I forgot all 
 about her ! JVow what am I to do ? " 
 In a high key to Miss Lawrence: 
 "Yes?" 
 
 Miss Lawrence, with a nervous laugh : 
 " Oh, it is you. I thought, I was n't 
 sure it was you I heard. What time is 
 it, please ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " It 's a little after 
 four — a quarter — twenty minutes "' — 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Then there 's time, 
 [37] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 yet." There is a sound of a closing 
 window. 
 
 Fairford : " Why did you say that, 
 Lillian ? You know it 's twenty minutes 
 of five." 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " That 's a very 
 charming girl, Jim — a Miss Roberta 
 Lawrence. I want you to meet her. 
 But perhaps you have met her al- 
 ready " — 
 
 Fairford: "No; but that isn*t the 
 point. Why did you say twenty min- 
 utes ? I wish you had n't, dear ! " 
 
 3frs. Inglehart : " Well, it is twenty 
 minutes — and more too ; it 's twenty 
 minutes of five. You said so yourself. 
 Now don't tease, but go and prettify. 
 That 's what she 's doing " — The 
 sound of the lifting window is heard 
 [38] 
 
An hidian Giver 
 
 again, and then the voice of Miss Law- 
 rence. 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Mrs. Inglehart ! 
 Are you still there ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ in a high key : "Yes ! " 
 In a low key to Fairford : " Now you 
 must go ! It 's a shame for you to stay 
 here eavesdropping. And making me, 
 too ; and you so conscientious ! 'Sh ! " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " I 'm in something 
 of a dilemma. I don't know whether 
 it had better be the green, or the blue." 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " Oh — the blue, 
 dear ; or no, the green — blue, I mean.'* 
 In a low key to Fairford: "Now you 
 have spoilt everything, and disgraced 
 me before my guest. I can never for- 
 give you ! " 
 
 Fairford : " How have I done that ? 
 [39] 
 
A?i Indian Giver 
 
 She has said nothing that compromises 
 either of you " — 
 
 3£rs. IngleJiart : " You 've let her 
 give herself away. You know that it 's 
 for you she 's choosing between blue 
 and green." 
 
 Fairford : " Bless my soul, how 
 should I know such a thing ? " 
 
 Mrs, IngleJiart : " Don't you suppose 
 I told her you were coming? And 
 when she comes down and finds you 
 here you won't be capable of seeming 
 to have come just that instant." 
 
 Fairford: " If she asks "— 
 
 Mi'S. Ingleliart : " As if she would 
 ask ! She is too high-spirited, too noble- 
 minded to go prying about ; but it will 
 kill her, all the same. You don't know 
 how a girl like Roberta Lawrence, so 
 [40] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 frank herself, and so unsuspicious, will 
 take such a thing. Of course, if it 
 was I, I could laugh it off ; but she will 
 think that I did it purposely ; she won't 
 show it, but she will never believe that 
 I was as innocent as she was in the mat- 
 ter." 
 
 Fairford : " It seems to me you 're 
 not painting a very frank and unsus- 
 picious character." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " I mean I should in 
 her place. You know what I mean. 
 But if you prefer to vex me — She '11 
 be asking something else in another 
 minute ! " 
 
 Fairford: "But what do you want 
 me to do ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehm^t : " You must thinh 
 what I want you to do. You have got 
 [41] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 me into this trouble, by your ridicu- 
 lous promptness, and you must get me 
 out." 
 
 Fairford: "Then let me go to my 
 room, and I can't overhear anything 
 more." 
 
 Mr8, Inglehart : " Oh, you think it 's 
 so simple as that, do you ? Wait a min- 
 ute — I have it ! You must go away ! 
 And you must come back in about ten 
 minutes or so, as if you had n't been 
 here at all. And you must apologize 
 for being late ; say you missed the 
 train, or something like that, and " — 
 
 Fairford, sitting doggedly down : 
 " No, I can't do anything of the kind." 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " You can't ? " 
 
 Fairford: "Well, then, I won't. It 
 would be acting a lie." 
 [421 
 
4n Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : *' Tou accuse me of 
 wishing you to lie." 
 
 Fairford : " I don't think you do it 
 knowingly. But, Lillian, you must 
 see" — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " 'Sh I There, she 's 
 putting up her window again ! " 
 
 Miss Laiorence^ from her window : 
 " I Ve decided not to dress at him, Mrs. 
 Inglehart. I am going to be perfectly 
 passive, and let fate take its course. 
 I 'm going to wear my silver-gray." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Perfect ! " In a 
 low tone to Fairford, desperately : " It 's 
 too late for you to go away now. You 
 might as well stay ! " 
 
 Fairford : " But I don't understand. 
 Why should Miss Lawrence dress at 
 me ? Have you dressed at me, Lillian ? 
 [43] 
 
A?i Indian Giver 
 
 You look heavenly in that — thing 
 you 've got on ; I don't know what 
 it is." 
 
 3frs. Inglehart : " Oh, much pleasure 
 your compliments give me, when I 
 know what a cold, hollow heart they 
 come from ! I may dress for you, but 
 you won't gratify me in the smallest 
 thing. Suppose your going away does 
 have the appearance of deceit? Is a 
 mere appearance so very killing, when 
 it 's for such a good object ? Oh, Jim ! 
 Do help me out! Think of the poor 
 girl's feelings if she comes down and 
 finds you here ! She '11 hnoic you over- 
 heard her. If you really cared for 
 me" — 
 
 Fairford., rising with a groan, and 
 gathering his bag up for going : " And 
 [44] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 if I go — if I do this against my reason 
 and conscience, wliat shall you do with 
 me when I come back ? " 
 
 Mrs. Liglehart: "You '11 be so in- 
 terested in Miss Lawrence you won't 
 care." 
 
 Fairford : " That won't do, Lillian. 
 I shall want my answer when I come 
 back. Will you promise it ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " It 's very mean of 
 you to make conditions ! I '11 listen to 
 you. But I won't even do that if you 
 stay. And if you think I 'm asking 
 you to act a lie, just think what a lie 
 you 've been making me act." 
 
 Fairford: "I? How?" 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " By letting me see 
 you before you saw her, when I prom- 
 ised mamma I would n't." 
 [45] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Fairford : " But wliy did you prom- 
 ise that? What" — 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " That has nothing 
 to do with it. A promise is a promise, 
 and sacred. Will you go ? And when 
 you come back, and find Miss Lawrence 
 here, will you ask after me as if you 
 had n't met me ? " 
 
 Fairford : " No, certainly not. I can't 
 carry the deceit as far as that." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Not to enable me 
 to keep my promise ? Very well, then, 
 that shows that you don't trust me, and 
 if you don't trust me, you can't care for 
 me." 
 
 Fairford : " I don't trust you in the 
 
 least, and I care all the world for you. 
 
 For heaven's sake, Lillian, be candid 
 
 with me, for once, and tell me what all 
 
 [46] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 this coil is ! I know that whatever 
 you 've got in your head, there 's no- 
 thing but truth in your heart, and if you 
 would only be guided by that " — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart, apparently fascinated 
 by the idea: "Well, I will. I'll tell 
 you all about it. You see that we were 
 talking about your coming, and I said 
 to Roberta Lawrence — 'Sh ! There 's 
 her step ! She 's coming out of her 
 room — she 's on the stairs ! Run, 
 James, if you love me ! " She pushes 
 him towards the veranda steps, and 
 without waiting to see him vanish round 
 the corner of the house, she turns, and 
 flies through the long window into the 
 drawing-room, while Miss Lawrence 
 emerges from the hallway, and Mrs. 
 Wenham advances from the veranda 
 [47] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 on the side of the house opposite that 
 which has just hidden Fairford from 
 view. 
 
 IV 
 
 MISS LAWRENCE AND MRS. WENHAM 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Mrs. Inglehart ! " 
 To Mrs. Wenham: "I thought Mrs. 
 Inglehart was here ! " 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " And I thought I 
 heard talking. But I must have 
 dreamed it. I seem to have dozed over 
 my book." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Perhaps you heard 
 me calling down to her. I was consult- 
 ing her about Mr. Fairford's taste in 
 colors. Is n't he very late ? " She looks 
 in at the clock in the hall, and Mrs. 
 Wenham looks in too. 
 [48] 
 
An, Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Yes ; it 's nearly 
 five, and he promised to be here at half 
 past four. Something must have de- 
 tained him ; he 's usually so prompt." 
 
 Miss Lawrence, smiling : " Yes, ter- 
 ribly prompt, I believe. At least that 's 
 the impression Mrs. Inglehart gives of 
 him." The ladies have seated them- 
 selves, and Miss Lawrence, reclining in 
 her chair, indifferently studies the effect 
 of a ring on her left hand. 
 
 Mrs. Wenham, looking at her over 
 her glasses: "You've never met my 
 nephew, I believe ? " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " No ; and I 've no 
 idea how he '11 like me. You know it 's 
 very important he should like me. Mrs. 
 Inglehart has given him to me." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham, dryly : " Yes, I have 
 [49] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 been scolding Lillian for her nonsense. 
 He is not hers to give." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Oh ! To keep, 
 then!" 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " I am not so sure. 
 Miss Lawrence, I know that you are a 
 very frank person " — 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Some people say 
 merely brutal." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " No matter ! I feel 
 that I can speak frankly with you. 
 Don't trust my daughter ! " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " This is frank." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " She acts upon im- 
 pulses that she regrets. She is in love 
 with James Fairford, I believe, and 
 I know that he is in love with her. 
 He was, before she married Mr. Ingle- 
 hart, and I think she was with him ; 
 [50] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 but the affair never came to anything, 
 because — because — It was Lillian's 
 fault ; she could n't be serious with 
 him." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " And now ? Has 
 he got over wanting her to be serious, 
 or has she become so ? " 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Lillian will never 
 be serious — at least not like other 
 people ; and that is why I feel it my 
 duty to be serious with you. No one 
 knows Lillian as I do. If she saw that 
 any one else wanted James, she would 
 move heaven and earth to get him her- 
 self." 
 
 Miss Lawrence^ laughing : " Really, 
 what you say rather inclines me to try 
 for him. I should like to see Mrs. 
 Inglehart moving heaven and earth." 
 [51] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Don't, my dear ! 
 I should simply leave the house. There 
 is n't a thing she would n't do if she 
 saw you wanted him." Miss Lawrence 
 laughs more and more. " I know what 
 nonsense she has been talking to you, 
 and I made her promise, just to punish 
 her, that she would let you meet him 
 first, and have a chance to — I mean 
 that she should be made to suffer a little 
 for her wicked folly " — 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Through some 
 finesse of mine ? Would n't that be 
 rather too much theatre ? " 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Yes, I don't know 
 what she would n't do in her jealousy ; 
 for she 'd be frantically, blindly, madly 
 jealous if she thought he cared for you 
 the least bit." 
 
 [52] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Miss Laiorence: "Poor Mrs. Ingle- 
 hart ! I should like to see her jealous. 
 It does n't seem in character. But I 'm 
 greatly obliged to you for securing me 
 the first innings. How do you propose 
 to manage it?" 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " That I shall leave 
 entirely to Lillian. I suppose that as 
 she 's out of the way, and he 's expected 
 momentarily, she 's actually keeping her 
 word, and " — 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " I 'm sitting here 
 to intercept Mr. Fairford on his way 
 into the house ! Is n't it rather cold- 
 blooded ? But I don't mind ! You don't 
 think he could manage to escape me, 
 somehow ? " 
 
 3£rs. Wenham : " I shall be sitting 
 here too ; and I dare say Lillian has 
 [53] 
 
A)i Indian Giver 
 
 given directions wliere he 's to be re- 
 ceived." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Heroic Mrs. Ingle- 
 hart I I begin to quake a little. Do 
 you know, if I had been sAe, I should 
 have broken my word." After a thought- 
 ful moment : " If one were really medi- 
 tating an assault upon Mr. Fairford's 
 affections, what should you say was his 
 weakest side, Mrs. Wenham ? " 
 
 Mrs. Wenham: "James?" Proudly: 
 " He has no weak side." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Oh, I did n't say 
 weak, I said weakest. Where is he 
 least strong?" 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Except for his in- 
 conceivable folly in regard to Lillian, 
 I should say that James Fairford was 
 equally strong at all points. He is 
 [54] 
 
An hidiaji Giver 
 
 truth itself; promptitude, sincerity, 
 justice, honor " — 
 
 Miss Laiorence^ with a deep breath : 
 " He is formidable." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham: "He despises any- 
 thing like double-dealing, or prevarica- 
 tion, or even evasion. He will admire 
 you^ Miss Lawrence." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Oh, thank you ! 
 I begin to have my doubts." Mrs. 
 Inglehart appears at one of the long 
 veranda windows, and looks through 
 them, with her hands lifted to either 
 side of the casement. " Oh, come out, 
 Mrs. Inglehart ! " 
 
 [55] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 MRS. INGLEHART, MISS LAWRENCE, MRS. 
 WENHAM 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " It 's very tempting. 
 But I can't, and I 've got to take my 
 mother away too, and consult about 
 some little changes in receiving Mr. 
 Fairford. You must keep him here 
 until I come." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " I wish he were 
 here now. If he could only see you 
 there as you 're standing now ! I wish 
 you could see yourself, and you 'd agree 
 with me that there was never anything 
 quite so graceful as that pose of yours." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " You must tell him 
 about it when he does come ; that will 
 be such a nice pose for you.'''' 
 [56] 
 
A?i Indian Giver 
 
 Miss Lawrence, rising and bobbing 
 a courtesy to Mrs. Inglehart in acknow- 
 ledo-ment of her little dioj: "Thank 
 you, so much ! " To Mrs. Wenham, 
 who joins her daughter : " And you 're 
 actually going to leave me alone with 
 Mr. Fairford ! " 
 
 Mrs. Wenham: "You'll be in the 
 best of hands, my dear. Kemember 
 what I told you." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : "I shan't forget 
 such a charge as that ! " 
 
 Mrs. Lnglehart: "A conspiracy?'* 
 She looks from one to the other ; then 
 over her shoulder, as she vanishes 
 within : " Be sure to keep him ; tell 
 him he can't go to his room just yet." 
 
 Miss Lawrence, calling after her: 
 "Oh, I'll keep him." When Mrs. 
 
 [57] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Inglehart and lier mother are out of 
 sight, she bows herself forward in silent 
 laughter, and when she lifts her face 
 out of her hands again, she confronts 
 Fairford, who is stealthily mounting the 
 veranda steps, with a manner the re- 
 verse of his earlier brusqueness and 
 severity. At sight of him Miss Law- 
 rence springs to her feet, and comes 
 gayly toward him with outstretched 
 hand : " Mr. Fairford ? Miss Law- 
 rence! Mrs. Inglehart has commis- 
 sioned me to welcome you in her place, 
 and to keep you here, while she and 
 Mrs. Wenham are taking counsel to- 
 gether about your room. Won't you 
 sit down till they come? " 
 [58] 
 
An Indiafi Giver 
 
 VI 
 
 FAIRFORD AND MISS LAWRENCE. 
 
 Fairford^ backing upon a chair, with 
 his bag in his hand and his overcoat on 
 his arm : " Thank you." He falls into 
 the chair and stares helplessly at her. 
 
 Miss Lawrence: "Was your train 
 late, or did you take a later one ? You 
 see the fame of your promptness has 
 preceded you, and you were expected 
 at half past four." 
 
 Fairford: "The train wasn't late; 
 I 'm late — I 've been walking " — 
 
 Miss Lawrence^ politely : " From the 
 station ! " 
 
 Fairford^ with a deep sigh of relief : 
 "Yes — I walked — from the station, 
 yes." 
 
 [59] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Then that ac- 
 counts for it. And it must take some 
 time for the wayfarer who is n't person- 
 ally conducted to find his way round to 
 the entrance of Mrs. Inglehart's house. 
 A house naturally fronts before, but if 
 it has the sea in the rear, there 's a 
 certain temptation to front behind, and 
 Mrs. Inglehart's house has yielded to the 
 temptation. Don't you think it 's like 
 her ? So full of — unexpectedness ! " 
 
 Fairford : " Yes ; very singular. 
 Very puzzling — if you 've never been 
 here before." 
 
 Miss Lawrence^ keenly : " And is this 
 the first time you 've been here ? " 
 
 Fairford : " I " — Desperately : " I've 
 never been here before to-day." 
 
 Miss Laiorence : "Do you mean, 
 [60] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 never before to-day, or never to-day be- 
 fore?" 
 
 Fairford : "I mean, never before 
 to-day ; not to-day before." 
 
 Miss Lawrence: "Then there is a 
 difference ! I 'm so glad ; I thought 
 there was n't when I asked." She muses 
 aloud: "Let me see! He has never 
 been here before to-day; but he may 
 have been here to-day before. Is that 
 sense? Let me try it the other way! 
 He has been here to-day before, but he 
 has never been here before to-day." 
 Fairford gazes uneasily at her. " I 
 can't make it out ; but I '11 ask Mrs. 
 Inglehart when she comes ; she '11 know. 
 I '11 put it as a conundrum : If a gentle- 
 man has never been here before to-day, 
 and yet has been here to-day before, 
 [61] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 when has the gentleman been here be- 
 fore?" Fairford listens with signs of 
 increasing terror, which culminate in a 
 violent start when she turns suddenly 
 upon him : " Mr. Fairford, I 'm tempted 
 to make you a confidence ! Oh — ha, 
 ha, ha! Don't be frightened. It's 
 only something psychical. But I have 
 had such a strange impression in re- 
 gard to you." 
 
 Fairford, in alarm : " Me ? " 
 Miss Lawrence: "Yes. I wonder 
 if I may venture to speak of it ; but 
 with your frankness — oh, all your vir- 
 tues have anticipated you ; every one 
 was here promptly at half past four! 
 — I 'm sure you '11 answer me. As you 
 came up the veranda steps, just now, 
 I had that weird sense of its all having 
 [62] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 happened before. You have had it : 
 every one has ; but at this instant it 's 
 so vivid with me that it seems as if you 
 must share it with me." Laughingly : 
 " Do you have a been-here-before feel- 
 ing too ? " 
 
 Fairford ; " I can't say — I — May 
 I ask what you mean ? " 
 
 iliiss Lawrence, : " I don't wonder 
 you 're surprised. But I 'm so curious 
 to know whether two persons could have 
 that weird seizure at the same moment 
 in regard to the same thing. Of course 
 it 's impossible, and I ought really to 
 beg your pardon, but as you came up 
 the veranda steps, just now, it flashed 
 upon me, ' He feels as if he had been 
 here before.' Perhaps it was a strange 
 look — Excuse me ; I 'm odiously per- 
 [63] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 sonal. Will you please to make a re- 
 mark?" 
 
 Fairford ; " I ! A remark ? " 
 
 Miss Laiurence : " Yes ; anything — 
 anything to turn the conversation. I 've 
 made all the remarks up to this point. 
 I see you don't like psychical confi- 
 dences." 
 
 Fairford : " Yes — I like them very 
 much. But I wish to say — I ought to 
 tell you — I don't know how to " — 
 He stops and stares at her. 
 
 Miss Lawrence^ looking down at her 
 dress on either side of her, and twitch- 
 ing it : " Is there something on my 
 gown ? A bug ? A caterpillar ? No ? " 
 Laughing: "A woman always thinks 
 something 's wrong with her dress when 
 people stare. But perhaps it 's only 
 [64] 
 
An hidiaii Giver 
 
 the color ? It 's a very peculiar shade 
 of gray ; I 've been told by flatterers 
 that I look like a wraith in it, and you 
 look — excuse me, really, Mr. Fair ford ! 
 you look as if I did look like a wraith ! " 
 
 Fairford : " Not at all, I assure you. 
 But I — but in regard to your psychical 
 experience, I wish — I feel bound to 
 say"- 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Then you like 
 that kind of thing ! Do let me tell you 
 another ! It 's apropos of this gown, 
 which I wish you to notice particularly, 
 so that you can corroborate me when I 
 tell Mrs. Inglehart." She rises, and puts 
 it in evidence by slowly turning in front 
 of her chair ; Fairford starts up, and 
 backs away in vague alarm. " Should 
 you have thought I put it on for you? " 
 [65] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Fairford^ gasping : " For me ? " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " No ? Did n't you 
 know it? " She fixes him with a pier- 
 cing glance, and then sinks into her chair 
 again, laughing, while he remains stand- 
 ing, aghast. " It can't be the first time 
 that you 've been dressed at by a young 
 lady ; it 's something that 's always hap- 
 pening when men are expected in houses 
 where girls are. Don't you know 
 that?" 
 
 Fairford^ with relief ; "I suppose — 
 I dare say " — 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " But, unless you 
 know, you never could imagine the rest 
 of what I 'm going to tell you. I 've 
 just had the most awful scare. A little 
 while before you came, I was up in 
 my room, which looks out over the roof 
 [66] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 of the veranda here, and I fell into a 
 hopeless doubt between blue and green. 
 Which should I wear ? I could n't de- 
 cide, and as I had left Mrs. Inglehart 
 sitting here alone, I indulged myself in 
 a little impulse. I put up my window, 
 and asked Mrs. Inglehart which it 
 should be, and then after I had decided, 
 I decided over again, and put up my 
 window to tell her so. It was this last 
 time that I had my fright. I thought 
 — I fancied — I dreamed — that I heard 
 another voice just before I spoke, and 
 that this voice was a man's voice. Of 
 course it was impossible, in the nature 
 of things, even if it was so, but it served, 
 for the time being. As soon as I could 
 I reasoned myself out of it. Mrs. Ingle- 
 hart could n't be so ungenerous — so 
 [67] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 unkind — as to let me suppose she was 
 here alone, and even if she could, the 
 man would have insisted upon giving 
 me some proof of his presence, if he was 
 a gentleman. Of course if it were the 
 groom, or the gardener, or some work- 
 man about the place, I needn't care; 
 and so, as I said, I reasoned myself out 
 of it. But it was a very pretty scare 
 while it lasted, I can assure you. I 
 really suppose it was this that gave me 
 that been-here-before feeling when I 
 saw you coming up the steps. Ah, here 
 comes Mrs. Inglehart, and I'm off 
 duty ; but please don't speak to her of 
 it, will you ? I wish to tell her later 
 myself. You promise ? " 
 
 Fairford: "Yes" — 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Oh, thank you. 
 [68] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 I'll be back directly, Lilly. I 've kept 
 Mr. Fairford safely for you." She 
 waves her hand to Mrs. Inglehart as 
 she appears at the parlor window, and 
 vanishes through the door into the hall. 
 
 VII 
 
 MRS. INGLEHART AND FAIRFORD 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart., coming out on the 
 veranda : " What is it you are not to 
 tell me?" 
 
 Fairford : " Who is that, Lillian ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " It 's Miss Law- 
 rence, of course. Don't you like her ? " 
 
 Fairford: "Against my reason and 
 
 conscience, I consented to go away and 
 
 come back, in this disgraceful fashion, to 
 
 spare your feelings, and hers ; and the 
 
 [69] 
 
An Tndia7i Giver 
 
 result is tliat I shall do neither, and that 
 I shall not be able to hold up my head." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Why, what in the 
 world has happened ? " 
 
 Fairford: " That is what I can't tell 
 you ; that 's what I promised I would n't 
 tell. You can ask Miss Lawrence ; I 
 am going away." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Going away ! " 
 
 Fairford : " I have been placed in a 
 thoroughly false position. To oblige 
 you, I have consented to act a falsehood, 
 and I have done it so badly that" — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Of course you 've 
 done it badly. I expected that. But 
 what of it? Did she get it out of 
 you?" 
 
 Fairford : " I must leave you to learn 
 from Miss Lawrence what has passed. 
 [70] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 I have given my word, and I must keep 
 it. Good-by ! " He bows coldly, and 
 goes toward the veranda steps. 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart, running to intercept 
 him : " But you are not actually going ! 
 You can't be so insane, so wicked as 
 that!" 
 
 Fairford : " You Ve made it impos- 
 sible for me to stay. The truth must 
 come out, and then you will see why." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " But no matter how 
 bad the truth is, you 11 only make it 
 worse by going ! " 
 
 Fairford : " I must be judge of that. 
 Will you please let me pass ? " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Do you think this 
 
 is treating me very nicely ? What shall 
 
 I say to Miss Lawrence ? How shall I 
 
 explain? Oh, Jim, dear! Don't be 
 
 [71] 
 
A71 Indian Giver 
 
 boyish ! I 've no doubt that as soon as 
 I know what the trouble is, I can make 
 it right. I might have known she would 
 tangle you up, somehow ; but it can't be 
 bad enough to drive you from my house. 
 Think how it will look ! " 
 
 Fairford : "I must leave appear- 
 ances to you, hereafter ; you can manage 
 them better." 
 
 Mrs. IngleJiart: "Is that what she 
 said of me ? " 
 
 Fairford: "Lillian!" 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " I did n't mean 
 that, Jim; indeed I didn't. But you 
 can't imagine how awkward it will be for 
 me if you go ; what a false position it 
 will place me in. Don't be selfish ! 
 Don't go. I ash you to stay.^^ She 
 looks at him significantly. 
 [72] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Fairford : " It 's too late. I 'd have 
 given the world to hear that from you 
 a little while ago ; but now " — He 
 falters. 
 
 Mrs. IngleJiart : " Very well ; go, 
 then ! / know what the trouble is. She 
 knew that you had been here before, 
 and she could only have done it by 
 eavesdropping." 
 
 Fairford : " No, Lillian ; it was we 
 who were eavesdropping." 
 
 Mrs. IngleJiart : " Then it 's not 
 eavesdropping to listen from a window, 
 but it is from a veranda ? She heard 
 every word we were saying here, and her 
 calling down to me was a mere ruse. 
 I might have known it at the time. 
 But of course, if you think I was ca- 
 pable of eavesdropping and she was n't, 
 [73] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 that settles the matter, and I have no 
 more to say. Don't let me keep yon, 
 Mr. Fairford." She suddenly bursts 
 into tears, and catching her handker- 
 chief to her face, flies through the win- 
 dow and vanishes, at the same moment 
 that Mrs. Wenham appears at the hall- 
 way door. 
 
 VIII 
 
 MRS. WENHAM AND FAIEFORD 
 
 Mrs. Wenham, coming forward to 
 where Fairford remains standing motion- 
 less, bag in hand : " Why, James ! 
 You 've got here at last. What in the 
 world kept you ? Have you just come ? " 
 Fairford * " I 'm just going." 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Going ? Without 
 seeing Lillian ? " 
 
 [74] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Faiyford : " I have seen her, and — 
 that 's why I 'm going." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " She is n't sending 
 you away ! " 
 
 Fairford : " No, no ! Not in that 
 sense of the word. We 've quarreled. 
 Aunt Harriet, I wish to tell you " — 
 
 Mrs, Wenham: "Oh, you needn't 
 tell me ! I know what it is. It 's part 
 of that miserable nonsense of hers 
 about — But you have n't seen Miss 
 Lawrence ! " 
 
 Fairford^ in dull despair : " Yes, 
 I 've seen Miss Lawrence." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " And Lillian was 
 angry with you on that account, and in 
 her ridiculous jealousy — Well, then, 
 I 'm glad she 's lost you, James." 
 
 Fairford : " I 'm not, Aunt Harriet. 
 [75] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 And I 'm afraid it is n't just as you think 
 it is. I must tell you something — I 
 promised not to tell Lillian, but I may 
 tell you " — 
 
 3Irs. WenJiam : " You may tell me 
 a?i?/thing, James. Whom did you 
 promise ? " 
 
 Fairford : " Miss Lawrence. I came 
 at half past four as I promised, and I 
 found Lillian on the veranda here " — 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Lillian ? And 
 where was Miss Lawrence ? " 
 
 Fairford : " I don't know — or I 
 did n't then ; but it seems somewhere 
 overhead ; and presently, while we were 
 talking, she put up her window, and be- 
 gan calling down to Lillian, and asking 
 her what she should wear. Lillian 
 seemed to have forgotten about her " — 
 [76] 
 
An Jndian Giver 
 
 Mrs. WenJiam : " Wretched child ! " 
 
 Fairford : " And when she remem- 
 bered, she said she had promised you 
 Miss Lawrence should see me first, and 
 I must go away, and come back so as to 
 give the impression that I had n't been 
 here." 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " But you never con- 
 sented to such an outrageous imposi- 
 tion?" 
 
 Fairford : " I did n't like it ; but I 
 thought Lillian was right in thinking 
 Miss Lawrence would be annoyed if she 
 knew that I had overheard her, and I 
 consented — in violation of every prin- 
 ciple of my life. When I came back, 
 Miss Lawrence was here." 
 
 Mrs. Weiiham: "Well?" 
 
 Fairford: "It was useless. She 
 [77] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 "began to let me understand at once 
 tliat she knew I liad been liere already, 
 and — in short, tlie game was up. She 
 kept the whole thing in such form that 
 I could neither admit it nor deny it. 
 When Lillian returned and Miss Law- 
 rence left us, I threatened to go away, 
 and she begged me to stay, and after 
 we had some hot words, she told me 
 to go, and — here I am. What is it 
 all about. Aunt Harriet ? Why should 
 she promise you to let Miss Lawrence 
 receive me, and why should Miss Law- 
 rence wish to dress especially to please 
 me?" 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : " I will tell you, 
 
 James. But first sit down and put that 
 
 bag somewhere. You 're not going, and 
 
 Lillian never meant you to go, any 
 
 [78] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 more than you meant to leave her when 
 you threatened it. I 'm glad I know- 
 just how the case stands, and I think I 
 can make you see Lillian's behavior in 
 the right light, though I am thoroughly 
 ashamed of it myself, and disgusted 
 with her, and I 've told her so. You 
 will always have to account for some- 
 thing that is wholly incomprehensible 
 in Lillian, if you expect to understand 
 her at all." 
 
 Fairford^ patiently : " Yes, that is 
 what I have always tried to do." 
 
 Mrs. WenJiam : " Well, then, you 
 can easily imagine that when she had 
 consented to your coming here to-day 
 on terms that any one else would feel 
 were the same as accepting you, she 
 should feel the need of putting it out of 
 [79] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 her power to accept you — or rather that 
 she would have to be in the greatest 
 danger of losing you — before she was 
 able to accept you." 
 
 Fairford^ making an effort : " I think 
 I can conceive of something like that. 
 What has it to do with Miss Law- 
 rence's trying to please my taste in 
 dress ? " 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " Simply this. Be- 
 fore she could realize your loss, Lillian 
 had to give you to some one else." 
 
 Fairford^ after a moment's reflec- 
 tion : " If you wanted anything, would 
 you put it out of your power, in order to 
 realize your desire for it ? " 
 
 Mrs. Wenliam: "No, but Lillian 
 would ; and I should respect you a 
 great deal more if you renounced her 
 [80] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 forever, and took a fancy to Miss 
 Lawrence. But I hope you won't, for I 
 know that Lillian is devotedly fond of 
 
 you.'^ 
 
 Fairford : " I 'm afraid there 's no 
 danger of my renouncing her. Whom 
 did she give me to ? " 
 
 Mr 8. Wenham: " Oh, you poor, sin- 
 gle-minded man ! To Miss Lawrence." 
 
 Fairford : " And did Miss Lawrence 
 know it?" 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " James, I don't won- 
 der Lillian finds you rather trying at 
 times. Of course she knew it I And I 
 insisted upon her being allowed to meet 
 you first, and to — to — to " — 
 
 Fairford: "What?" 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " My dear, you are 
 enough to try the patience of a saint. 
 [81] 
 
An Indian Give?' 
 
 Sucli innocence as yours is criminal ! " 
 At this word, Mrs. Ingiehart suddenly 
 emerges from the drawing-room window 
 upon the veranda. 
 
 IX 
 
 MRS. INGLEHAUT, MRS. WENHAM, AND 
 FAIRFORD 
 
 Mrs, Ingiehart : " I will not have 
 you abusing me to James, mother." 
 
 iHfrs. Wenham .• " I was not speak- 
 ing of you ! " 
 
 Mrs. Ingiehart .; " You said crimi- 
 nal." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham : " I said James was 
 criminal — for being so good." 
 
 Mrs. Ingiehart : " Oh ! And what 
 have you been saying about me ? " 
 [82] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs, Wenham : "I 've been explain- 
 ing you." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Very well, then, I 
 won't he explained — above all to Mr. 
 Fairford." She sits down and looks at 
 her mother. " I thought he was going." 
 
 Fairford^ appealingly : " You know 
 I couldn't go, Lillian " — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ ignoring him : " He 
 said he was going; but perhaps that 
 was a man's way of meaning that he 
 was n't. You never can tell what they 
 mean from what they say. Do you 
 know where Miss Lawrence is, mother? 
 I wish to tell her that Mr. Fairford has 
 changed his mind, and is going to stay 
 after all. She may not like to come to 
 dinner in that case ; or Mr. Fairford 
 may not like to meet her. They seem 
 [83] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 both to be victims of the same deceit, 
 poor dears. I 'm sure I don't know who 
 has tried to deceive them, except for 
 their own good." 
 
 Fairford : " I never doubted your 
 motive, Lillian. I know how generous 
 you are. I only objected to the false 
 position that I was placed in with refer- 
 ence to Miss Lawrence." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ always ignoring him : 
 " I hope you are satisfied, mother, with 
 having insisted on my letting Miss Law- 
 rence meet Mr. Fairford first, instead 
 of receiving him myself as a hostess 
 should." 
 
 Mrs. Wenham, rising in virtuous in- 
 dignation : " Lillian, I will not allow 
 you to be so perverse ! I don't care 
 how old you are. You are acting like 
 [84] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 a. naughty child, but I suppose it 's 
 because you 're thoroughly ashamed of 
 yourself. I 've told James all about 
 your wicked folly, and if I were he I 
 should go away, and leave you to get 
 out of it as you could. I wash my hands 
 of the whole affair." Mrs. Wenham 
 sweeps indoors and abandons the cous- 
 ins to their own devices. 
 
 X 
 
 MRS. INGLEHART AND FAIRFORD 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart, after a marked si- 
 lence, very mildly and meekly : " Well, 
 Jim!" 
 
 Fairford : " Well, Lil ! " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " What do you 
 think of me now ? " 
 
 [85] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Fair ford ; " I have n't changed my 
 mind ; but I think I understand you a 
 little better than I did." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart :. "And you still blame 
 me ? Remember I don't know what my 
 mother 's been saying about me." 
 
 Fairford : "Nothing that doesn't 
 make you dearer to me. I think she 
 was too hard upon you for a harmless 
 joke like that." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Oh, Jim, how 
 sweet you are ! Do you really mean 
 it?" 
 
 Fairford : " I wish you would let 
 me prove it. I wish you could let me 
 employ my life in proving it." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Oh, you know I 
 always trusted you. You 're truth it- 
 self ! " 
 
 [86] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Fairford : " And I always trusted 
 you, though " — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Though I 'm not 
 truth itself." 
 
 Fairford : " Something like that." 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " How delicious ! 
 You know I always did think your candor 
 was delicious." She puts up her hands 
 to the back of her head, and tries to 
 look round at the top of her chair. " I 
 seem to be caught " — 
 
 Fairford : " Can I help you ? " 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Oh, no." But he 
 comes to her and frees the knot of her 
 hair from a loose fibre of the cane which 
 has caught it. " Thank you so much, 
 James." He does not go away, and he 
 does not relinquish the hand she had 
 put up to help free her hair. He sits 
 [87] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 down on the arm of her chair, and scru- 
 tinizes her left-hand fingers critically. 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " WeU ? " 
 
 Fairford : "I thought I could n't be 
 mistaken in the size. May I try it 
 on?" 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Why, if you 've 
 taken all the trouble to bring it " — 
 
 Fairford : " I ventured to do it." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ looking fondly up 
 into his eyes while he fits the ring on 
 her finger : "It was no great risk." 
 
 Fairford: "Does it hurt? Is it too 
 tight?" 
 
 3Irs. Inglehart : " It is too tight, but 
 it does n't — hurt ! " A sound of quick 
 footfalls and rustling skirts makes itself 
 heard within the drawing-room. Mrs. 
 Inglehart jumps to her feet. " Oh, 
 [88] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 good gracious ! There 's that detest- 
 able girl ! I forgot all about her again ! 
 Run, Jim ! Or no, it 's too late now. 
 Stay ! " The sound of the quick foot- 
 falls and the rustling skirts within grows 
 vaguer. " Yes, go now. She 's exe- 
 cuting a little manoeuvre. She's seen 
 us, but she 's pretending she did n't, and 
 she 's gone back to give us time before 
 she comes out through the hall door. 
 That 's all right. Run along now, dear, 
 and leave me to manage with her. I 
 don't think she '11 get anything out of 
 me that I don't want her to know. Why 
 don't you go, James ? Oh ! Goose ! " 
 She puts her arms round his neck, as he 
 bends over her, and kisses him, and 
 then pushes him decisively away. As 
 he disappears round the corner of the 
 [89] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 veranda, she calls : " Miss Lawrence ! 
 Eoberta! Is that you?" 
 
 Miss Lawrence^ within : " I am look- 
 ing for a handkerchief I left — Oh, 
 here it is ! " She appears at the door, 
 and looks out. " I thought Mr. Fair- 
 ford"— 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart: "He was here a 
 moment ago, but he 's gone to his room 
 — I suppose to his room. I 've been so 
 much interested in your psychological 
 experience, Roberta." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Then he 's told ! 
 I might have expected it." 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " You 'd have been 
 disappointed if you had. Men need n't 
 tell things. They 've merely to say they 
 won't, and then women are inspired with 
 the facts. I guessed what had happened 
 [90] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 as soon as I saw the kind of trouble he 
 was in, and I envied you the opportu- 
 nity you had of — rattling him. Do 
 tell me just how you did it." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Do you think that 
 will be necessary ? " 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart : " No, I don't know 
 that I do. And I admire you for your 
 reticence. I supposed frankness was 
 your strong point." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Is n't that always 
 a forlorn hope with us ? The pose of 
 utter despair ? The last resort ? " 
 
 Mrs. Lnglehart : " Perhaps it is. I 
 was just going to try it with you. There 
 seems nothing else for it." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Ah, you pique 
 my curiosity. What is it you could be 
 frank about ? I mean " — 
 [91] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " I see what you 
 mean. But you remember that a little 
 while ago, here, I gave you James Fair- 
 ford?" 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Yes ; and ' the 
 gods themselves cannot resume their 
 gifts.' " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " I don't know about 
 the gods, but I 'm sure the goddesses 
 could. My dear Roberta, I want him 
 back. I must have him. Come, now, 
 be very, very nice, and let me have 
 him again ! Won't you ? I know that 
 legally, and everything else, he belongs 
 to you, and I suppose that in a court 
 of justice I should n't have the slight- 
 est chance. But I throw myself on 
 your mercy. See ! " She comes over 
 to where the girl has seated herself, 
 [92] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 and drops on her knees before her. 
 " Let me have him, dear ! I 'd no 
 idea I cared anything about him till 
 I 'd parted with him. Come ! Say the 
 word ! " 
 
 3Iiss Lawrence : " And I, what 
 am I to do with the wealth of affection 
 that I had prepared to lavish upon 
 him?" 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Oh, give it to 
 somebody else ! Jim won't mind." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Ah, that 's just 
 what I 'm not so sure about ! I 've an 
 idea that he is madly devoted to me. 
 In fact, I can't give him up till I know 
 from his own lips that he wishes to be 
 given up. Yes, he must renounce 
 me" — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " Oh, but I assure 
 [93] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 you lie does n't care anything about 
 you"- 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " That I must know 
 from himself. I insist upon his choos- 
 ing between us ! " 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ rising : " Do you 
 really mean it ? " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Yes ; I think it 
 would be fun." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ with genuine feeling : 
 " I can't say it 's my idea of a joke. 
 Well, then, it may be very inhospitable, 
 and all that, and I wish it could have 
 come about a little more gracefully, but 
 I have to tell you — Oh, have you 
 hurt yourself ? " She takes note of the 
 handkerchief which Miss Lawrence has 
 wrapped around her left hand ; the girl 
 puts the hand behind her. " Can't I 
 [94] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 give you something ? Arnica ? Pond's 
 extract? How did you do it? Put- 
 ting up the window f " 
 
 Miss Lawrence, in embarrassment: 
 "No, no" — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart, dryly : " I 'm very 
 sorry. Those window-catches are awk- 
 ward things. I 've caught my fingers 
 when I 've been thinking of something 
 else." 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " It was n't the 
 window-catch, I assure you, Mrs. Ingle- 
 hart, and I don't know how to tell 
 you what it is, exactly. I thought it 
 would be so simple; but — I ought 
 never to have let you give me Mr. Fair- 
 ford." 
 
 Mrs, IngleTiart : " Oh, don't mind 
 that. I 've taken him back again." 
 [96] 
 
A71 hidian Giver 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Oh, tliat does n't 
 make it right on my part. I meant to 
 have told you before; but I couldn't 
 get the chance ; and then it seemed to get 
 more and more complicated, and " — 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart, impatiently : '' Well? " 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " Well ! " She puts 
 out her left hand to Mrs. Inglehart, and 
 covers her eyes with the handkerchief 
 she has caught from it. 
 
 Mrs, Inglehart, clutching it wildly: 
 " An engagement ring ! " 
 
 Miss Laicrence : " Yes, we were en- 
 gaged last week, and when you began 
 to speak to me, and I did n't know quite 
 how — I had n't the courage " — 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart, flinging Miss Law- 
 rence's hand from her : " Then it was 
 all a trick from the beginning ! And 
 [96] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 you let me make a fool of myself in that 
 way, and all the time you were engaged ! 
 And you said you never met him be- 
 fore " — 
 
 Miss Lawrence, in amaze : " How 
 could I say such a thing ? We 've 
 known each other for years." 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart : " So it appears. 
 And I don't know how you could say 
 you 'd never seen him, but I know you 
 did say it. Perhaps you 'd like two en- 
 gagement rings. You may have mine " — 
 She tries to get it off. 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " What do you 
 mean ? What are you doing ? Whom 
 are you talking about ? " 
 
 Mrs. Liglehart, still struggling vio- 
 lently with the ring : " James Fairford. 
 You may have both his rings " — 
 [97] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 Miss Lawrence : " James Fairf ord ! 
 I don't want his rings — either of them. 
 I 'm engaged to Arthur Wayland ! Do 
 you think there 's only one man in the 
 world?" 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart^ after a moment's 
 daze : " Then you — you — I see — 
 yes ! Oh, you dear ! Oh, I 'm so happy 
 for you!" She falls upon Miss Law- 
 rence's neck and clasps her to her heart. 
 " Arthur Wayland ? He 's charming, 
 and he 's a very lucky fellow, but he 
 deserves you if any one does. Ah, ha, 
 ha ! Oh, hu, hu, hu: ! " Mrs. Wenham 
 appears at one corner of the veranda, 
 and Fairf ord at the other, from differ- 
 ent sides of the house. 
 [98] 
 
An Indian Giver 
 
 XI 
 
 MRS. WENHAM, FAIRFOKD, MISS LAWRENCE, 
 MRS. INGLEHART 
 
 Mrs. Wenham, sternly : " What is the 
 matter, Lillian?" 
 
 Mrs. Inglehart, between tears and 
 laughter : " Nothing, nothing ! Ko- 
 berta is engaged, and I 'm merely con- 
 gratulating her." 
 
 [99] 
 
 L«fc 
 
Electrotyped and printed by H. O. Hotcghton 6r' Co. 
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