"And Ben will be there, I suppose."
"I expect he will."
"Nell, I wish you would tell him once and for all that you will not have anything more to do with him. I hate him, and so do you, and you know it."
"Hush, hush, Nan. Do not talk that way. Do as I ask you now, and perhaps I shall have something to tell you in the morning. You had better go to bed early, too."
Nell seemed to be very calm as she walked slowly to the shore and took up her position by the side of the tree. But her heart was beating rapidly, and her courage almost forsook her. When, however, she saw Ben appear from the bushes, and thought of his contemptible work of the previous evening, she became strengthened by the spirit of anger which suddenly possessed her. He seemed to her more like a serpent than a man, and she drew back a step as he approached too near.
"Surely you're not afraid of me, Nell," he chided, noting her action.
"I am not afraid," she calmly replied, "but I do not wish you to come too close, that's all."
"When are you going to stop this fooling, Nell?" he impetuously asked.
"I am going to stop it to-night, and at once," and she looked him squarely in the eyes as she spoke. "You have your answer."
He mistook her meaning, however, and reached out impulsively to put his arms around her.