"Oh!" It was all that Jean could say, as the terrible memory of that night swept over her.
"Have you seen Ben lately?" Douglas asked.
"Not since the night of the dance at the hall."
"There is good reason why he doesn't come to see you, is there not?"
"Indeed there is," and Jean's eyes flashed with a sudden light of anger. "Nell Strong has taken him from me; that's what she has done. Oh, I'll get even with her yet."
"You are altogether mistaken. Ben is the one to blame. Miss Strong has not wronged you. She dislikes the man, and has refused to have anything more to do with him."
"But why did she meet him night after night by that old tree in front of her home, tell me that?"
"She was afraid of the Stubbles, both father and son. Simon Stubbles has a mortgage on the Strong place, and if she turned Ben away and would not meet him, the little home would have been taken. Miss Strong has done it now, however, and so I suppose the home will go."
"Are you sure of what you say?" Jean asked in a low voice.
"Yes, I am certain. Ben has been using every effort to win Miss Strong, and he is very angry at me because he imagines that I have turned her against him. The professor and his daughters have been very kind to me, and on several occasions I have been at their house. Once, on my way home, Ben had two men lying in wait for me with clubs. Fortunately, I was able to defend myself, and so escaped serious injury."