"No, St. John; I am too young to fall in love with anybody. I shall at least wait until this cruel war is over."
"But I can hope?"
She shook her head. Then she picked up her bouquet.
"Will you come up to the house with me?"
"Not now, Marion. Give my respects to my aunt and tell her I will call in a day or two again. And, by the way, Marion, don't let her think hard of me because of Jack. I desire only to see to it that the boy does not do you mischief."
"As I said before, I will listen to nothing against dear Jack, so there!" cried Marion, and stamping her foot, she hurried toward the house.
St. John Ruthven watched her out of sight, then turned and stalked off toward the roadway leading to his home.
"She evidently does not love me as I thought," he muttered to himself. "And I made a mess of it by speaking ill of Jack. Confound the luck! What had I best do now? I wish I could get that boy out of the way altogether, I really do."
THE HOME GUARDS OF OLDVILLE.