As he strode toward the house, revolving these disquieting conjectures,all his first suspicion and antagonism toward Wilhelm revived in fullforce, and he was in a mood well calculated to distort the simplestacts, when he suddenly saw sitting in the square stoop at the door thetwo persons who filled his thoughts, Wilhelm and Carlen,--Wilhelmsteadily at work as usual at his carving, his eyes closely fixed on it,his figure, as was its wont, rigidly still; and Carlen,--ah! it was anunlucky moment Harold had taken to search out the state of Carlen'sfeeling toward Wilhelm,--Carlen sitting in a posture of dreamy reverie,one hand lying idle in her lap holding her knitting, the ball rollingaway unnoticed on the ground; her other arm thrown carelessly over therailing of the stoop, her eyes fixed on Wilhelm's bowed head.

Harold stood still and watched her,--watched her long. She did not move.She always was almost as rigidly still as Wilhelm himself. Her eyes did notleave his face. 0ne might safely sit in that way by the hour and gazeundetected at Wilhelm. He rarely looked up except when he was addressed.

After standing thus a few moments John turned away, bitter and sick atheart. What had he been about, that he had not seen this? He, the lovingcomrade brother, to be sluggisher of sight than the hard, grasping parent!

"I will ask mother," he thought. "I can't ask Carlen now! It is toolate."

He found his mother in the kitchen, busy getting the bountiful supperwhich was a daily ordinance in the Weitbreck religion. To Harold'ssharpened perceptions the fact that Carlen was not as usual helping inthis labor loomed up into significance.