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 had for long years held her feeling under complete control, although she sat up and with a quick motion brushed away the tears from her eyes, could not conceal all trace of the intense excitement of the past few moments. Ruth made no effort to conceal her feelings.

Matthew Watson rose and went to the door. As it opened, Robert Pearson entered the room, and, with a courteous greeting to all, remarked in his cheerful way of the splendid weather then prevailing and his disappointment at not seeing him, Matthew, at the meeting about the survey of the new road. Then, seeing that both Ruth and her mother wore most anxious, troubled looks, his whole manner changed, and he asked if any one were ill or had bad news been received.

"Matters of great concern detained me, to my regret," Matthew replied, for he was one who did not wish any public matter to progress without his association with it, and the more prominently, the better he was pleased. He took it as a slight if his opinion was not