Page:Lefty o' the Bush.djvu/257

 to call some time, and he proposed to do so this evening.

As he drew near the parsonage, however, he faltered, and his pace slackened. She had shunned him upon the street; would she not refuse to see him now?

"She must give me a chance to explain," he muttered desperately. "Surely she'll do that. I can't believe she'll decline to see me for a few minutes, at least."

Locke's pulse beat rapidly. With his handkerchief he wiped his forehead. It was ridiculous, of course, for a man like him to flush and shiver like a big boy suffering from his first attack of calf love; but, try as he might, he could not steady himself as he approached the cottage and discovered that, though the curtains were drawn, there was a light in the parlor.

Perhaps Benton King was there! Well, what of it? Was he the man to turn back and leave the field to a rival? Were King there, it was all the more reason why he should make haste to put himself right in her eyes. His jaws set, he followed the walk to the front door, and rang.

One of the parlor windows, near by, was open, but the shade was drawn well down, so that anybody within the room could not be seen by a per