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In the meantime Kate's letters to him became more and more frequent,warh he kne difficult it ers into Ennistimon Would he not come and see her? He must come and see her She was ill and would die unless he came to her He did not always answer these letters, but he did write to her perhaps twice a week He would come very soon,--as soon as Johnstone had co She was not to fret herself Of course he could not always be at Ardkill He too had things to trouble him Then he told her he had received letters from home which caused hi of sharpness in his words, which brought fro of las did not as yet take the form of reproaches Then there ca that you will come to Ardkill at once It is absolutely necessary for Kate's safety that you should do so"

When he received this he thought that he would go on the morrow When the morrow came he determined to postpone the journey another day! The calls of duty are so much less imperious than those of pleasure! On that further day he still o, as he sat about noon unbraced, only partly dressed in his room at the barracks His friend Johnstone was back in Ennis, and there was also a Cornet with the troop He had no excuse whatever on the score ofat hos All the charone He was sick of the canoe and of Barney Morony He did not care a straw for the seals or wild gulls The er pleasurable to hi at their su drive thither and back was tedious to hiht now more of the respectability of his family than of the beauty of Kate O'Hara

But still he o on this very day He had desired that his gig should be ready, and had sent word to say that he own at noon, unbraced, with a novel in his hand which he could not read, and a pipe by his side which he could not smoke Close to him on the table lay that record of the life of Captain O'Hara, which his aunt had sent him, every word of which he had now examined for the third or fourth tiirl Mrs O'Hara had deceived him She could not but have known that her husband was a convict;--and had kept the knowledge back froe Anything that money could do, he would do Or, if they would consent, he would take the girl aith hiht still be sweet, and would then devote to her--some portion of his time He had not yet ruined himself, but he would indeed ruin himself were he, the heir to the earldohter of a alleys! He had just made up his mind that he would be firm in this resolution,--when the door opened and Mrs O'Hara entered his room "Mrs O'Hara"