Vance laughed again. "Well, what do you think he'll do?" Upton coloured uncomfortably, and said: "I'd feel better if Mother hadn't taken the money." Vance rejoined that he would too, but as it had been taken the only thing was to pay it back. He understood Saint Elfrida's School wouldn't refund an advance if the pupil had taken part of the course, and he was going to do his best to get the loan paid off as quickly as his earnings permitted. He was getting bored with the subject, and tried to change it, but Upton, scratching his head, insisted dubiously: "I wish't you could have raised the whole thousand right away. He's the kind to turn ugly."

"Oh, I thought he was a friend of yours," Vance rapped back, exasperated; but Upton answered: "Well, I guess you'd better try and stay friends with him too, if you don't want him coming round and raising hell."

Vance would have been angry if he had not seen that Upton, under his commanding manner, was still the scared boy of old. The discovery made him smile, and rejoin: "Well, I guess I'd better get to work right now, and try to earn some money for him,"—at which Upton sulkily withdrew.

Vance became aware, after this, that the only thing to restore his credit with Mrs. Tracy would be the approval of his family. If they were pleased with his marriage they would do something handsome; and the something handsome would help to wipe out the Hayes loan. Vance shared her view, but not her hope; he knew what his family would think. The exchange of acrimonious letters had left traces no less deep in Mapledale Avenue than at Paul's Landing. His people would regard it as folly for him to marry at his age, and be indignant with him for marrying the Tracy girl after the way the Tracys had treated him. These considerations weighted his pen when he wrote home to announce his marriage; and he was less surprised than Mrs. Tracy at the time which elapsed before he had an answer.

The first sign came from Grandma Scrimser, who sent him a beautiful letter, a Bible, and a year's subscription to Spirit Light, to which she and her daughter Saidie Toler were now regular contributors. Grandma thought it lovely and brave of him to get married right off. She hoped that Laura Lou was as pretty and high-minded as her mother, when Mrs. Tracy had come out to see them years ago, on her wedding tour, and that Vanny would bring his bride to Euphoria right away, and that their married life would be full of spiritual benedictions.