THAT night as he walked back through the streets he was thrilled with a sense of strength and of triumph. He knew his ground now. There was to be war between him and the General to the bitter end. He had never asked her once to oppose her father’s or mother’s command. Now he would see who was master in a test of strength. And he was eager for the struggle. His mind was alert, and every nerve and muscle tense with energy.

“Heavens, how hungry I am!” he exclaimed when he reached the brilliantly lighted business portion of the city.

He went into a restaurant, ordered a steak, and enjoyed a good meal. He recalled then that he had not eaten for twenty-four hours. The steak was good, and the faces of the people seemed to him lit with gladness. He was singing a battle song in his soul, and the eyes of the woman he loved looked at him with yearning tenderness.

“Now, Bob, I count on you,” he cried to his friend next morning. “I am going to have a merry Christmas and you are to aid in the skirmishing.”

“I’m with you to the finish!” Bob responded with enthusiasm.

“We must make a feint this morning to deceive the enemy while I turn his flank. I go home on the nine o’clock train. You understand?”

“Yes, over the left. It’s dead easy too. There’s to be a big Christmas party to-night at the Alexanders’. She’s invited. I ’ll see that she goes to it if I have to drag her.”

“Good. Don’t tell her I’m in town. I want to surprise her.”

The General had a man at the morning train who reported Gaston’s departure. He was surprised at Sallie’s good spirits but attributed it to the magnificent present he had given her that morning of a diamond ring and an exquisite pearl necklace.

He bustled her off to the party that night and congratulated himself on the certainty of his triumph over an aspiring youngster who dared to set his will against his own.

When the festivities had begun, and the children were busy with their fireworks, Sallie strolled along the winding walks of the big lawn. She was chatting with Bob St. Clare about a young man they both knew, and when they reached the corner furthest from the house, under the shadows of a great magnolia with............