beyond.

All heedless of the terrible storm raging about him, the young man
paused at the arched gate and looked with sad wistfulness, as he leaned
his arms on one of the stone pillars, up the serpentine path that led to
the main entrance.

"What I ought to do is never to see Faynie again," he murmured, but as
the bare thought rushed through his mind, his handsome face paled to the
lips and his strong frame trembled. Never see Faynie again! That would
mean shut out the only gleam of sunshine that had ever lighted up the
gray somberness of his existence; take away from him the only dear joy
that had made life worth the living for the few months. He had drifted
into these clandestine meetings, not by design; chance, or fate, rather,
had forced him into it.

Mr. Marsh, the senior member of the firm by whom he was employed, also
resided in Beechwood. It was his whim that the keys of the private
office should be brought to him each night. Thus it happened that the
performance of his duties led Lester each evening past the Fairfax home.

One summer evening he espied Faynie, the object of his ardent
admiration, standing in the flower garden, herself the fairest flower of
all. It was beyond human nature to resist stopping still to gaze upon
her. This he did, believing himself unseen, but Faynie Fairfax had
beheld the tall, well-known form afar down the road, and she was not
displeased at the prospect of having a delightful little chat with the
handsome young cashier.

Faynie's home was not as congenial to the young girl as it might have