VALLEY

THE HOUSE ON THE HILL 137"You have the whole world at your doorstep here,"said John Meredith, with a long breath."What a viewwhat an outlook ! At times I feel stifled down thereYou can breathe up here."in the Glen."It is calm to-night," said Rosemary laughing. "Ifthere were a wind itwould blow your breath away.ThisWe get V the airts the wind can blow' up here.placeshould be called Four Winds instead of the Harbour.""I like wind," he said. "A day when there is nowind seems to me dead. A windy day wakes me up."He gave a conscious laugh. "On a calm day I fallinto day dreams. No doubt you know my reputation,Miss West. If I cut you dead the next time we meetdon't putit down to bad manners. Please understandthat it isonly abstraction and forgive me and speakto me."They found Ellen West in the sitting room whenShe laid her glasses down on the bookthey went in.she had been reading and looked at them in an amazementtinctured with something else. But she shookhands amiably with Mr. Meredith and he sat down andtalked to her, while Rosemary hunted out his book.Ellen West was ten years older than Rosemary, andso different from her that it was hard to believe theywere sisters. She was dark and massive, with blackhair, thick, black eyebrows and eyes of the clear, slatyblue of the gulf water in a north wind. She had arather stern, forbidding look, but she was in reality