ared bright and earl

ud

yes. She took it from his hands and stare

like me?" she inq

you," he declare

he half-nude figure a warm blush covered her face and neck. She did not speak for a fu

odel," he s

dded h

a pause, without lifting her eyes. Her v

oked up quickly. What he saw in h

e girl's behaviour caused him to change his mind. He felt that he possessed a secret that could not be shared with Sara Wrandall, then or afterward. Moreover, he decided that

appeared. He never saw it afterward, and, what is m

riendly. There were occasions, however, when she went to the other extreme in trying to be at ease with him. These transitions were singularl

m without apparently being aware of the intensity of her gaze. He had the feeling that she was trying to read his thoughts, but what impressed him more than any

sharing the secret or in keeping it inviolate; his real distress lay in the fear that Mrs. Wrandall might hear of all this from other and perhaps ungentle sources. As for her posing for Hawkright, it meant little or nothing to him. In his own experience, two girls of gentle birth had served as models for pictures of his own making, and he fully appreciated the exig

, to trust him with everything. At such times the thought of holding the slim, warm, ineffably feminine body in his arms was most distracting. He rather feared for himself. If such a thing were to happen,-and it might happen if the impulse

e was able to contend; but it was a mysterious appeal to something within him

ght to let Wrandall go on with his wooing when there existed that which might make all the difference in the world to him? He invariably brought these deliberations to a close by relaxing into a grim smile o

mythical, was a disturbing factor in his deductions. If there was

to an hour and a half in the forenoon. Mrs. Wrandall was having a few friends in for auction-bridge immedi

somewhat buoyantly up to the moment he mentioned Leslie's impending visit. In a flash her manner changed. A quick but unmistakable frown succeeded

n errand in the village was the excuse she gave for riding over wi

e, very tempting, as sh

id to himself, "

, and she smiled upon him serenely, as a princess might

put the question that had been seething in his mind

n Hetty Glynn, the

She knew the question woul

with interest. "Have you

wo peas in a pod. Isn

. "I have never seen H

hotographs of her?"

asked, ignoring her question.

e together the last time I saw her. Who knows? She may have married into the nobility by this time

the village, he might not have gone about the cottage with such a blithesome

te in the afternoon, not to Hetty but to Sara, to say that he was una

bed her. She went to bed that night with two sources of u

he drove up. There was a sullen, dissatisfied look in his face. She was stretched out comfortably, l

hand. "Sorry I couldn't get out last nigh

air. I was never so lazy as now. Dear me

t of sorts. "I'll stand, if you don't mind. Bea

in the eager, annoyed manner of one who seeks for something th

nervous, tramping about like that. We

opping before her. He began to

They won't permit eve

rking at his moustache, and grabbed up a chair, which he put d

irection of the doorway, "how long i

t is to be a maste

d you h

Weeks, perhaps. One

ed. "I suppose I'd better take

ing with me?" she in

"But do you mean to say they won't let a

the muse, or wor

a moment. Then he carefully selected a ciga

," he said bluntly. "I've been thinking it over all

ed innocently, but all the time her heart wa

ew him well: his supreme egoism could not withstand an attack upon its complacency. Like all the Wrandalls, he had the habit of thinking too well of himself. He possessed a clearly-defined sen

nd promptly laughed

e to consider his answer to her question. "In a way, yes. I suggested a sort of portrait, o

. "In fact, she is enjoying it. She an

ikes h

ouldn't she like h

er the railing. "Comes he

as soon as he has finished wit

ever cut him short in just that way before. "What

y touchy, it

his confounded po

suppose you will hav

against you,-Hetty

, you know I'm terribly keen about her. I think about her, I dream about her, I-

e with her," she said calmly. "I believe it

ised?" he cried,

n the

announced with finality. This was

and then shook her head. "I'd like

caught himself up in time. "Of course, I'd have to take my chances," he concluded,

ly. "She doesn't confi

I've nev

land?" He put it in the past tense, so to speak,

I dar

," he declared. "The thing I want you to do, Sara, is to rush th

the attractive Mr. Booth," she said, wi

e whole situation a deuce of a lot of thought, and I've made up my mind to do it. I'm not the sort, you know, to delay matte

ar to be breathing. Her eyes grew darker, more mysterious. If he had ta

he said, very sof

ave shrieke

she shook her head. Then he lapsed into a satisfied discussion of the situation as it appeared to him. All the while she was regarding him with a thoroughly ar

all these sm

I was for coming out on the five o'clock, as I'd planned, but he seemed to think I'd better talk it over with the mater first. Not that she would be likely to kick up a row, you

"No," she said, "you ar

bjections raised in my case. But, of course, it WAS right for me to talk it over with her, just the same. So I stayed in and gave them all the chance to say

" she said, in a dange

dn't! Ha! Ha! I was considerate enough to ask her if she was satisfied I wasn't marrying beneath the family dignity. 'Gad, she got off a rather neat one

rowing yourself away on Miss Castleton," said Sara

. There's Debrett, you see. What's more, you can't fool her in a pinch. She knows blood when

rtled. "What

example to prove that you never can tell, and mother has to admit that he's right. You have upset eve

mouldered. "It is quite natural that she should n

's what it comes to, with them, don't you know. And yet my attitude has always been clear to t

she burst out, q

tammered. "You-you know h

After a moment she went on calmly: "And so you are going to marry m

nk, as if to say there wasn't any use

via

, blood and bone. What business, says she, has a Wra

ha

sh aristocracy isn't worth knowing. She looked it up the time they tried to convince her she ought to m

he chaise-longue. Extending her hand to him she said,

luck, Leslie. Don't t

fronted by the possibility of such stupidity

, the effect of which was to de

eon. I suppose we'll

well, for your sake,

ut it was a s

nything of that sort," he

I

th so much meaning in t

"Can't you trust Vivian to do that for you

ruptly at the doorway, a frown of recollection creasing his seamless brow. "Oh, that reminds me, there is so

sant," she replied, with a

to spend a month or so with her after the-well, after the house is

as made at once.

of the question,

t, can't we?" he

of the hall, beyond the staircase, engaged in what appeared to be a merry exchange of opinions. He caught the sound of a low laugh from Booth. There was someth

uriously red in the face, snap

come, Sara. Can't you see t

were closed. The painter was laying a soft, filmy scarf ove

all. "Train late, old chap? We've been exp

nd extended. Leslie rose to the occasion. His self-esteem was larger t

of his eye to see if Booth was taking it all in. Finding that his friend was regarding him rather fixedly, he obeyed a sudden impulse and raised the girl's slim hand to his lips. As suddenly he released her fingers and straightened up with a look of surprise in his ey

low, intense voice. Then she passed him by and hurried up

m. He had never been abashed before in all his life. Now he was curiously conscious of having overstepped the boun

mper of his thoughts. He talked aeroplaning without cessation, directing most of his conversation to Booth, yet thrilled with pleasure each time Het

tropolitan tower?" demanded Booth in response to his lugubrious wail against the beastly luck of having to go about

ut, speaking of volplaning, I've had three lessons this week. Next week Bronson says I'll be flying like a gull. 'Gad,

hrough with it, Les," cautioned the painter. "I see that a

r there is in it," sa

gives zest

rush through it! And yet one seems to be standing perfectly still in the air when one

or two, Miss Castleton, if yo

she announc

wait a bit," he couns

flying about w

Wrandall with some heat. "Don

he'd better wait till you'

k his wife with him t

t were the last w

eps Jimmy level, no matter wher

level," said Leslie, with a profound

dall, I think we can all trust you to

s, that," he rem

below it, Leslie," said

a heroic way of doing it. Much nobler than pitching out of an automobile or catapulting over a horse's head in Central Park." He paused for effe

o find that she was looking out of the window, quite oblivious t

ied to Leslie was a misnomer; he hated the thought of t

mind the rather uncanny impression that she did not hear a word her brother-in-law was saying. He, in turn, took to watching her covertly. At no time did her expression change. For reasons of his own, he did not attempt to draw her into the conversation, fascinated as he was by the study of that beautiful, emotionless face. Once he had the queer sensation of feeling, rather than seeing, a haunted look in her eyes, but he put i

ay disregard for, this strange ghost at the feast, for,

one from the girl's face. She was listening to Wrandall and replying in monosyllables, but that she was aware of the other woman's abstraction was not for an instant

thout excuse or reason. The next instant she was looking from one

, he was quite sure of that. Flushing slightly, she murmured something about havin

ing the subject and sullenly d

he women had left them together on the porch a few minutes later. Hetty had gone

inking about you falli

plea

was per