kept in the
right-hand drawer of her writing-table, and which she sometimes took out
surreptitiously, when neither her daughter nor old Anna were about, Mrs.
Otway, as those early August days slipped by, might well have thought
her farewell interview with Major Guthrie a dream.

For one thing there was nothing, positively nothing, in any of the daily
papers over which she wasted so much time each morning, concerning the
despatch of an Expeditionary Force to the Continent! Could Major Guthrie
have been mistaken?

Once, when with the Dean, she got very near the subject. In fact, she
ventured to say a word expressive of her belief that British troops
_were_ to be sent to France. But he snubbed her with a sharpness very
unlike his urbane self. "Nonsense!" he cried. "There isn't the slightest
thought of such a thing. Any small force we could send to the Continent
would be useless--in fact, only in the way!"

"Then why does Lord Kitchener ask for a hundred thousand men?"

"For home defence," said the Dean quickly, "only for home defence, Mrs.
Otway. The War Office is said to regard it as within the bounds of
possibility that England may be invaded. But I fancy the Kaiser is far
too truly attached to his mother's country to think of doing anything
_really_ to injure us! I am sure that so intelligent and enlightened a
sovereign understands our point of view--I mean about Belgium. The
Kaiser, without doubt, was overruled by the military party. As to our
sending our Army abroad--why, millions are already being engaged in this
war! So where would be the good of our small army?"

That had been on Sunday, only two days after Major Guthrie had gone. And
now, it being Wednesday, Mrs. Otway bethought herself that she ought to
fulfil her promise with regard to his mother. Somehow she had a curious
feeling that she now owed a duty to the old lady, and also--though that
perhaps was rather absurd--that she would be quite glad to see any one
who would remind her of her kind friend--the friend whom she missed more
than she was willing to admit to herself.

But of course her friend's surprising kindness and thought for her had
made a difference to her point of view, and had brought them, in a
sense, very much nearer the one to the other. In fact Mrs. Otway was
surprised, and even a little hurt, that Major Guthrie had not written to
her once since he went away. It was the more odd as he very often _had_
written to her during former visi