pring virtuously upright. It was Sir Harry.

"Hullo, Joanna!--you here. Hullo, Martin! The lovely Raddish says you've
come home middling queer. I hope that doesn't mean anything serious."

"I've got some sort of a chill, and I feel a beast. So I thought I'd
better come home."

"I've given him his tea," said Joanna, "and now he should ought to go to
bed."

Sir Harry looked at her. She struck him as an odd figure, in her velvet
gown and basket hat, thick boots and man's overcoat. The more he saw of
her, the less could he think what to make of her as a daughter-in-law;
but to-night he was thankful for her capable managing--mentally and
physically he was always clumsy with Martin in illness. He found it hard
to adapt himself to the occasional weakness of this being who dominated
him in other ways.

"Do you think he's feverish?"

Joanna felt Martin's hands again.

"I guess he is. Maybe he wants a dose--or a cup of herb tea does good,
they say. But I'll ask Doctor to come around. Martin, I'm going now this
drackly minute, and I'll call in at Dr. Taylor's and at Mr. Pratt's."

"Wait till to-morrow, and I'll see Pratt," said Martin, unable to rid
himself of the idea that a bride should find such an errand
embarrassing.

"I'd sooner go myself to-night. Anyways you mustn't go traipsing around,
even if you feel better to-morrow. I'll settle everything, so don't you
fret."

She took his face between her hands, and kissed him as if he were a
child.

"Good night, my duck. You get off to bed and keep warm."

Sec.21

She worked off her fears in action. Having given notice of the banns to
Mr. Pratt, sent off Dr. Taylor to North Farthing, put up a special
petition for Martin in her evening prayers, she went to bed and slept
soundly. She was not an anxious soul, and a man's illness never struck
her as particularly alarming. Men were hard creatures--whose weaknesses
were of mind and character rather than of body--and though Martin was
softer than some, she could not quite discount his broad back and
shoulders, his strong, swinging arms.

She drove over to North Farthing soon after breakfast, expecting to find
him, in spite of her injunctions, about and waiting for her.

"The day's warm and maybe he won't hurt if he drives on with me to
Honeychild"--the thought of him there beside her was so strong that she
could almost feel his hand lying pressed between her arm and her heart.

But when she came to the house she