er questioning.
"What you doin' here by yourself? Oh, are they?"--and he turned to get a
view of the line. "Arts and Letters Club, eh? Sounds frightening. I
don't know whether he'd dare." This in Uncle Tom's facetious manner.
"Hey, Phillips"--to the hero who was making a determined effort to
escape his questioners--"Here's a young lady who is a hero-worshipper."
And as he made the necessary introduction, he added, to Judith's huge
disgust, "She wants your autograph or something."

Judith made her request politely and, as with sinking heart she saw that
he was going to refuse, she added clearly, "Miss Elizabeth Ashwell is
waiting down there for us with the others--the line I mean." Judith was
thrilled at the change in Major Phillips's face.

"Oh, then, you are Miss Ashwell's messenger," he said eagerly.

"Not exactly," stammered Judith; "but she's waiting for us," she
repeated firmly.

Major Phillips lost no time.

"In that case we had better go, not keep a lady waiting, eh, Mr. Hilton?
Perhaps I ought to say forty ladies," he continued as they made their
way down the aisle.

Judith's knees were trembling. She didn't dare lift her eyes, as Uncle
Tom greeted Miss Ashwell and she heard him say,

"Major Phillips I believe you know already."

Major Phillips had Miss Ashwell's hand in his and was clearly paying no
attention to Uncle Tom. The line was divided afterwards as to whether he
shook her hand eagerly or just held it. The majority favoured the latter
opinion, but all agreed that he looked right into her eyes and that his
voice was "as different as anything from what it was before."

Somehow or other they started on their homeward way with Miss Ashwell
and Major Phillips bringing up the rear, for Williams the janitor had
magically appeared with the latter's stick, and Uncle Tom thoughtfully
made his adieus and departed.

If Major David Phillips hadn't been too ecstatically happy to notice
anything except the curve of Miss Ashwell's pink cheek and the length of
her eyelashes and a soft little curl which hung in front of her ear, he
might have been surprised at the extreme quiet of the forty girls in
front of him; they might have been walking to a funeral. What he
wouldn't have guessed was that every ear in the line was stretched
backwards to catch his slightest word or he might have lowered his
voice. As it was at least half the line could hear him:

Yes, he was glad to be back in Canada.

Yes, two months