gal; she was urged by every fibre in
her body to merge her being with his. When thus possessed, she would
sometimes, if she were at home when thus moved, go upon her knees to
pray long and fervently for the loved one's welfare; as likely as not
her thoughts would wander, when thus engaged, to be wholly concerned
with the man she adored.

Thus, she abandoned herself whole-heartedly, unreservedly to the
ecstasy of loving.

Mavis and Perigal were to be quietly married by special licence in
London, in five weeks' time, which would be in the early days of
September. Perigal urged Mavis not to speak to anyone of the wedding,
saying, as a reason for this silence, that his father had not yet quite
decided upon giving him the money he wanted, and the news of the
engagement and early marriage might cause him to harden his heart. The
honeymoon was to be spent in the retirement of Polperro, a Cornish
village, the beauty and seclusion of which Perigal never tired of
describing. As far as they could both see at present, Mavis was to keep
on with her work at the office (the honeymoon was to consist of her
fortnight's annual holiday), till such time as he could prepare a home
for her in Wales. Although not welcoming, she did not offer the least
objection to this arrangement, as she saw that it was all that could be
done under their present circumstances. She wrote out and placed over
her bed a list of dates, which culminated in the day on which she was
to throw in her lot with the loved one; every day, as soon as she
awoke, she crossed off one more of the slowly dwindling days. Nearly
every Saturday she took the train to Bathminster, where she spent a
considerable fraction of the forty pounds she had saved in buying a
humble equivalent for a trousseau.

As boxes and parcels of clothes began to arrive at her lodgings, she
would try on the most attractive of these, the while her eyes shone
with happiness. Those with whom she was commonly brought in contact
noticed the change in her demeanour. Mrs Farthing smiled mysteriously,
as if guessing the cause. Miss Hunter made many unsuccessful efforts to
worm confidences from Mavis; while plain Miss Toombs showed her
displeasure of the alteration that had occurred in her by scarcely ever
addressing her, and then only when compelled.

"You look like a bride," she remarked one day, when Mavis was glowing
with happiness.

Mavis saw something of Perigal pretty well every day. Sometimes, they