mentioning of
her, here in this place where she was soon to be, which was its own
tribute to the young womanhood she so radiantly imaged.

In spite of all these devices to make the hours pass rapidly, they
seemed to Richard to crawl. That one came, at last, however, which saw
him knocking at the door of his grandfather's suite, dressed for his
marriage, and eager to depart. Bidden by Mr. Kendrick's man to enter, he
presented himself in the old gentleman's dressing-room, where its
occupant, as scrupulously attired as himself, stood ready to descend to
the waiting car. Richard closed the door behind him, and stood looking
at his grandfather with a smile.

"Well, Dick, boy--ready? Ah, but you look fresh and fine! Clean in body
and mind and heart for her--eh? That's how you look, sir--as a man
should look--and feel--on his wedding day. Well, she's worth it,
Dick--worth the best you can give."

"Worth far better than I can give, grandfather," Richard responded, the
glow in his smooth cheek deepening.

"Well, I don't mean to overrate you," said the old man, smiling, "but
you seem to me pretty well worth while any girl's taking. Not that you
can't become more so--and will, I thoroughly believe. It's not so much
what you've done this last year as what you show promise of doing--great
promise. That's all one can ask at your age. Ten years later--but we
won't go into that. To-night's enough--eh, my dear boy? My dear boy!"
he repeated, with a sudden access of tenderness in his voice. Then, as
if afraid of emotion for them both, he pressed his grandson's hand and
abruptly led the way into the outer room, where Thompson stood waiting
with his fur-lined coat and muffler.

From this point on it seemed to Richard more or less like a rapidly
shifting series of pictures, all wonderfully coloured. The first was
that of the electric light of the big car's interior shining on the
faces of Uncle Rufus and Aunt Ruth, on Mr. Kendrick and Hugh Benson--the
latter a little pale but quite composed. Hugh had owned that he felt
seriously inadequate for the role which was his to-night, being no
society man and unaccustomed to taking conspicuous parts anywhere but in
business. But Richard had assured him that it was all a very simple
matter, since it was just a question of standing by a friend in the
crisis of his life! And Hugh had responded that it would be a pity
indeed if he were unwilling to do that.

The next picture was that of the wide