nce, for she knew too well what he meant.

CHAPTER XXXVI

"I HAVE BEEN A COWARD"

Father! we need Thy winter as Thy spring;
We need Thy earthquakes as Thy summer showers;
But through them all Thy strong arms carry us,
Thy strong heart bearing large share in our grief.
Because Thou lovest goodness more than joy
In them Thou lovest, Thou dost let them grieve.
--George MacDonald.

And so it was settled--Elizabeth had her way; and after a little
they talked quietly of their future plans. The flitting was to be
accomplished as soon as possible. The house would be ready for them in
another week. Dinah would go down first to make arrangements, and
Cedric would accompany her, and stay at Ventnor until it was time for
him to return to Oxford. The change of scene would be good for him, and
in many ways he would be useful to Dinah. Elizabeth also told David
that his father had promised to travel down with them; that he intended
to find a locum tenens for Stokeley, and that he would probably remain
with them for a month or six weeks; and this last item of information
seemed to afford David much satisfaction. But the next moment he
observed, in rather a worried tone, that it would be a great expense,
and that he was afraid Theo would object.

"Theo will have to mind her own business," returned Elizabeth severely.
"Your father means to tell her that you are his first duty, and of
course he is right." But Elizabeth carefully forbore to tell David that
she had already undertaken to pay the expenses of the locum tenens for
three months, and by dint of sheer obstinacy and feminine persuasions
she had at last induced Mr. Carlyon to accept her bounty.

"My poverty and not my will consents," he observed sadly. But Elizabeth
would not listen to this.

"Dear Mr. Carlyon," she had said earnestly, "if you only knew the
pleasure this will give me. Can you not understand that I only cared
for my money because it would be his, and now what good will it be to
me? Let me use it for him as long as I can. Let me do all in my power
for him and you too--as though--as though I were already your
daughter." And then, as she wiped away a few quiet tears, Mr. Carlyon
had yielded.

David strove with his wonted unselfishness to interest himself in
Elizabeth's plans for his comfort. He heard how the inner drawing-room
at Red Brae was to be converted into a bedroom, that he mi