whom he had
met at the stepping stones came in. She was dressed in trailing garments
which became her wonderfully, and he noticed now the shapely delicacy of
her hands and the fine, ivory pallor of her skin. Mrs. Radcliffe turned
to him.

"I had better present you formally to Miss Ismay," she said. "Agatha,
this is Mr. Wyllard, who I understand has brought you a message from
Canada."

There was no doubt that Wyllard was blankly astonished, and for a moment
the girl was clearly startled, too.

"You!" was all she said.

She held out her hand before she turned to speak to Mrs. Radcliffe. It
was a relief to both when dinner was announced.

Wyllard sat next to his hostess, and was not sorry that he was called
upon to take part only in casual general conversation. He thought once
or twice that Miss Ismay was unobtrusively studying him. It was nearly
an hour after the dinner when Mrs. Radcliffe left them alone in the
drawing-room.

"You have, no doubt, a good deal to talk about, and you needn't join us
until you're ready," she said. "The Major always reads the London papers
after dinner."

Agatha sat in a low chair near the hearth, and it occurred to Wyllard,
who took a place opposite her, that she was too delicate and dainty, too
over-cultivated, in fact, to marry Hawtrey. This was rather curious,
since he had hitherto regarded his comrade as a typical well-educated
Englishman; but it now seemed to him that there was a certain streak of
coarseness in Gregory. The man, it suddenly flashed upon him, was
self-indulgent, and the careless ease of manner, which he had once
liked, was too much in evidence.

Agatha turned to him.

"I understand that Gregory is recovering rapidly?" she said.

Wyllard assured her that Hawtrey was convalescing, and Agatha said
quietly, "He wants me to go out to him."

Wyllard felt that if a girl of that sort had promised to marry him he
would not have sent for her, but would have come in person, if he had
been compelled to pledge his last possessions, or crawl to the tideway
on his hands and knees. For all that he was ready to defend his friend.

"I'm afraid it's necessary," he said. "Gregory was quite unfit for such
a journey when I left, and he must be ready to commence the season's
campaign with the first of the spring. Our summer is short, you see, and
with our one-crop farming it's indispensable to get the seed in early.
In fact, he will be badly behind as it is."

This was not p