remembrance. To-night it should have begun-his life with her who only
wanted to be with him! And now, twenty-four hours and more must pass,
because-of not looking at his watch! Why had he made friends with this
family of innocents just when he was saying good-bye to innocence, and
all the rest of it? 'But I mean to marry her,' he thought; 'I told her
so!'

He took a candle, lighted it, and went to his bedroom, which was next to
Halliday's. His friend's voice called, as he was passing:

"Is that you, old chap? I say, come in."

He was sitting up in bed, smoking a pipe and reading.

"Sit down a bit."

Ashurst sat down by the open window.

"I've been thinking about this afternoon, you know," said Halliday rather
suddenly. "They say you go through all your past. I didn't. I suppose I
wasn't far enough gone."

"What did you think of?"

Halliday was silent for a little, then said quietly

"Well, I did think of one thing--rather odd--of a girl at Cambridge that
I might have--you know; I was glad I hadn't got her on my mind. Anyhow,
old chap, I owe it to you that I'm here; I should have been in the big
dark by now. No more bed, or baccy; no more anything. I say, what d'you
suppose happens to us?"

Ashurst murmured:

"Go out like flames, I expect."

"Phew!"

"We may flicker, and cling about a bit, perhaps."

"H'm! I think that's rather gloomy. I say, I hope my young sisters have
been decent to you?"

"Awfully decent."

Halliday put his pipe down, crossed his hands behind his neck, and turned
his face towards the window.

"They're not bad kids!" he said.

Watching his friend, lying there, with that smile, and the candle-light
on his face, Ashurst shuddered. Quite true! He might have been lying
there with no smile, with all that sunny look gone out for ever! He
might not have been lying there at all, but "sanded" at the bottom of the
sea, waiting for resurrection on the ninth day, was it? And that smile of
Halliday's seemed to him suddenly something wonderful, as if in it were
all the difference between life and death--the little flame--the all! He
got up, and said softly:

"Well, you ought to sleep, I expect. Shall I blow out?"

Halliday caught his hand.

"I can't say it, you know; but it must be rotten to be dead. Good-night,
old boy!"

Stirred and moved, Ashurst squeezed the hand, and went downstairs. The
hall door was still open, and he passed out on to the lawn before the
C