her beneath the brim
of his hat, and built his own castle in the air, a castle which had
grown dearer and more desirable ever since his return to England. The
opportunity for which he had been waiting had come at last, and surely
it was an omen for good that it had come by the side of that sea which
had witnessed their meeting; which, if all went well, would witness
their start together on the new life!

"I shall be going back to India soon, Peggy," he said softly. "The time
is drawing near;" and Peggy looked in his face, and realised that what
she had dreaded was at hand, and could not be avoided. She heard her
own voice murmur words of conventional regret, but Hector took no notice
except to look still deeper into her eyes.

"Am I to go alone, Peggy?" he asked gently. "I have been an independent
fellow all my life, and thought I needed no one but myself, but that is
all altered since I met you! I should get along badly now without you
to help me, and share my lot!"

"Oh, Hector, no! Don't say so. It's all a mistake. How could I help
you? I have been a hindrance, not a help. It was owing to my
carelessness that you hurt yourself, and it was only your generosity
which made light of it. Father says it is a serious thing for a soldier
to sprain his ankle, for it is never so strong again, and may fail him
at a critical moment. I know quite well how much harm I have done you."

"Do you, Peggy? I don't agree with you there; but if it is so, is not
that all the more reason why you should do me a good turn now? I don't
mind your blaming yourself, dear, if it makes you the more inclined to
be generous. I have loved you ever since we met, and it would be
impossible to part from you now. I need you, Peggy; come to me! Be my
wife, and give me the happiness of having you always beside me."

He spoke with a whole-hearted earnestness which brought the tears into
Peggy's eyes, but she shook her head none the less firmly.

"I can't! I can't! It would be doing you a worse injury than the
first. I should be no help to you, Hector, for I don't care for you in
the way you mean, and I could never marry a man unless I loved him with
all my heart. It is all a mistake--indeed it is. You only imagine that
you care for me because you have seen a great deal of me lately, and I
seem part of home and the old life. When you have gone back to India,
you will forget all about me, or be glad that I did not take you at your