."

Pride would not suffer her to remind him of his assurance, "You stand
absolutely first." Instead she asked him in a repressed voice--

"Doesn't it occur to you, after your eloquence about what each of us
should give up, that this is precisely where your share of the
compromise comes in?"

"It occurred to me nearly a year ago," he said simply. "After our talk
at Kajiar, I faced the fact that there was an end of my exploring as a
hobby;--at least on the big scale that appeals to me most. It was just
the price one had to pay for getting you back again; and I paid
it--willingly. In fact, I should never have mentioned it, if you
hadn't dragged it out of me."

The quiet of his tone, and the kindliness in the blue eyes that
challenged her own, brought the blood into her face. He shamed her
every way, this big husband of hers. He had counted the cost and paid
it--willingly. He would not even have mentioned it. There you have
the essence of the man. Her lids fell, and her incurable instinct for
comedy set a faint dimple in her cheek. Here he was at his old trick
of dragging her on to higher ground; and the perverse spirit of her
loved and hated him for it in one breath.

"But you are going now?" she whispered, without looking up.

"Certainly. That is quite another matter. When Government needs my
services for work which I have made a speciality, it would be neither
right nor possible for me to refuse; and, frankly, I am glad, because I
love the work, fully as much as you love yours; and because the
opportunity could hardly have come at a better moment."

"And I--go back to Michael?"

"Yes. For six months you will be free to travel, paint--what you will;
and for six months I shall have my mountains to grapple with." Again
the light sprang to his eyes. "By the end of that time we shall know
once for all how much we are ready to forego for the sake of spending
our lives together. That is the ultimate test of a big thing,
Quita--what one will give up for it. Marriage is a big thing; and if
ours is built on the right foundations, it will stand the test. Now, I
shall have a good deal to see to this evening, and I think you had
better go to bed early. You look tired."

"I am tired." She realised suddenly that all the spring had gone out
of her. "When do you leave?"

"To-morrow, most likely. You had better write to Michael."

"Very well. I suppose--one will be able to write to _you_?"

"Yes. No