eeply into the soft wet turf. It
refused to budge. Miles came up. He was long-sighted, and he had seen
very well who it was that was talking to Meg in the road. He had also
heard Mr. Brooke's last remark.

Till lately he had only known Walter Brooke enough to dislike him
vaguely. Since his interview with Mrs. Trent this feeling had
intensified to such an extent as surprised himself. At the present
moment he was seething with rage, but all the same he went and helped to
get the car up the bank, jacking it up, and setting his great shoulders
against it to start it again.

All this Tony watched with deepest interest, and Meg waited, fuming, a
little way down the road, for she knew it was hopeless to get Tony to
come till the car had once started. Once on the hard road again, it
bowled swiftly away and to her immense relief passed her without
stopping.

She saw that Miles was bringing Tony, and started on again with little
Fay.

Fury was in her heart at Tony's disobedience, and behind it all a dull
ache that Miles should have heard, and doubtless misunderstood, Walter
Brooke's last remark.

Tony was talking eagerly as he followed, but she was too upset to listen
till suddenly she heard Miles say in a tone of the deepest satisfaction,
"Good old William."

This was too much.

She stopped and called over her shoulder: "He isn't good at all; he's a
thoroughly tiresome, disobedient, badly-trained dog."

They came up with her at that, and William rolled over on his back, for
he knew those tones portended further punishment.

"He's an ass in lots of ways," Miles allowed, "but he is an excellent
judge of character."

And as if in proof of this William righted himself and came cringing to
Meg to try and lick the hand that a few minutes ago had thumped him so
vigorously.

Meg looked up at Miles and he looked down at her, and his gaze was
pained, kind and grave. _His_ eyes were large and well-opened and set
wide apart in his broad face. Honest, trustworthy eyes they were.

Very gently he took the little pram from her, for he saw that her hands
were trembling: "You've had a fright," he said. "I know what it is. I
had a favourite dog run over once. It's horrible, it takes months to get
over it. I can't think why dogs are so stupid about motors ... must have
been a near shave that ... very decent of Brooke--he's taken pounds off
his car with that wrench."

While Miles talked he didn't look at Meg.

"I say, little Fay,