fixed upon her, heard the voice, saw the change
on her face. The light died out of his eyes, and slowly, very slowly, he
drew his hand back.

Nell stood looking before her, her lips set tightly, her eyes downcast.
It was a terrible moment, in which she appeared under a spell so deep as
to cause her to forget the presence of the man beside her. And, as he
watched her, the life seemed to die out of his face as well as his eyes.

The door opened, and Dick came in.

"Drake's come to inquire after the patient," he said. "How are we,
Falconer?"

"Better," said Falconer, with a smile; "much better. Couldn't you
persuade Miss Lorton to take down the report, Dick?"

Dick nodded commandingly at Nell.

"Yes; you go, Nell."

She hesitated a moment; then she raised her head and glanced at Falconer
reproachfully.

"Yes, I will go," she said, almost defiantly.

Drake leaned against the rails in the sunlight, softly striking his
riding whip against his leg. His horse's bridle was hitched over the
gate, and as he waited for Dick he thought of the time when the bridle
had been hitched over another gate.

He heard a step lighter than Dick's on the stairs behind him, and slowly
turned his head. The sun was streaming through the doorway, so that the
slim, graceful figure and lovely face were set as in an aureole. A
thrill ran through him, the color rose to his bronzed face, and he
stood motionless and speechless for a moment; then he raised his hat.

"How is Mr. Falconer?" he asked.

He had not seen her since the night of the burglary, the night he had
held her in his arms, and the blunt question sounded like a mockery set
against the aching longing of his heart.

"He is better," she said.

Her eyes rested on him calmly, and she spoke quite steadily, so that he
did not guess that her heart was beating wildly, and that she had to
clench the hand beside her in her effort to maintain her composure.

"I am glad," he said simply. "It has been an anxious time--must be so
still--for you, I am afraid."

"Yes," she said.

He stood looking at her, and then away from her, and then at her again,
as if his eyes must return to her against his will.

"I--I am glad to see you. I wanted to tell you--to thank you for what
you did for me the other night. You know that I owe you my life?"

She shook her head and forced a smile.

"Isn't that rather an--exaggeration, Lord Angleford?"

He bit his lip at the "Lord Angleford." And yet how