ppointed.

"I thought you were going to be different from other women," he said
curtly. "Well, what is it you want, diamonds?"

"Diamonds!" She echoed the word blankly. "Oh, no, I was wondering if I
could take mother away from Poplar, and send the twins to a nice school.
They have to go to the Board School now," she explained. "If I can do
that for them, I shan't want anything for myself." She raised
apologetic eyes. "It's asking an awful lot, I know," she added.

The Beggar Man laid his hand for a moment on hers. Such a strong, kind
hand it was, that instinctively the fear of him that had been in Faith's
heart died away.

"It's not asking anything," he said. "We'll send the twins to the finest
school in England if you like, and your mother can have a house in the
country and anything else she wants--if you'll marry me!"

Faith's cheeks were crimson; her eyes on fire. It never occurred to her
for a moment to refuse.

She looked up at him with brown eyes of gratitude unutterable. "I should
just _love_ to marry you," she said fervently.

The Beggar Man said "Humph!" For a moment there was a silence, during
which he looked at her doubtfully; then:

"What about your mother?" he asked abruptly. "What do you think she will
say?"

Faith's face fell a little; in her eagerness and excitement she had
forgotten what her mother would say.

"I--I'm afraid she won't quite like it," she said slowly.

She was sure that her mother would not like it. Mrs. Ledley had always
been so careful about Faith's choice of friends that the girl knew what
an astonishing proposal she would consider this offer of marriage to be.

Mrs. Ledley could be very firm when she chose, and Faith knew well what
opposition she would have to encounter.

A sudden idea flashed across her mind.

"But we need not tell her, need we?"

A faint smile crossed his face.

"You mean till we are married?"

"Yes."

There was another queer little silence, then the Beggar Man asked, with
sudden change of voice: "Do you often keep things from your mother--like
this?"

She shook her head.

"I never have, until now. There's never been anything to keep. Nobody
has ever asked me to marry him before, but I thought--she would be so
glad afterwards, when I told her how rich you were, and what we could do
for her and for the twins."

"I see."

The Beggar Man looked away from her out of the window. The rain was
still falling steadily, but he did not notice it