nd flushed hotly.

Suddenly his silly pride that had lain asleep, for the most part, since
Port Said, gave a little struggle and came to wakefulness again. He
could not have her laugh at him however good-naturedly. Just as he had
not realized he was lying to her when he told her highly coloured
versions of his surgical exploits, so he scarcely realized he was lying,
as he said, mysteriously:

"Don't be too sure, my child. You won't be laughing at me soon. I may be
a bit of a waster, but I'm not the sort to marry a girl without knowing
how I'm going to support her. How do you know you won't be the guest of
the Governor-General as soon as he knows I'm in Sydney--"

"Whatever do you mean? Oh, Louis, don't tell me stories! And I don't
want to go and see people like Governor-Generals. I want to be alone
with you."

"You probably will, my dear girl. But you must remember that a secret
service man has to cover up his traces in every way. He has to hide
everything, even from his wife."

"Louis," she said in real distress, clutching his arm, "are you really
in the secret service? I'll--I'll forget it all, if you're telling me
lies. I'll never think of it again. But it so awful to think you are
lying to me!"

"Why should I lie, my darling?" he said, looking hurt, but staring at
her mouth instead of looking into her eyes.

"You--you told me--never--to believe you, Louis. Oh, you do make it hard
for me. I don't know what to believe. If you're in the secret service
don't they pay you any money?"

"Of course--they pay me enough to keep myself going. But it's a
patriotic work, you know. And as for not believing me, I told you not to
believe me about drinking. That was all."

"But Louis, if you have money, why are you so worried about it now?
And--didn't you tell me your father sent you out here?"

"Yes, he did, dearie," he said earnestly. "It's quite true. I was a
rotter and he got fed up with me. But I've done a lot of secret service
work and didn't dare even tell him. I'm under an oath of secrecy. The
times I've had to let him think I was out all night, simply too squiffy
to get home when in reality I was working--for England--"

"And you really, truly mean it, Louis? Louis, it would break my heart
right in two if I thought you were lying now."

"I swear it, on my love for you. I can see, now, that I ought to have
told the Pater all about it. But I thought when he was so unbelieving
I'd take his bally pound a week. Af