and once
more he gathered her to him.

Blake sailed the next day, and he found, on reaching the timber belt,
that there was much to be done. After some months of hard work,
Harding left him in charge while he set off for the cities to arrange
about pipes and plant and the raising of capital. It was early winter
when he returned, satisfied with what he had accomplished and confident
that the oil would pay handsomely, and Blake saw that he would be able
to visit England in a few weeks.

He was sitting in their office shack one bitter day when a sled arrived
with supplies, and the teamster brought him a cablegram. His face grew
grave as he read it aloud to Harding:

"'_Bertram killed in action. Challoner._'"

"That sets you free, doesn't it?" Harding asked after expressing his
sympathy.

"I can't tell," Blake answered. "I haven't thought of it in that
light. I was very fond of my cousin."

When Blake reached England, Millicent met him at the station. Mrs.
Keith, she told him, had taken a house near Sandymere. She looked
grave when he asked about his uncle.

"I'm afraid you will see a marked change in him, Dick. He has not been
well since you left, and the news of Bertram's death was a shock."

She was with him when he met Challoner, who looked very frail and
forlorn.

"It's a comfort to see you back, Dick; you are all I have now," he
said, and went on with a break in his voice: "After all, it was a good
end my boy made--a very daring thing! The place was supposed to be
unassailable by such a force as he had, but he stormed it. In spite of
his fondness for painting, he was true to the strain!"

When Blake was alone with Millicent in the dimly lighted drawing-room,
he took her into his arms very gently.

"My secret must still be kept, dear," he said; "I can't speak."

"No," she agreed, "not while your uncle lives. It's hard, when I want
everybody to know what you are!"

He kissed her.

"Perhaps it's natural for you to be prejudiced in my favor--but I like
it."

"One reason for my loving you, Dick," she said softly, with her face
close against his, "is that you are brave enough to take this generous
part!"

THE END

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Intriguers, by Harold Bindloss

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