rance of his
feelings, she was bound to realize that the work was progressing in a
lame and halting fashion.

Therefore she was not surprised when Owen broke it to her, gently, that
he was thinking of a change of secretary.

"You see, dear,"--he spoke very kindly, feeling indeed very pitiful
towards the girl, whose fluctuating colour showed her mental
disturbance--"this sort of work demands a special training. You are
doing your best, I know, and I am very grateful to you, but you can see,
can't you, that I am getting on badly?"

"Yes, Owen." She spoke very slowly, and for a moment Owen wondered
whether it would be possible to continue the present arrangement. Then
common sense and creative ardour combined to utter a decided negative,
and feeling himself to be brutal he hurried on.

"Unfortunately I shan't be able to use my arm for some weeks. That
stupid old doctor ought to pay my secretary's fees, oughtn't he, since
he's responsible for my helplessness!"

He laughed; but Toni said nothing, and after waiting a second he
continued:

"You've been most awfully good and patient, dear, and I'm afraid I've
been horribly irritable over the job. But I don't think it's any good
our going on. I'm wearing you out, and losing a lot of time into the
bargain."

"You are going on with the book?"

"Of course, yes." His matter-of-fact assent caused poor Toni a pang.
"But I think I shall have to borrow Miss Loder from the office for a few
weeks. She is used to the job, you know. She told me she had once taken
down an eighty-thousand-word book, typed it, and seen it through the
press, because the author was nearly blind. So she would really know all
about the work."

"Yes." Toni wondered, dully, why the sunshine which poured over her held
no warmth to-day.

"Well, I'll drop a line to Barry and ask him if he can spare her for a
bit. There's a rather smart typist in one of the other rooms could take
her place, and I might not want her for very long. As far as the book
itself is concerned, I can't work fast enough to get it all done."

"Yes." Sitting there, repeating the word, parrot-wise, Toni looked very
forlorn; and something in her attitude struck Owen with a perhaps
exaggerated feeling of remorse.

"Well, that's settled," he said cheerfully, "and after this you needn't
lose your roses sitting indoors so much. I'll tell you what--let's have
a day off, shall we?"

She nodded, hoping he would not see the tears in her eye