ed in so many words to let
me have _Elvira_. I thought I should meet you at Mrs. Stuart's yesterday,
and was disappointed. But I am sure you will not say me nay, and you will
see how grateful I shall be for the chance your work will give me.'

'Yes, that's done with real delicacy,' said Kendal. Not a word of the
pecuniary advantages of her offer, though she must know that almost any
author would give his eyes just now for such a proposal. Well, we shall
see. If I can't make the thing look less attractive to her without
rousing her suspicions, and if you can't screw up your courage to
refuse--why, you must sign the agreement, my dear fellow, and make the
best of it; you will find something else to inspire you before long.'

'It's most awkward,' sighed Wallace, as though making up his perplexed
mind with difficulty. 'The great chance is that by Agnes's account she is
very much inclined to regard your opinion as a sort of intellectual
standard; she has two or three times talked of remarks of yours as if
they had struck her. Don't quote me at all, of course. Do it as
impersonally as you can--'

'If you give me too many instructions,' said Kendal, returning the letter
with a smile, 'I shall bungle it. Don't make me nervous. I can't promise
you to succeed, and you mustn't bear me a grudge if I fail.'

'A grudge! No, I should think not. By the way, have you heard from Agnes
about the trains to-morrow?'

'Yes, Paddington, 10 o'clock, and there is an 8.15 train back from
Culham. Mrs. Stuart says we're to lunch in Balliol, run down to Nuneham
afterwards, and leave the boats there, to be brought back.'

'Yes, we lunch with that friend of ours--I think you know him--Herbert
Sartoris. He has been a Balliol don for about a year. I only trust the
weather will be what it is to-day.'

The weather was all that the heart of man could desire, and the party met
on the Paddington platform with every prospect of another successful day.
Forbes turned up punctual to the moment, and radiant under the combined
influence of the sunshine and of Miss Bretherton's presence; Wallace had
made all the arrangements perfectly, and the six friends found themselves
presently journeying along to Oxford, at that moderated speed which is
all that a Sunday express can reach. The talk flowed with zest and
gaiety; the Surrey Sunday was a pleasant memory in the background, and
all were glad to find themselves in the same company again. It seemed to
Kendal t