ts together, and perhaps neither
couple was disturbed because thus separated. George Dalton bent towards
Joyce, and said:

"So you are going to give it all away?"

"No, George, I expect you to do that. Just tell them plainly and simply
who I am, and what are our plans for the future. It is better not to
keep it longer when the--it--is so near."

"How you shy at the word, Joyce! There are two or three with the same
meaning to select from, you know--wedding, nup----"

"Sh-h! George. Some one will hear you."

"And suppose they do. Are you ashamed of it? I am not. I can't even hear
one of those words without a thrill of happiness. And it isn't all for
ourselves, either, dearest. There is a great work before us, and many
are interested. To spend our lives together, doing for those who have
been my friends ever since I was a poor, hard-working, lonely little
fellow--Ah! Joyce, it is a pleasant outlook!"

He turned to the window with softened eyes, and Joyce, through some
strange entangling of the thought threads, suddenly remembered her last
interview with Leon before he returned to the "Terror," nearly a month
ago. His ardent, dominant nature had struck her as never before, while
he talked glowingly of his life, his work, his ambitions. "He will make
a magnificent man!" she had thought then. "Brave, resolute, a born ruler
of men. But there is one idea he has not caught, by which my life is now
controlled--that the one who really ministers must have something of the
servant in his make-up. We 'stoop to conquer' in humanitarianism, as
well as in other love. And Leon could not stoop. We are both masterful
in a way, but his mastery would overpower mine, and crush it out. I
could not be free to live as I have chosen, if he had any control over
me, and yet, strangely enough, I once believed I owed all my ideas of
helpfulness to him. I know, now, it was the dear mother who informed my
mind, while Leon controlled my fancy."

She was lost in her musings as the train shrieked out its on-coming call
to the little one-room station-house, at Littleton. From the window they
could see that the whole town seemed to be gathered about its doors. The
platform, tracks, and surrounding buildings were black with people. As
the brakes were put on, lessening their speed and the roar of the train,
cheer after cheer reached them from without. The air was full of waving
caps, handkerchiefs, and aprons. Now they could begin to distinguish
separ