rtimer said he was sure
these were the only ones that would pay for themselves. But we shall
see. He may alter his opinion when my article has been read.'

'Read it to us now, Jasper, will you?' asked Dora.

The request was supported by Whelpdale, and Jasper needed no pressing.
He seated himself so that the lamplight fell upon the pages, and read
the article through. It was an excellent piece of writing (see The
Wayside, June 1884), and in places touched with true emotion. Any
intelligent reader would divine that the author had been personally
acquainted with the man of whom he wrote, though the fact was nowhere
stated. The praise was not exaggerated, yet all the best points of
Reardon's work were admirably brought out. One who knew Jasper might
reasonably have doubted, before reading this, whether he was capable of
so worthily appreciating the nobler man.

'I never understood Reardon so well before,' declared Whelpdale, at the
close. 'This is a good thing well done. It's something to be proud of,
Miss Dora.'

'Yes, I feel that it is,' she replied.

'Mrs Reardon ought to be very grateful to you, Milvain. By-the-by, do
you ever see her?'

'I have met her only once since his death--by chance.'

'Of course she will marry again. I wonder who'll be the fortunate man?'

'Fortunate, do you think?' asked Dora quietly, without looking at him.

'Oh, I spoke rather cynically, I'm afraid,' Whelpdale hastened to reply.
'I was thinking of her money. Indeed, I knew Mrs Reardon only very
slightly.'

'I don't think you need regret it,' Dora remarked.

'Oh, well, come, come!' put in her brother. 'We know very well that
there was little enough blame on her side.'

'There was great blame!' Dora exclaimed. 'She behaved shamefully!

I wouldn't speak to her; I wouldn't sit down in her company!'

'Bosh! What do you know about it? Wait till you are married to a man
like Reardon, and reduced to utter penury.'

'Whoever my husband was, I would stand by him, if I starved to death.'

'If he ill-used you?'

'I am not talking of such cases. Mrs Reardon had never anything of the
kind to fear. It was impossible for a man such as her husband to behave
harshly. Her conduct was cowardly, faithless, unwomanly!'

'Trust one woman for thinking the worst of another,' observed Jasper
with something like a sneer.

Dora gave him a look of strong disapproval; one might have suspected
that brother and sister had before this fallen into disag