ithout you, that you were the only effective link
between them and Labour. You had only to play your cards properly and
you could have pushed out Horlock whenever you liked. And now see what
a mess you have made of things! You have built up Horlock's party for
him, he offers you an insignificant post in the Cabinet, and you can't
even win your seat in Parliament."

"Your epitome of my later political career has its weak points, but I
dare say, from your point of view, you have every reason for complaint,"
he observed. "Since I have failed to procure for you the position you
desire, our parting will have a perfectly natural appearance. Your
fortune is unimpaired--you cannot say that I have been extravagant--and
I assure you that I shall not regret my return to poverty."

"But you won't be able to live," she said bluntly. "You haven't any
income at all."

"Believe me," he answered quietly, "you exaggerate my poverty. In any
case, it is not your concern."

"You wouldn't--"

She paused. She was a woman of not very keen perceptions, but she
realised that if she were to proceed with the offer which was half
framed in her mind, the man by her side, with his, to her outlook,
distorted sense of honour, would become her enemy. She shrugged her
shoulders, and turning towards him, held out her hand.

"It is the end, then," she said. "Well, Andrew, I did my best according
to my lights, and I failed. Will you shake hands?"

He shook his head.

"I cannot, Stella. Let us agree to part here. We know all there is to
be known of one another, and we shall be able to say good-by without
regret."

She drifted slowly away from him. He watched her figure pass in and out
among the trees. She was unashamed, perhaps relieved,--probably, he
reflected, as he watched her enter the house, already making her plans
for a more successful future. He turned away and looked downwards. The
darkness seemed, if possible, to have become a little more intense, the
moaning of the sea more insistent. Little showers of white spray
enlaced the sombre rocks. The owl came back from his mysterious
journey, hovered for a moment over the cliff and entered his secret
home. Behind him, the lights in the house went out, one by one.
Suddenly he felt a grip upon his shoulder, a hot breath upon his cheek.
It was Stella, returned dishevelled, her lace scarf streaming behind,
her eyes lit with horror. "Andrew!" she cried. "It came over me--just
as I entered the hous