ard."

Again she heard in his voice that sound that might have been laughter.
It thrilled her strangely, seeming in some fashion to convey a message
that was beyond words. She turned in his arms, responding instinctively,
and clung closely to him.

"I forget everything," she told him very earnestly, "except that
to-morrow--or the next day--you will be--my husband."

His arms grew tense about her. She felt his breathing quicken.

"Be careful!" he muttered. "Be careful! Remember, I am not to be
trusted."

But she answered him with that laughter that is without fear and more
intimate than speech.

"All that is over," she said, and lifted her face to his. And then, more
softly, in a voice that quivered and broke, "I trust you with my whole
heart. And Pierre--my Pierre--you will never again--kiss me--against my
will!"

* * * * *

Where the Heart Is

"Of course, I know that a quiet, well-meanin' fool like myself hasn't
much of a chance with women, but I just thought I'd give you the
opportunity of refusin' me, and then we should know where we were."

It was leisurely uttered, and without any hint of agitation. The speaker
was lying on his back at the end of a long, green lawn. His hat was over
the upper part of his face, leaving only his mouth visible. It was a
singularly kindly mouth. Some critics called it weak, though there was
no sign of nervousness about it. The clean lips made their statement
without faltering, and without apparent effort, and, having spoken,
relaxed into a faint smile that was pleasantly devoid of
self-consciousness.

The girl at whose side he lay listened with a slight frown between her
eyes. She was quivering inwardly with embarrassment, but she would have
died sooner than have betrayed it. The shyest child found it hard to be
shy with Tots Waring. His full name was Tottenham, but nobody dreamed of
using it. From his cradle onwards he had been Tots to all who knew him.
His proposal was followed by a very decided pause. Then, still frowning,
the girl spoke.

"Is it a joke?"

"Never made a joke in my life," said Tots.

"Then why don't you do it properly?"

There was a decided touch of irritation in the question. The girl was
leaning slightly forward, her hands clasped round her knee. Her black
brows looked decidedly uncompromising, and there was a faintly
contemptuous twist about her upper lip.

"Don't be v