ing and without Nick's returning. Indeed by the time Nick
slipped in a good deal of the third act was over; and even then, even
when the curtain descended, Peter had not come back. Nick sat down in
silence to watch the stage, to which the breathless attention of his
companions seemed attached, though Biddy after a moment threw round at
him a single quick look. At the end of the act they were all occupied
with the recalls, the applause and the responsive loveliness of Juliet
as she was led out--Mercutio had to give her up to Romeo--and even for a
few minutes after the deafening roar had subsided nothing was said among
the three. At last Nick began:

"It's quite true he has just arrived; he's in Great Stanhope Street.
They've given him several weeks, to make up for the uncomfortable way
they bundled him off--to get there in time for some special business
that had suddenly to be gone into--when he first went out: he tells me
they even then promised that. He got into Southampton only a few hours
ago, rushed up by the first train he could catch and came off here
without any dinner."

"Fancy!" said Miss Tressilian; while Biddy more generally asked if Peter
might be in good health and appeared to have been happy. Nick replied
that he described his post as beastly but didn't seem to have suffered
from it. He was to be in England probably a month, he was awfully brown,
he sent his love to Biddy. Miss Tressilian looked at his empty stall and
was of the opinion that it would be more to the point if he were to come
in to see her.

"Oh he'll turn up; we had a goodish talk in the lobby where he met me. I
think he went out somewhere."

"How odd to come so many thousand miles for this and then not to stay!"
Biddy fluted.

"Did he come on purpose for this?" Miss Tressilian asked.

"Perhaps he's gone out to get his dinner!" joked Biddy.

Her friend suggested that he might be behind the scenes, but Nick cast
doubts; whereupon Biddy asked if he himself were not going round. At
this moment the curtain rose; Nick said he would go in the next
interval. As soon as it came he quitted the box, remaining absent while
it lasted.

All this time, in the house, there was no sign of Peter. Nick reappeared
only as the fourth act was beginning and uttered no word to his
companions till it was over. Then, after a further delay produced by
renewed vociferous proofs of the personal victory won, he depicted his
visit to the stage and the wonderful