t that I had once expected
every day, the announcement which seemed the only natural sequence to
the kiss of which I had been an unwilling witness, never came. Neither
did any return come, in John Crondall, of his old frank gaiety of
manner. There remained always the shadow of reserve, of gravity, and of
a certain restraint, which dated in my mind from the day of my
inadvertent intrusion upon the scene between himself and Constance.

Knowing John Crondall as I knew him then, it was not possible for me to
think ill of him; but he perplexed me greatly at times. For at times it
did seem to me that I read in Constance's face, when we three were
together, a look that was almost an appeal to my chief--a
half-sorrowful, half-abashed appeal. Then I would recall that kiss, and
in my puzzlement I would think: "John Crondall, if you were any other
man, I should say you----"

And there my thought would stop short. Of what should I accuse him?
There was the kiss, the long silence, John Crondall's stiffness, and
then this look of distress, this hint of appeal, in the face of
Constance. Well! And then my intimate knowledge of my chief would
silence me, giving me assurance that I should never be a good enough man
justly to reproach John Crondall. But it was all very puzzling, and
more, to me, loving Constance as I loved her.

You may judge, then, of my surprise when Crondall came into my room at
_The Citizens'_ headquarters office one morning and said:

"You have been the real secretary for some time, Dick, not only mine,
but _The Citizens'_; so there's no need for me to worry about how you'll
manage. I'm going to America."

"Going to America! Why--when?"

"Well, on Friday, I believe I sail. As to why, I'm afraid I mustn't tell
you about that just yet. I've undertaken a Government mission, and it's
confidential."

"I see. And how long will you be away?"

"Oh, not more than two or three months, I hope."

That simplified the thing somewhat. My chief's tone had suggested at
first that he was going to live in the United States. Even as it was,
however, surely, I thought, he would tell me something now about
himself and Constance. But though I made several openings, he told me
nothing.

While John Crondall was away a new State Under-Secretaryship was
created. It was announced that for the future the Government would
include an Under-Secretary of State for the Civilian Defence Forces,
whose chief would be the Secretary of State