Vansittart came forward, seized my hands in both of hers, and looked up
into my face with eyes that were swimming with tears. For a moment her
lips quivered, speechless; then, recovering command of herself, she
said:

"Welcome--a thousand welcomes, Mr Leigh! Doctor Harper has explained
to us that it is only by making a great effort you find yourself able to
meet us to-night and give us a chance to express our lifelong gratitude
to you for your noble, gallant deed." Again her emotion overcame her;
and presently, after a brave but ineffectual struggle to be formal and
restrained, she suddenly let herself go, and, bursting into tears,
exclaimed:

"Oh! you dear, dear boy, Walter, how can I ever thank you enough? I am
a happy, grateful woman to-night, for the doctor has just assured me
that Julius will certainly recover; whereas, but for you, he would--
would--have been--" She could get no further; so in lieu of words the
dear lady lifted my hands to her lips and kissed them repeatedly. Then,
to my intense relief, Harper stepped forward, and, gently taking her by
the arm, led her to a seat, saying:

"Now, my dear lady, this will never do, you know. You must pull
yourself together, or I shall have another case upon my sick list. If I
had suspected that this was going to happen I would not have allowed
Leigh to come to you so soon. This has been a very trying day for you,
I know, but--"

"Yes, it has, Doctor," she sobbed, "and of course it has upset me a bit;
but just leave me alone for a minute or two, and I shall be all right
again."

While she was saying this, Miss Anthea came forward, and, frankly
extending her hand, expressed her own thanks to me for having saved her
brother's life. "And, Mr Leigh," she continued in a low voice, "I take
back every one of those horrid things that I've said about Englishmen in
your hearing. I am downright ashamed of myself. Will you forgive me?"

"Why, of course I will, very freely and willingly," I said. "Please
forget all about them, as I shall."

"Thank you!" she said. "My brother--"

But at this moment Marsh flung open the door, and, in his most
impressive manner, announced that dinner was served, thus putting an end
to what I felt to be a most embarrassing situation.

"You are to take me down to dinner, if you please, Mr Leigh," said Miss
Anthea, linking her arm in mine. "I insisted upon it," she explained,
"because I want to make you understand how sorry and