ll be left to the
mercy of the world, worse off by a precious sight than ever you were
in your lives. Now, if you look at it, what's the good of spoiling the
whole jimbang for a fancy notion about me? You and I are safe to be
first-rate friends always, but it will be the ruin of both of us if
we're fools enough to want to be more. You're living here like a regular
queen. You've got a good husband, that's proud of you and gives you
everything you can think of. You took him yourself, and you're bound to
stick to him. Besides, think of poor Jeanie and Jim. You'll spoil all
their happiness; and, more than all--don't make any mistake--you know
what Jeanie thinks of a woman who leaves her husband for another man.'

If you let a woman have a regular good cry and talk herself out, you
can mostly bring her round in the end. So after a bit Kate grew more
reasonable. That bit about Jeanie fetched her too. She knew her own
sister would turn against her--not harsh like, but she'd never be the
same to her again as long as she lived.

The lamp had been put out in the big hall. There was only one in this
parlour, and it wasn't over bright. I talked away, and last of all she
came round to my way of thinking; at any rate not to want to clear off
from the old man now, but to wait till I came back, or till I wrote to
her.

'You are right, Dick,' she said at last, 'and you show your sense in
talking the way you have; though, if you loved as I do, you could not
do it. But, once more, there's no other woman that you're fonder of than
me? It isn't that that makes you so good? Dick Marston good!' and here
she laughed bitterly. 'If I thought that I should go mad.'

What was I to do? I could not tell her that I loved Gracey Storefield
ten times as much as I'd ever cheated myself into thinking I cared about
her. So I swore that I cared more for her than any woman in the whole
world, and always had done so.

This steadied her. We parted good friends, and she promised to keep
quiet and try and make the best of things. She turned up the lamp to
show me the way out, though the outer door of the hall was left open
night and day. It was a way we had at the Turon; no one troubled
themselves to be particular about such trifles as furniture and so on.
There was very little small robbery there; it was not worth while. All
petty stealers were most severely punished into the bargain.

As I stood up to say good-bye a small note dropped out of my
breast-