houghts away.

Hilary seemed making for their seat, but Miranda, aware of Martin,
stopped. "A man of action!" she appeared to say. "The one who pulls
my ears." And turning, as though unconscious, she endeavoured to lead
Hilary away. Her master, however, had already seen his niece. He came
and sat down on the bench beside her.

"We wanted you!" said Martin, eyeing him slowly, as a young dog will eye
another of a different age and breed. "Thyme and I have been to see the
Hughs in Hound Street. Things are blowing up for a mess. You, or whoever
put the girl there, ought to get her away again as quick as possible."

Hilary seemed at once to withdraw into himself.

"Well," he said, "let us hear all about it."

"The woman's jealous of her: that's all the trouble!"

"Oh!" said Hilary; "that's all the trouble?"

Thyme murmured: "I don't see a bit why Uncle Hilary should bother. If
they will be so horrid--I didn't think the poor were like that. I didn't
think they had it in them. I'm sure the girl isn't worth it, or the
woman either!"

"I didn't say they were," growled Martin. "It's a question of what's
healthy."

Hilary looked from one of his young companions to the other.

"I see," he said. "I thought perhaps the matter was more delicate."

Martin's lip curled.'

"Ah, your precious delicacy! What's the good of that? What did it ever
do? It's the curse that you're all suffering from. Why don't you act?
You could think about it afterwards."

A flush came into Hilary's sallow cheeks.

"Do you never think before you act, Martin?"

Martin got up and stood looking down on Hilary.

"Look here!" he said; "I don't go in for your subtleties. I use my eyes
and nose. I can see that the woman will never be able to go on feeding
the baby in the neurotic state she's in. It's a matter of health for
both of them."

"Is everything a matter of health with you?"

"It is. Take any subject that you like. Take the poor themselves--what's
wanted? Health. Nothing on earth but health! The discoveries and
inventions of the last century have knocked the floor out of the old
order; we've got to put a new one in, and we're going to put it in,
too--the floor of health. The crowd doesn't yet see what it wants, but
they're looking for it, and when we show it them they'll catch on fast
enough."

"But who are 'you'?" murmured Hilary.

"Who are we? I'll tell you one thing. While all the reformers are
pecking at each other we shall quietl