sided. And how well worth
the experience of these lonely days if they had thereby learned
something of what TOGETHER meant, now the words were to be spoken which
should insure forever no more such partings.

All this sped through Garth's mind as he greeted Jane with that most
commonplace of English greetings, the everlasting question which never
receives an answer. But from Garth, at that moment, it did not sound
commonplace to Jane, and she answered it quite frankly and fully. She
wanted above all things to tell him exactly how she did; to hear all
about himself, and compare notes on the happenings of these three
interminable days; and to take up their close comradeship again,
exactly where it had left off. Her hand went home to his with that firm
completeness of clasp, which always made a hand shake with Jane such a
satisfactory and really friendly thing.

"Very fit, thank you, Dal," she answered. "At least I am every moment
improving in health and spirits, now I have arrived here at last."

Garth stood his racket against the arm of her chair and deposited
himself full length on the grass beside her, leaning on his elbow.

"Was anything wrong with London?" he asked, rather low, not looking up
at her, but at the smart brown shoe, planted firmly on the grass so
near his hand. "Nothing was wrong with London," replied Jane frankly;
"it was hot and dusty of course, but delightful as usual. Something was
wrong with ME; and you will be ashamed of me, Dal, if I confess what it
was."

Garth did not look up, but assiduously picked little blades of grass
and laid them in a pattern on Jane's shoe. This conversation would have
been exactly to the point had they been alone. But was Jane really
going to announce to the assembled company, in that dear, resonant,
carrying voice of hers, the sweet secret of their miss of one another?

"Liver?" inquired Mrs. Parker Bangs suddenly.

"Muffins!" exclaimed Billy instantly, and, rushing for them, almost
shot them into her lap in the haste with which he handed them,
stumbling headlong over Garth's legs at the same moment.

Jane stared at Mrs. Parker Bangs and her muffins; then looked down at
the top of Garth's dark head, bent low over the grass.

"I was dull," she said, "intolerably dull. And Dal always says 'only a
dullard is dull.' But I diagnosed my dulness in the train just now and
found it was largely his fault. Do you hear, Dal?"

Garth lifted his head and looked at her, real