kind to him, and give him the envelope. I have never
confided to him the secret of the cupboard, and I wish him to open it
as soon as he arrives. It is most important he should.

'You may wonder at my trusting a comparative stranger with such a
charge, but I am a good reader of faces, and I do not think you will
fail me. Promise me you will keep this envelope from the knowledge of
any one, even from your sisters; and promise me you will do what I
desire about it!'

But,' objected Agatha, 'we may not live here always. If we leave
before your son returns----'

'My son is bound to come back before the end of this year, if he is
alive.'

'Then will he wish to come and live here?'

'No. Neither my son nor I will ever live here again, I fancy.'

'Then where will you be when your son returns?'

'I do not know. In my grave, perhaps. I have told you my agents'
address.'

So, after a little hesitation and a great deal of wonder, Agatha gave
him her promise to act as he wished. Seeing he looked tired and worn,
she asked him if he would have any refreshment, but he refused.

'You need not make my visit known throughout the neighbourhood,' he
said, standing up and buttoning up his coat; then glancing at her
Bible, which lay open on the table by her side, he added rather
sarcastically:

'If you want a Bible study, Miss Dane, discover the answer to a
proposition made in the Book of Jeremiah. I believe it's in the first
verse of the twelfth chapter. You see I know my Bible well.'

'And so do I,' said Agatha, smiling, 'though not so well as I ought.
And I can tell you that the same proposition troubled David; but he
solved it in the sanctuary.'

'Is that a hint to me?' said Mr. Lester, a little taken aback by her
quick reply.

'No; though don't you think it a pity to hold aloof from God's worship
on the day set apart for it? Even the heathen are more respectful to
their false gods.'

'I did not expect to receive a sermon here,' he responded, with a
little dry smile.

'No, and I would not presume to give it,' said Agatha, smiling in her
turn. 'And don't be surprised that I knew your verse in Jeremiah so
well. I came across it the other day, and thought it fitted in well
with a favourite Psalm of ours, the thirty-seventh. We have had an
experience something like yours, and it would make one bitter
sometimes, if one did not remember that our circumstances are being
shaped by God Himself.'

Mr. Lester s