handsome but----"

"I don't know yet," she continued looking, "but you've a kind of flat
look at the corners of your eyes where the fun ought to be."

"Now what on earth do you mean by that?"

"A lot. Tony! Almost you've got the----"

"Well?"

"The money face."

"Money face?"

"Um! You mustn't laugh, it's a dreadful face. Daddy had it. He caught
it during the rubber boom and it never went away. Are you still doing
things with that beastly syndicate, Tony?"

"Here, chuck it," he implored humorously. "We're sitting on the floor,
you know. 'Tisn't fair."

But her expression remained very grave.

"I sometimes believe," she said, "you think that's all I'm good for. You
don't talk to me as I want you to talk. I'm not always sitting on the
floor, Tony. It's lovely at times, but other times I'm different.
I'm--oh, I'm a bit of a surprise really."

"What is it you want to know?"

"I want to be told what you're doing 'cos I've a funny feeling it
isn't--oh! I don't know."

"You extraordinary child. It's perfectly all right. Rather important,
that's all. There's nothing for you to bother about. I was going to
tell you because I shall have to be away for three weeks and I
thought----"

"Three weeks? But we were going to be married on----"

"Yes, that's rotten part. Still the invitations haven't gone out--and if
we were to put it off ten days to be on the safe side----"

"Our wedding!" she said.

"I wouldn't have had it happen for the world. It's frightful bad luck
but----"

Isabel drew up her knees. Very little and lovely she looked. Her big
brown eyes were open wide and her lower lip was drawn in. A shock of
chestnut hair framed the sweet oval of her face. Tony had said she was
like a serious angel and he was right.

She nodded twice.

"It must be very important," she said, "if we have to postpone our
wedding. I see."

"You don't see," he said edging closer to her. "You can't because I
haven't wanted to worry you with details, but it is important--enormously
important."

"More important than I am?"

"'Course not."

"Yet it takes you away from me."

"Only for a little while--and look, dear, I don't want you to tell anyone
I'm going."

"Why not?"

"Because--well, it mustn't be known."

"Tony, is--is what you have to do dangerous?"

He answered evasively.

"What I have to do--no."

"Then let me come too. We could be married first. I don't want a
fashionable weddi