lendid looking girls in an out-of-the-way place like this?"

"Don't know about that. At any rate I propose to bury one of them in
just such an out-of-the-way place," I answered. "I believe it's the
thing to offer congratulations on these occasions, so congratulate away,
Kendrew. I'll try and take it calmly."

"Eh--what the dev--Oh I say, Glanton--You don't mean--?"

"Yes, I do mean. Compose yourself, Kendrew. You look kind of
startled."

"Which of them is it?"

"Guess," I said, on mischief intent, for I detected a note of eagerness
in his tone and drew my own conclusions.

"The eldest of course?"

"Right," I answered after a moment of hesitation intended to tease him a
little longer.

"Why then, I do congratulate you, old chap," he said with a heartiness
in which I thought his own relief found vent. "I say though. You
haven't lost much time about it."

"No? Well you must allow for the hastiness of youth."

And then he fired off a lot more good wishes, and soon suggested we
should ride over to the Sewins together as he was so near. And reading
his motive I sympathised with him and agreed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two months had gone by since my engagement to Aida Sewin and they had
gone by without a cloud. If I were to say that a larger proportion of
them was spent by me at her father's place than at my own, decidedly I
should not be exaggerating. But we learnt to know each other very
thoroughly in that time, and the more I learnt to know her the more did
I marvel what I had done to deserve one hundredth part of the happiness
that henceforth was to irradiate my life. Truly our sky was without a
cloud.

I had found a farm that seemed likely to suit me. It was now only a
question of price, and the owner was more than likely to come down to
mine. The place was distant by only a few hours' easy ride, and that
was a consideration.

"Everything seems to favour us," Aida said. "You know, dear, it is such
a relief to me to know that we need not be far away from the old people
after all. I would of course go to the other ends of the earth with you
if necessity required it, but at the same time I am deeply thankful it
does not. And then, you know, you needn't be afraid of any of the
`relations-in-law' bugbear; because they look up to you so. In fact we
have come to look upon you as a sort of Providence. While you were
away, if anything went wron