her fingers upon his arm as he stood on the pavement by her side.

"Hugh," she said, "before you go let me tell you something. I think that
the real reason why I lost some of my affection for you was because
you persisted in treating me without any confidence at all. The little
things which may have happened to you abroad, the little details of your
life, the harmless side of your profession--there were so many things
I should have been interested in. And you told me nothing. There
were things which seemed to demand an explanation with regard to your
position. You ignored them. You seemed to enjoy moving in a mysterious
atmosphere. It's worse than ever now. I am intelligent, am I
not--trustworthy?"

"You are both," he admitted gravely. "Thank you very much for telling me
this, Geraldine."

"You still have nothing to say to me?" she asked, looking him in the
face.

"Nothing," he replied.

She nodded, slipped in her clutch and drove off. Surgeon-Major Thomson
entered the War Office and made his way up many stairs and along many
wide corridors to a large room on the top floor of the building. Two men
were seated at desks, writing. He passed them by with a little greeting
and entered an inner apartment. A pile of letters stood upon his desk.
He examined them one by one, destroyed some, made pencil remarks upon
others. Presently there was a tap at the door and Ambrose entered.

"Chief's compliments and he would be glad if you would step round to his
room at once, sir," he announced.

Thomson locked his desk, made his way to the further end of the building
and was admitted through a door by which a sentry was standing, to an
anteroom in which a dozen people were waiting. His guide passed him
through to an inner apartment, where a man was seated alone. He glanced
up at Thomson's entrance.

"Good morning, Thomson!" he said brusquely. "Sit down, please. Leave
the room, Dawkes, and close the door. Thanks! Thomson, what about this
request of yours?"

"I felt bound to bring the matter before you, sir," Thomson replied. "I
made my application to the censor and you know the result."

The Chief swung round in his chair.

"Look here," he said, "the censor's department has instructions to
afford you every possible assistance in any researches you make.
There are just twenty-four names in the United Kingdom which have been
admitted to the privileges of free correspondence. The censor has no
right to touch any letters addre