at I want to talk to you about," said Max. "Shall we
walk?" He took his brother by the arm and led him forward. "I thought a
talk in the open would be preferable. My hutch in this beastly little
inn is not precisely inviting. I go to Nick's bungalow to-morrow."

"The devil you do!" said Noel.

The hand on his arm was not removed. It closed very slowly and surely.
"Look here, old chap," Max said, "say what you like to me and welcome,
if it does you any good. But there is no actual necessity for you to
express your feelings. For I know what they are; and--I'm infernally
sorry."

The words were quietly uttered, but they sent a shock of amazement
through Noel. He stood still and stared. He had never heard anything of
the kind from Max before.

Steadily Max drew him on. "When I wrote you that letter in the autumn, I
meant you to do exactly what you have done. I didn't of course
anticipate playing such a heathen trick on you as cutting you out. I
regarded myself at that time as out of the running. Circumstances which
there is no need to discuss had set dead against me, and I had reason to
believe that she might need an able-bodied man's protection. Nick is all
very well as a moral force, but physically he is a negligible quantity.
I didn't fancy the idea of her coming out here with the chance of the
aforementioned danger cropping up."

"What danger?" said Noel, abruptly.

Max hesitated a moment. "It's rather a long story. There was another
fellow--a great hulking bounder. I was half afraid he might follow her
out here and make himself objectionable. I thought you would probably
get friendly with her, and she might turn to you for help if she needed
it. You're the sort of chap a woman would turn to. And anyhow, I know
you're sound fundamentally."

"Do you?" murmured Noel.

Max went on. "At that time I never thought of coming out here myself. It
was Nick who first suggested it at a time when I believed my chances to
be _nil_. And gradually the idea took hold of me. We had been almost
engaged before. And though I didn't believe in my luck any longer, I
thought I would have one last shot. Kersley backed me as usual. I am to
go into partnership with him when I get back. He urged me to come, even
said I owed it to her. I wasn't so sure of that myself, but events have
proved him justified. I thought in any case I should only hurt myself
and that wouldn't matter much. Afraid I behaved like a selfish ass. But
I didn't know h