ife."

She was caught in a little gust of wind. Both her hands went up to her
hat; her face was hidden. She stepped down from the bank.

"You shouldn't have done that," she said quietly.

"Why not?" he demanded. "It was the truth."

He stooped forward, intent upon looking into her face. The mystic
softness was still in her eyes, but her general expression was
inscrutable. It seemed to him that there was fear there.

"What did mother say?" she whispered.

"Nothing discouraging," he replied. "I don't think she minded at all. I
have decided, if you give me permission, to go and talk to Mr. Fentolin
this evening."

She shook her head very emphatically.

"Don't!" she implored. "Don't! Don't give him another whip to lash us
with. Keep silent. Let me just have the memory for a few days all to
myself."

Her words came to him like numb things. There was little expression in
them, and yet he felt that somehow they meant so much.

"Esther dear," he said, "I shall do just as you ask me. At the same
time, please listen. I think that you are all absurdly frightened of
Mr. Fentolin. Living here alone with him, you have all grown under his
dominance to an unreasonable extent. Because of his horrible infirmity,
you have let yourselves become his slaves. There are limits to this sort
of thing, Esther. I come here as a stranger, and I see nothing more in
Mr. Fentolin than a very selfish, irritable, domineering, and capricious
old man. Humour him, by all means. I am willing to do the same myself.
But when it comes to the great things in life, neither he nor any living
person is going to keep from me the woman I love."

She walked by his side in silence. Her breath was coming a little
quicker, her fingers lay passive in his. Then for a moment he felt the
grip of them almost burn into his flesh. Still she said nothing.

"I want your permission, dear," he went on, "to go to him. I suppose he
calls himself your guardian. If he says no, you are of age. I just want
you to believe that I am strong enough to put my arms, around you and to
carry you away to my own world and keep you there, although an army of
Mr. Fentolin's creatures followed us."

She turned, and he saw the great transformation. Her face was brilliant,
her eyes shone with wonderful things.

"Please," she begged, "will you say or do nothing at all for a little
time, until I tell you when? I want just a few days' peace. You have
said such beautiful things to me that