chrysanthemums, rose and blue in colour, and tied with large bows of
gold ribbon--real, shining gold. The paint she chose was a delicate
fawn, picked out with rose and blue. She bought yards of flowered
cretonne for the bed and window curtains, and had the mahogany furniture
moved in from the spare bedroom. The carpet she bought brand new--it was
a sea of stormy crimson, with fawn-coloured islands rioted over with
roses and blue tulips. Joanna had never enjoyed herself so much since
she lost Martin, as she did now, choosing all the rich colours, and
splendid solid furniture. The room cost her nearly forty pounds, for she
had to buy new furniture for the spare bedroom, having given Ellen the
mahogany.

As a final touch she hung the walls with pictures. There was a large
photograph of Ventnor church, Isle of Wight, and another of Furness
Abbey in an Oxford frame; there was "Don't Touch" and "Mother's Boy"
from "Pears' Christmas Annual," and two texts, properly expounded with
robins. To crown all, there was her father's certificate of enrolment in
the Ancient Order of Buffaloes, sacrificed from her own room, and hung
proudly in the place of honour over Ellen's bed.

Sec.4

Her sister came at Thomas-tide, and Joanna drove in to meet her at Rye.
Brodnyx had now a station of its own on the new light railway from
Appledore to Lydd, but Joanna was still faithful to Rye. She loved the
spanking miles, the hard white lick of road that flew under her wheels
as she drove through Pedlinge, and then, swinging round the throws,
flung out on the Straight Mile. She trotted under the Land Gate, feeling
pleasantly that all the town was watching her from shop and street. Her
old love of swagger had come back, with perhaps a slight touch of
defiance.

At the station she had to wake old Stuppeny out of his slumber on the
back seat, and put him in his proper place at Smiler's head, while she
went on the platform. The train was just due, and she had not passed
many remarks with the ticket-collector--a comely young fellow whom she
liked for his build and the sauciness of his tongue--before it arrived.
As it steamed in, her heart began to beat anxiously--she bit her lip,
and actually looked nervous. Ellen was the only person in the world who
could make her feel shy and ill at ease, and Ellen had only lately
acquired this power; but there had been a constraint about their
meetings for the last year. During the last year Ellen had become