he will never speak at all."

"Why, God bless my soul, then!" shouted the General in his most
thunderous voice, "he must speak before! he must speak before!
Everything must be settled. They shall hear Sir Simon's verdict
together."

Those people had been right who had called Sir Denis unworldly. Mrs.
Rooke blinked her pretty eyes before his outburst.

"You know, of course, Sir Denis, that his profession will be closed to
him in case his arm doesn't get well. Godfrey has always felt that he
had too little to offer your daughter. But now--it will be a maimed life
if the worst happens. Both my mother and I appreciated Godfrey's
reasons. We could not say that he was not right. Poor Godfrey! I don't
know what he will do if he loses his profession. You know he was devoted
to his work."

"I know, ma'am." The old soldier's eye lit up with a sudden spark. "In
any case, with the help of God, he will have Nell to comfort him. Your
brother's address is----"

"You are going to him?"

"It seems the one thing to do. I've no pride about offering my girl
where I know she is deeply loved."

"You are a trump, General!" Mrs. Rooke said, with sparkling eyes.

"Thank you, ma'am," the General answered, blushing like a school-boy. "I
was never one to sit with folded hands. The Lord didn't make me like it.
And I've asked His direction, ma'am; I've asked His direction humbly,
and I hope humbly that He is granting it to me."

"Well, God speed you!" Mrs. Rooke said. "Godfrey will be good to Nelly,
Sir Denis. He has always been so trustworthy. And he has had so many
hard knocks. He deserves happiness in the end."

"He shall have it, with the help of God."

The General never made any forecast without the latter proviso, although
that was often said only in the silence of his heart.

The railway journey, unlike the last made in the cause of Nelly's
happiness, went without a hitch. The day was a beautiful, bright,
sunshiny one, with clear skies overhead. The General had the carriage to
himself, so that he was able to sit with both windows open as he liked
it. He felt the winter air quite invigorating as the train rushed
through the pale golden landscape. Robins were singing in the bare
trees, which showed their every twig outlined delicately against the
pale sky. The brown coppices and hedges by which the train hurried were
bright with the scarlet of many berries.

The General, sitting up spare and erect--he had never lolled in his
li