being told to stop; and other similar mysteries, such as many people
before and after have meditated upon.

During all this time Mr. Spillikins was nerving himself to propose to
Dulphemia Rasselyer-Brown. In fact, he spent part of his time walking
up and down under the trees with Philippa Furlong and discussing with
her the proposal that he meant to make, together with such topics as
marriage in general and his own unworthiness.

He might have waited indefinitely had he not learned, on the third day
of his visit, that Dulphemia was to go away in the morning to join her
father at Nagahakett.

That evening he found the necessary nerve to speak, and the proposal in
almost every aspect of it was most successful.

"By Jove!" Spillikins said to Philippa Furlong next morning, in
explaining what had happened, "she was awfully nice about it. I think
she must have guessed, in a way, don't you, what I was going to say?
But at any rate she was awfully nice--let me say everything I wanted,
and when I explained what a fool I was, she said she didn't think I was
half such a fool as people thought me. But it's all right. It turns out
that she isn't thinking of getting married. I asked her if I might
always go on thinking of her, and she said I might."

And that morning when Dulphemia was carried off in the motor to the
station, Mr. Spillikins, without exactly being aware how he had done
it, had somehow transferred himself to Philippa.

"Isn't she a splendid girl!" he said at least ten times a day to Norah,
the Little Girl in Green. And Norah always agreed, because she really
thought Philippa a perfectly wonderful creature. There is no doubt
that, but for a slight shift of circumstances, Mr. Spillikins would
have proposed to Miss Furlong. Indeed, he spent a good part of his time
rehearsing little speeches that began, "Of course I know I'm an awful
ass in a way," or, "Of course I know that I'm not at all the sort of
fellow," and so on.

But not one of them ever was delivered.

For it so happened that on the Thursday, one week after Mr.
Spillikins's arrival, Philippa went again to the station in the motor.
And when she came back there was another passenger with her, a tall
young man in tweed, and they both began calling out to the Newberrys
from a distance of at least a hundred yards.

And both the Newberrys suddenly exclaimed, "Why, it's Tom!" and rushed
off to meet the motor. And there was such a laughing and jubilation as