petus which urged Stanor forward, but over this he preferred to draw a
mental veil. We are all guilty of the absurdity of posing for our own
benefit, and Stanor, like the rest, preferred to believe himself
actuated wholly by lofty motives rather than partially by the wounded
pride of a young man who has just discovered that he has been "managed"
by an elder!

He sat down on the seat beside Pixie, and laid his hand gently over
hers. They opened automatically to receive it; even before she lifted
her lids he felt the welcoming touch; and felt it characteristic of her
nature.

"_You_!" she cried gladly, "Mr Vaughan, 'tis you! Oh, that's nice!
Was I sleeping, that I didn't see you come? I thought I should never
sleep again. Jack can't sleep! If he slept he might get well."

"He is sleeping now," said Stanor quietly. "A man was sent to the lodge
to answer all inquiries, so that there should not be even a crunch on
the path. He is sleeping soundly and well. If he sleeps on--"

Pixie nodded, her face aglow.

"Oh, thank God! _How_ I thank Him! Sleep will make all the difference.
... Till now it's been nothing but a moment's nap and awake again, with
a scream. We've _agonised_ for sleep! I could not have gone off so
soundly if I hadn't known, _inside_, that Jack was asleep too. When you
love anyone very, very much, what touches them touches you. You can't
keep apart. You mayn't always know it with your _mind_, but the best
part of you, the part that feels, _it_ knows!"

She smiled in his face with frank, glad eyes, but Stanor flushed and
looked at the ground.

"Should you know it, if _I_ were unhappy, Pixie? I should know it about
you. I came this afternoon partly, mostly, because I knew how you'd be
feeling, and I thought, I hoped, that I might help. Does it help you,
Pixie, to have me sitting beside you, instead of being alone? Ought I
to have come, or stayed away?"

"I'm glad you came; I love to have you. I've been sad before this, but
I've never been sad by myself! Esmeralda isn't my sister at this
moment, she's just Jack's mother, and there's only one person who can
help her, and that is Jack's father. Later on 'twill change!" A flash
of joy lit up the white face. "Do you know what I'm waiting for? If
Jack lives, as soon as he's conscious and out of pain he'll send for me!
He'll want me to tell him stories, and the stronger he grows the more
stories he'll want! He'll need me then--they'l