er, no church, no documents, no
witnesses--simply taking each other by the hand and declaring that he
took her as his wife. It seemed so easy, and surely, surely----

He was not a bad young fellow, this Douglas Graham. Some spoke of him
as a kind of dual personality, strong and weak at the same time--but he
had never been known to do anything dishonourable, and his career at
Oxford had been an unblemished one. To an extent he was cast in a
religious mould, and was susceptible to religious influences. He had
indeed been a communicant at a Presbyterian church, and thus, while
determined to carve out for himself a great career, he always dreamed
of acting honourably and conscientiously, and he would do so now,
only---- And then he thought out the whole matter again. Yes, it did
seem different from a marriage in an English church, but it would
satisfy Jean, and it would be a real marriage.

Two days later he left the "Highlands," to walk to Carlisle, he said,
and take the train from there. So, packing in his knapsack the
absolute necessities of life, he took his departure from his relatives.
He did not tell them what he had in his mind--did not give a hint that
that afternoon he was to meet Jean Lindsay alone on the moors. He
tried to appear calm, but his mind was full of the plans he had made,
full of what Jean would say when he met her. Just as he was leaving
"Highlands" a servant brought him a letter, but he was too excited to
read it; he simply put it in his pocket with the thought that it could
wait, and then, bidding his relatives farewell, he started on his walk.

Two hours later Jean and he were walking side by side away from her
father's farm. "You are sure it is all right, Douglas?"

"Yes, sure."

"And you love me?"

"I love you more than my own life," he said, and into the girl's eyes
came a look of infinite trust and infinite joy. She had no qualms
about the Scotch marriage. She had heard of them again and again, and
they were mere commonplaces to her. It did seem strange, walking away
with him alone, but she had given him her heart's love, and she had a
perfection of trust in him.

It was a strange experience, and Douglas Graham felt awed, as presently
they took each other by the hand, and he said, "Jean Lindsay, I do here
take you as my wife, and, God helping me, I will be a good and faithful
husband to you."

The girl's eyes burned brightly with joy as she heard the words.

"Douglas Gr