r me. Her husband seems a sensible fellow, though; but the
devil of a free-thinker. He and poor Ted are like cat and dog. We had
Leila in to dinner again on Saturday, and a man called Fort came too.
She's sweet on him, I could see with half an eye, but poor old Ted
can't. The doctor and Ted talked up hill and down dale. The doctor said
a thing which struck me. 'What divides us from the beasts? Will power:
nothing else. What's this war, really, but a death carnival of proof
that man's will is invincible?' I stuck it down to tell you, when I got
upstairs. He's a clever fellow. I believe in God, as you know, but I
must say when it comes to an argument, poor old Ted does seem a
bit weak, with his: 'We're told this,' and 'We're told that: Nobody
mentioned Nollie. I must have the whole thing out with Ted; we must know
how to act when it's all over."

But not till the middle of March, when the brothers had been sitting
opposite each other at meals for two months, was the subject broached
between them, and then not by Robert. Edward, standing by the hearth
after dinner, in his familiar attitude, one foot on the fender, one hand
grasping the mantel-shelf, and his eyes fixed on the flames, said: "I've
never asked your forgiveness, Bob."

Robert, lingering at the table over his glass of port, started, looked
at Edward's back in its parson's coat, and answered:

"My dear old chap!"

"It has been very difficult to speak of this."

"Of course, of course!" And there was a silence, while Robert's eyes
travelled round the walls for inspiration. They encountered only
the effigies of past Piersons very oily works, and fell back on the
dining-table. Edward went on speaking to the fire:

"It still seems to me incredible. Day and night I think of what it's my
duty to do."

"Nothing!" ejaculated Robert. "Leave the baby with Thirza; we'll take
care of it, and when Nollie's fit, let her go back to work in a hospital
again. She'll soon get over it." He saw his brother shake his head,
and thought: 'Ah! yes; now there's going to be some d--d conscientious
complication.'

Edward turned round on him: "That is very sweet of you both, but it
would be wrong and cowardly for me to allow it."

The resentment which springs up in fathers when other fathers dispose of
young lives, rose in Robert.

"Dash it all, my dear Ted, that's for Nollie to say. She's a woman now,
remember."

A smile went straying about in the shadows of his brother's face