te to say, or I should
hardly have the cheek to inflict myself on you twice in the twenty-four
hours."

She looked up and smiled. "You're evidently in one of your bad moods,
or you would not vex me by putting it like that."

"Sorry to vex you, but I _am_ in a bad mood; have been for the last
week; so you must make allowances, I can't sleep, and a restless devil
inside me won't let me settle to steady work. Nerves, I suppose. I
don't look a likely subject, do I? But they give me a deal of trouble
at times; and I came to say that I must go back on my arrangement with
you and Desmond and clear out of this before the end of the week."

"Oh, but surely that would be a great pity; a great disappointment to
us both. Is it really a case of 'must'?"

"I think so."

"And you have only been here a fortnight! Isn't it rather early days
to give in?"

"Very early days--as the case must appear to you; and the evil of it is
that I have no power to make things clearer. Think me an overwrought
fool; a broken-backed corn-stalk, if you choose. It will hurt, of
course; but it can't be helped."

He spoke with undisguised bitterness, and, laying down her work, she
looked at him straightly, a great compassion in her eyes.

"You misunderstand the fundamentals of friendship if you can talk like
that," she said gently. "It is rooted in reticence in respect for
another's individuality. Whatever you choose to do, you may be very
sure that I shall neither doubt your good reasons, nor seek to know
them. That is my idea of what it means to be a friend."

"I stand rebuked," he answered gravely, "and I'm not likely to forget
what you have said."

"At the same time," she added in a lighter tone, "one is only human!
And I can't let you leave Dalhousie without a word of protest--even if
it is useless." She hesitated. "May I speak straight?"

"As straight as you please. I should prefer it."

"Well, I think that if it is a case of nerves, or--worry of any kind,
nothing can be worse for you than your own society. Such amusement as
we can offer you up here may be frivolous and insignificant enough,
but, believe me, it is far better for you just now than the most
sublime snowfields and glaciers at the back of Beyond! You know you
are free to come here whenever you please. Theo enjoys having you; so
do I. And I'm sure it's good for you to fraternise with something more
human than a mountain!"

He smiled, but did not answer at o