rnly and neglected. All the
young men had long since gone from the gardens, but the old
labourers and the girls in overalls who had taken their places,
under the eye of a white-haired gardener, had been wonderfully
efficient so far. Sir Henry supposed he ought to have let the lawns
stand for hay, and the hedges go unclipped; but as a matter of fact
the lawns had never been smoother, or the creepers and yew hedges
more beautifully in order, so that even the greatest patriot fails
somewhere.

Beryl Chicksands was walking along a stone-flagged path under a yew
hedge, from which she commanded the drive and a bit of the road
outside. Every now and then she stopped to peer into the sunlit haze
that marked the lower slopes of the park, and the delicate hand that
shaded her eyes shook a little.

Aubrey was coming--and she was going seriously to offer to give him
up--to try to persuade him indeed to break it off. Since her first
agitated letter to him begging him not to think of her, but to
decide only what was best for his own future, she had received a few
words from him.

'DEAREST BERYL--Nothing has happened to interfere with what we
promised each other last summer--nothing at all! My poor father
seems to be half out of his mind under the stress of war. If he
does what he threatens, it will matter very little to me; but
of course _you_ must consider it carefully, for I shall have
uncommonly little in the worldly way to offer you. Your father
has written very kindly, and your dear little note is just like
you. But you must consider.

'I sometimes doubt whether my father _will_ do what he
threatens, but we should have to take the risk. Anyway we shall
meet directly, and I am always, and unalterably, your devoted

'AUBREY.'

That had been followed by a boyish note from Desmond--dear, jolly
fellow!

'My father's clean daft! Don't bother, my dear Beryl. If he
tries to leave me this funny old place, instead of Aubrey,
well, there are two can play at that game. I wouldn't touch it
with a barge-pole. You and A. have only got to stick it a
little, and it'll be all right.

'I've given him a bit of my mind about the park and the farm.
He stands it from me and only chaffs. That's because he always
treats me like a baby.

'Very sorry I can't come on Tuesday with Aubrey, but there's
some good-bye calls I must pay. Hop