fect beyond making me more sorry for him, but, as it
happens, he never did anything to encourage vain ideas of the kind in
me." She changed the subject with the abruptness which usually
characterized her. "I suppose you haven't seen old Anthony Thurston
since you married Leslie? He, at least, is openly bitter against you."

"I haven't. In a way, I suppose he is right. Of course, he would take
the stereotyped view that it was all my fault--that is to say, that I
had discarded Geoffrey?"

"I believe he did, but it struck me once or twice that Geoffrey
proclaimed that view a little too loudly. Of course, with his rather
primitive notions of delicacy and what is due to us, it's very much
what one would have anticipated in his case. He naturally wouldn't
want to leave room for any suspicion that he--wasn't altogether
satisfied with you."

Millicent's face clouded. "That is a point which concerns nobody
except Geoffrey and myself," she declared.

"And Anthony Thurston," Marian broke in. "Of course, it's an open
secret that if you had married Geoffrey you would both have benefited
by his will. As things have turned out, my own opinion is that the
question whether either of you ever gets a penny of the property
depends a great deal on the view he continues to take of the matter.
Any way, that's not the least concern of mine, except that I'm sorry
for Geoffrey. I wonder if I'm going too far in asking what it was you
and he actually split upon. I'm referring to the immediate cause of
the trouble."

"I can tell you that," Millicent answered quickly, for she was glad to
remove the ground for one suspicion, which was evidently in Marian's
mind. "Geoffrey insisted on giving up the mine when he could have sold
it, and going out to Australia or Canada. I wouldn't go with him. I
think nobody could have reasonably expected me to."

Marian smiled. "Well," she said, "I wonder if you know that your
husband was one of the men who were willing to take the mine over.
There are reasons for believing it was what brought him here in the
first place."

Millicent's start betrayed the fact that this was news to her, but just
then there was a rattle of wheels outside, and Marian rose. A murmur
of voices and laughter grew clearer when the outer door was opened, and
the two could hear the returning shooters talking with their host, who
had gone out another way to meet them.

"The birds were scarce and very wild," announced on