e was falling into the deep sea; she was hopelessly cut
off from the past.

"Oh!" came the uncertain voice weakly. "Did you want me? Did anyone want
me?"

She heard the door being closed behind him.

She told him, with peculiar curtness, how she had seen him from her
window, and how she wished to ask him an important question.

"I dare say you think it's very queer of me," she added.

"Not at all," he said, with an insincerity that annoyed her.

"Yes, you do!" she sharply insisted. "But I want to know"--what did she
want to know?--"I want to know--did you mean it when you said--you know,
at supper--that there's no virtue in believing?"

He stammered: "Did I say there was no virtue in believing?"

She cried out, irritated: "Of course you did! Do you mean to say you can
say a thing like that and then forget about it? If it's true, it's one
of the most wonderful things that were ever said. And that's why I
wanted to know if you meant it, of whether you were only saying it
because it sounded clever."

She stopped momentarily, wondering why she was thus implying an untruth;
for the fact was that she had never doubted that he had been in earnest.

"That's what they're always doing in that house, you know--being
clever!" she went on, in a tone apparently inimical to 'that house.'

"Yes," came the voice. "I meant it. Why?"

And the voice was so simple and so sincere that it pierced straight to
her heart and changed her secret mood swiftly to the religious, so that
she really was occupied by the thoughts with which, a moment previously,
she had only pretended to be occupied; and the splendour of the
revelation was renewed. Nevertheless, some impulse, perverse or
defensive, compelled her to assume a doubt of his assurance. She
suspected that, had she not adopted this tactic, she might have melted
before him in gratitude.

"You did?" she murmured.

She thanked him, after that, rather coldly; and they talked a little
about the mere worry of these religious questions. He protested that
they never worried him, and reaffirmed his original proposition.

"I hope you are right," she said softly, in a thrilled voice. She was
thinking that this was the most wonderful, miraculous experience that
she had ever had.

V

Silence.

"Now," she thought, "I must go back." Inwardly she gave a delicious
sigh.

But just as she was about to take her prim leave, the scarce-discerned
figure of her companion stepped out into the