him, squeezing her almost painfully tight. She gasped a little,
drew in her breath, and then resolved to bear it.

"There's something troubling him, he likes having me near him,"
thought the child. "I wouldn't let him see that he's squeezing me up a
bit too tight for all the world."

The mare seemed to fly over the ground. Ogilvie was glad.

"We shall have a minute or two at the station. I can speak to her
then," he thought. "I won't tell her that I am going, but I can say
something." Then the station appeared in view, and the mare was
pulled up with a jerk; Ogilvie jumped to his feet, and lifted Sibyl to
the ground.

"Wait for the child," he said to the servant, "and take her back
carefully to the house."

"Yes, sir," answered the man, touching his hat.

Ogilvie went into the little station, and Sibyl accompanied him.

"I have my ticket," he said, "we have three minutes to spare, three
whole precious minutes."

"Three whole precious minutes," repeated Sibyl. "What is it, father?"

"I am thinking of something," he said.

"What?" asked the girl.

"For these three minutes, one hundred and eighty seconds, you and I
are to all intents and purposes alone in the world."

"Father! why, so we are," she cried. "Mother's not here, we are all
alone. Nothing matters, does it, when we are alone together?"

"Nothing."

"You don't look quite well, dear father."

"I have been having some suffering lately, and am worried about
things, those sort of things that don't come to little girls."

"Of course they don't, father, but when I'm a woman I'll have them.
I'll take them instead of you."

"Now listen, my darling."

"Father, before you speak ... I know you are going to say something
very, _very_ solemn; I know you when you're in your solemn moments; I
like you best of all then. You seem like Jesus Christ then. Don't you
feel like Jesus Christ, father?"

"Never, Sib, never; but the time is going by, the train is signalled.
My dearest, what is it?"

"Mayn't I go back to town with you? I like the country, I like Gus and
Freda and Mabel, but there is no place like your study in the evening,
and there's no place like my bedroom at night when you come into it.
I'd like to go back with you, wouldn't it be fun! Couldn't you take
me?"

"I could, of course," said the man, and just for a moment he wavered.
It would be nice to have her in the house, all by herself, for the
next two or three days, but he put the thought fr