id not appear to notice
either gesture.

"Yes," he said, in his slow way, "it is out of the question, and so I
have asked your father to take care of you for me until my return--for,
unfortunately, I cannot postpone my own departure."

Nan's lips quivered. She was beginning to feel hysterical. With an effort
she controlled herself.

"How long shall you be away?" she asked.

"It is impossible for me to say. Everything depends upon the state of
affairs at the mines. But you may be quite sure, Anne"--a deeper note
crept into his voice--"that my absence will be as short as I can possibly
make it."

She turned her head towards him again.

"You needn't hurry for my sake," she said abruptly. "I shall be perfectly
happy here."

"I am glad to hear it," he answered gravely. "I have made full provision
for you. The interest upon the settlement I have made upon you will be
paid to you monthly. Should you find it insufficient, you will, of
course, let me know. I could cable you some more if necessary."

A great blush rose in Nan's face at his words, spreading upwards to her
hair.

"Oh," she stammered, "I--I--indeed, I shan't want any money! Please
don't--"

"It is your own," he interposed quietly, "and as such I beg that you will
regard it, and spend it exactly as you like. Should you require more, as
I have said, I shall be pleased to send it to you."

He uttered the last sentence as if it ended the matter, and Nan found
herself unable to say more. To have expressed any gratitude would have
been an absolute impossibility at that moment.

She lay, therefore, in quivering silence until he spoke again.

"It is time for me to be going. I hope the injury to your arm will
progress quite satisfactorily. You will not be able to write to me
yourself at present, but your sister Mona has promised to let me hear
of you by every mail. Dr. Barnard will also write."

He paused. But Nan said nothing whatever. She was wondering, with a fiery
embarrassment, what form his farewell would take.

After a brief silence he rose.

"Good-bye, then!" he said.

He bent low over her, looking closely into her unwilling face. And
then--it was the merest touch--for the fraction of a second his lips were
on her forehead.

"Good-bye!" he said again, under his breath, and in another moment she
heard his soft tread as he went away.

Her heart was throbbing madly; she felt as if it were leaping up and down
within her. For a space she lay list