hed open the door in a state of breathless
excitement.

"Here's Master Bernard coming, missie," he announced.

Mab started to her feet, her face in a sudden, marvellous glow.

"There now!" said Mrs. Quiller, relieving her of her precious burden.
"Who'd have thought it? You'd better go and talk to him."

And Mab stepped out into the soft sunshine. It fell around her in a flood
and dazzled her. She stood quite still and waited, till out of the
brilliance someone came to her and took her hand. The waves were dashing
loudly on the shore. The south wind raced by with a warm rushing. The
whole world seemed to laugh. She closed her eyes and laughed with it.

"Is it you, Big Bear?" she said.

And Merefleet's voice answered her.

"Yes," it said. "I have come for you in earnest this time. You won't send
me away again?"

Mab lifted her face with a glad smile.

"I guess there's no need," she said. "My dear, I'll come now."

And they went away together in the sunlight.

* * * * *

"And now I guess I'll tell you the story of the first Mrs. Ralph
Warrender," said Mab, some time later. "I won't say anything about him,
because he's dead, and if you can't speak well of the dead,--well it's
better not to speak at all. But she was miserable with him. And after her
baby died--it just wasn't endurable. Then came that railway accident, and
she was in it. There were a lot of folks killed, burnt to death most of
them. But she escaped, and then the thought came to her just to lie low
for a bit and let him think she was dead.

"Oh, it was a real wicked thing to do. But she was nearly demented with
trouble. And she did it. She managed to get away, too, in spite of her
lovely face. An old negro woman helped her. And she came to England and
went to a cousin of hers who had been good to her, whom she knew she
could trust--just a plain, square-jawed Englishman, Big Bear, like you in
some respects--not smart, oh no--only strong as iron. And he kept her
secret, though he didn't like it a bit. And he gave her some money of
hers that he had inherited, to live on. Which was funny, wasn't it?"

Mab paused to laugh.

"And then another man came along, a great, surly, fogheaded Englishman,
who made love to her till she was nearly driven crazy. For though
Warrender had married again before she could stop him, she wasn't free.
But she couldn't tell him so for the other woman's sake. It doesn't
matter now. It was a