tch a second ago," he protested.

"Excuse me," she said coldly; "I saw a light quite five minutes ago."

"Oh yes!" he apologised. "I remember. When I came up the cellar
steps."

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

"Not at all," he said quickly.

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

"Did I say there was no virtue in believing?" he stammeringly demanded.

"Of course you did!" she remonstrated. "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 or whether you were only saying it because it
sounded clever. That's what they're always doing in that house, you
know, being clever!" Her tone was invariably harsh.

"Yes," he said simply, "I meant it. Why?"

"You did?" Her voice seemed to search for insincerity. "Well, thank
you. That's all. It may mean a new life to me. I'm always trying to
believe; always! Aren't you?"

"I don't know," he mumbled. "How do you mean?"

"Well--you know!" she said, as if impatiently smashing his pretence of
not understanding her. "But perhaps you do believe?"

He thought he detected scorn for a facile believer. "No," he said, "I
don't."

"And it doesn't worry you? Honestly? Don't be clever! I hate that!"

"No," he said.

"Don't you ever think about it?"

"No. Not often."

"Charlie does."

"Has he told you?" ("So she talks to the Sunday too!" he reflected.)

"Yes; but of course I quite see why it doesn't worry you--if you
honestly think there's no virtue in believing."

"Well," said Edwin. "Is there?" The more he looked at it through her
eyes, the more wonderful profundities he discovered in that remark of
his, which at the time of uttering it had appeared to him a simple
platitude. It went exceedingly deep in many directions.

"I hope you are right," she replied. Her voice shook.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

FIVE.

There was silence. To ease the strain of his self-consciousness Edwin
stepped down from the stone floor of the porch to the garden. He felt
rain. And he noticed that the sky was very much darker.

"By Jove!" he said. "It's beginning to rain, I do believe."

"I thought it would," she answered.

A squ