e for me, never again, until he is
free. Or else"--her tone was firm, though her voice had sunk to a
whisper. She drew back, and regarded him unhappily, shaking her
head--"or else, I must not see you again."

There was a moment's silence, and then Roddy gave an exclamation of
impatience, of protest.

"If you ask it!" he said, "I promise. How _soon_ am I to see you
again?"

Inez moved from him toward the house. At a little distance she stopped
and regarded him in silence. Her eyes were wistful, reproachful.

"It was so hard to ask," she murmured, "and you've promised so
easily!"

"How dare you!" cried Roddy. "How dare you! Easy!" He rushed on
wildly, "When I want to cry out to the whole world that I love you,
when I feel that every stranger sees it, when my heart beats, 'Inez,
Inez, Inez,' so that I know the people in the street can hear it too.
If I hadn't promised you to keep silent," he cried indignantly,
"because you asked it, I'd tell you now that no other woman in all the
world is loved as I love you! Easy to be silent!" he demanded, "when
every drop of blood calls to you, when I breathe only when you
breathe----"

"Stop!" cried the girl. For an instant she covered her face with her
hands. When she lowered them her eyes were shining, radiant, laughing
with happiness.

"I am so sorry!" she whispered penitently. "It was wicked. But," she
pleaded, "I did so want to hear you say it just once more!"

She was very near to him. Her eyes were looking into his. What she saw
in them caused her to close her own quickly. Feeling blindly with
outstretched hands, she let herself sway toward him, and in an instant
she was wrapped in his arms with his breathless kisses covering her
lips and cheeks.

For Roddy the earth ceased revolving, he was lifted above it and heard
the music of the stars. He was crowned, exalted, deified. Then the
girl who had done this tore herself away and ran from him through the
garden.

Neither Inez nor Roddy was in a mood to exchange polite phrases in the
presence of Mrs. Broughton, and they at once separated, each in a
different direction, Roddy returning to his home. There he found Sam
Caldwell. He was in no better frame of mind to receive him, but
Caldwell had been two hours waiting and was angry and insistent.

"At last!" he exclaimed. "I have been here since eleven. Don't tell
me," he snapped, "that you've been spearing eels, because I won't
believe it."

"What can I tell you," ask