g himself useful in uttering this blunt warning of
dangers ahead.

"His remark was: 'Woman is the source of evil.' And the lady's reply
was----"

Both Lady Dashwood and Gwen were gazing intently at Boreham and Boreham
was staring fixedly at the ornament in Lady Dashwood's grey hair. No one
but the Warden noticed the door open and May Dashwood enter. She was
dressed in black and wore no ornaments. She had caught the gist of what
Boreham was saying, and she made the most delightful movement of her
hands to Middleton that expressed both respectful greeting to him as her
host, and an apology for remaining motionless on the threshold of the
room, so that she should not break Boreham's story.

"And her reply was," went on the unconscious Boreham, "'But surely also
of much good!'"

So that was all! May Dashwood came forward and walked straight up to the
Warden. She held out both her hands to him in apology for her behaviour.

"I hope he--whoever he was--did not marry the young woman who made such
an obvious retort," she said. "Fancy what the conversation would be like
at the breakfast table."

Boreham was too much occupied with his own interesting emotions at the
sudden appearance of Mrs. Dashwood to notice what was plain to Lady
Dashwood and Gwendolen Scott, that the Warden seemed wholly taken by
surprise.

"He didn't marry her," he said, as he held May Dashwood's hands for a
moment and stared down into her upturned face with his narrow eyes.
"But," he added, "the story is probably a fake."

"Ah!" said Mrs. Dashwood, as she released her hands. Then she turned to
Boreham, who was waiting--a picture of self-consciousness in pale fawn.

Gwen's recently regained self-confidence was already oozing out of every
pore of her skin. It didn't matter when the Warden and Mr. Boreham
talked queer talk, that was to be expected; but what did matter was this
Mrs. Dashwood talking queerly with them. Rubbish she, Gwen, called it.
What did that Mrs. Dashwood mean by saying that the retort, "And also of
much good," was obvious? What did "obvious" mean? To Gwen the retort
seemed profoundly clever--and so true! How was she, Gwen, to cope with
this sort of thing? And then there was the Warden already giving this
terrible woman his arm and looking at her far too closely.

"Come, Gwen," said Lady Dashwood, "Mr. Boreham must take us both!"

Gwen's head swam. Along with this new and painful sensation had come a
sudden recollection of somet