king after him when he
bade her good-by; and just as he then turned and went swiftly back to
her, so now in his soul he turned to her yearningly and took her to his
breast. Still penetrating the sweet, white halo of this vision, he heard
the voice of Mr. Stretton deferentially droning on.

"And with your resources--the wealth which, with a little care and
thought just now at this crucial moment, will be yours--"

Still David stood with bowed head.

"It is as if you were predestined, my lord, to step in at a critical
time of your country's need--with brains, education, conscience, and
wealth--with every obstacle swept away."

Still before him stood Cassandra, white and silent; he could see only
her.

"Every obstacle swept away," repeated the lawyer.

"And Cassandra, God help her and me." David slowly turned, lifted a
glass of wine from the table, and drank it. "Well, so be it, so be it,"
he said aloud. "We'll join mother and Laura." At the door he paused,
"You spoke of education--the learning of a physician is but little in
the line of statesmanship. How soon will I be expected to take my seat?"

"If you ask my advice, my lord, I would say better wait a year. It will
be advisable for you to go yourself to South Africa and look into your
uncle's investments there--as a private individual, of course, not as a
public servant. Two-thirds of the receipts have fallen off since the
war; learn what may be saved from the wreckage, or if there be a
wreckage. I'm inclined to think not all, for the investments were
varied. Your uncle may have been a silent member, but he was certainly a
man of good business judgment--" Mr. Stretton paused and coughed a
little apologetically before adding: "Not an inherited talent,
only--ah--cultivated--cultivated--you know. Good business judgment is
not a trait inherent in our peerage, as a rule."

David was amused and entered the drawing-room with a smile on his face.
His mother was pleased and rose instantly, coming forward with both
hands extended to take his. He understood it as a welcome back to the
family circle, the quiet talks and the evening lamp, less formal than
the oppressive dinner had been. He held her hands thus offered and
kissed the little anxious line on her brow, then playfully smoothed it
with his finger.

"We mustn't let it become permanent, you know, mother."

"No, David. It will go now you are at home."

He did not know that his mother and Laura had been having a