late. And you've had a visitor to entertain, too.
Pentridge is a good chap, isn't he?"

All this I rattled out airily, and in the most natural manner in the
world, as I thought. But she was not taken in.

"You haven't been yourself at all for some time, Kenrick," she went on,
"not since we came back, anyhow. I'm not the only one who has noticed
it."

"So? Who else has?" I asked laughingly.

"Well, Dr Pentridge for one. We were talking about you the other day,
and he said you gave him the idea of a man who had something on his
mind. He's a doctor, you see."

"Ho-ho! Quite so; and now he's trying to capture a fee out of
consulting hours," I laughed. "Never mind, Beryl. We won't call in
Pentridge professionally just yet."

I had a spade in my hand, and with it I set to work to clear away a
slight obstruction in the furrow beneath the quince hedge; and while I
did so I realised that my laugh did not ring true, that it no more
imposed upon Beryl than it did upon myself.

"By the way," I went on, "he's coming to practice in Fort Lamport, he
tells me. That'll be handy if I want to put him in charge of my case."

"Kenrick, will you stop joking and be serious," she said. "First of
all, answer my first question. Have I done or said anything to offend
you?"

"Why, good heavens! of course not. How on earth could you?"

"That's a weight off my mind, at any rate," she answered with a little
smile.

I stood and faced her.

"Look here, Beryl," I said. "To prevent any misunderstanding I'll tell
you this much. I have something on my mind just now, but it relates to
matters of business. I had some rather nasty news from England the day
before you came back, and it has worried me a good bit. That's all."

But she shook her head.

"I doubt if that is all," she said, and my pulses were set a-hammering
as I wondered whether she was going to get the rest of it out of me too.
"I believe it is worse than you are admitting. I don't want to pry
into your affairs, Kenrick, but you are like one of ourselves now, and I
can't bear to see you going about looking as you have been doing of
late. And--and--you might do worse than consult father or Brian about
it. They are both very shrewd in that line you know, and might be of
use to you."

"Well, it may come to that," I answered. "But meanwhile, Beryl, what I
have told you is between ourselves. You made me tell you, you know.
Heaven knows I never intended to wh