me, Walkirk, that I have never expressed to you, as strongly as I wished
to do it, my appreciation of the interest you have taken in my varied
relations with Miss Sylvia Raynor, and for the valuable advice and
assistance you have given me from time to time. For instance, I believe
that your reluctance to have me go away from Tangent Island was due to
your discovery that the island belonged to Sylvia's mother, and,
therefore, there was some probability that she might come there."

Walkirk smiled. "You have hit the truth," he said.

"I have sometimes wondered," I continued, "why a man should take so much
interest in the love affairs of another. When one engages an
under-study, he does not generally expect that sort of thing."

"Well," said Walkirk, "when a man engages as an under-study, or in a
similar capacity, he often performs services, without regard to his duty
and salary, simply because they interest and please him. Now it struck
me that it would be a curious bit of romantic realism if two beautiful
women, who on account of one man had become nuns in a convent, or what
was practically the same thing, should both be taken out of that convent
and brought back to their true life in the world by another man."

"Two women"--I gasped.

Walkirk smiled, and his voice assumed a comforting tone.

"Of course that sort of thing has its rough points for the second man,
but in this case I do not think they amount to much. Brownson's affair
with the younger lady would have come to an end as soon as she had
discovered the rocks in his character, but her mother broke it off
before it came to that. But I do not think she would have gone into the
sisterhood, if it had not been for the man's death very soon after the
breaking of the engagement. This affected her very much, but there was
no reason why it should, for he was killed in a railway accident, and I
am positively certain that he would have married some one else if he had
lived long enough."

I had nothing to say to all this. I walked slowly into my study and shut
the door. Surely I had had enough of picking up loose ends. If there
were any more of them I would let them flap, dangle, float in the air,
do what they please; I would not touch them.

* * * * *

That evening I spent with Sylvia. In the course of our conversation she
suddenly remarked:--

"Do you know we have had so much to do and so much to talk about, and so
much to think ab