f
recognising her feelings, his voice took a gentler, more reassuring
tone.

"Don't be afraid. I had a sister of my own once. You can trust me to
see you safely home. I am afraid it is no earthly use trying to find
your friends among all the thousands who are leaving the Hall. Better
tell me where you live, so that we can get there as soon as the rest of
your party, and save them needless alarm. Across the Park, you said?
The gates will be closed, of course, and in any case that would be the
last route to take. Tell me your exact address."

"Brompton Square--we turn off at Stanhope Terrace, just past the
Lancaster Gate Station. It is one of those squares lying between the
Park and Edgware Road."

"I know, I know. Its a long walk, but perhaps it will get lighter as we
go on. These dense fogs are often very local. Keep tight hold of my
arm, please. If we are once separated, it might not be easy to meet
again."

"No, indeed! I could not have believed it was so easy to get lost. My
brother was beside me one instant, the next--it was your coat-sleeve! I
hope I did not shake it too violently! I was so nervous and frightened
I did not think what I was doing."

She laughed as she spoke, her youthful spirits beginning to assert
themselves again, as her confidence was assured. The face of her
companion was unknown, but the tone of that quite, "Don't be afraid, I
had a sister of my own," had put an end to her fears. Here was an
adventure indeed--a full-fledged adventure! In anticipation she felt
the joys of relating her experiences to a breathless audience in the
schoolroom, and thrilled with importance. The stranger did not echo her
laugh, however, but merely murmured a few words of conventional
disclaimer and relapsed into silence. Betty could hear him sigh now and
then as they made their way onward--slowly feeling the way from point to
point through the eerie, all-enveloping gloom. Sometimes a brief
question to a link-boy would assure them that they were still on the
right road; sometimes they wandered off the pavement and were suddenly
aware of the champing of horses dangerously near at hand; sometimes for
a minute or two they stood still, waiting to find a clue to their
position; but through all the strange man preserved an unbroken silence,
until Betty's nerve gave way again, and she cried in plaintive, child-
like fashion--

"Oh, please would you mind talking a little bit! I'm frightened. It's