e went to his goal.

"Miss Searight," he began, his harsh, bass voice pitched even lower than
usual, "what do you think I am down here for? This is not the only part
of the world where I could recuperate, I suppose, and as for spending
God's day in chipping at stones, like a professor of a young ladies'
seminary"--he hurled the hammer from him into the bushes--"that for
geology! Now we can talk. You know very well that I love you, and I
believe that you love me. I have come down here to ask you to marry me."

Lloyd might have done any one of a dozen things--might have answered in
any one of a dozen ways. But what she did do, what she did say, took
Bennett completely by surprise. A little coldly and very calmly she
answered:

"You believe--you say you believe that I--" she broke off, then began
again: "It is not right for you to say that to me. I have never led you
to believe that I cared for you. Whatever our relations are to be, let
us have that understood at once."

Bennett uttered an impatient exclamation "I am not good at fencing and
quibbling," he declared. "I tell you that I love you with all my heart.
I tell you that I want you to be my wife, and I tell you that I know you
do love me. You are not like other women; why should you coquette with
me? Good God! Are you not big enough to be above such things? I know you
are. Of all the people in the world we two ought to be above pretence,
ought to understand each other. If I did not know you cared for me I
would not have spoken."

"I don't understand you," she answered. "I think we had better talk of
other things this morning."

"I came down here to talk of just this and nothing else," he declared.

"Very well, then," she said, squaring her shoulders with a quick, brisk
movement, "we will talk of it. You say we two should understand each
other. Let us come to the bottom of things at once. I despise quibbling
and fencing as much, perhaps, as you. Tell me how have I ever led you to
believe that I cared for you?"

"At a time when our last hope was gone," answered Bennett, meeting her
eyes, "when I was very near to death and thought that I should go to my
God within the day, I was made happier than I think I ever was in my
life before by finding out that I was dear to you--that you loved me."

Lloyd searched his face with a look of surprise and bewilderment.

"I do not understand you," she repeated.

"Oh!" exclaimed Bennett with sudden vehemence, "you could sa