he bridge. The perfect
peace of the warm June night, the yellow moonlight on the quiet water,
the wide-spanned bridge, the long straggling street of irregular gabled
houses so kindly and so sheltering with their overhanging eaves, the
dear familiar charm of it all seemed to grip Reggie by the throat and
caused an unwonted smarting in his eyes.

The village was absolutely deserted save for one motionless figure
sitting on the wall at the far end of the bridge.

"Hullo, Willets," Reggie called, "not in bed yet?"

"I'm always a bit wakeful when the fly's up, sir; the river seems to
draw me, and I can't leave it."

"Have a cigar," said Reggie, and sat down beside him.

They smoked in silence for a few minutes till Willets said--

"Seen anything of Miss Mary up there, sir?"

"No, Willets, I haven't been able to get away for a minute till now,
but I may manage to run down to Woolwich next week just to buck to the
General about my catch. You'll have him down then post haste--I
bet----"

"I suppose, sir," said Willets, with studied carelessness, "you never
happened to come across the young man that's member for these parts?"

"What, young Gallup? I believe I saw him once. He's making quite a
name for himself I hear, his maiden speech was in all the papers. By
the way though, I _did_ hear of him the other day in a letter I had
from Miss Mary. They'd all been to dine at the House of Commons with
him, and had no end of a time."

"Well I _am_ damned!" said Willets.

He said it seriously, almost devoutly, and Reggie turned right round to
stare at him.

"I beg your pardon, sir, I'm sure, but I really was fairly
flabbergasted."

He stood up sturdy and respectful in a patch of moonlight, and his keen
brown eyes raked Reggie's as though they would read his very soul.

It wasn't an easy soul to read, and Reggie knew that Willets had
something on his mind, so he waited.

"I beg your pardon, sir," Willets said again. He had never got over
the feeling that Reggie was one of the young gentlemen, and that it
behoved him to be careful of his language in front of him.

Reggie Peel laughed. "Look here, Willets," he said, "what's your
objection? Why shouldn't they go to the House of Commons to dine with
Gallup if it amuses them?"

"I don't know, sir, I'm sure, but I was took aback. An' in a small
place like this it's certain to make talk. That old Miss Gallup, now,
she'll be boasting everywhere that our Miss Mary