nd you
cannot take it away from me. Some other woman may rob me of it, perhaps,
but you cannot do it, my friend. I will wait for you to come and get me,
Braden. Now, go,--please go,--and do not come here again until--" she smiled
faintly.

He lowered his head. "I will not come again, Anne," he said huskily.

She did not follow him to the door.

CHAPTER XXIX

Anne left town about the middle of June and did not return until late in
September. She surprised every one who knew her by going to Nova Scotia,
where she took a cottage in one of the quaint old coast towns. Lutie and
George and the baby spent the month of August with her. Near the close of
their visit, Anne made an announcement that, for one day at least, caused
them to doubt, very gravely, whether she was in her right mind. George,
very much perturbed, went so far as to declare to Lutie in the seclusion
of their bedroom that night, that Anne was certainly dotty. And the queer
part of it all was that he couldn't, for the life of him, feel sorry about
it!

The next morning they watched her closely, at times furtively, and waited
for her to either renounce the decision of the day before or reveal some
sign that she had no recollection of having made the astounding statement
at all,--in which case they could be certain that she had been a bit
flighty and would be in a position to act accordingly. (Get a specialist
after her, or something like that.) But Anne very serenely discoursed on
the sweetest sleep she had known in years, and declared she was ready for
_anything_, even the twelve-mile tramp that George had been trying so hard
to get her to take with him. Her eyes were brighter, her cheeks rosier
than they had been for months, and, to George's unbounded amazement, she
ate a hearty breakfast with them.

"I have written to Simmy," said she, "and James has posted the letter. The
die is cast. Congratulate me!"

"But, hang it all," cried George desperately, "I still believe you are
crazy, Anne, so--how can I congratulate you? My Lord, girl--"

He stopped short, for Lutie sprang up from the table and threw her arms
around Anne. She kissed her rapturously, all the time gurgling something
into her ear that George could not hear, and perhaps would not have
understood if he had. Then they both turned toward him, shining-eyed and
exultant. An instant later he rushed over and enveloped both of them in
his long, strong arms and shouted out that he was crazy