her that she has a duty to me too, when I have
been thinking of her for the last three years. I must explain to you,
O'Shaughnessy, that a friend wrote to tell me that your eldest sister
was about to be married to a man called Hilliard, and by an unfortunate
coincidence Bridgie herself had vaguely referred to coming changes in
her last letter, so I believed the report, and we have mutually been
eating our hearts, and believing the other to be faithless. There was
no engagement, you must understand, but I made up my mind about her the
first day we met, and she now acknowledges that she ran away because she
was afraid I might interfere with her home claims. You see, I have
already spared her to you for three good years, so I think it is my turn
now! My friends will tell you that I have been miserably dull and
surly, and for their sakes alone I feel I ought to make a stand."

"And Bridgie has been always sweet and cheerful. We have each expected
her to be sorry for us in turns, and never once suspected that she
needed us to be sorry for her too. Thank you, Bridgie!" said Jack,
looking across at her with a loving look which was the sweetest reward
which she could possibly have received for the struggles which had been
so gallantly concealed.

"It was my greatest comfort to have you all to work and care for when I
thought he had--forgotten!" she cried hastily. "And I have loved
helping you, Jack! Please speak honestly, dear, let us all speak out
honestly. Of course I want to be with Dick, but I want most of all to
do what is right--we all do--and the children must come first. You
can't be left alone, Jack, and there is no one else to take my place."

"Unless--" began Jack slowly. Bridgie looked at him in surprise, and
saw the red flush come creeping up from beneath his collar, touch his
cheeks, and mount up and up to the roots of his curling hair. "Unless I
married myself!" he said breathlessly, and at that Bridgie darted
forward and caught him by both hands.

"What? What? What? Jack, what do you mean? Is it Sylvia? Of course
it is Sylvia! And does she--Jack, what does it mean? Are you engaged
too? Have you been keeping it from me because you thought--"

"We wouldn't let you think you were in our way; we loved you too much,
old girl, so we were quietly waiting until--"

"I came along!" concluded Dick Victor tersely.

The three young people stood staring at each other for a moment, and the
tears br