luence; a gracious influence
perhaps, but vaguely antagonistic to him. He had thought of a house as
a place in which one ate and slept, but did not expect it to mold one's
character. Surroundings like this were no doubt Helen Dalton's proper
environment, but he came from the outside turmoil, where men sweated and
struggled and took hard knocks.

In the meantime, he talked to and studied the two ladies. Although they
had white hair, they were younger than he thought at first and much
alike. It was as if they had faded prematurely from breathing too
rarefied an atmosphere and shutting out rude but bracing blasts. Still
they had a curious charm, and he had felt a hint of warmth in Mrs.
Dalton's welcome that puzzled him.

"We have been expecting you. Bob told us you would come," she said in a
low, sweet voice, and added with a smile: "I wanted to meet you."

Festing wondered what Bob had said about him, but for a time they
tactfully avoided the object of his visit and asked him questions about
his journey. Then Mrs. Dalton got up.

"Helen is in the garden. Shall we look for her?"

She took him across the lawn to a bench beneath a copper beech, and
Festing braced himself when a girl got up. She wore white and the shadow
of the leaves checkered the plain dress. He noted the unconscious grace
of her pose as she turned towards him, and her warm color, which seemed
to indicate a sanguine temperament. Helen Dalton was all that he had
thought, and something more. He knew her level, penetrating glance, but
she had a virility he had not expected. The girl was somehow stronger
than he portrait.

"Perhaps I had better leave you to talk to Mr. Festing," Mrs. Dalton
said presently and moved away.

Helen waited with a calm that Festing thought must cost her much, and
moving a folding chair, he sat down opposite.

"I understand Bob told you I would come," he said. "You see, he is a
friend of mine."

"Yes," she replied with a faint sparkle in her eyes. "He hinted that you
would explain matters. I think he meant you would make some defense for
him."

Festing noted that her voice was low like her mother's, but it had a
firmer note. He could be frank with her, but there was a risk that he
might say too much.

"Well," he said, "I may make mistakes. In fact, it was with much
reluctance I promised to come, and if Bob hadn't insisted----" He paused
and pulled himself together. "On the surface, of course, his conduct
looks inexcusab