ed to come to John from some
other world.

His voice, when he spoke, sounded a little harsh. Although he was
denying it fiercely to himself, he was filled with a dim, harrowing
consciousness that the struggle had already begun. Notwithstanding the
unrealized joy of these few hours, his last words to Louise were almost
words of anger; his last look from beneath his level, close-drawn
eyebrows was almost militant.

"I hope," he declared, "that what you have said may not be true. I hope
fervently that the time may never come when I shall feel that I need
anything more in life than I can find in the home I love, in the work
which is second nature to me, in my books and my sports!"

The prince, escaping gracefully from a companion who remained adamant to
all his advances, had maneuvered his way to their side. The last few
steps were taken together. In a few moments they were in the car and
ready to start. Stephen, with a stiff little bow, had already departed.
Louise leaned out from her place with outstretched hands.

"And now good-by, dear Mr. Strangewey! Your brother would not let me
make my little speech to him, so you must accept the whole of my thanks.
And," she went on, the corners of her mouth twitching a little, although
her face remained perfectly grave, "if the time should come when the
need of reinvestments, or of some new machinery for your farm, brings
you to London, will you promise that you will come and see me?"

"I will promise that with much pleasure," John answered.

She leaned back and the prince took her place, holding out his hand.

"Mr. Strangewey, although your luck has been better than mine, and you
have robbed me of a visit to which I had looked forward for months, I
bear you no ill-will. I trust that you will do me the honor of shooting
with me before long. My head keeper arranges for the local guns, and I
shall see that he sends you a list of the days on which we shall shoot.
May I beg that you will select the most convenient to yourself? If you
have no car here, it will give me additional pleasure to welcome you at
Raynham as my guest."

John, struggling against an instinctive dislike of which, for many
reasons, he was a little ashamed, murmured a few incoherent words. The
prince leaned back and the car glided away, followed, a few minutes
later, by Louise's own landaulet, with Aline in solitary state inside.

John watched the little procession until it finally disappeared from
sight; t