ear. Don't be angry with me, Captain Guest. I simply _had_ to
give her a chance! I can afford to pay up, and if I'd sent her to
prison it would have killed the last little mite of self-respect. I
trusted her instead, and I believe that's going to help more than any
punishment. It would _me_! She's had a good old fright, and maybe this
will be the turning-point in her life."

Guest's lips curled in eloquent disbelief. He paced slowly up and down
the room, then stationed himself once more in front of the sofa.

"Did you look over your things to see that they were all right?"

"No! ... She said she hadn't touched them."

"Did you make her return the notes?"

"No, I--I guessed she'd need them herself!"

"How extremely considerate! Didn't you feel it necessary to offer her a
little more, while you were about it? To give her another twenty
pounds, say, to make up the full change for the cheque?"

The face that peered up at him was at once so abashed, so discomfited,
so childlike in its humility, that his anger melted before it, and gave
place to a wave of tenderness.

"You ridiculous, high-flown, little girl! Who would have believed that
all your shrewd commonsense would collapse like this! No! I'm not
angry, I shan't scold any more. The thing's done now, and you've had
enough worry. I'm going to ring the bell, and order some luncheon. We
will have it here together, and comfort ourselves after all this
excitement. I'm hungry enough, whatever you are! What shall it be?
You are going to treat me, you know, so it must be something good.
Roast chicken! That's what ladies generally prefer, and some sweets,
and fruit. Claret for me, and what for you? Is it to be--`corfee'--
once more?"

He went to the door to give the order to the waiter, accompanied by a
tip which had the effect of producing the meal in an extraordinarily
short space of time. Cornelia's appearance being still distinctly
dishevelled, Guest dismissed the waiter and himself took the head of the
table, carving the chicken, handing the vegetable dishes, and even
pouring out the coffee. If they had been a honeymoon couple the
intimacy of the scene could not have been greater, but in that case he
would have taken his wife in his arms and kissed away her tears. Poor,
little, red-eyed girl! There was precious little beauty about her at
the moment, yet she had never appeared more attractive.

"I ken't eat a bite!" was Cornelia's first mel