ressively.

Then Allen turned--he was forbidden, under pain of death, to recognize
her until he heard these mystic words--knelt on the step below her and
kissed her other hand, while the one upraised descended upon his head in
benediction.

"The Lord be with thee, Fair Lady," he replied, following his lesson.

"And with thee--I accept thy troth. Now we can have a visit."

The Arthurian lady had vanished, and Patricia was herself again, curled
up close beside him.

"Look here, Lady Pat," he said, shaking his finger at her warningly, "I
think we ought to put a stop to this--you're taking it all too
seriously."

"Of course," she admitted, smiling up at him. "Why don't we get married
right away--then it needn't be serious any longer."

"Well"--Allen would not have wounded the devoted little heart for
worlds--"one reason is that I haven't money enough."

"Did Knights have to have money?" Patricia inquired. "I never saw a suit
of armor with a money-pocket in it."

"Neither did I," he admitted. "There wasn't any money then, like ours,
and when they wanted anything they didn't have, they fought for it."

"Well, then, why don't you fight for it?"

"I'm going to--I am fighting now. I mean, Lady Pat, they don't let you
fight the way they used to."

"Is it only because you haven't money enough that we don't marry, Sir
Launcelot?"

"That is--one of the principal reasons."

"Swear that you don't love any other fair lady."

"Except Alice," Allen insisted.

"Shall you always love her?" Patricia asked, wistfully.

Allen sighed. "I'm afraid so, Lady Pat."

"Well, I don't care--I'll love you enough for both of us, so that's all
settled. Now promise that you'll sit on this very step and not move 'til
I come back."

"What for? I must run along."

"You promised," she cried, and disappeared up-stairs as fast as her
little white legs could carry her. There was nothing to do but wait, yet
Allen was not long kept in suspense. Patricia returned with equal speed,
carrying her bank in both hands.

"There!" she exclaimed, jingling the contents. "You take that and make a
lot more with it, and we shall have all the money we want."

"But I can't do that," he protested.

"Aren't you as smart as Mr. Covington?"

"What has he to do with it, Lady Pat?"

"He took Alice's money and made a whole lot more with it, and I'm going
to tell you how to do it, too."

Patricia danced before him on the hall rug, clapping her hands toge