The smile was still in his eyes as he looked at her, and then
at the cheated Sister. "I would have married you," she whispered
passionately as if that could stay him. "Yes, I would."

So in the end he trusted the new wings of his mortal love to bear his
soul to its immortality. They carried their burden buoyantly, it was
such a little way. The lamp was still holding its own against the
paleness from the windows when the meaning finally went out of his clasp
of Hilda's hand, without a struggle to stay, and she saw that in an
instant when she was not looking, he had closed his eyes upon the world.
She sat on beside him for a long time after that, watching tenderly, and
would not withdraw her hand--it seemed an abandonment.

Three hours later Miss Howe, passing out of the hospital gate, was
overtaken by Duff Lindsay, riding, with a look of singular animation
and vigour. He flung himself off his horse to speak to her, and as he
approached he drew from his inner coat pocket the brown envelope of a
telegram.

"Good-morning," he said. "You do look fagged. I have a--curious--piece
of news."

"Alicia told me that you were starting early this morning for Madras!"

"I should have been, but for this."

"Read it to me," Hilda said, "I'm tired."

"Oh, do you very much mind? I would rather--"

She took the missive; it was dated the day before, Colombo, and read--

"Do not expect me was married this morning to Colonel Markin S A we may
not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers glory be to God Laura
Markin"

She raised her eyes to his with the gravest, saddest irony.

"Then you--you also are delivered," she said; but he said "What?"
without special heed; and I doubt whether he ever took the trouble to
understand her reference to their joint indebtedness.

"One hopes he isn't a brute," Lindsay went on with most impersonal
solicitude, "and can support her. I suppose there isn't any way one
could do anything for her. I heard a story only yesterday about a girl
changing her mind on the way out. By Jove, I didn't suppose it would
happen to me!"

"If you are hurt anywhere," Hilda said absently, "it is only your
vanity, I fancy."

"Ah, my vanity is very sore!" He paused for an instant, wondering to
find so little expansion in her. "I came to ask after Arnold," he said.
"How is he?"

"He is dead. He died at half-past five this morning."

She left him with even less than her usual circumstance, and turned in