r face altered. From being good-humoured, if slightly
impatient, it became watchful, and her eyes narrowed as was their way
when Janet Tosswill was "upset" about anything. She had suddenly heard,
with startling clearness, the words:--"Is that Old Place, Beechfield? If
so, Mr. Godfrey Radmore would like to speak to Mrs. Tosswill."

She was so surprised, so taken aback that for a moment she said nothing.
At last she answered very quietly:--"Tell Mr. Radmore that Mrs. Tosswill
is here waiting on the 'phone."

There was another longish pause, and then, before anything else happened,
Janet Tosswill experienced an odd sensation; it was as if she felt the
masterful, to her not over-attractive, presence of Godfrey Radmore
approaching the other end of the line. A moment later, she knew he was
there, within earshot, but silent.

"Is that you, Godfrey? We thought you were in Australia. Have you been
home long?"

The answer came at once, in the deep, resonant, once familiar voice--the
voice no one had heard in Old Place for nine years--nine years with the
war having happened in between.

"Indeed no, Janet! I've only been back a very short time." (She noticed
he did not say how long.) "And I want to know when I may come down and
see you all? I hope you and Mr. Tosswill will believe me when I say it
wasn't my fault that I didn't come to Beechfield last year. I hadn't a
spare moment!"

The tone of the unseen speaker had become awkward, apologetic, and the
listener bit her lips--she did not believe in his explanation as to why
he had behaved with such a lack of gratitude and good feeling last
autumn.

"We shall be very glad to see you at any time, of course. When can we
expect you?"

But the welcoming words were uttered very coldly.

"It's Tuesday to-day; I was thinking of motoring down on Friday or
Saturday. I've got a lot of business to do before then. Will that be
all right?"

"Of course it will. Come Friday."

She was thawing a little, and perhaps he felt this, for there came an
eager, yearning note into the full, deep voice which sounded so oddly
near, and which, for the moment, obliterated the long years since she had
heard it last.

"How's my godson? Flick still in the land of the living, eh?"

"Thank heaven, yes! That dog's the one thing in the world Timmy cares
for, I sometimes think."

He felt that she was smiling now.

She heard the question:--"Another three minutes, sir?" and the hasty
answer:--"Yes, an