dim he saw the beautifully kept little
garden--a mass of colour; he saw the name plate, "Sea View," on the
gate, glinting bravely in the sun. Something of the hopeless tragedy
of that "Some day" was getting him by the throat. . . . "Made
good"--dear Lord! and he thought of his two travelling companions in
the morning. . . .

For perhaps five minutes he stood there silently, and then he turned
back into the room. It had come to him quite clearly that Philip
Vernon had indeed made good; that the real tragedy would have been his
return to "Sea View." By his death he had justified himself; in his
life he would have failed. . . . For he had been branded with the
brand of Culman Terrace, and there is no need to say more. He was
relieved to see that Mrs. Vernon was quite composed again. He had
performed the first part of his mission, and now the second required
tackling. And something warned him that he would have to tread very
delicately; any suspicion of the word charity would be fatal to
success. . . .

"About your eldest boy, Mrs. Vernon," he began; "your husband often
spoke about him to me. Let me see--what age is he?"

"Jack is fifteen, Captain Vane," she said quietly.

"Fifteen! Couldn't be better. Now I was wondering, Mrs. Vernon,
whether you would care in a year or two, to let him come to me. I'm in
a very big business in the City, and my boss is always on the look out
for bright boys. I know your boy is clever--but so much depends on
getting a good start these days. Of course he'd be judged entirely on
his merits . . . but he'd start with a real good chance of making the
best of his talents." He looked quickly at her, and found she was
watching him gravely. "It's part of the privilege of the brotherhood
of the trenches, Mrs. Vernon, to be allowed to make such an
offer. . . ." He was finding it easier now. "To do anything for your
husband's son would be a real pleasure; though, I need hardly say that,
beyond giving him the chance, I could offer nothing else. It would be
up to him to make good."

For a while Mrs. Vernon was silent, and he flashed a quick look at her.
Had he put it well? Had he kept every suspicion of patronage out of
his offer?

"Thank you very much, Captain Vane," she said at last, "for your offer.
I hope you won't think me ungrateful when I refuse. Four years ago I
think I should have accepted it with gratitude; but now . . ." She
shook her head "A lot of the shams have