ash of the old telepathy passed between
them--a pale glimmer lighted his own dark heart in sympathy; and for a
moment he seemed to have a brief glimpse of the truth; and the truth was
not as he had imagined it. But it was a glimpse only--a fleeting
suspicion of his own fallibility; then it vanished into the old, dull,
aching, obstinate humiliation. For truth would not be truth if it were
so easily discovered.

"Well, we've buried it now," breathed Selwyn. "You're all right,
Nina--from your own standpoint--and I'm not going to make a stalking
nuisance of myself; no fear, little sister. Hello!"--turning
swiftly--"here's that preposterous husband of yours."

They exchanged a firm hand clasp; Austin Gerard, big, smooth shaven,
humorously inclined toward the ruddy heaviness of successful middle age;
Selwyn, lean, bronzed, erect, and direct in all the powerful symmetry
and perfect health of a man within sight of maturity.

"Hail to the chief--et cetera," said Austin, in his large, bantering
voice. "Glad to see you home, my bolo-punctured soldier boy. Welcome to
our city! I suppose you've both pockets stuffed with loot, now haven't
you?--pearls and sarongs and dattos--yes? Have you inspected the kids?
What's your opinion of the Gerard batallion? Pretty fit? Nina's
commanding, so it's up to her if we don't pass dress parade. By the
way, your enormous luggage is here--consisting of one dinky trunk and a
sword done up in chamois skin."

"Nina's good enough to want me for a few days--" began Selwyn, but his
big brother-in-law laughed scornfully:

"A few days! We've got you now!" And to his wife: "Nina, I suppose I'm
due to lean over those infernal kids before I can have a minute with
your brother. Are they in bed yet? All right, Phil; we'll be down in a
minute; there's tea and things in the library. Make Eileen give you
some."

He turned, unaffectedly taking his pretty wife's hand in his large
florid paw, and Selwyn, intensely amused, saw them making for the
nursery absorbed in conjugal confab. He lingered to watch them go their
way, until they disappeared; and he stood a moment longer alone there in
the hallway; then the humour faded from his sun-burnt face; he swung
wearily on his heel, and descended the stairway, his hand heavy on the
velvet rail.

The library was large and comfortable, full of agreeably wadded corners
and fat, helpless chairs--a big, inviting place, solidly satisfying in
dull reds and mahogany. The po