第3章

"Ifhedies，Dad——"shewhispered。

"HewillhavediedfortheCountry，mylove，asmuchaseveroursoldiersdo。"

"Iknow;butthat’snocomfort。I’vebeenwatchinghereallday;

I’vebeenthinking;menwillbejustasbrutalafterwards——morebrutal。Theworldwillgoonthesame。"

"Wemusthopenot。Shallwepray，Gracie？"

Gratianshookherhead。

"IfIcouldbelievethattheworld——ifIcouldbelieveanything！

I’velostthepower，Dad;Idon’tevenbelieveinafuturelife。IfGeorgedies，weshallnevermeetagain。"

Piersonstaredatherwithoutaword。

Gratianwenton:"Thelasttimewetalked，IwasangrywithGeorgebecausehelaughedatmybelief;nowthatIreallywantbelief，I

feelthathewasright。"

Piersonsaidtremulously:

"No，no，mydear;it’sonlythatyou’reoverwrought。GodinHismercywillgiveyoubackbelief。"

"ThereisnoGod，Dad"

"Mydarlingchild，whatareyousaying？"

"NoGodwhocanhelpus;Ifeelit。IftherewereanyGodwhocouldtakepartinourlives，alteranythingwithoutourwill，kneworcaredwhatwedid——Hewouldn’tlettheworldgoonasitdoes。"

"But，mydear，Hispurposesareinscrutable。WedarenotsayHeshouldnotdothisorthat，ortrytofathomtowhatendsHeisworking。"

"ThenHe’snogoodtous。It’sthesameasifHedidn’texist。WhyshouldIprayforGeorge’slifetoOnewhoseendsarejustHisown？

IknowGeorgeoughtn’ttodie。Ifthere’saGodwhocanhelp，itwillbeawickedshameifGeorgedies;ifthere’saGodwhocanhelp，it’sawickedshamewhenbabiesdie，andallthesemillionsofpoorboys。Iwouldratherthinkthere’snoGodthanahelplessorawickedGod——"

Herfatherhadsuddenlythrownuphishandstohisears。Shemovedcloser，andputherarmroundhim。

"Daddear，I’msorry。Ididn’tmeantohurtyou。

Piersonpressedherfacedowntohisshoulder;andsaidinadullvoice:

"Whatdoyouthinkwouldhavehappenedtome，Gracie，ifIhadlostbeliefwhenyourmotherdied？Ihaveneverlostbelief。PrayGodI

nevershall！"

Gratianmurmured:

"GeorgewouldnotwishmetopretendIbelieve——hewouldwantmetobehonest。IfI’mnothonest，Ishan’tdeservethatheshouldlive。

Idon’tbelieve，andIcan’tpray。"

"Mydarling，you’reovertired。"

"No，Dad。"Sheraisedherheadfromhisshoulderand，claspingherhandsroundherknees，lookedstraightbeforeher。"Wecanonlyhelpourselves;andIcanonlybearitifIrebel。"

Piersonsatwithtremblinglips，feelingthatnothinghecouldsaywouldtouchherjustthen。Thesickman’sfacewashardlyvisiblenowinthetwilight，andGratianwentovertohisbed。Shestoodlookingdownathimalongtime。

"Goandrest，Dad;thedoctor’scomingagainateleven。I’llcallyouifIwantanything。Ishallliedownalittle，besidehim。"

Piersonkissedher，andwentout。Tolietherebesidehimwouldbethegreatestcomfortshecouldget。Hewenttothebarenarrowlittleroomhehadoccupiedeversincehiswifedied;and，takingoffhisboots，walkedupanddown，withafeelingofalmostcrushingloneliness。Bothhisdaughtersinsuchtrouble，andheofnousetothem！ItwasasifLifewerepushinghimutterlyaside！Hefeltconfused，helpless，bewildered。SurelyifGratianlovedGeorge，shehadnotleftGod’sside，whatevershemightsay。Then，consciousoftheprofoundheresyofthisthought，hestoodstillattheopenwindow。

Earthlylove——heavenlylove;wasthereanyanalogybetweenthem？

>FromtheSquareGardenstheindifferentwhisperoftheleavesanswered;andanewsvendoratthefarend，bawlinghisnightlytaleofmurder。

3

GeorgeLairdpassedthecrisisofhisillnessthatnight，andinthemorningwaspronouncedoutofdanger。Hehadasplendidconstitution，and——Scotsmanonhisfather’sside——afightingcharacter。Hecamebacktolifeveryweak，butavidofrecovery;andhisfirstwordswere:"I’vebeenhangingovertheedge，Gracie！"

Averyhighcliff，andhisbodyhalfover，balancing;oneinch，themerestfractionofaninchmore，andoverhewouldhavegone。Deucedrumsensation！Butnotsohorribleasitwouldhavebeeninreallife。Withtheslipofthatlastinchhefelthewouldhavepassedatonceintooblivion，withoutthelonghorrorofafall。Sothiswaswhatitwasforallthepoorfellowshehadseenslipinthepasttwoyears！Mercifully，attheend，onewasnotaliveenoughtobeconsciousofwhatonewasleaving，notaliveenougheventocare。Ifhehadbeenabletotakeinthepresenceofhisyoungwife，abletorealisethathewaslookingatherface，touchingherforthelasttime——itwouldhavebeenhell;ifhehadbeenuptorealisingsunlight，moonlight，thesoundoftheworld’slifeoutside，thesoftnessofthebedhelayon——itwouldhavemeantthemostpoignantanguishofdefraudment。Lifewasararegoodthing，andtobesquashedoutofitwithyourpowersatfull，awretchedmistakeinNature’sarrangements，awretchedvillainyonthepartofMan——forhisowndeath，likeallthoseothermillionsofprematuredeaths，wouldhavebeenduetotheidiocyandbrutalityofmen！Hecouldsmilenow，withGratianlookingdownathim，buttheexperiencehadheapedfuelonafirewhichhadalwayssmoulderedinhisdoctor’ssoulagainstthathalfemancipatedbreedofapes，thehumanrace。

Well，nowhewouldgetafewdaysofffromhisdeath—carnival！Andhelay，feastinghisreturningsensesonhiswife。Shemadeaprettynurse，andhispractisedeyejudgedheragoodone——firmandquiet。

GeorgeLairdwasthirty。AttheopeningofthewarhewasinanEast—Endpractice，andhadvolunteeredatonceforservicewiththeArmy。Forthefirstninemonthshehadbeenrightupinthethickofit。Apoisonedarm;ratherthantheauthorities，hadsenthimhome。

DuringthatleavehemarriedGratian。HehadknownthePiersonssometime;and，madeconsciousoftheinstabilityoflife，hadresolvedtomarryheratthefirstchancehegot。Forhisfather—in—lawhehadrespectandliking，evermixedwithwhatwasnotquitecontemptandnotquitepity。Theblendofauthoritywithhumility，clericwithdreamer，monkwithartist，mysticwithmanofaction，inPierson，excitedinhimaninterested，butoftenirritated，wonder。Hesawthingssodifferentlyhimself，andhadlittleofthehumorouscuriositywhichenjoyswhatisstrangesimplybecauseitisstrange。

Theycouldnevertalktogetherwithoutsoonreachingapointwhenhewantedtosay:"Ifwe’renottotrustourreasonandoursensesforwhatthey’reworth，sir——willyoukindlytellmewhatwearetotrust？Howcanweexertthemtotheutmostinsomematters，andinotherssuddenlyturnourbacksonthem？"Once，inoneoftheirdiscussions，whichoftenborderedonacrimony，hehadexpoundedhimselfatlength。

"Igrant，"hehadsaid，"thatthere’sagreatultimateMystery，thatweshallneverknowanythingforcertainabouttheoriginoflifeandtheprincipleoftheUniverse;butwhyshouldwesuddenlyshutupourenquiringapparatusanddenyalltheevidenceofourreason——say，aboutthestoryofChrist，orthequestionofafuturelife，orourmoralcode？Ifyouwantmetoenteratempleoflittlemysteries，leavingmyreasonandsensesbehind——asaMohammedanleaveshisshoes——itwon’tdotosaytomesimply:’Thereitis！Enter！’Youmustshowmethedoor;andyoucan’t！AndI’lltellyouwhy，sir。

Becauseinyourbrainthere’salittletwistwhichisnotinmine，orthelackofalittletwistwhichisinmine。Nothingmorethanthatdividesusintothetwomainspeciesofmankind，oneofwhomworships，andoneofwhomdoesn’t。Oh，yes！Iknow;youwon’tadmitthat，becauseitmakesyourreligionsnaturalinsteadofwhatyoucallsupernatural。ButIassureyouthere’snothingmoretoit。

Youreyeslookuportheylookdown——theyneverlookstraightbeforethem。Well，minedojusttheopposite。"

ThatdayPiersonhadbeenfeelingverytired，andthoughtomeetthisattackwasvital，hehadbeenunabletomeetit。Hisbrainhadstammered。Hehadturnedalittleaway，leaninghischeekonhishand，asiftocoverthatmomentarybreakinhisdefences。Somedayslaterhehadsaid:

"Iamablenowtoansweryourquestions，George。IthinkIcanmakeyouunderstand。"

Lairdhadanswered:"Allright，sir;goahead。"

"Youbeginbyassumingthatthehumanreasonisthefinaltestofallthings。Whatrighthaveyoutoassumethat？Supposeyouwereanant。Youwouldtakeyourant’sreasonasthefinaltest，wouldn’tyou？Wouldthatbethetruth？"Andasmilehadfixeditselfonhislipsabovehislittlegravebeard。

GeorgeLairdalsohadsmiled。

"Thatseemsagoodpoint，sir，"hesaid，"untilyourecognisethatI

don’ttake，thehumanreasonasfinaltestinanyabsolutesense。I

onlysayit’sthehighesttestwecanapply;andthat，behindthattestallisquitedarkandunknowable。"

"Revelation，then，meansnothingtoyou？"

"Nothing，sir。"

"Idon’tthinkwecanusefullygoon，George。"

"Idon’tthinkwecan，sir。Intalkingwithyou，Ialwaysfeellikefightingamanwithonehandtiedbehindhisback。"

"AndI，perhaps，feelthatIamarguingwithonewhowasblindfrombirth。"

Forallthat，theyhadoftenarguedsince;butneverwithoutthosepeculiarsmilescomingontheirfaces。Still，theyrespectedeachother，andPiersonhadnotopposedhisdaughter’smarriagetothisheretic，whomheknewtobeanhonestandtrustworthyman。IthadtakenplacebeforeLaird’sarmwaswell，andthetwohadsnatchedamonth’shoneymoonbeforehewentbacktoFrance，andshetoherhospitalinManchester。Sincethen，justoneFebruaryfortnightbytheseahadbeenalltheirtimetogether……

Intheafternoonhehadaskedforbeeftea，and，havingdrunkacup，said:

"I’vegotsomethingtotellyourfather。"

Butwarnedbythepallorofhissmilinglips，Gratiananswered:

"Tellmefirst，George。"

"Ourlasttalk，Gracie;well——there’snothing——ontheotherside。I

lookedover;it’sasblackasyourhat。"

Gratianshivered。

"Iknow。Whileyouwerelyingherelastnight，Itoldfather。"

Hesqueezedherhand，andsaid:"Ialsowanttotellhim。"

"Dadwillsaythemotiveforlifeisgone。"

"Isayitleapsoutallthemore，Gracie。Whatamesswemakeofit——weangel—apes！Whenshallwebemen，Iwonder？YouandI，Gracie，willfightforadecentlifeforeverybody。Nohands—uppingaboutthat！Benddown！It’sgoodtotouchyouagain;everything’sgood。

I’mgoingtohaveasleep……"

Afterthereliefofthedoctor’sreportintheearlymorningPiersonhadgonethroughahardstruggle。WhatshouldhewiretoNoel？Helongedtogetherbackhome，awayfromtemptationtotheburningindiscretionofthismarriage。ButoughthetosuppressreferencetoGeorge’sprogress？Wouldthatbehonest？Atlasthesentthistelegram:"Georgeoutofdangerbutveryweak。Comeup。"

Bytheafternoonpost，however，hereceivedaletterfromThirza:

"IhavehadtwolongtalkswithNoelandCyril。Itisimpossibletobudgethem。AndIreallythink，dearEdward，thatitwillbeamistaketoopposeitrigidly。Hemaynotgooutassoonaswethink。

Howwoulditbetoconsenttotheirhavingbannspublished？——thatwouldmeananotherthreeweeksanyway，andinabsencefromeachothertheymightbeinfluencedtoputitoff。I’mafraidthisistheonlychance，forifyousimplyforbidit，Ifeeltheywillrunoffandgetmarriedsomewhereataregistrar’s。"

PiersontookthisletteroutwithhimintotheSquareGarden，forpainfulcogitation。Nomancanholdapositionofspiritualauthorityforlongyearswithoutdevelopingthehabitofjudgment。

HejudgedNoel’sconducttobeheadlongandundisciplined，andtheveinofstubbornnessinhischaracterfortifiedthefatherandthepriestwithinhim。Thirzadisappointedhim;shedidnotseemtoseetheirretrievablegravityofthishastymarriage。Sheseemedtolookonitassomethingmuchlighterthanitwas，toconsiderthatitmightbelefttoChance，andthatifChanceturnedoutunfavourable，therewouldstillbeawayout。Tohimtherewouldbenowayout。

Helookedupatthesky，asifforinspiration。Itwassuchabeautifulday，andsobittertohurthischild，evenforhergood！

Whatwouldhermotherhaveadvised？SurelyAgneshadfeltatleastasdeeplyashimselftheuttersolemnityofmarriage！And，sittingthereinthesunlight，hepainfullyhardenedhisheart。Hemustdowhathethoughtright，nomatterwhattheconsequences。Sohewentinandwrotethathecouldnotagree，andwishedNoeltocomebackhomeatonce。

V

1

Butonthesameafternoon，justaboutthathour，Noelwassittingontheriver—bankwithherarmsfoldedtightacrossherchest，andbyhersideCyrilMorland，withdespairinhisface，wastwistingatelegram"Rejointonight。Regimentleavesto—morrow。"

Whatconsolationthatamillionsuchtelegramshadbeenreadandsorrowedovertheselasttwoyears！Whatcomfortthatthesunwasdailyblotteddimforhundredsofbrighteyes;thejoyoflifepouredoutandsoppedupbythesandsofdesolation！

"Howlonghavewegot，Cyril？"

"I’veengagedacarfromtheInn，soIneedn’tleavetillmidnight。

I’vepackedalready，tohavemoretime。"

"Let’shaveittoourselves，then。Let’sgooffsomewhere。I’vegotsomechocolate。"

Morlandansweredmiserably:

"Icansendthecaruphereformythings，andhaveitpickmeupattheInn，ifyou’llsaygoodbyetothemforme，afterwards。We’llwalkdowntheline，thenweshan’tmeetanyone。"

Andinthebrightsunlighttheywalkedhandinhandoneachsideofashiningrail。AboutsixtheyreachedtheAbbey。

"Let’sgetaboat，"saidNoel。"Wecancomebackherewhenit’smoonlight。Iknowawayofgettingin，afterthegate’sshut。"

Theyhiredaboat，rowedovertothefarbank，andsatonthesternseat，sidebysideunderthetreeswherethewaterwasstaineddeepgreenbythehighwoods。Iftheytalked，itwasbutawordoflovenowandthen，ortodraweachother’sattentiontoafish，abird，adragon—fly。Whatusemakingplans——forloversthechieftheme？

Longingparalysedtheirbrains。Theycoulddonothingbutpressclosetoeachother，theirhandsenlaced，theirlipsmeetingnowandthen。OnNoel’sfacewasastrangefixedstillness，asifshewerewaiting——expecting！Theyatetheirchocolates。Thesunset，dewbegantofall;theriverchanged，andgrewwhiter;theskypaledtothecolourofanamethyst;shadowslengthened，dissolvedslowly。Itwaspastninealready;awater—ratcameout，awhiteowlflewovertheriver，towardstheAbbey。Themoonhadcomeup，butshednolightasyet。Theysawnobeautyinallthis——tooyoung，toopassionate，toounhappy。

Noelsaid:"Whenshe’soverthosetrees，Cyril，let’sgo。It’llbehalfdark。"

Theywaited，watchingthemoon，whichcreptwithinfiniteslownessupandup，brighteningeversolittleeveryminute。

"Now！"saidNoel。AndMorlandrowedacross。

Theylefttheboat，andsheledthewaypastanemptycottage，toashedwitharoofslopinguptotheAbbey’slowouterwall。

"Wecangetoverhere，"shewhispered。

Theyclamberedup，andover，toapieceofgrassycourtyard，andpassedontoaninnercourt，undertheblackshadowofthehighwalls。

"What’sthetime？"saidNoel。

"Half—pastten。"

"Already！Let’ssithereinthedark，andwatchforthemoon。"

Theysatdownclosetogether。Noel’sfacestillhadonitthatstrangelookofwaiting;andMorlandsatobedient，withhishandonherheart，andhisownheartbeatingalmosttosuffocation。Theysat，stillasmice，andthemooncreptup。Itlaidafirstvaguegreynessonthehighwall，whichspreadslowlydown，andbrightenedtillthelichenandthegrassesuptherewerevisible;thencrepton，silveringthedarkabovetheirheads。Noelpulledhissleeve，andwhispered:"See！"Therecamethewhiteowl，softasasnowflake，driftingacrossinthatunearthlylight，asifflyingtothemoon。

Andjustthenthetopofthemoonitselflookedoverthewall，ashavingofsilverygold。Itgrew，becameabrightspreadfan，thenbalancedthere，fullandround，thecolourofpalehoney。

"Ours！"Noelwhispered。

2

>FromthesideoftheroadNoellistenedtillthesoundofthecarwaslostinthefoldsofthevalley。Shedidnotcry，butpassedherhandsoverherface，andbegantowalkhome，keepingtotheshadowofthetrees。Howmanyyearshadbeenaddedtoherageinthosesixhourssincethetelegramcame！Severaltimesinthatmileandahalfshesteppedintoapatchofbrightermoonlight，totakeoutandkissalittlephotograph，thenslipitbacknextherheart，heedlessthatsowarmaplacemustdestroyanyeffigy。Shefeltnotthefaintestcompunctionfortherecklessnessofherlove——itwasheronlycomfortagainstthecrushinglonelinessofthenight。Itkeptherup，madeherwalkonwithasortofpride，asifshehadgotthebestofFate。

Hewashersforevernow，inspiteofanythingthatcouldbedone。

Shedidnoteventhinkwhatshewouldsaywhenshegotin。Shecametotheavenue，andpassedupitstillinasortofdream。Herunclewasstandingbeforetheporch;shecouldhearhismutterings。Shemovedoutoftheshadowofthetrees，wentstraightuptohim，and，lookinginhisperturbedface，saidcalmly:

"Cyrilaskedmetosaygood—byetoyouall，Uncle。Goodnight！"

"But，Isay，Nollielookhereyou！"

Shehadpassedon。Shewentuptoherroom。There，bythedoor，herauntwasstanding，andwouldhavekissedher。Shedrewback:

"No，Auntie。Notto—night！"And，slippingby，shelockedherdoor。

BobandThirzaPierson，meetingintheirownroom，lookedateachotheraskance。Reliefattheirniece’ssafereturnwasconfusedbyotheremotions。BobPiersonexpressedhisfirst:

"Phew！Iwasbeginningtothinkweshouldwhavetodragtheriver。

Whatgirlsarecomingto！"

"It’sthewar，Bob。"

"Ididn’tlikeherface，oldgirl。Idon’tknowwhatitwas，butI

didn’tlikeherface。"

NeitherdidThirza，butshewouldnotadmitit，andencourageBobtotakeittoheart。Hetookthingssohardly，andwithsuchanoise！

Sheonlysaid:"Pooryoungthings！IsupposeitwillbearelieftoEdward！"

"IloveNollie！"saidBobPiersonsuddenly。"She’sanaffectionatecreature。D—nit，I’msorryaboutthis。It’snotsobadforyoungMorland;he’sgottheexcitement——thoughIshouldn’tliketobeleavingNollie，ifIwereyoungagain。ThankGod，neitherofourboysisengaged。ByGeorge！whenIthinkofthemoutthere，andmyselfhere，Ifeelasifthetopofmyheadwouldcomeoff。Andthosepoliticianchapsspoutingawayineverycountry——howtheycanhavethecheek！"

Thirzalookedathimanxiously。

"Andnodinner！"hesaidsuddenly。"Whatd’youthinkthey’vebeendoingwiththemselves？"

"Holdingeachother’shands，poordears！D’youknowwhattimeitis，Bob？Nearlyoneo’clock。"

"Well，allIcansayis，I’vehadawretchedevening。Gettobed，oldgirl。You’llbefitfornothing。"

Hewassoonasleep，butThirzalayawake，notexactlyworrying，forthatwasnothernature，butseeingNoel’sface，pale，languid，passionate，possessedbymemory。

VI

1

Noelreachedherfather’shousenextdaylateintheafternoon。

Therewasaletterinthehallforher。Shetoreitopen，andread:

"MYDARLINGLOVE，"Igotbackallright，andampostingthisatoncetotellyouweshallpassthroughLondon，andgofromCharingCross，Iexpectaboutnineo’clockto—night。Ishalllookoutforyou，there，incaseyouareupintime。EveryminuteIthinkofyou，andoflastnight。Oh！

Noel！

"Yourdevotedlover，"C。"

Shelookedatthewrist—watchwhich，likeeveryotherlittlepatriot，shepossessed。Pastseven！Ifshewaited，Gratianorherfatherwouldseizeonher。

"Takemythingsup，Dinah。I’vegotaheadachefromtravelling;I’mgoingtowalkitoff。PerhapsIshan’tbeintillpastnineorso。

Givemylovetothemall。"

"Oh，MissNoel，youcan’t，——"

ButNoelwasgone。ShewalkedtowardsCharingCross;and，tokilltime，wentintoarestaurantandhadthatsimplerepast，coffeeandabun，whichthoseinlovewouldalwaystakeifSocietydidnotforciblyfeedthemonotherthings。Foodwasridiculoustoher。Shesatthereinthemidstofaperfecthiveofcreatureseatinghideously。Theplacewasshapedlikeamodernprison，havingtiersofgalleryroundanopenspace，andintheairwasthesmellofviandsandtheclatterofplatesandthemusicofaband。Meninkhakieverywhere，andNoelglancedfromformtoformtoseeifbychanceonemightbethatwhichrepresented，forher，LifeandtheBritishArmy。Athalf—pasteightshewentoutandmadeherway:

throughthecrowd，stillmechanicallysearching"khaki"forwhatshewanted;anditwasperhapsfortunatethattherewasaboutherfaceandwalksomethingwhichtouchedpeople。Atthestationshewentuptoanoldporter，and，puttingashillingintohisastonishedhand，askedhimtofindoutforherwhenceMorland’sregimentwouldstart。

Hecamebackpresently，andsaid:

"Comewithme，miss。"

Noelwent。Hewasratherlame，hadgreywhiskers，andaghostlythinresemblancetoheruncleBob，whichperhapshadbeenthereasonwhyshehadchosenhim。64

"Brothergoin’out，miss？"

Noelnodded。

"Ah！It’sacroolwar。Ishan’tbesorrywhenit’sover。Goin’outandcomin’in，weseesomesadsights’ere。Wonderfulspiritthey’vegot，too。IneverlookattheclocknowbutwhatIthink:’Thereyougo，slow—coach！I’dliketosetyouontothedaytheboyscomeback！’WhenIputsabagin:’Anotherfor’ell"Ithinks。Andsoitis，miss，fromallIcan’ear。I’vegotasonouttheremeself。

It’s’erethey’llcomealong。Youstandquietandkeepalookout，andyou’llgetafewminuteswithhimwhenhe’sdonewith’ismen。I

wouldn’tmove，ifIwereyou;he’llcometoyou，allright——can’tmissyou，there。"And，lookingatherface，hethought:’Astonishin’

whataloto’brothersgo。Wotoh！Poorlittlemissy！Alittlelady，too。Wonderfulcollectedsheis。It’s’ard！’Andtryingtofindsomethingconsolingtosay，hemumbledout:"Youcouldn’tbeinabetterplaceforseen’imoff。Goodnight，miss;anythingelseI

candoforyou？"

"No，thankyou;you’reverykind。"

Helookedbackonceortwiceatherblue—cladfigurestandingverystill。Hehadleftheragainstalittleoasisofpiled—upemptymilk—cans，fardowntheplatformwhereafewciviliansinsimilarcasewerescattered。Thetrainwaywasemptyasyet。Inthegreyimmensityofthestationandtheturmoilofitsnoise，shefeltneitherlonelynorconsciousofotherswaiting;tooabsorbedintheonethoughtofseeinghimandtouchinghimagain。Theemptytrainbeganbackingin，stopped，andtelescopedwithaseriesoflittleclatteringbangs，backedonagain，andsubsidedtorest。Noelturnedhereyestowardsthestationarchways。Alreadyshefelttremulous，asthoughtheregimentweresendingbeforeitthevibrationofitsmarch。

Shehadnotasyetseenatroop—trainstart，andvagueimagesofbravearray，ofaflagfluttering，andthestirofdrums，besether。

Suddenlyshesawabrownswirlingmassdownthereattheveryedge，outofwhichathinbrowntrickleemergedtowardsher;nosoundofmusic，nowavedflag。Shehadalongingtorushdowntothebarrier，butrememberingthewordsoftheporter，stayedwhereshewas，withherhandstightlysqueezedtogether。Thetricklebecameastream，aflood，theheadofwhichbegantoreachher。Withaturbulenceofvoices，sunburntmen，burdeneduptothenose，passed，withriflesjuttingatallangles;shestrainedhereyes，staringintothatstreamasonemightintoawalkingwood，toisolateasingletree。

Herheadreeledwiththestrainofit，andtheefforttocatchhisvoiceamongthehubbubofallthosecheery，common，happy—go—luckysounds。Somewhosawhercluckedtheirtongues，somewentbysilent，othersseemedtoscanherasthoughshemightbewhattheywerelookingfor。Andeverthestreamandthehubbubmeltedintothetrain，andyetcamepouringon。Andstillshewaitedmotionless，withanawfulfear。Howcouldheeverfindher，orshehim？Thenshesawthatothersofthosewaitinghadfoundtheirmen。Andthelongingtorushupanddowntheplatformalmostovercameher;butstillshewaited。Andsuddenlyshesawhimwithtwootherofficerboys，closetothecarriages，comingslowlydowntowardsher。Shestoodwithhereyesfixedonhisface;theypassed，andshenearlycriedout。Thenheturned，brokeawayfromtheothertwo，andcamestraighttoher。Hehadseenherbeforeshehadseenhim。Hewasveryflushed，hadalittlefixedfrownbetweenhisblueeyesandasetjaw。Theystoodlookingateachother，theirhandshardgripped;

alltheemotionoflastnightwellingupwithinthem，sothattospeakwouldhavebeentobreakdown。Themilk—cansformedakindofshelter，andtheystoodsoclosetogetherthatnonecouldseetheirfaces。Noelwasthefirsttomasterherpowerofspeech;herwordscameout，daintyasever，throughtremblinglips:

"Writetomeasmuchaseveryoucan，Cyril。I’mgoingtobeanurseatonce。Andthefirstleaveyouget，Ishallcometoyou——don’tforget。"

"Forget！Movealittleback，darling;theycan’tseeushere。Kissme！"Shemovedback，thrustherfaceforwardsothatheneednotstoop，andputherlipsuptohis。Then，feelingthatshemightswoonandfalloveramongthecans，shewithdrewhermouth，leavingherforeheadagainsthislips。Hemurmured:

"Wasitallrightwhenyougotinlastnight？"

"Yes;Isaidgood—byeforyou。"

"Oh！Noel——I’vebeenafraid——Ioughtn’t——Ioughtn’t——"

"Yes，yes;nothingcantakeyoufrommenow。"

"Youhavegotpluck。Morethan！"

Alongwhistlesounded。Morlandgraspedherhandsconvulsively:

"Good—bye，mylittlewife！Don’tfret。Goodbye！Imustgo。Godblessyou，Noel！"

"Iloveyou。"

Theylookedateachother，justanothermoment，thenshetookherhandsfromhisandstoodbackintheshadowofthemilk—cans，rigid，followinghimwithhereyestillhewaslostinthetrain。