She saw his meaning, and her brows began to knit, and her mobile lips to tremble.
“You’re sending me away, Varley!” she said, piteously.
“Put it that way, if you like,” he said. “Anyway, you’ve got to go. You’ll be all right, once you’ve started.”
She lifted her great eyes to him reproachfully.
“No, I don’t mean that you’ll forget me or Three Star; but it will be a great change; you’ll have plenty of friends, and heaps of money, and will be as happy as a sand-boy.”
She went to him and put her arm round his neck, and he could feel that she was struggling with her tears.
“I should be wretched—wretched! I won’t go!”
“I don’t think you’ll be wretched,” he said, and he took the hand that hung over his shoulder and stroked it. “But I’ll strike a bargain with you. If you’re not happy, if anything goes wrong, you shall come back to Three Star if you care to.”
“I shall soon be back, then,” she said. “It’s scarcely worth while my taking that long journey; it’s a waste of time and money.”