She half turns away as if in disgust, but Marian follows her and catches her sleeve.

"You mean——" says she.

"Must I explain? With his heart full of you, do you think he should marry this girl?"

"Oh, his heart!" says Mrs. Bethune. "Has he a heart? Dear Margaret, don't be an enthusiast; be like everybody else. It is so much more comfortable."

"You can put it off like this," says Miss Knollys in a low tone. "It is very simple; but you should think. I have always thought you—you liked Maurice, but you were a—a friend of his. Save him from this. Don't let him marry this child."

"I don't think he will marry a child!" says Mrs. Bethune, laughing.

"You mean——"

"I mean nothing at all—nothing, really," says Marian. "But that baby! My dear Margaret, how impossible!"

CHAPTER VIII.

HOW A STORM RAGED; AND HOW, WHEN A MAN AND WOMAN MET FACE TO FACE, THE VICTORY—FOR A WONDER—WENT TO THE MAN.