Mabane laughed shortly.
"It was not you who brought her," he declared. "She was sent."
"Sent?"
"Aye, these things are not of our choosing, Arnold. There is something behind which drives the great wheels. You can call it Fate or God, according to your philosophy. It is there all the time, the one eternal force."
I looked at Mabane steadfastly. He did not flinch.
"Psychologically, my dear Allan," I said, "you appear to be in a very interesting state just now."
Mabane shrugged his shoulders. He crossed the room for some tobacco, and began to refill his pipe.
"Well," he said, "I have finished. To-morrow, I suppose, I shall want to kick myself for having said as much as I have. Listen! Here they come."
Isobel came into the room, followed by Arthur in a leather jacket and breeches. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes danced with excitement. She threw off her tam-o'-shanter, and stood deftly re-arranging for a moment her wind-tossed hair.
"Glorious!" she exclaimed. "Oh, it has been glorious! Mr. Arthur, how can I thank you? I have never enjoyed myself so much in my life. If the Sister Superior could only have seen me—and the girls!"