“You know I’m in for an adventure, mother?”
“Yes, dear.”
“You trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course, dear, perfectly.”
“You shall know all about it to-morrow.”
“When you like, dear,” she answered. She placed her arms on his shoulders, and held him back and looked him in the face. Then she touched his head with her hands and said softly—
“You mustn’t let anything or anyone come between us, Tony?”
“Never, mother,” he answered. Then suddenly he came very close to her, put his arms round her and kissed her again and again.
“God bless you, old boy,” she said, and let him go.
When he had closed the door behind him she began to cry, but when Mrs. Lester found her quarter of an hour later there were no signs of tears.