'Cancel yer Auntie Kate!' he rejoined, indignant. 'Hoo can ye speak like that when dear knows when I'll see ye again?'
'Oh, ye'll no be at the Front for a week or so yet, an' we'll hope for the best. Still, I'll forgive ye, seein' it's yer nineteenth birthday. Only, I'm thinkin' yer parents 'll be wantin' ye to keep the hoose the nicht.'
Macgregor's collar seemed to be getting tight, for he tugged at it as he said: 'I'll tell them I'm gaun oot to see you.'
'That'll but double the trouble,' she said, lightly.
Their eyes met, and for the first time in their acquaintance, perhaps, hers were first to give way.
'Christina,' he said, abruptly, 'I want to burst that five pound.'
'Ye extravagant monkey!'
'On a—a ring.'
'A ring! Ha'e ye enlisted as a colonel?' But her levity lacked sparkle.
As for Macgregor, he had dreamed of this moment for ages. 'Ye'll tak' it, Christina?' he whispered. 'Gi'e me yer size—a hole in a bit pasteboard. . . .' Speech failed him.