"Kate!"
"Yes,—don't scold!—and if you are going to propose, I really think you ought to, or else"——
"You think I ought to marry Miss Heath?"
"Why—I—well——Oh, dear! I wish I had held my peace!"
"That might have been advisable."
"Don't be offended now, Roger!"
"Is there any reason to suppose her—to suppose me"——
"Yes, there!" replied Mrs. McLean, desperately.
He was silent a moment.
"Good God, Kate!" said he, then, clasping his hands behind his head, and looking up the deep transparence of the unanswering night. "What a blessing it is that life don't last forever!"