"How could I ask a girl to come and take over five children?"
"No woman that was worth having would let little children be sacrificed for her sake," said Miss Lindsay, decidedly.
"Do you think anybody would marry me with five children?" demanded Mr. Barrett.
"She might," said the girl, edging away from him a little. "It depends on the woman."
"Would—you, for instance?" said Mr. Barrett, desperately.
Miss Lindsay shrank still farther away. "I don't know; it would depend upon circumstances," she murmured.
"I will write and send for them," said Mr. Barrett, significantly.
Miss Lindsay made no reply. They had arrived at her gate by this time, and, with a hurried handshake, she disappeared indoors.
Mr. Barrett, somewhat troubled in mind, went home to tea.
He resolved, after a little natural hesitation, to drown the children, and reproached himself bitterly for not having disposed of them at the same time as their mother. Now he would have to go through another period of mourning and the consequent delay in pressing his suit. Moreover, he would have to allow a decent interval between his conversation with Miss Lindsay and their untimely end.