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had been badly shaken—or else she would agree too easily, for the sake of shelter, and regret it afterwards when she was at peace.

“You have plenty of aunts to spare, haven’t you? Couldn’t something be fixed up?”

“Ye—es. Perhaps it could.” But Pamela was very doubtful. He had suggested this before, and even then it had not struck her as a particularly good idea—now it seemed quite impossible. However, she did not want to appear captious and crushing just when they were getting on so nicely, here in Brisbane all by themselves, feeling as if they were the very oldest friends. All the gloomy and terrifying side of life had suddenly melted away, and they had turned into a couple of children, laughing at absurd jokes that were hardly jokes at all, talking nonsense-talk with the greatest joy and fluency. Somehow it was the most natural thing in the world that he should have both his arms round her, while her chin rubbed itself with a little caressing movement against his shoulder. The nonsense-talk was strangely easy to him too. One One part of him felt younger than it had ever done, and the older, harder, more suspicious Tony was being engulfed in a warm tide that rose quickly. Things were changing value in his head with a rapidity that made him catch his breath. Suddenly, as Pamela’s laughing eyes met his through a tangle of loosened hair, she caught an expression which silenced her instantly, though she was not afraid.

“Pamela,” said Tony, very slow and diffident, “do you think that some day, when you’ve got over all this bad time, you could try to forget all my aggravating ways and—marry me?”

She drew away from his arms and looked at him gravely with troubled eyes. He leant back and waited, watching her, but saying nothing more. She was surprised, but the idea did not come to her with any sense of shock. She had