She put out her hand and pressed his again.

"Courage!" he repeated, finding it so well received.

There were alarms and excursions without. She turned her back to
the fire, and he sat down suddenly in the big armchair, which
suited his dimensions admirably. Then the door opened, and the
girl showed in Dangle, who looked curiously from one to the
other. There was emotion here, he had heard the armchair
creaking, and Mrs. Milton, whose face was flushed, displayed a
suspicious alacrity to explain. "You, too," she said, "are one of
my good friends. And we have news of her at last."

It was decidedly an advantage to Widgery, but Dangle determined
to show himself a man of resource. In the end he, too, was
accepted for the Midhurst Expedition, to the intense disgust of
Widgery; and young Phipps, a callow youth of few words, faultless
collars, and fervent devotion, was also enrolled before the
evening was out. They would scour the country, all three of them.
She appeared to brighten up a little, but it was evident she was
profoundly touched. She did not know what she had done to merit
such friends. Her voice broke a little, she moved towards the
door, and young Phipps, who was a youth of action rather than of
words, sprang and opened it--proud to be first.

"She is sorely troubled," said Dangle to Widgery. "We must do
what we can for her."

"She is a wonderful woman," said Dangle. "So subtle, so