[Illustration]




II


"I am afraid I have been a long time," he said apologetically, as he
closed the door of the carriage, after giving Mrs. Parker Bowman's address
to the driver. In the uncertain light of the distant arc-lamp, the girl
looked small and appealing. He felt a strong desire to lift her burdens
and carry them on his own broad shoulders.

"I've brought some things that I thought might help," he said. "Would you
like to put on this coat? It may not be just what you would have selected,
but it was the best I could find that would not be recognized. The air is
growing chilly."

He shook out the coat and threw it around her.

"Oh, thank you," she murmured gratefully, slipping her arms into the
sleeves.

"And this box has some kind of a hat, I hope," he went on. "I ought to
have looked, but there really wasn't time." He unknotted the strings and
produced a large picture hat with long black plumes. He was relieved to
find it black. While he untied the strings, there had been a growing
uneasiness lest the hat be one of those wild, queer combinations of colors