watch her as she stood with her head on one side and the worried
archangel look transfiguring her profile. What she said was lost in his
reverie as to what she was--what she represented in his contemplation.
As she looked upon his handiwork he was able to view it with different
eyes, to discern its weaknesses and to gain fresh inspiration from her
presence. He felt that it was growing on his hands and that he should be
proud of it, and though, perhaps, he was conscious in his inner soul
that she was more to him than another man's wife should be, he knew too,
that no word or look of his had offended against the absent husband.



CHAPTER VI.


By the end of another six months Littleton's work was practically
completed. Only the finishing touches to the interior decoration
remained to be done. The members of Rev. Mr. Glynn's congregation,
including Mrs. Hallett Taylor, were thoroughly satisfied with the
appearance of the new church. It was attractive in its lines, yet it was
simple and, consequently, in keeping with the resources of the treasury.
There was no large bill for extras to be audited, as possibly would have
been the case had a hard-headed designer like Mr. Pierce been employed.
The committee felt itself entitled to the congratulations of the
community. Nor was the community on the whole disposed to grumble, for
home talent had been employed by the architect; under rigorous
supervision, to be sure, so that poor material and slap-dash workmanship
were out of the question. Still, payments had been prompt, and Benham
was able to admire competent virtue. The church was a monument of
suggestion in various ways, artistic and ethical, and it shone neatly