‘That will do, Gladys dear,’ he whispered, springing to his feet; and then, with downcast eyes and a flush on his face, he held out his hand to his brother.  It was taken and held silently, and then Mr. Hamilton’s disengaged hand was laid on his shoulder caressingly.

‘Welcome home, my dear boy,’ he said; but his voice was not quite so clear as usual.

‘I am very sorry, Giles,’ he faltered; but Mr. Hamilton would not let him speak.

‘There is nothing to be sorry for, now,’ he said significantly.  ’Have you shaken hands with Mr. Cunliffe, Eric?  Gladys, can you spare your boy for a few moments while I carry him off?’ And, as Gladys smiled assent, Mr. Hamilton signed to Eric to follow him.

Max sat down beside Gladys when they had left the room, and Gladys made a space for me on the couch.

‘You must tell us how it happened,’ she said, fixing her lovely eyes on me.  ’Dear Ursula, we owe this fresh happiness to you:  how can I thank you for all your goodness to us?’ But I would not allow her to talk in this fashion, and I left Max to soothe her when she cried a little, and then I told them both how I had found Eric in the stable-yard with Nap, and how I had tracked him successfully to his lodgings.

‘She is a brave, dear child, is she not, Gladys?’ observed Max.  Then, with a mischievous look in his brown eyes, ’You are proud of your presumptive niece, are you not, dear?’ And then, in spite of Gladys’s confusion, for she was still a little shy with him, I burst out laughing, and she was obliged to join me, for it had never entered into our heads that Gladys would be my aunt.  The laugh brought back her colour and did her good; but she would not look at Max for a long time after that, though he was on his best behaviour and said all sorts of nice things to us both.

It was a long time before Mr. Hamilton brought Eric back to us.  They both looked very happy, but Eric’s eyes had a strangely softened look in them.  The gong sounded for luncheon just then, and Mr. Hamilton asked me, in rather a surprised tone, why I had not taken off my hat and jacket, so I ran off to my room in a great hurry.  As he opened the door for me, he said, in rather an odd tone, ’Do you know you have not wished me good-morning, Miss Garston?’ I muttered some sort of an answer, but he merely smiled, and told me not to keep them waiting.  Gladys came in to luncheon, and took her usual place; but neither she nor Eric made much pretence of eating, though Mr. Hamilton scolded them both for their want of appetite.  Nobody talked much, and there was no connected conversation:  I think we were all too much engrossed in watching Gladys.  Max was in the background for once, but he did not seem to think of himself at all:  the sight of Gladys’s sweet face, radiant with joy, was sufficient pleasure for him; but now and then she turned to him in a touching manner, as though to show she had not forgotten him, and then he was never slow to respond.