the great bushes of Michaelmas daisies in the kitchen-garden were making their last show of flowers.  We must needs taste the fruit off the different trees, and pass our judgment as to their flavour; and we went away with our pockets stuffed with those that we liked best.  As we had passed to the orchard, Holdsworth had admired and spoken about some flower which he saw; it so happened he had never seen this old-fashioned kind since the days of his boyhood.  I do not know whether he had thought anything more about this chance speech of his, but I know I had not—­when Phillis, who had been missing just at the last moment of our hurried visit, re-appeared with a little nosegay of this same flower, which she was tying up with a blade of grass.  She offered it to Holdsworth as he stood with her father on the point of departure.  I saw their faces.  I saw for the first time an unmistakable look of love in his black eyes; it was more than gratitude for the little attention; it was tender and beseeching—­passionate.  She shrank from it in confusion, her glance fell on me; and, partly to hide her emotion, partly out of real kindness at what might appear ungracious neglect of an older friend, she flew off to gather me a few late-blooming China roses.  But it was the first time she had ever done anything of the kind for me.

We had to walk fast to be back on the line before the men’s return, so we spoke but little to each other, and of course the afternoon was too much occupied for us to have any talk.  In the evening we went back to our joint lodgings in Hornby.  There, on the table, lay a letter for Holdsworth, which had be en forwarded to him from Eltham.  As our tea was ready, and I had had nothing to eat since morning, I fell to directly without paying much attention to my companion as he opened and read his letter.  He was very silent for a few minutes; at length he said,

‘Old fellow!  I’m going to leave you!’

‘Leave me!’ said I.  ‘How?  When?’

’This letter ought to have come to hand Sooner.  It is from Greathed the engineer’ (Greathed was well known in those days; he is dead now, and his name half-forgotten); ’he wants to see me about Some business; in fact, I may as well tell you, Paul, this letter contains a very advantageous proposal for me to go out to Canada, and superintend the making of a line there.’  I was in utter dismay.  ‘But what will Our company say to that?’ ’Oh, Greathed has the superintendence of this line, you know; and he is going to be engineer in chief to this Canadian line; many of the Shareholders in this company are going in for the other, so I fancy they will make no difficulty in following Greathed’s lead.  He says he has a young man ready to put in my place.’

‘I hate him,’ said I.

‘Thank you,’ said Holdsworth, laughing.

‘But you must not,’ he resumed; ’for this is a very good thing for me, and, of course, if no one can be found to take my inferior work, I can’t be spared to take the superior.  I only wish I had received this letter a day Sooner.  Every hour is of consequence, for Greathed says they are threatening a rival line.  Do you know, Paul, I almost fancy I must go up tonight?  I can take an engine back to Eltham, and catch the night train.  I should not like Greathed to think me luke-warm.’