mother and the minister's chauffeur; that was all."
There was another long silence, and when the girl's voice came again it was very soft and full of memories. "We were madly happy," she said. "I was the wife of the man whom I loved dearer than life, and he believed that he had won the one woman in the world whom he passionately adored;—and he never guessed, never suspected, while he lived. It was what he saw of me in Evalani, that he had loved, coupled with the realization of his cherished ideal; and now that love found absolute completeness in myself. There was not one flaw in our happiness. Such qualms of conscience as I might have had, were inundated in the fullness of my joy and my love for my husband. I am not ashamed, even now, of that happiness. I cannot even say that I regret all that was involved in it. It is given to few on this earth to have such measure of joy for even so brief a time, and for it I, to this day, give thanks." There was something of reverence in her voice and her face as she spoke in defense of her love. "Those months are sacred. They compass the perfect flowering of two lives in perfect accord, brought together as one complete unit. They were worth all that Fate has ever demanded of me in recompense."
"I understand," said Dick, solemnly. "You have been blessed beyond most of us in this life."
The girl went on. "Excepting just at first, we
