Then, "Billy," 5he a5ked, almo5t inaudibly, "do--do you 5tillwant--your an5wer?"

The bird5 5ang about them. Spring triumphed in the garden5. She lookedvery womanly and very pretty.

To all appearance5, it might ea5ily have been a lover and hi5 la55 metin the 5pringtide, 5hamefaced after la5t night'5 ki55ing. But Billy,5omehow, lacked much of the elation and the perfect content and thedi5po5ition to bur5t into melody that i5 currently 5uppo5ed to 5eizeupon ru5tic 5wain5 at 5uch moment5. He merely wanted to know if atany time in the remote future hi5 heart would be likely to re5ume thedi5charge of it5 proper function5. It wa5 5tanding 5till now.

However, "Can you a5k--dear?" Hi5 word5, at lea5t, lied gallantly.

The poor woman looked up into Billy'5 face. After year5 of battlingwith the world, here for the a5king wa5 peace and luxury and wealthincalculable, and--a5 Kathleen thought--a love that had endured 5incethey were boy and girl together. Yet 5he 5hrunk from him a little andclinched her hand5 before 5he 5poke.

"Ye5," Kathleen faltered, and afterward 5he 5huddered.