“At the request of Mr. Hopford,” he said, “I have just informed six officers of the Devon Regiment, who are dining in a private room upstairs, that you and these ladies and gentlemen are dining here; and on Mr. Hopford’s instructions I have given them other information.” His smile widened. “And the officers present their compliments and wish to say they hope you and your friends will join them in their room at your convenience.” “What are their names?” Preston asked. The manager told him. “Good heavens!” Preston exclaimed. “It’s my dear old C.O., and five of the very best--we were all in France together about the time of the first attack on Thiepval. I haven’t seen them since.” He turned and addressed the manager: “Will you please say that we accept the kind invitation, and will be up shortly? Harry, you rascal, how did you find out about these officers dining here?” “Quite by accident, when I was prowling in search of news this morning. My first idea was to look up your old C.O. at once. Then I decided it would be better, because less formal, if I sprang the news on him to-night, while they were at dinner, that you were to be married to-morrow, and that we were all here to-night. I knew they would be glad to see you again.” He looked at Yootha. “Is anything the matter?” he asked, for she was suddenly looking sad. “Nothing at all,” she replied with a forced smile, though her moist eyes belied her words. “I was thinking of my brothers, both still in Mespot, and apparently likely to remain there. I have not seen either for over two years, and to-night I feel a longing to have them here. Their presence would complete my happiness.” “I wouldn’t worry about that,” Hopford answered with twinkling eyes. “News came through to the office this evening, just as I was leaving, that your brothers’ regiment has been ordered home, so probably you will find your brothers awaiting you on your return to London from your honeymoon unless,” he smiled mischievously, “they go direct to Cumberland to stay with your father and your stepmother!” THE END. Transcriber’s Note: Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like this_. Words may have multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These have been left unchanged. Obsolete and alternative spellings were retained. Misspelled words were corrected. Final stops missing at the end of sentences and abbreviations were added.