And so on during the slow night journey toward London, her brain growing more and more confused by the strangeness of her position, and the absence of her natural rest, till the swaying to and fro of her thoughts seemed to be somewhat bound up with that of the thick oil in the great glass bubble of a lamp and with the stopping of the train and the roll and clang of the great milk tins taken up at various stations. At last her fevered waking dream, as it seemed to her, was brought to an end by Garstang suddenly starting up as if from sleep to rub his condensed breath off the window-pane and look out. "London lights," he said.--"Asleep, my dear?" "No, Mr Garstang. I have been awake thinking all the while." "Of course you would be. What an absurd, malapropos question. There, you see what it is to be a middle-aged, unfeeling man. I'm afraid we do get very selfish. Instead of trying to comfort you, and chatting pleasantly, I curl up like a great black cat and go to sleep." She made no reply. The words would not come. "Cold, my dear?" "No. I feel hot and feverish." "Nervous anxiety, of course. But try and master it. We shall soon be home, and you can have a good cup of tea and go to bed. A good long sleep will set you right, and you will not be thinking of what a terrible deed you have committed in coming away in this nocturnal clandestine manner. That sounds grand, doesn't it, for a very calm, sensible move on life's chess-board--one which effectually checks James Wilton and that pleasant young pawn his son. There, there, don't fidget about it, pray. I have been thinking, too, and asking myself whether I have done my duty by Robert Wilton's child in bringing you away, and I can find but one answer--yes; while conscience says that I should have been an utter brute to you if I had left you to be exposed to such a scandalous persecution." "Thank you, Mr Garstang," said Kate, frankly, as she held out her hand to him. "I could not help feeling terribly agitated and ready to reproach myself for taking such a step. You do assure me that I have done right?" "What, in coming with me, my dear?" he said, after just pressing her hand and dropping it again. "Of course I do. I was a little in doubt about it at first, but my head feels clearer after my nap, and I tell you, as an experienced man, that you have done the only thing you could do under the circumstances. This night journey excites and upsets you a bit, but I'm very much afraid that some of them at Northwood will be far worse, and serve them right." "Poor 'Liza will be horror-stricken," said Kate. "I wish I had begged harder for you to bring her too."