"Yes," said her brother, "I saw his death in the papers last year. He had married again, I believe. There is not now, therefore, any reason why I should not tell the story, if it will interest you," he went on, turning to the others. "And there is not very much to tell. Not worth making such a preamble about. It was--let me see--yes, it must be nearly fifteen years ago." "Wait a moment, Uncle Paul," said Nina. "Yes, that's all right, Gladys. You and I will hold each other's hands, and pinch hard if we get very frightened." "Thank you," Miss Lloyd replied. "On the whole I should prefer for you not to hold my hand." "But I won't pinch you so as to hurt," said Nina reassuringly; "and it isn't as if we were in the dark." "Shall I turn down the lamps?" asked Mr. Snowdon. "No, no," exclaimed his wife. "There really is nothing frightening--scarcely even 'creepy,' in my story at all," said Mr. Marischal, half apologetically. "You make me feel like an impostor." "Oh no, Uncle Paul, don't say that. It is all my fault for interrupting," said Nina. "Now go on, please. I have Gladys's hand all the same," she added _sotto voce_, "it's just as well to be prepared." "Well, then," began Mr. Marischal once more, "it must be nearly fifteen years ago; and I had not seen her for fully ten years before that again! I was not thinking of her in the least; in a sense I had really forgotten her: she had quite gone out of my life; that has always struck me as a very curious point in the story," he added parenthetically. "Won't you tell us who 'she' was, Uncle Paul?" asked Nina half shyly. "Oh yes, I was going to do so. I am not skilled in story-telling, you see. She was, at the time I first knew her--at the only time, indeed, that I knew her--a very sweet and attractive girl, named Maud Bertram. She was very pretty--more than pretty, for she had remarkably regular features--her profile was always admired, and a tall and graceful figure. And she was a bright and happy creature too; that, perhaps, was almost her greatest charm. You will wonder--I see the question hovering on your lips, Miss Lloyd, and on yours too, Mrs. Snowdon--why, if I admired her and liked her so much, I did not go further. And I will tell you frankly that I did not because I dared not. I had then no prospect of being able to marry for years to come, and I was not very young. I was already nearly thirty, and Maud was quite ten years younger. I was wise enough and old enough to realise the situation thoroughly, and to be on my guard." "And Maud?" asked Mrs. Snowdon.