"Oh, I wonder," cried Agnes, "if any man will ever have that much confidence in me. There she is now. Florence, here’s a man that wants you to put the stamp of approval upon his appearance." Howard turned to Florence. "I wanted you to see me," he said. "I’ve been looking for you," she replied. Bradley, in an undertone, spoke to the Judge. "I can see the picture you drew of them." "No," replied the preacher, with the light of admiration in his honest eyes. Agnes spoke to Howard. "It must have been nearly half an hour since you and Florence saw each other. What an age," she added, with the caricature of a sigh. "But come on, Judge, you and Mr. Bradley." She led the two men away, looking back with another mock sigh at Florence. "I may not be back till late," said Howard, "and I couldn’t go without my good-night kiss." She smiled upon him. "I knew that you had not forgotten it. And yet," she added, looking at him—"and yet I was anxious." "Anxious?" "Yes, but I didn’t know why. Howard, within the past few days my love for you has taken so—so trembling a turn. We have been so happy, and—" "And what, Florence?" "Oh, I don’t know, but something makes me afraid now. You know that there are times when happiness halts to shudder." He put his arm about her. "Yes, we are sometimes afraid that something may happen because it has not. But it is only a reproachful fancy. We see the sorrow of others and are afraid that we don’t deserve to be happy. But I must go," he added, kissing her. She continued to cling to him. "Do I look all right?" he asked. "I don’t know—I can’t see." "Can’t see?" "No. Love, which they say is blind, has blinded me." He kissed her again. "But if love blinds, Florence, it would make a bat of me. You are serious tonight," he added, looking into her eyes. "Yes, I am." The sound of laughter came from the drawing room. "Yes, I am, and I must go in there to be pleased. Howard, do you believe that anything could separate us?" "Really, you are beginning to distress me. I have never known what it was to live without you, and I couldn’t know it. But cheer up, won’t you? To-morrow we—" "Yes, I will," she broke in. "It was only a shadow and it has passed. But I wonder where such shadows come from. Why do they come? Who has the ordering of them?" As they were walking toward the door opening into the hall, William entered from the passage, smoking his pipe, his thin hair rumpled as if he had just emerged from a contest. Howard and Florence did not see him, and he called to them. "I say, there, Howard, I thought you were going out." The young man halted and looked back with a smile. "Don’t you see me going out, Uncle Billy?"