He felt the faint pressure of her hand, so small and weak within his grasp. Then he laid his head upon her bosom. He could just hear her heart, beating slowly and feebly. He lifted his head, putting his cheek against hers. She sighed again—deliciously! He tried to believe that his strength, which seemed to have returned on a spring-tide of irresistible volume, could be infused into her. And it may have been so, for presently she spoke, the words fluttering from her pale lips. "You are not very disappointed?" Disappointed! He reassured her upon that point, so overmasteringly that she smiled, and the pressure of her hand became stronger. The nurse appeared, beckoning once more. Quinney followed her obediently into the adjoining room, where an object that looked like a wrinkled orange was affirmed to be his daughter’s head! Obviously the nurse expected him to kiss this; and he did so without any uplifting exultation, without a single compensating thrill! It occurred to him vaguely that Susan and he had paid a thumping price for very little. He was shown a hand like the hand of an anæmic doll. Into the tiny palm he slipped, cautiously, his forefinger. To his amazement, the finger was gripped unmistakably. "Well, I’m damned!" he exclaimed. As the nurse raised her eyebrows in silent protest, he added quickly: "I’ve been swearing all night; one more little one don’t count!" The nurse glanced professionally at his haggard face and dishevelled hair. "You go to bed at once!" she commanded. He did so. *II* Susan’s recovery from her confinement was slow but unattended, as the doctor had predicted, by complications. She was able, happily, to nurse her child, but for many months she remained in cotton wool at the Dream Cottage, recruiting her energies in the pleasant garden, and rarely straying beyond it. The question of her returning to the shop was settled drastically. "Who’ll take care of the kid? Wouldn’t leave her to a nursemaid, would you? "N-n-no," faltered Susan, feeling more wife than mother. She qualified the doubtful negative by murmuring: "I did love helping you." "Lord bless you! You’re helping me at home—a woman’s right place. It’s the biggest help a woman can give to a man. You run things fine! Yes, you do!"—for she had shaken her head. "And the kid has the very best nurse in all the world! Shop, indeed! I don’t want my wife demeaning herself in a shop!" He snorted with indignation, and Susan, with a suppressed sigh, let the subject drop for ever.