"I hope he'll be good enough for her," said Austin. "I thought it would have come off when he was here before." Archie was silent. What could he say? It had been a remarkable meeting, and Sidney and Randolph were the only ones involved who could view the past without regret. "I am glad our meeting is over," said Sidney, slipping her arm in that of Randolph's. "I was foolishly dreading it, but I only feel thankful now." Randolph bent down over her. "We have both suffered," he said; "but now let us bury the past. The future is ours, and my own aim in life now will be to make you and keep you happy." "It won't be difficult to do that." Sidney had for so long lived in the shade that this sudden spell of sunshine almost overwhelmed her. Tears came into her eyes. Then she met Randolph's gaze and smiled. "Don't make too much of me, will you? Oh, Randolph, I do believe that God meant us for each other, and so in love He prevented us from making the mistake of our lives." Later on Monica was told about it. Randolph was lured away by Chuckles to inspect his rabbits, and Sidney sat and talked with her friend. "What I like about Ran," said Monica in her matter-of-fact way, "is that his love is unselfish. It will wear well, Sidney. His first thought is of what he can be to you. Most men think of what you can be to them. I am glad you two have come together. I remember the time when I thought you and Archie Hughes would make a match of it. But he was never good enough for you. You would have had to be always pulling him uphill after you." "The only regret I shall have is leaving you," said Sidney slowly and thoughtfully. "You have pulled me through my worst time," said Monica. "I have always been accustomed to stand on my own. I'm not one of the world's leaners." "But I wish I could leave you happier." "You want me to think as you do, don't you? I may come at it some day, but not yet. You have made me realise what faith can do. Whether I shall ever arrive at it, is a different matter." "If you could only see how lost one is without a centre," cried Sidney, "and how much we owe to the One Who made us." Monica looked thoughtfully at her, but made no reply. "Oh," Sidney went on earnestly, "it is just being illustrated over again with you and Chuckles. How you have toiled and slaved for that child! How anxiously you have worked and saved to bequeath to him a good inheritance. How you even were ready to sacrifice your life for his, and have, in saving him, condemned yourself to a crippled life. He realises it all so little; he does not understand. He takes it all as a matter of course, and seems to have no sense of gratitude or wish to please the one who has loved him so. Isn't that how we treat our Father?" The words sank into Monica's heart. She began to see dimly a little of what she had missed in her life; but she said nothing, only turned the conversation into another channel. And presently Randolph returned with the chattering boy.