She glanced at the plain—with the little gleaming river shining in it. “It is late!” she said. “I brought my bug-light.” He touched his pocket. “Sit down.” So she sat down beside him and he told her of the map in his pocket. He took it out and spread it before her. And she leaned toward it in the dim light—studying the discolored lines as he explained them to her. “Do you want—to go—so much?” she asked, looking up at last. “If you want to—Yes.” She was silent a minute. “Martin thinks he is going to be an engineer,” she said irrelevantly. He spurned it. “Martin has sense—he doesn’t need his mother—to have sense for him!” “But an engineer!” she said. “They will lead the world to-morrow,” he responded. “Oh—!” It was a little sigh of surprise and relief. “I didn’t know engineers were anything important!” she added after a minute. Then she laughed out. The darkness gathered closer—coming up from the plain—and the little river was only a gleam through its veil of haze. She looked down on it. “Very well,” she said. “We will go. I am ready to go.... Perhaps it will rest me to go.” XIX The whole family was at the station to see them off. Annabel had provided luncheon and a tea-basket and little pillows and waxed paper and drinking-cups, and she flitted about her mother with watchful eyes. There was a kind of jealous loyalty in her, as if she would hold her mother by main force from this foolish thing she had entered upon.... She went with them into the car and settled the little pillow in place and stood with her hand on her mother’s shoulder.... Outside, through the window, she could see the others laughing and talking. Her mother lifted her face quickly. “You will be carried off!” she said hurriedly. The younger woman smiled down at her—and her face broke in little, helpless lines. She bent and kissed her almost fiercely. “You take care of yourself!... If anything happened to you—!” And she was gone. Outside, the group moved and laughed and waved inane farewells. Annabel joined it wiping her eyes. She waved her handkerchief at the receding window and dabbed it swiftly across her eyes. The red light at the end of the rear car receded into a dark tunnel. Annabel caught her breath. “I don’t see why we let her do it!” she said helplessly. “You couldn’t stop mother!” It was William Archer. He tucked her hand protectingly in his arm. “She’ll be all right!” he said reassuringly. Annabel shook her head. They had turned away from the blackness of the tunnel and were walking toward the station. The others had scattered a little, and gone on ahead. Annabel’s eyes followed them. “She isn’t fit to do it!” she said.... “She’s like a child. I feel as if I couldn’t—!” Her lip trembled, and she broke off. William Archer smiled down at her. “Mother’s all right! She brought us up—five of us. And she’s pretty near brought father up—and I guess a few Chinamen won’t frighten her!” Annabel looked at him absently.