Mollie gave a violent start--but it was only Bridget singing in the kitchen. Mr. O'Rourke turned his head and listened. "Who comes from Dublin?" he asked. "It's Bridget, our nurse when Baby is here and our cook just now," Prudence answered. "She's feeling homesick. She does sometimes." "So do I," said Mr. O'Rourke. "It's a long time since I've seen the bay o' Dublin. I must shake hands with Bridget." Mollie gazed earnestly at Mr. O'Rourke. Was _he_ Aunt Mary's long-ago lover? No--he was too old. He must be twenty-two at least. But she felt almost sure that _somehow_ he had something to do with that romance. As they stood at the white gate later on, saying good-bye, their new friend pulled a round white stone out of one of his many pockets. "Shall I keep this or shall I give it to you?" he asked Hugh. There was a curious silence as the children gathered round to gaze at the innocent-looking missile in Mr. O'Rourke's hand. It was little the worse of its adventure--slightly chipped and scratched, and on one side an ominous red stain which made Hugh shiver and turn pale again, as it reminded him how nearly his thoughtlessness had cost a life. "Give it to me," he said at last. "I will write the date on it, and if it doesn't remind me to think twice, nothing will, and I will _deserve_ to be hanged." "Very well," agreed Mr. O'Rourke, "only remember that the red stain is only what I told you it was." "I'll remember," said Hugh, holding the stone in his hand and looking gravely down at it, "but I won't forget that it _might_ have been what I thought it was." Grizzel's solemn round eyes went from one to the other during this transaction. "Is that what it means in books when it says, 'marked with a white stone'?" she asked Hugh. "It _is_ a sort of milestone," Hugh answered thoughtfully, "and it will mark a new start for me. It ought to have your name on as well as mine," he added, looking up at Mr. O'Rourke. "Perhaps it means a new mile for you too. You can't tell." The young man laughed: "You make me feel as if it were my tombstone; you are all so solemn. Let me see a smile before I go." A nice white smile flashed round the company, but Hugh's eyes remained thoughtful as he watched the young Irishman walk away down the leafy road.