'And  you  can't  find  out  where  he  is?"
^No.    The  company  was  mustered  out,  and  Bill  just
naturally  disappeared.     Nobody  knows  where  he  is.
I've  asked  all  his  officers,  and  all  the  men  I  could  find."

He  took  her  hand  and  looked  at  it  soberly  for  a
moment.
"It  will  all  come  out  right,  my  dear.  You  trust  me.
There's  your  line  of  fate  as  clean  as  a  string.  I  see
trouble  in  it,  but  only  for  a  little  while.  You'll  be
married,  too.  You  must  have  patience  and  wait,  that's
all.  Suppose  you  come  back  and  see  me  in  a  week  or
so,  and  tell  me  if  you've  heard  any  news  of  him.
Meanwhile,  I'll  see  what  I  can  find  out  myself.  There's
a  cross  in  your  hand — ^that's  a  good  sign.  Bill  still
loves  you,  and  he  won't  let  you  suffer  long."

He  felt  the  pitiful  emptiness  of  his  words,  but  he
had  been  too  affected  by  her  narrative  to  give  her  the
smooth  banalities  that  were  always  ready  to  his
tongue.  She  got  up  and  looked  at  him  through  her
tears.
"You  have  helped  me,  Mr,  Granthope.  Somehow
I  knew  you  could.  I'll  be  in  again  sometime.  How
much  is  It,  please?"

"My  dear  girl,  when  you  come  again,  you  can  thank
the  young  lady  whom  you  saw  here  before.  Don't
thank  me."

She  looked  at  him  silently,  then  she  took  his  hand
and  shook  it  very  hard.  "You  mean  that  lady  with
red  hair  who  sits  at  the  desk?"

"Yes/'


i82  THE   HEART   LINE


"I  liked  her  when  I  saw  her.  She  was  nice  to  me.
Is — is  she  Mrs.  Granthope?"

Granthope  shook  his  head  and  smiled.
