All the way down the mountain conciliatory phrases, jokes, words of endearment had crowded to his lips—anything to smooth the way back to the old life. And now he was confronted by this silent hostile house, which seemed to know nothing of him, but stared down from blank forbidding windows as if on an intruder.

An intruder? Was it possible that he was already that? By God, no! His smouldering wrath against Mrs. Tracy blazed up again. It was all her doing, whatever had happened. She wouldn't rest till she had separated him from Laura Lou… . He was beginning to feel a sort of terror at the silent house and the unknown behind it. He saw the son of a neighbour walking down the lane, and stood up and hailed him. "See here—I'm just home, and I guess I'm locked out. Seen my womenfolk round anywhere?" he asked facetiously.

Yes, the youth said, he had; he'd met them up the lane. They were going to see if they could get Dixon's team to take them to the station, they told him; he guessed they were taking some baggage with them, for a stay… . He grinned and loafed on, and Vance stood and looked after him without moving. It had all been planned in advance, then; they were going to the city—going straight to Bunty Hayes, no doubt! He would have secured rooms for them, where they could stay till they started for California… .

Vance walked dizzily back to the porch. It was true, then—it had really happened, this thing which was still inconceivable to him. He stood there staring about him like a man waking out of sleep; and as he did so, he noticed a suitcase and two or three insecurely tied bundles in a corner of the porch. They had already packed, then; they would come back presently to pick up their belongings.

It was all as queer and telescopic as things piled up in a nightmare. Yesterday morning this house had been his home and Laura Lou's—now it was shut, empty, unrelated to them. That phase of its existence and theirs was over… . His eye lit casually on the suitcase, and he recognized it as the one which had accompanied him and Laura Lou on their honeymoon. He sat down beside it on the floor of the porch, and recalled how he had unpacked it on the beach on their wedding day and pulled out their sticky oozing wedding breakfast. And how Laura Lou had had her first taste of champagne out of a seashell! And it had been his first taste, too—only he had got out of the way remembering that… .