He was a little disappointed, however, for he had hoped to walk part of the way back alongside Miss Brown. In truth, Barbara had expected that he would, but a sudden shyness came upon her and made her start up at speed the moment she was in the saddle. Simon and Richard stood looking after her.

But then with a sharp scramble she turned. She came back at a quick trot and was back beside the two men in a moment. Barbara had come to herself and thought that it was a pity to get no more pleasure or profit out of the afternoon than just a horse-shoeing!

“She’s all right!” she cried.

She thanked the old man once more in such a pretty fashion that he felt lord of the world. Then Richard and she moved away together in the direction of Mortgrange, and left Simon praying God to give them to each other before he died.

They had not gone far when Richard stopped.

“Oh, miss,” he said. “I must go back. Neither of us went to see Alice.”

She regarded him without response or word or look for a moment.

“Alice is gone,” said Barbara quietly at length.

He stood and stared. Barbara saw him turn white and understood he mistook her meaning.

“She went home to her mother yesterday,” she added.

Richard gave a great sigh of relief.

“I thought you meant she was dead,” he said, “and I had not been so good to her as I might have been!”

“Richard,” said Barbara—it was the first time she had called him by his name since their first meeting—“did anybody in the world ever do all he might to make his friends happy?”

“No, miss. Probably not. There must always be more that might have been done. But can you tell me why Alice went away without letting me know?”

“She had a good reason,” answered Barbara.

“I can’t imagine what it could be,” he returned. “I hadn’t come to see her for several days, but she couldn’t be too offended by that. Did her mother send her money?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Perhaps my grandfather lent her some. I wonder why she dislikes me so much!”

Barbara could not tell him that Alice was afraid to bid him goodbye lest, in her weakness, she should throw her arms around him and begin kissing him! Then she would have to tell him he was her brother. She therefore had to go without a word.

“She is far from disliking you,” said Barbara.

“Why then didn’t she tell me so that I might have given her money for her journey?”

“There was no need of that,” returned Barbara. “She is my sister now, and a sovereign or two is nothing between us.”