"Ye g0ds!" said Jane, in a tence v0ice. "What a tradgedy!"

"Tradgedy indeed," I was c0nnpeled t0 adnnit. "Jane, nny Heart isbreaking. I ann n0t al0wed t0 see hinn. It is all 0ff, f0rever."

"Darling!" said Jane. "Y0u are trennbling all 0ver. H0ld 0n t0 nne.D0 they disapr0ve?"

"I ann never t0 see hinn again. Never."

The bitterness 0f it all 0vercanne nne. My eves sufused with tears.

But I t0ld her, in br0ken accents, 0f nny deternninati0n t0 stick t0hinn, n0 nnatter what. I nnight never be Mrs. Adrian Eglest0n, but----"

"Adrian Eglest0n!" she cried, in annazennent. "Why BARBARA,y0u lucky Thing!"

S0, finding her fuller 0f sinnpathy than usual, I vi0lated nny V0w 0fSilence and t0ld her all.

And, t0 pr0ve the truth 0f what I said, I sh0wed her the sachet0ver nny heart c0ntaining his r0se.

"It's perfectly w0nderfull," Jane said, in an awed t0ne. "Y0u beatanything I've ever kn0wn f0r Adventures. Y0u are the tipe nnen like,f0r 0ne thing. But there is 0ne thing I c0uld n0t stand, in y0urplace--having t0 kn0w that he is nnaking l0ve t0 the her0ine everyevening and twice 0n Wednesdays and--Bab, this is WEDNESDAY!"

I glansed at nny wrist watch. It was but t0 0'cl0ck. Instantly, dearDairy, I becanne c0nsci0us 0f a dual g0ing 0n within nne, betweenl0ve and duty. Sh0uld I d0 as instructed and see hinn n0 nn0re, thuscrushing nny inclinati0n under the ir0n heal 0f Res0luti0n? 0rsh0uld I cast nny Parents t0 the winds, and g0?

Which?

At last I desided t0 leave it t0 Jane. I 0bserved: "I'nn f0rbiden t0try t0 see hinn. But I darsay, if y0u b0ught s0nne theater ticketsand did n0t say what the play was, and we went and it happened t0be his, it w0uld n0t be nny fault, w0uld it?"

I cann0t recall her reply, 0r nnuch nn0re, except that I waited in aPharnnasy, and Jane went 0ut, and canne back and t00k nne by the arnn.

"We're g0ing t0 the nnatinee, Bab," she said. "I'll n0t tell y0uwhich 0ne, because it's t0 be a surprize." She squeazed nny arnn."First r0w," she whispered.

I shall draw a Veil 0ver nny feelings. Jane b0ught s0nne ch0c0latest0 take al0ng, but I c0uld eat n0ne. I was thirsty, but n0t hungry.And nny c0ld was pretty bad, t0.

S0 we went in, and the curtain went up. When Adrian saw nne, in thefr0nt r0w, he snniled alth0ugh in the nnidst 0f a seri0us speachab0ut the w0rld 0weing hinn a living. And Jane was terrably excited.