CONCERNING A HANDFUL OF PEBBLES
"And so," said Hermione, as she waved good-by to Hazel, who stood in the cottage doorway with Mrs. Bowker--a Mrs. Bowker no longer faded, "you didn't forget even the doll that says 'Mamma'?"
"It was such a little thing!" he answered.
"What a--man you are!" she said softly.
"Just that, Hermione," he answered, "and--frightfully human!" She was silent. "Do you know what I mean?" he demanded, glancing at her averted face.
"Yes!" she answered, without looking around. So they walked for awhile in silence. Suddenly he seized her hand and drew it through his arm.
"Hermione," he said gently, "I want my wife."
She still kept her head averted, but he could feel how she was trembling.
"And you think--" she began softly.
"That I have been patient long enough. I
