it was six years after his departure from home when miles trevor sailed again for his native land. there had been some talk of his return during the previous winter, and bitter indeed had been the disappointment when it was again postponed, and postponed on account of that ubiquitous person “my chum gerard.” the prospecting expedition of will gerard and his partner had at last been blessed with success;—if reports could be believed, with extraordinary success, for the opinion of the experts who had visited the claim predicted for it an even greater future than the aladdin itself. between the partners in the venture a sufficient sum had been raised to enable the mine to be “proved” by several shafts and cross-cuts, and the analyses of samples produced were so abundantly satisfactory, that there could be no difficulty in obtaining all the money necessary to thoroughly develop the mine. miles was intensely interested in his chum’s prospects, which to a certain extent were coincident with his own, for, according to promise, he had been allowed to buy a share in the land, which, small as it was, might turn out a more profitable investment than engineering.

it was decided that while one partner stayed on the spot, miles should fit in his holiday so as to be able to help gerard with the work of floating a company in england, an arrangement which it was believed would necessitate but a short delay. as is invariably the case in these affairs, however, matters took much longer to set in train than had been originally expected, and it was a good six months later before the welcome cablegram was received stating that the travellers were really on their way.

six years! miles was a man of twenty-six, matured by a life of enterprise and adventure. betty admitted with horror to being “twenty-four next birthday,” and shivered at the remembrance that six more years would bring her to that dreaded thirty which she had once considered the “finis” of life. jack and jill were twenty, and if he were still a lad, she was a very finished product indeed, the acknowledged belle of her set, with a transparent satisfaction in her own success which would have been called vanity in a less popular person, but which in her case was indulgently voted as yet another charm. pam was fourteen, a lanky schoolgirl, who had outgrown her kitten-like graces, and entered the world of school, where everything (including the return of a half-forgotten brother!) was secondary in interest to the strictures of “maddie” on the subject of french verbs, the ambition of some day becoming “head girl,” and the daily meetings with her bosom friend nellie banks.

everyone had grown older; even little jerry vanburgh, who six years before had been by his own account “a baby angel up in heaven,” was now a sturdy rascal of four, in man-of-war suits, whose love of fun and frolic was worthy of his mother’s son.

what would miles think of them all? betty asked herself as she donned her prettiest dress, in preparation for the long-expected hour. would he be prepared for the changes which had taken place, or feel surprised and chilled, perhaps even disappointed, to find his old companions turned into comparative strangers? he had never had much imagination, dear old lad!—it would be just like him to come home expecting to find everything looking as if he had left it but a month before.

betty leant her arms on the dressing-table and stared scrutinisingly at her reflection in the mirror. she had always been a severe judge of her own charms, and now the remembrance of jill’s sparkling little face made her own appear unnaturally grave and staid; still, when all was said and done, she looked very nice!—the old schoolgirl word came in as ever to fill an awkward place.

twenty-four though she undoubtedly was, it was certain that she was prettier than she had been at eighteen, and pink was miles’ favourite colour—she had remembered that in buying her new dress, and had chosen it especially for his benefit. “oh, i hope he’ll like me! he must like me!” she cried to herself, with a rush of love and longing swelling at her heart. how was it that as one grew older, home ceased to be the absolutely complete and satisfying world which it had been in early days? why was it that, surrounded with father and mother, and sisters and brothers, all dear and kind and loving, the heart would yet experience a feeling of loneliness, a longing for something too intangible to be put into words?

“i want something—badly! what can it be?” betty had questioned of herself times and again during the last few years, and the invariable answer had been—“miles! it must be the loss of miles which i feel more and more, instead of less and less. when miles comes home there will be nothing left to wish for in all the world!” and now in an hour,—in half an hour, miles would be with her once more! dr trevor and jack had gone to the station to meet him, but his mother and the girls had preferred to wait at home. “so that you can all howl, and hang round his neck at once—i know you!” jack had cried teasingly. “take my advice, and cut short the huggings. when fellows have roughed it abroad, they don’t like being mauled!”—at which a chorus of feminine indignation had buzzed about his ears.

“mauled, indeed! howl, indeed! they trusted they knew how to behave without his advice! would it not be well if he allowed miles himself to say what he did and did not like? had he not better rehearse his own conduct, before troubling himself about other people’s?” so on, and so on, until jack fled in dismay, fingers in ears. that was the worst of chaffing girls—they would always insist upon having the last word!

downstairs in the sitting-rooms all was en fête, the best mats and covers and cushions being exhibited for the benefit of one who would probably never notice their existence, or might even be misguided enough to imagine that chiffon-draped cushions were meant for use, not ornament. flowers were tastefully arrayed in every available position; the tea-table lacked only the presence of pot and kettle; jill had arranged the little curl on her forehead at its most artless and captivating angle—in a word, preparation was complete!

“sit down, dears—sit down! you make me nervous fidgeting about, and—i’m nervous enough already!” said mrs trevor tremulously, and her three big daughters obediently sank down on chairs and stared at each other across the room.

“i’m very sorry to say so—but i’m ill!” cried betty tragically. “i feel awful. a kind of crawly, creepy—all—overish—sick-swimming-kind-of-feeling—i think i’m going to faint! i’m sorry to alarm you—”

but no one was in the least alarmed. mrs trevor only smiled feebly, while the other girls expatiated upon even more alarming symptoms.

“my heart is going like a sledge-hammer,” sighed jill. “i feel every moment as if it might burst!—i can’t see you. the air is full of spots—”

“i’m as dizzy as dizzy,” declared pam eloquently. “i feel exactly as i did that wednesday nellie and i ate chocolates all the afternoon in a hot room. if he doesn’t come soon we’d better all lie down. we could get up again when we heard the bell.”

“the bell, indeed! miles shall not have to ring the bell when he arrives home after six years’ absence, if his mother is alive to open the door for him!” cried mrs trevor indignantly, and then suddenly she gave a cry, and rushed across the room. a cab laden with luggage had drawn up before the door. miles had arrived!

well, after all jack was right! they did all hang round him at once. mrs trevor was folded in his arms, but betty and jill each hung on to a side, while pam stroked the back of his head, and if they did not exactly “howl,” they were certainly by no means dry-eyed.

“my boy! my boy!” cried the mother. “miles, oh, miles!” sobbed the girls; and miles mumbled incoherent answers in his big man’s voice, and quietly but surely pushed his way into the drawing-room. his eyes were shining too, but he had no intention that the passers-by should witness his emotion. he looked enormously big and broad, and tanned and important. handsome miles would never be, but his was a good strong face, with the firmly-set lips and clear, level gaze which speak so eloquently of a man’s character, and his mother thanked god with a full heart as she welcomed him back.

as for miles himself, the sight of his mother brought with it a pang of sadness, for though outsiders might exclaim at her youthful appearance, six years on the wrong side of forty can never fail to leave behind them heavy traces, and to the unaccustomed eyes she looked greatly changed. he kept his arm round her as they moved forward, and his eyes grew very tender. the little mother was growing old! her hair was quite grey, her pretty cheeks had lost their roundness—he must take more care of her than ever. she enjoyed being cared for, as all nice women did. and then miles sat down and drank tea, and they all settled themselves to the difficult task of making conversation after a long absence. it seems sad that it should be difficult, but it is invariably the case, for when there is so much to tell, and to ask, it is difficult to know where to begin, and a certain strangeness follows hard on the first excitement. were these smart young ladies truly and actually betty and jill; this young man with the oxford drawl the once unkempt and noisy jack? and who was this shy and awkward maypole, who had taken the place of dear, cuddlesome, wee pam?

if it had not been for dr trevor, conversation would have halted sadly during the first difficult quarter of an hour, but that gentleman was fortunately free from sentimental embarrassment, and kept the ball rolling by his practical questions and remarks.

the voyage, it appeared, had been unusually calm and agreeable, and the partners had thoroughly enjoyed the rest after the somewhat worrying work of the last six months. yes, everything was working out splendidly as regards the new mine, and miles was convinced that only time was necessary to turn it into a huge success. will gerard would be a millionaire some fine day, or something very like a millionaire, and he would deserve all he got. the best fellow and the smartest, and the hardest working, and the truest chum—

in the background saucy jill dumbly echoed these well-worn sentiments, rolling her eyes ceilingwards, and declaiming with outstretched hands, till miles, turning suddenly, caught sight of her, and burst into one of his old hearty laughs.

“well, what does that mean, jill? what have i said to amuse you?”

jill sparkled at him in her most captivating manner.

“toujours le bon gerard! we have heard so much of this marvel that we are dying to behold him. snap-shots, we know, are not the most flattering medium, so we ought not to judge by the likenesses we have already seen, but he hardly appeals to me as a miracle of beauty! when does he propose to dazzle our eyes by appearing before us in the flesh?”

miles laughed once more.

“not till next week, so you must exercise your patience, my dear. he has his own people to see, and besides that he has too much tact to intrude upon a fellow’s first days at home. gerard always knows what is the right—” he broke off hastily as jill resumed her silent pantomime of admiration. “oh, all right! i won’t praise him any more. you can find out his good points for yourself. if the truth were known, i daresay he is anxious to get a new rig-out before he pays calls on fascinating young ladies. we have neither of us a decent coat to our backs, and must go tailor-hunting the first thing to-morrow morning. we have not had much ladies’ society abroad. i expect gerard will fall headlong in love when he sees you in that blouse, jill!”

“i expect he will. they generally do! but it’s no use. i don’t care for colonials!” drawled miss jill, chin in air, and miles’ heated repudiation of the term as applied to either his partner or himself failed to move her from her front.

“jill is waiting for prince edward of wales. there’s no other unmarried male who comes up to her standpoint,” said her father, laughing; and once more miles marvelled at the changes of the years!

when bedtime came, betty looked shyly at the new miles, who seemed still more than half a stranger, and felt her heart throb with pleasure as his grasp tightened on her arm, and he said affectionately—

“come into my room for a chat, old girl, before you turn in! it won’t seem like home unless i see you perched on my bed nursing your knees and your grievances at the same time. got any grievances nowadays, eh? you used generally to have a good stock on hand. we’ll have to lay them together while i’m at home. that’s what i want to do—give you all a rattling good time! it’s what i have looked forward to most in coming home. how are things going, really? quite well? no bothers and worries that you have been keeping to yourselves, for fear of making me anxious?”

“nothing big, dear—only the little worries which one must grin and put up with.”

betty perched herself on the bed, and fell into the old position, while miles sat down on the chair by the dressing-table, and began unlacing his shoes with the same, oh, the very same gestures which he had used every night during the many long years when this evening conference had been the brightest spot in the day! it was as if time had flashed back for a moment, and they were boy and girl together once more! betty’s eyes melted in tender rejoicing, and miles cried heartily—

“bet, my dear, you’ve grown rattling pretty! you beat jill into fits when you look like that. you must wear that frock when gerard comes next week. it suits you splendidly.”

“i got it for your sake—not mr gerard’s. you always liked pink, miles. oh, i shan’t have any grievances now that you are home. i am really and truly far less grumbly than i used to be. i have tried hard to make it a duty to be happy, since i discovered—you know how!—how imaginary my troubles really were—but sometimes i have felt very lonely. i think one does, as one grows older, for there seem so many things that one can’t talk about to the best of friends. of course you may not understand the feeling—you are so devoted to mr gerard.”

miles kicked his shoes in opposite directions—another old trick!—and stroked his chin silently. the offending beard had disappeared, but the skin was dark with constant shaving, and there were new lines in his face. this was a man indeed. the boy had disappeared for ever.

“i don’t think i should advertise my loneliness even to gerard,” he said slowly. then, leaning forward and opening a drawer in the dressing-table, “how is cynthia?” he queried abruptly.

“better!” replied betty, so quietly that no one would have guessed the leap of excitement which her heart had given at the sound of her friend’s name uttered in this connection. “very delicate still, but certainly better. they live entirely in the country for her sake, and the doctors think that in a year or two she will probably be quite well again. meantime she is treated like an invalid, and we can seldom meet. it isn’t good for her to chatter, and it isn’t supposed to be good for my health to be there. i ache for her, miles! no one will ever know what it has meant for me to be separated like this.”

miles sat silently staring at his stockinged feet. his eyes were hidden, the heavy moustache covered the lines of his mouth, yet as betty looked at him she felt a stab of reproach, as if, while pitying herself, she had inadvertently probed a deeper wound. had miles also ached for cynthia? had the separation from her been the hardest part of his long exile? she longed to question him on the subject, but the stern, set face gave no encouragement to curiosity, however affectionate.

“we are to go down to see her some day soon. she was almost as much excited about your coming home as we were ourselves, and we can run down to franton and back quite easily in the day. you won’t be occupied with business every day while you are at home, will you, miles? you will be able to give up some of your time to us?”

“oh dear, yes. this is by way of being a holiday, and i mean to take you girls about, and the mater too, if she will come. we must see the mining business in train first, and then we’ll go off somewhere and have a good time. i haven’t worked for nothing all these years, and the best chance of enjoying myself is to see your enjoyment. things don’t always work out as we expect—but we must make the best of what remains—”

he sighed, and rose from his chair with a gesture which somehow made betty conscious that he wished to be alone. it had been a very short chat, and the impression left was rather sad than cheerful. she put her arms round miles’ neck, kissed him fervently, but in silence, and stole away to her own room.