secrets to pry out, in the Trellis House. And then, on
the hall table, she saw the belated evening paper which
she had missed this morning, and two or three letters.
Taking up the paper and the letters, she went straight
through into the garden. It would be pleasanter to
read out there than indoors.

With a restful feeling that no one was likely to come
in and disturb her yet awhile, she sat down in the basket-chair
which had already been put out by her
thoughtful old Anna. And then, quite suddenly, she
caught sight of the middle letter of the three she had
gathered up in such careless haste. It was an odd-looking
envelope, of thin, common paper covered with
pale blue lines; but it bore her address written in Major
Guthrie's clear, small, familiar handwriting, and on
the right-hand corner was the usual familiar penny
stamp. That stamp was, of course, a positive proof
that he was home again.

For quite a minute she simply held the envelope in
her hand. She felt so relieved, and yes, so ridiculously
happy, that after the first moment of heartfelt joy
there came a pang of compunction. It was wrong, it
was unnatural, that the safety of _one_ human being
should so affect her. She was glad that this curious
revulsion of feeling, this passing from gloom and
despondency to unreasoning peace and joy, should have
taken place when she was by herself. She would have
been ashamed that Rose should have witnessed it.

And then, with a certain deliberation, she opened
the envelope, and drew out the oddly-shaped piece of
paper it contained.

This is what she read:

[[185]]

p184 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p185w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p186

v?