african forest to do duty as a blind without a moment s hesitation or poor � had been his best friend once � truly the ways of friendship are wonderful well in due time returned and the little dinner of three passed oflf quite as merrily ad anyone could expect under the circumstances and he l they went oflf to the where sat between the two men in the and cried over the sorrows of captain swift until her face was all and her eyes sore with the sad salt where the major went out between each act and missed one altogether and sat still and quietly resisted all temptations to go and see how cool it the times of peace was outside or have a and after all this tragedy and when all was over and they were passing out towards the hall major turned back to and said � you take care of and ril find the carriage never noticing that he had actually brushed up against who was just in the act of putting a black lace over her head she started violently and pulled the almost entirely over her face so as to hide it from and who were left standing together � do you ever go out to supper after the theatre he asked � if you do will you both and have supper with me somewhere no � cannot bear these public � he never lets me go to them answered � thanks all the same but you will go back with ns � we have a very good supper room at the here s the carriage shouted the major from the doorway � the echoed i have found him out at last chapter xvii the times of peace tell not all you know and judge not all you see if you would live in peace what happened to after and jack passed out of the of the theatre into the dark night i cannot the other wife say but certain it is that she did not immediately make it her business to call upon major in his retreat at the s w time went on � days wore away and the still believed that they were safe from the shadow which had pursued them so at and at this time they all got on in a wonderfully pleasant way major was but little at the he went a great deal to his club and he spent a great deal of his time in the company of dear old � who had never yet managed to pay his respects to his old s wife stay though � he had gone in twice to the when was out and major had made a good deal of the circumstance it s so very odd you know he said after the second call which had made that old should be so anxious to know you and should miss you twice running it s very odd why don t you ask him to dinner said innocently you d make sure of his meeting me then by jove yes it s a good idea cried the major � i ll ask him to morrow � eh and then we can go four to a theatre yes answered � fm sure that will be far the best but did not accept the invitation � naturally he hardly could poor fellow having been out of the way of dinner parties for many a long year major gave his excuses to thb times of ce and added the information that old s such a desperately shy chap i dare say he it did not however think very much of the circumstance for not having seen he held no place in her mind she quite accepted the major s excuse as being a not unnatural one and thought no more of it in truth her life was at this time a very well occupied one and she was as happy as it was possible for her to be unless she had been jack s wife as it was she was his greatest friend and he hers she saw him every day and sometimes several in the day � it had come to be an understood thing that where she went he would go also and major so far from it regarded the arrange ment in the light of a totally blessing which would permit him to come and go accordingly as his own sweet will dictated and very soon began to make friends and to have quite a nice little circle of acquaintances she got to know several people living in the or they got to know her � whichever you like and through them she got to know some very pleasant people in the world outside the which lived under the same roof tree and there were some very charming people living in the at that time there was a mrs a widow getting into years who wore her pretty white hair dressed high over a cushion and looked like an old of the and there was mrs west the most brilliant of modern times with the c the han s pen and the keenest wit and the and sweetest manners in all london town and there was l the man who did everything and did it well � who wrote plays and poems and books and songs who painted pictures and composed and was in a word the admirable the day well in the rooms of such people as these naturally met all the world and his wife and although many passed her by as being neither exactly a bee or a butterfly still a good many pleasant people intimated to her that they would like to know her better among others was a mrs a widow of ample means and a large capacity for thoroughly enjoying all kinds of society a woman who was never so happy as when she 