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It is doubtful whether at this time Mr. Fletcher still entertained the conviction as to the result of _ his love-making which he had expressed to Eve on the occasion of his first proposal. There had been much in the interval to create doubt even in a mind of unusual determination, and it is not con- ceivable that a man of Mr. Fletcher’s character should allow himself to dwell for any length of time in a fool’s paradise.

To begin with, the frankness and pleasure with which the young girl had been wont to meet and welcome his visits were things of the past, and it was rather as a guest than a master that he was now received by the fair mistress of Wairangi. Religion had always formed the staple of conversa- tion between them, but there had been little diver- sions into mundane subjects full of charm for the man. Eve had a twin capacity for radiance. She had the radiance of an angel when some chord of her spiritual nature was touched and a radiance of sheer wickedness, responding to motives less exalted. Both were alike fascinating, and the clergyman and