 this adventure I shall be no worse off than I am at
present. If I am fortunate enough to discover a rich mine or a hidden
treasure, I shall be in a position to satisfy his demand. I am going to
take Bertie with me; he will be a cheerful companion, and even now he
is a powerful young fellow. At any rate, if I get sick or anything of
that sort, it would be an immense advantage to have him with me."

"I don't like the idea of your going, Harry," she said tearfully.  "No,
dear; and if I had the chance of seeing you sometimes, and of some day
obtaining your father's consent to the marriage, all the gold mines in
Peru would offer no temptation to me. As it is, I can see nothing else
for it. In some respects it is better; if I were to stay here I should
only be meeting you frequently at dances and dinners, never able to
talk to you privately, and feeling always that you could never be mine.
It would be a constant torture. Here is a possibility--a very remote
one, I admit, but still a possibility--and even if it fails I shall
have the satisfaction of knowing that I have done all that a man could
do to win you."

"I think it is best that you should go somewhere, Harry, but Peru seems
to be a horrible place."

"Barnett speaks of it in high terms. You know he was four or five years
out there. He describes the people as being delightful, and he has
nothing to say against the climate."

"I will not try to dissuade you," she said bravely after a pause. "At
present I am hopeless, but I shall have something to hope and pray for
while you are away. We will say good-bye now, dear. I have come to meet
you this once, but I will not do so again, another meeting would but
give us fresh pain. I am very glad to know that your brother is going
with you. I shall not have to imagine that you are ill in some
out-of-the-way place without a friend near you; and in spite of the
dangers you may have to run, I would rather think of you as bravely
doing your best than eating your heart out here in London. I shall not
tell my father that we have 