GodfreyandhiswifeneverwenttoCornwallafterall，foronChristmasDaytheweatherturnedsobadandtravellingwassodifficultthattheydeterminedtostopwheretheywereforafewdays。
AsforthemtheroofofthisLondonhotelhadbecomesynonymouswiththatofthecrystaldomeofheaven，thisdidnotmatterintheleast。
Theretheysatintheirhideous，over-gilded，privatesitting-room，or，whentheweatherwasclearenough，wentforwalksinthePark，andoncetotheSouthKensingtonMuseum，wheretheyenjoyedthemselvesverythoroughly。
Itwasonthefourthmorningaftertheirmarriagethattheblowfell。
Godfreyhadwakedearly，andlaywatchinghiswifeathisside。Thegreylightfromtheuncurtainedwindow，whichtheyhadopenedtoairtheover-heatedroom，revealedherinoutlinebutnotindetailandmadeherfinefacemysterious，framedasitwasinheryellowhair。Hewatcheditwithakindofrapture，tillatlengthshesighedandstirred，thenbegantomurmurinhersleep。
“Mydarling，“shewhispered，“oh!mydarling，howhaveIlivedwithoutyou？Well，thatisover，sincealiveordeadwecanneverbepartedmore，notreally——notreally!“
Thensheopenedhergreyeyesandstretchedoutherarmstoreceivehim，andhewasglad，forheseemedtobelisteningtothatwhichhewasnotmeanttohear。
Alittlelatertherecameaknockingatthedoor，andapageboy’ssqueakyvoicewithoutsaid：
“Telegramforyou，Sir。“
Godfreycalledtohimtoputitdown，butIsobelturnedpaleandshivered。
“Whatcanitbe？“shesaid，claspinghim。“Nooneknowsouraddress。“
“Oh，yes，theydo，“heanswered。“YouforgetyoutelephonedtotheHallyesterdayafternoonaboutthehospitalbusinessyouhadforgottenandgaveournumber，whichwouldbequiteenough。“
“SoIdid，likeafool，“sheexclaimed，lookingasthoughsheweregoingtocry。
“Don’tbefrightened，dear，“hesaid。“Idaresayitisnothing。Youseewehavenoonetolose。“
“No，no，Ifeelsureitisagreatdealand——wehaveeachother。Readitquicklyandgetthethingover。“
SoheroseandfetchedtheyellowenvelopewhichreposeduponIsobel’sbootsoutsidethedoor。Aglanceshowedhimthatitwasmarked“official，“andthenhisheart，too，begantosink。Returningtothebed，heswitchedontheelectriclightandopenedtheenvelope。
“There’senoughofit，“hesaid，drawingoutthreecloselywrittensheets。
“Read，readit!“answeredIsobel。
Soheread。Itwasindeedaverylongtelegram，oneofsuchasarecommonlysentattheexpenseofthecountry，anditcamefromtheWarOffice。ThegistofitwasthatattemptshadbeenmadetocommunicatewithhimatanaddresshehadgiveninCornwall，butthemessageshadbeenreturned，andfinallyinquiryatHawk’sHallhadgivenaclue。Hewasdirectedtoreporthimself“earlyto-morrow“thetelegramhadbeensentoffonthepreviousnighttotakeupanappointmentwhichwouldbeexplainedtohim。Therewas，itadded，notimetolose，astheshipwasduetosailwithintwenty-fourhours。
“There!“saidIsobel，“Iknewitwassomethingofthesort。This，“sheaddedwithaflashofinspiration，“istheresultofthemeddlingofthatoldGeneralCubitte。Youseeitmustbeadistantappointment，ortheywouldnottalkabouttheshipbeingduetosail。“
“Idaresay，“heansweredascheerfullyashecould。“Suchthingsaretobeexpectedinthesetimes，aretheynot？“
“Toobad!“shewenton，“atanyratetheymighthaveletyouhaveyourleave。“
Thentheyrosebecausetheymustandmadepretencetoeatsomebreakfast，afterwhichtheydepartedinoneofIsobel’smotors，whichhadbeensummonedbytelephonefromherLondonhouse，totheDepartmentindicatedinthetelegram。
Theyneednothavehurried，sincetheimportantpersonwhomGodfreymustseedidnotarriveforafullhour，duringallwhichtimeIsobelsatwaitinginthemotor。However，whenheappearedhewasverygracious。
“Oh!yes，“hesaid，“youareMajorKnight，andwehaveamutualfriendinoldGeneralCubitte。Infactitwashewhoputanideaintoourheads，forwhich，asIunderstandyouarejustmarried——aprettyhuntyougaveus，bytheway——perhapsyouwon’taltogetherblesshim，sinceotherwise，asyouareonlyjustrecoveredfromyourwounds，Ihavenodoubtwecouldhavegivenyouamonthortwoextraleave。However，I
knowyouareverykeen，forI’velookedupyourrecord，andprivateaffairsmustgiveway，mustn’tthey？Also，asithappens，Mrs。Knightneednotbeanxious，aswearenotgoingtosendyouintoanyparticulardanger；Idaresayyouwon’tseeashotfired。
“Lookhere，Major，youhavebeenaStaffofficer，haven’tyou，anditisreportedofyouthatyoualwaysgotonextremelywellwithnatives，andespeciallyinsomesemi-politicalbilletswhichyouhaveheldwhenyouhadtonegotiatewiththeirchiefs。Well，tocutitshort，amanofthekindiswantedinEastAfrica，comingoutdirectfromhomewithmilitaryauthority。Hewillhavetokeepintouchwiththebigchiefsinourownterritoryandarrangeforthemtosupplymenforworkingorfighting，etc。，andifpossible，opennegotiationswiththoseinGermanterritoryandwinthemovertous。Further，asyouknow，thereareanenormousnumberofIndianssettledinEastAfrica，withwhomyouwouldbeparticularlyqualifiedtodeal。Weshouldlooktoyoutomakethemostoftheseinanywayrequired。Yousee，theappointmentisaspecialone，andiftheworkbewelldone，asIhavenodoubtitwillbe，Iamalmostsure，“headdedsignificantly，“thattheresultstotheofficerconcernedwillbespecialalso。
“Now，Idon’taskyouifyoudeclinetheappointment，becausewearecertainintimeofwaryouwillnotdoso，andIthinkthat’sall，exceptthatyouwillbeaccreditedostensiblytothestaffoftheGeneralincommandinEastAfrica，andalsoreceiveprivateinstructions，ofwhichtheGeneralandthelocalGovernmentswillhavecopies。Now，doyouunderstandeverything，especiallythatyourpowerswillbeverywideandthatyouwillhavetoactlargelyonyourowndiscretion？“
“Ithinkso，Sir，“saidGodfrey，concealingthecompleteconfusionofhismindaswellashewasable。“Atanyrate，IshallpickthingsupasIgoalong。“
“Yes，that’stherightspirit——pickthingsupasyougoon，aswearealldoinginthiswar。Ihavetopick’emup，Icantellyou。AndnowIwon’tkeepyouanylonger，for，yousee，you’llhavetohustle。I
believeaspecialboatforEastAfricawithstores，etc。，sailsto-morrowmorning，soyou’llhavetotakethelasttraintoSouthampton。AnofficerwillmeetyouatWaterloowithyourinstructions，andifhemissesyou，willgoondowntotheboat。Also，youwillhavedetailsofyourpayandallowances，whichwillbeliberal，thoughIamtoldyouarenotlikelytowantmoneyinfuture。
Sogood-byeandgoodlucktoyou。YoumustreportofficiallythroughtheGeneralorthelocalGovernors，butyouwillalsobeabletowriteprivatelytous。Indeed，pleaserememberthatweshallexpectyoutodoso。“
SoGodfreywent，butashenearedthedoorthebigmancalledafterhim：
“Bytheway，Iforgottocongratulateyou。No，no，Idon’tmeanonyourmarriage，butonyourpromotion。You’vebeeninformed，haven’tyou？Well，itwillbegazettedto-morroworinadayortwo，andletterswillbesenttoyouwiththeotherpapers。“
“Whatpromotion？“askedGodfrey。
“Oh!tobeacolonel，ofcourse。YoudidverywelloutthereinFrance，youknow，anditisthoughtadvisablethattheofficerundertakingthisspecialworkshouldhaveacolonel’srank，justtobeginwith。Good-bye。“
SoGodfreywent，andsaidvaguelytothewaitingIsobel：
“I’mafraid，dear，thatIshallhavetoaskyoutohelpmetodosomeshopping。Ithinktherearesomestoresnearhere。Wehadbetterdrivetothem。“
“Tellmeeverything，“saidIsobel。
Sohetoldher，andwhenhehadfinishedshesaidslowly：
“Itisbadenough，butIsupposeitmightbeworse。WilltheyletmegowithyoutoSouthampton？“
“Iexpectso，“heanswered。“Atanyrate，wewilltryiton。Ithinkitisanordinarytrain，andyouhavearighttotakeaticket。“
Thentheyshopped，alldaytheyshopped，withtheresult，sincemoneycandomuch，thatwhentheyreachedWaterloohisbaggagecontainingeverythingneedful，oratleastnearlyeverything，wasalreadywaitingforhim。Sowasthemessengerwiththepromisedpapers，includingaformalcommunicationnotifyingtohimthathewasnowalieutenant-
colonel。
“Andtothinkthattheyhavepainted’Major’onthosetincases!“saidIsobelregretfully，fornoobjectionhadbeenraisedtoheraccompanyingGodfrey，withwhomshewasseatedinareservedcarriage。
TheyreachedSouthamptonaboutmidnight，andonGodfreypresentinghimselfandaskingwhentheboatsailedhewasinformedthatthiswasuncertain，butprobablywithinthenextweek。Thenrememberingallhehadgonethroughthatday，hesworeasamanwill，butIsobelrejoicedinwardly，oh!howsherejoiced，thoughallshesaidwasthatitwouldgivehimtimetocompletehisshopping。
SavefortheadvancingshadowofseparationandaconstantstreamoftelegramsandtelephonemessagestoandfromhischiefsinLondon，whichoccupiedmanyofthehours，thesewereveryhappydays，especiallyasintheendtheyspreadthemselvesouttotheoriginallimitofhisleave。
“Atleastwehavenotbeencheated，“saidIsobelwhenatlasttheystoodtogetheronthedeckoftheship，waitingforthesecondbelltoring，“andothersareworseoff。Ibelievethosetwopoorpeople，“andshepointedtoayoungofficerandhischild-likebride，“wereonlymarriedyesterday。“
Thesceneontheshipwasdreary，formanyweregoinginhertothevarioustheatresofwar，Egypt，Africa，andotherplaces，andsad，oh!
sadwerethegood-byesuponthatbitterwinterafternoon。Someofthewomencried，especiallythoseofthehumblerclass。ButIsobelwouldnotcry。Sheremainedquitecalmtothelast，arrangingafewflowersandunpackingatravellingbaginGodfrey’scabin，forasacolonelhehadonetohimself。
Thenthesecondbellrang，andtotheearsuponwhichitsstridentclamourfellthetrumpofdoomcouldnothavebeenmoreawful。
“Good-bye，mydarling，“shesaid，“good-bye，andrememberwhatIhavetoldyou，thatnearorfar，livingordead，wecanneverreallybeapartagain，foroursistheLoveEternalgiventousintheBeginning。“
“Yes，“heansweredbriefly，“Iknowthatitissoand——enduringforever!GodblessusbothasHeseesbest。“
Theshipcastoff，andIsobelstoodintheeveninglightwatchingfromthequaytillGodfreyvanishedandthevesselwhichborehimwasswallowedupintheshadows。Thenshewentbacktothehoteland，throwingherselfuponthatwidowedbed，kissedtheplacewherehisheadhadlain，andwept，ah!howshewept，forherjoy-daysweredoneandherheartwasbreakinginher。