David held in his hands a photograph--the picture of a girl.

He had half guessed what he would find when he began to unfold the newspaper wrapping and saw the edge of gray cardboard.

In the same breath had come his astonishment--a surprise that was almost a shock.

The night had been filled with changes for him; forces which he had not yet begun to comprehend had drawn him into the beginning of a strange adventure; they had purged his thoughts of _himself_; they had forced upon him other things, other people, and a glimpse or two of another sort of life; he had seen tragedy, and happiness--a bit of something to laugh at; and he had felt the thrill of it all.

A few hours had made him the bewildered and yet passive object of the unexpected.