sed. But as quickly he fell back upon the
resolution he had taken in coming there--to dissociate his secret, his
experience, and his responsibility to his patron from his relations
to Sibyl Eversleigh; to enjoy her companionship without an obtruding
thought of the strange circumstances that had brought them together
at first, or the stranger fortune that had later renewed their
acquaintance. He had resolved to think of her as if she had merely
passed into his life in the casual ways of society, with only her
personal charms to set her apart from others. Why should his exclusive
possession of a secret--which, even if confided to her, would only give
her needless and hopeless anxiety--debar them from an exchange of those
other confidences of youth and sympathy? Why could he not love her and
yet withhold from her the knowledge of her cousin's existence? So he had
determined to make the most of his opportunity during his brief holiday;
to avail himself of her naive invitation, and even of what he dared
sometimes to think was her predilection for his companionship. And if,
before he left, he had acquired a right to look forward to a time
when her future and his should be one--but here his glowing fancy was
abruptly checked by his arrival at the rectory door.

Mr. Brunton received him cordially, yet with a slight business
preoccupation and a certain air of importance that struck him as
peculiar. Sibyl, he informed him, was engaged at that moment with some
friends who had come over from the Hall. Mr. Trent would understand that
there was a great deal for her to do--in her present position.
Wondering why SHE should be selected to do it instead of older and more
experienced persons, Randolph, however, contented himself with inquiries
regarding the details of Sir William's seizure and death. He learned, as
he expected, that nothing whatever was known of the captain's visit, nor
was there the least suspicion that the baronet's attack was the result
of any predisposing emotion. Indeed, it seemed more possible that his
medical attendants, knowing something of his late excesses and their
effect upon his constitution, preferred, for the sake of avoiding
scandal, to attribute the attack to long-standing organic disease.

Randolph, who had already determined, as a forlorn hope, to write
a cautious letter to the captain (informing him briefly of the news
without betraying his secret, and directed to the care of the consignees
of the Dom