never
associate him with Byron's vices.

"'I am afraid you will be awfully bored at this long description of a
man you have perhaps never seen nor heard of, but he's the talk of the
town just now, and really he's a most fascinating man. If ever you have
the chance to meet him, be sure and embrace it. You'll want to disagree
with everything he says, but you'll find him interesting.'"

"Is that all?"

"Yes, all about him."

"He must be a smart fellow, I should think. Should you not like to meet
him?"

"I'm not sure. Of course, you know that Bridget is rather given to
enthuse. Still, a clever person is always interesting."

"Because," said Mr. Castlemaine slowly, "it is rather a strange
coincidence."

"What is?"

"Why, this same Mr. Radford Leicester is one of the two men who are
coming to dine here to-night."

"It'll be interesting to compare notes with Bridget," said Olive, after
a moment's hesitation. "But why is he coming here?"

"Oh, a Mr. Lowry, a sort of local magnate in the neighbourhood of
Taviton, wishes to see me on a matter of some importance, and he has
asked this Mr. Leicester to be his spokesman. I did not wish to be in
town to-night, so I asked him to come here to dinner."

"And to spend the night?"

"No. They will return to town. There is a train about twelve."

But for her friend's letter Olive Castlemaine would have paid no
attention to the fact that two men were coming to dine, but remembering
what she had just read she felt rather desirous of seeing Mr. Radford
Leicester. Perhaps that was why she told her maid to take special care
in selecting a dress that night, and why, just after seven o'clock,
Olive made her way to the drawing-room with more than usual interest.

She heard steps and voices in the hall just before the dinner-hour, and
a few minutes later the two visitors were announced.

John Castlemaine introduced them to his daughter, and then watched her
face with an amused smile. Perhaps he wondered if her opinion tallied
with that of the letter she had received that very day. Mr. Lowry caused
no interest. He was simply a commonplace man who had succeeded in
becoming rich. Olive had seen such by the dozen, and valued them at
their true worth. But few of them were interesting. As a rule, they
looked at everything through the medium of money. To them passing events
were of interest because of the effect they might have upon the
financial market. And even here their outlook was