.

A dance was in progress. He stood for a space in the doorway, watching.
Finally, having satisfied himself that his brother was not among the
dancers, he turned away.

With his usual quietness of demeanour, he crossed the vestibule, and
looked into the smoking-room. Sir Eustace was not there either, and he
was closing the door again when the man himself came up the passage
behind him, and clapped a careless hand on his shoulder.

"Are you looking for me, most doughty knight?" he asked.

Scott turned so sharply that the hand fell. "Yes, I am looking for you,"
he said, and his voice was unusually curt. "Come outside a minute, will
you? I want to speak to you."

"I am not going outside," Sir Eustace said, with exasperating coolness.
"If you want to talk, you can come in here and smoke with me."

"I must be alone with you," Scott said briefly. "There are two or three
men in there."

His brother gave him a look of amused curiosity. "Do you want to do
something violent then? There's plenty of room for a quiet talk in there
without disturbing or being disturbed by anyone."

But Scott stood his ground. "I must see you alone for a minute," he said
stubbornly. "You can come to my room, or I will come to yours,--whichever
you like."

Sir Eustace shrugged his shoulders. "You are damned persistent. I don't
know that I am specially anxious to hear what you have to say. In any
case it can keep till the morning. I can't be bothered now."

Scott's hand grasped his arm. A queer gleam shone in his pale eyes.
"Man," he said, "I think you had better hear me now."

Eustace looked down at him, half-sneering, half-impressed. "What a mule
you are, Stumpy! Come along then if you must! But you had better mind how
you go. I'm in no mood for trifling."

"Nor I," said Scott, with very unaccustomed bitterness.

He kept his hand upon his brother's arm as they turned. He leaned
slightly upon him as they ascended the stairs. Eustace's room was the
first they reached, and they turned into that.

Scott was very pale, but there was no lack of resolution about him as he
closed the door and faced the elder man.

"Well, what is it?" Eustace demanded.

"Just this." Very steadily Scott made answer. "I want to know how far
this matter has gone between you and Miss Bathurst. I want to know--what
you are going to do."

"My intentions, eh?" Eustace's sneer became very pronounced as he put the
question. He pulled forward a chair and sat down w