wo reached Agworth
together. Mr. Wyvern was addicted to night-rambling, and he often
covered considerable stretches of country in the hours when other
mortals slept. To-night he was in the mood for such exercise; it worked
off unwholesome accumulations of thought and feeling, and good counsel
often came to him in what the Greeks called the kindly time. He did not
hurry on his way back to Wanley, for just at present he was much in need
of calm reflection.

On his arrival at the Vicarage about eleven o'clock the servant
informed him of Miss Waltham's having called. Mr. Wyvern heard this with
pleasure. He thought at first of writing a note to Adela, begging her
to come to the Vicarage again, but by the morning he had decided to be
himself the visitor.

He gathered at once from Mrs. Waltham's face that events of some
agitating kind were in progress. She did not keep him long in
uncertainty. Upon his asking if he might speak a few words with Adela,
Mrs. Waltham examined him curiously.

'I am afraid,' she said, 'that I must ask you to excuse her this
morning, Mr. Wyvern. She is not quite prepared to see anyone at present.
In fact,' she lowered her voice and smiled very graciously, 'she has
just had an--an agitating interview with Mr. Mutimer--she has consented
to be his wife.'

'In that case I cannot of course trouble her,' the vicar replied, with
gravity which to Mrs. Waltham appeared excessive, rather adapted to news
of a death than of a betrothal. The dark searching eyes, too, made her
feel uncomfortable. And he did not utter a syllable of the politeness
expected on these occasions.

'What a very shocking thing about Mr. Eldon!' the lady pursued. 'You
have heard?'

'Shocking? Pray, what has happened?'

Hubert had left him in some depression the night before, and for a
moment Mr. Wyvern dreaded lest some fatality had become known in Wanley.

'Ah, you have not heard? It is in this newspaper.'

The vicar examined the column indicated.

'But,' he exclaimed, with subdued indignation, 'this is the merest
falsehood!'

'A falsehood! Are you sure of that, Mr. Wyvern?'

'Perfectly sure. There is no foundation for it whatsoever.'

'You don't say so! I am very glad to hear that, for poor Mrs. Eldon's
sake.'

'Could you lend me this newspaper for to-day?'

'With pleasure. Really you relieve me, Mr. Wyvern. I had no means of
inquiring into the story, of course. But how disgraceful that such a
thing should appear in