was the first of all the eager passengers to
spring ashore, and rushing for a carriage, without even stopping to attend
to his baggage, he gave orders to be driven directly to the hotel where he
had left Virgie.

Mr. Eldridge quaked visibly and grew deadly pale when Sir William suddenly
presented himself in his office and demanded of him the reason of his wife
leaving his house.

The polite hotel-keeper's blandness all failed him for once, and, with
much stammering and confusion, with many apologies and excuses, he
confessed that there had arisen a rumor--how he could not say--to the
effect that the lady was not Mrs. Heath at all, that her supposed husband
was an English nobleman who had deceived her; that his patrons had
insisted upon her leaving, or they would; and thus, after a hint from him
as to how matters stood, she had quietly gone away.

Sir William was furious at this, and the landlord was actually frightened
at the tempest his story had aroused.

"And you allowed such a malicious slander to drive a delicate and
unprotected woman and her child homeless into the street?" cried the
baronet, with sublime scorn.

"Ah, sir, I was helpless. The honor of my house must be sustained, and
there was so much evidence to make the story appear true," said the man
deprecatingly.

"Evidence! What do you mean?" demanded the angry husband.

"You had registered as 'Mr. Heath and lady.' I learned that you were an
English baronet."

"Yes, but what of that? I simply wished to escape being conspicuous, and I
had a right to register as I chose."

"Then there was a story that you had taken another wife in England,
shortly after leaving America."

"And were you idiot enough to believe such a contemptible slander, when
<i>I</i> brought her here and established her as my honored wife? Did I ever
treat her with anything but reverence and respect?" thundered Sir William,
growing more and more indignant.

"No, sir," confessed the unhappy proprietor, as he drew a paper from his
desk; "but when you read a notice that I have here you may not wonder so
much at the credulity of people; besides, there were no letters coming
from you to the lady."

"No letters!" cried the baronet, in a startled tone.

"No, sir, although madam wrote to you with every steamer, and seemed sad
and depressed to get nothing in return."

The baronet was astounded.

It all looked as if there was some treachery at work to ruin their
happiness; but Sir W