must raise
between himself and Sylvia; to do him justice, the mere fact that the
father of his _fiancee_ was a mule did not lessen his ardour in the
slightest. Even if he had felt no personal responsibility for the
calamity, he loved Sylvia far too well to be deterred by it, and few
family cupboards are without a skeleton of some sort.

With courage and the determination to look only on the bright side of
things, almost any domestic drawback can be lived down.

But the real point, as he instantly recognised, was whether in the
changed condition of circumstances Sylvia would consent to marry _him_.
Might she not, after the experiences of that abominable dinner of his
the night before, connect him in some way with her poor father's
transformation? She might even suspect him of employing this means of
compelling the Professor to renew their engagement; and, indeed, Horace
was by no means certain himself that the Jinnee might not have acted
from some muddle-headed motive of this kind. It was likely enough that
the Professor, after learning the truth, should have refused to allow
his daughter to marry the _protege_ of so dubious a patron, and that
Fakrash had then resorted to pressure.

In any case, Ventimore knew Sylvia well enough to feel sure that pride
would steel her heart against him so long as this obstacle remained.

It would be unseemly to set down here all that Horace said and thought
of the person who had brought all this upon them, but after some wild
and futile raving he became calm enough to recognise that his proper
place was by Sylvia's side. Perhaps he ought to have told her at first,
and then she would have been less unprepared for this--and yet how could
he trouble her mind so long as he could cling to the hope that the
Jinnee would cease to interfere?

But now he could be silent no longer; naturally the prospect of calling
at Cottesmore Gardens just then was anything but agreeable, but he felt
it would be cowardly to keep away.

Besides, he could cheer them up; he could bring with him a message of
hope. No doubt they believed that the Professor's transformation would
be permanent--a harrowing prospect for so united a family; but,
fortunately, Horace would be able to reassure them on this point.

Fakrash had always revoked his previous performances as soon as he could
be brought to understand their fatuity--and Ventimore would take good
care that he revoked this.

Nevertheless, it was with a sinki