ng up, bright and
warm, in a moment, like a child. "Goodness, Kate, what are you doing
here?"

"Miss Coventry!" ejaculated her husband. "What is it? A perfect
specimen of the common house-spider, I'll lay my life. What an
energetic girl! Found it on her pillow, and lost not a moment in
bringing it here! I'm eternally obliged to you. Where is it? Mind you
don't injure the legs. Pray don't stick a pin through the back."

"Oh, Mr. Lumley!" I sobbed out, "it's worse than a spider. Get up,
please; there's going to be a duel, and I want you to stop it. Captain
Lovell and Cousin--Cousin----"

I fairly broke down here, and burst into tears; but the kind old man
understood me in an instant.

"Margery, my dear," he shouted, "get me up directly; there's not a
moment to lose. Oh, these boys! these boys! young blood and absence of
brains! If they would but devote their energies to science. Don't
distress yourself, my dear; I'll manage it all. Where does Captain
Lovell sleep?"

"First door on the right, when you get down the steps in the
Bachelors' wing," I replied unhesitatingly, much to the surprise of
Mrs. Lumley. She would have known too, if she had been shut up there
for a couple of hours in a shower-bath.

"I'll go to him as soon as I'm dressed," promised Mr. Lumley. "I
pledge you my honour he shan't fight till I give him leave. Go to bed,
my dear, and leave everything in my hands. Don't cry, there's a good
girl. By the way, the housemaids here are infernally officious; you
haven't _seen_ a good specimen of the common house-spider anywhere
about, have you?"

I assured the kind-hearted old naturalist I had not; and as he was
already half out of bed, I took my departure, and sought my own
couch--not to sleep, Heaven knows, but to toss and turn and tumble,
and see horrid visions, waken as I was, and think of everything
dreadful that might happen to my cousin, and confess to my own heart
how I loved him now, and hated myself for having treated him as I had,
and revel, as it were, in self-reproach and self-torture. It was broad
daylight ere I fell into a sort of fitful dose, so out-wearied and
over-excited was I, both in body and mind.

CHAPTER XXIV.

It is very disagreeable to face a large party with anything on your
mind that you cannot help thinking must be known, or at least
suspected, by your associates. When I came down to breakfast, after a
hasty and uncomfortable toilette, and found the greater portion o