is a boy, sir, there."

"Of course."

The ringers heard, and sent one of their number to ask him if they
should ring.

"What for?" asked Bassett with a nasty glittering eye; and then with
sudden fury he seized a large piece of wood from the basket to fling at
his insulter. "I'll teach you to come and mock me."

The ringer vanished, ducking.

"Gently," said Wheeler, "gently."

Bassett chucked the wood back into the basket, and sat down gloomily,
saying, "Then how dare he come and talk about ringing bells for a girl?
To think that I should have all this fright, and my wife all this
trouble--for a girl!"

It was no time to talk of business then; but about a fortnight
afterward Wheeler said, "I took the detective off, to save you
expense."

"Quite right," said Bassett, wearily.

"I gave you the woman's address; so the matter is in your hands now, I
consider."

"Yes," said Bassett, wearily; "Move no further in it."

"Certainly not; and, frankly, I should be glad to see you abandon it."

"I _have_ abandoned it. Why should I stir the mud now? I and mine are
thrown out forever; the only question is, shall a son of Sir Charles or
the parson's son inherit? I'm for the wrongful heir. Ay," he cried,
starting up, and beating the air with his fists in sudden fury, "since
the right Bassetts are never to have it, let the wrong Bassetts be
thrown out, at all events; I'm on my back, but Sir Charles is no better
off; a bastard will succeed him, thanks to that cursed woman who
defeated _me."_

This turn took Wheeler by surprise. It also gave him real pain.
"Bassett," said he, "I pity you. What sort of a life has yours been for
the last eight years? Yet, when there's no fuel left for war and
hatred, you blow the embers. You are incurable."

"I am," said Richard. "I'll hate those two with my last breath and
curse them in my last prayer."

CHAPTER XXXVI.

LADY BASSETT'S forebodings, like most of our insights into the future,
were confuted by the event.

She became the happy mother of a flaxen-haired boy. She insisted on
nursing him herself; and the experienced persons who attended her
raised no objection.

In connection with this she gave Sir Charles a peck, not very severe,
but sudden, and remarkable as the only one on record.

He was contemplating her and her nursling with the deepest affection,
and happened to say, "My own Bella, what delight it gives me to see
you!"

"Yes," said she, "we will have o