uneasily, I will confess--that she saw for herself what I meant.

"As for the Matterhorn," I went on, "that, I believe, is not such a very
dangerous exploit in these days. There are permanent chains and things
where there used to be polished precipices. It makes the real
mountaineers rather scornful; anyone with legs and a head, they will
tell you, can climb the Matterhorn nowadays. If I had the legs I'd go
with him, like a shot."

"To share the danger, I suppose?"

"And the sport."

"Ah," said Mrs. Lascelles, "and the sport, of course! I had forgotten
that!"

Yet I did not perceive that I had been found out, for nothing was
further from my mind than to prolong the parable to which I had stooped
in passing a few moments before. It had served its purpose, I conceived.
I had given my veiled warning; it never occurred to me that Mrs.
Lascelles might be indulging in a veiled retort. I thought she was
annoyed at the hint that I had given her. I began to repent of that
myself. It had quite spoilt our day, and so many and long were the
silences, as we wandered from little shop to little shop, and finally
with relief to the train, that I had plenty of time to remember how much
we had found to talk about all the morning.

But matters were coming to a head in spite of me, for Bob Evers waylaid
us on our return, and, with hardly a word to Mrs. Lascelles, straightway
followed me to my room. He was pale with a suppressed anger which flared
up even as he closed my door behind him, but though his honest face was
now in flames, he still kept control of his tongue.

"I want you to lend me one of those sticks of yours," he said, quietly;
"the heaviest, for choice."

"What the devil for?" I demanded, thinking for the moment of no
shoulders but my own.

"To give that bounder Quinby the licking he deserves!" cried Bob: "to
give it him now at once, when the post comes in, and there are plenty of
people about to see the fun. Do you know what he's been saying and
spreading all over the place?"

"No," I answered, my heart sinking within me. "What has he been saying?"

The colour altered on Bob's face, altered and softened to a veritable
blush, and his eyes avoided mine.

"I'm ashamed to tell you, it makes me so sick," he said, disgustedly.
"But the fact is that he's been spreading a report about Mrs. Lascelles;
it has nothing on earth to do with me. It appears he only heard it
himself this morning, by letter, but the brute has ma