son in the house who eagerly
desires your departure. Mrs. King's sallow face and forbidding eyes
had become more and more hateful to me. She was no longer actively
rude--her fear of her husband prevented her--but she pushed her insane
jealousy to the extent of ignoring me, never addressing me, and in
every way making my stay at Greylands as uncomfortable as she could.
So offensive was her manner during that last day, that I should
certainly have left had it not been for that interview with my host in
the evening which would, I hoped, retrieve my broken fortunes.

It was very late when it occurred, for my relative, who had been
receiving even more telegrams than usual during the day, went off to
his study after dinner, and only emerged when the household had retired
to bed. I heard him go round locking the doors, as custom was of a
night, and finally he joined me in the billiard-room. His stout figure
was wrapped in a dressing-gown, and he wore a pair of red Turkish
slippers without any heels. Settling down into an arm-chair, he brewed
himself a glass of grog, in which I could not help noticing that the
whisky considerably predominated over the water.

"My word!" said he, "what a night!"

It was, indeed. The wind was howling and screaming round the house,
and the latticed windows rattled and shook as if they were coming in.
The glow of the yellow lamps and the flavour of our cigars seemed the
brighter and more fragrant for the contrast.

"Now, my boy," said my host, "we have the house and the night to
ourselves. Let me have an idea of how your affairs stand, and I will
see what can be done to set them in order. I wish to hear every
detail."

Thus encouraged, I entered into a long exposition, in which all my
tradesmen and creditors from my landlord to my valet, figured in turn.
I had notes in my pocket-book, and I marshalled my facts, and gave, I
flatter myself, a very businesslike statement of my own unbusinesslike
ways and lamentable position. I was depressed, however, to notice that
my companion's eyes were vacant and his attention elsewhere. When he
did occasionally throw out a remark it was so entirely perfunctory and
pointless, that I was sure he had not in the least followed my remarks.
Every now and then he roused himself and put on some show of interest,
asking me to repeat or to explain more fully, but it was always to sink
once more into the same brown study. At last he rose and threw the end
of