er of these could withstand the
strain. The angel, which was only pinned by lead-coated rivets to its
base and the column behind, flew from its supports, as did Mr. Knight
from his, so that in another second, the men having tripped against the
surround of the grave, all three rolled upon the path, the marble
luckily falling clear of both of them.

"Now I've done it," said Godfrey in a reflective voice as he
contemplated the tangled ruin.

"Yes," exclaimed Isobel, "I think you have."

Then they remained grim and silent while the pair, who were not really
much injured, picked themselves up with groans.

"I am sorry that I knocked you down, since I am young and you are not,"
said Godfrey, "but I repeat that you are a liar," he added by an
afterthought.

Sir John spat out a tooth, and began to mop the blood from his nose
with a silk pocket-handkerchief.

"Oh! you do, do you?" he said in a somewhat subdued voice. "Well,
you'll find out that I'm other things too before I'm done with you. And
I repeat that you are fortune-hunting young rascal and that I would
rather see my daughter dead than married to you."

"And I say, Godfrey, I would rather see you dead than married to her!"
broke in Mr. Knight, spitting out his words like an angry cat.

"I don't think that you need be afraid, Father," answered Godfrey
quietly, although his rage burned as fiercely as ever. "You have worked
this business well, and it seems a little impossible now, doesn't it?
Listen, Sir John Blake. Not even for the sake of Isobel will I submit
to such insults. I will not give her up, but I swear by God that while
you are alive I will not marry Isobel, nor will I write to her or speak
to her again. After you are dead, which I dare say will be before so
very long," and he surveyed the huge, puffy-fleshed baronet with a
critical eye, "then--if she cares to wait for me--I will marry her,
hoping that in the meanwhile you may lose your money or dispose of it
as you like."

Sir John stared, still mopping his face, but finding no words. He
feared death very much and this prophecy of it, spoken with such a ring
of truth, as though the speaker knew, frightened him. At that moment in
his heart he cursed the Reverend Mr. Knight and his tale-bearing, and
wished most earnestly that he had never been led into interference with
this matter. After all Godfrey was a fine young man whom his daughter
cared for, and might do well in life, and he had struck him first