t Donal was much the stronger; he threw his
assailant off him; and for a moment was tempted to give him a good
thrashing. From this the thought of Eppy helped to restrain him, and he
contented himself with holding him down till he yielded. When at last
he lay quiet,

"Will you promise to walk out if I let you up?" said Donal. "If you
will not, I will drag you into the street by the legs."

"I will," said Forgue; and getting up, he walked out and away without a
word.

Donal locked the door, forgetting all about the papers, and went back
to Andrew's. There was Eppy, safe for the moment! She was busy in the
outer room, and kept her back to him. With a word or two to the
grandmother, he left them, and went home, revolving all the way what he
ought to do. Should he tell the earl, or should he not? Had he been a
man of rectitude, he would not have hesitated a moment; but knowing he
did not care what became of Eppy, so long as his son did not marry her,
he felt under no obligation to carry him the evil report. The father
might have a right to know, but had he a right to know from him?

A noble nature finds it almost impossible to deal with questions on
other than the highest grounds: where those grounds are unrecognized,
the relations of responsibility may be difficult indeed to determine.
All Donal was able to conclude on his way home, and he did not hurry,
was, that, if he were asked any questions, he would speak out what he
knew--be absolutely open. If that should put a weapon in the hand of
the enemy, a weapon was not the victory.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

PATERNAL REVENGE.

No sooner had he entered the castle, where his return had been watched
for, than Simmons came to him with the message that his lordship wanted
to see him. Then first Donal remembered that he had not brought the
papers! Had he not been sent for, he would have gone back at once to
fetch them. As it was, he must see the earl first.

He found him in a worse condition than usual. His last drug or
combination of drugs had not agreed with him; or he had taken too much,
with correspondent reaction: he was in a vile temper. Donal told him he
had been to the house, and had found the papers, but had not brought
them--had, in fact, forgotten them.

"A pretty fellow you are!" cried the earl. "What, you left those papers
lying about where any rascal may find them and play the deuce with
them!"

Donal assured him they were perfectly safe, under the same lo