ut a
potbank," said Edwin.

"You're right there, Teddy!" the brother-in-law heartily concurred.
"But Clary thought we'd better--"

"Certainly," said Edwin pacifically, admitting the entire propriety of
the visit.

"Why's he wearing his best clothes?" Clara demanded suddenly. And Mrs
Hamps showed a sympathetic appreciation of the importance of the
question.

"Ask me another!" said Edwin. "But you can't send for a doctor because
a man's wearing his best clothes."

Maggie smiled, scarce perceptibly. Albert gave a guffaw. Clara was
slightly irritated.

"Poor little dear!" murmured Mrs Hamps, caressing the baby. "Well, I
must be going," she sighed.

"We shall see how he goes on," said Edwin, in his role of responsible
person.

"Perhaps it will be as well if you say nothing about us calling,"
whispered Mrs Hamps. "We'll just go quietly away. You can give a hint
to Mrs Nixon. Much better he shouldn't know."

"Oh! much better!" said Clara.

Edwin could not deny this. Yet he hated the chicane. He hated to
observe on the face of the young woman and of the old their instinctive
impulses towards chicane, and their pleasure in it. The whole double
visit was subtly offensive to him. Why should they gather like this at
the first hint that his father was not well? A natural affectionate
anxiety... Yes, of course, that motive could not be denied.
Nevertheless, he did not like the tones and the gestures and the
whisperings and oblique glances of their gathering.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOUR.

In the middle of a final miscellaneous conversation, Albert said--

"We'll better be off."

"Wait a moment," said Clara, with a nod to indicate the still busy
infant.

Then the door opened, very slowly and cautiously, and as they all
observed the movement of the door, they all fell into silence. Darius
himself appeared. Unobserved, he had left the garden and come into the
house. He stood in the doorway, motionless, astounded, acutely
apprehensive, and with an expression of the most poignant sadness on his
harsh, coarse, pimpled face. He still wore the ridiculous cap and held
the newspaper. The broadcloth suit was soiled. His eye wandered among
his family, and it said, terrorised, and yet feebly defiant, "What are
they plotting against me? Why are they all here like this?"

Mrs Hamps spoke first--

"Well, father, we just popped in to see how you were af