h mind, consumed as it was by the
contemplation of his undoing--magnified a hundredfold--which this man
had wrought.

"You have ruined my life," was all he said.

"I will rebuild it, Jocelyn," cried Galliard eagerly. "I have friends in
France--friends high in power who lack neither the means nor the will to
aid me. You are a soldier, Jocelyn."

"As much a soldier as I'm a saint," sneered Hogan to himself.

"Together we will find service in the armies of Louis," Crispin pursued.
"I promise it. Service wherein you shall gain honour and renown. There
we will abide until this England shakes herself out of her rebellious
nightmare. Then, when the King shall come to his own, Castle Marleigh
will be ours again. Trust in me, Jocelyn." Again his arms went out
appealingly: "Jocelyn my son!"

But the boy made no move to take the outstretched hands, gave no sign of
relenting. His mind nurtured its resentment--cherished it indeed.

"And Cynthia?" he asked coldly.

Crispin's hands fell to his sides; they grew clenched, and his eyes
lighted of a sudden.

"Forgive me, Jocelyn. I had forgotten! I understand you now. Yes, I
dealt sorely with you there, and you are right to be resentful. What,
after all, am I to you what can I be to you compared with her whose
image fills your soul? What is aught in the world to a man, compared
with the woman on whom his heart is set? Do I not know it? Have I not
suffered for it?

"But mark me, Jocelyn"--and he straightened himself suddenly--"even in
this, that which I have done I will undo. As I have robbed you of your
mistress, so will I win her back for you. I swear it. And when that is
done, when thus every harm I have caused you is repaired, then, Jocelyn,
perhaps you will come to look with less repugnance upon your father, and
to feel less resentment towards him."

"You promise much, sir," quoth the boy, with an illrepressed sneer. "How
will you accomplish it?"

Hogan grunted audibly. Crispin drew himself up, erect, lithe and
supple--a figure to inspire confidence in the most despairing. He placed
a hand, nervous, and strong as steel, upon the boy's shoulder, and the
clutch of his fingers made Jocelyn wince.

"Low though your father be fallen," said he sternly, "he has never yet
broken his word. I have pledged you mine, and to-morrow I shall set out
to perform what I have promised. I shall see you ere I start. You will
sleep here, will you not?"

Jocelyn shrugged his shoulders.

"