ut down my story as a
piece of malice and meanness. But, after all, that will matter
little. I had better far lose her liking and esteem than my own
self respect. I will tell Lady Greendale about this. The
responsibility will be off my hands then. She may not view the
matter as an absolute bar to Carthew's marrying Bertha--that is her
business and Bertha's--but at any rate I shall have done my duty. I
will wait, however, until Bertha has accepted him.

"I have made up my mind, George," he said, later on. "If I hear
that Miss Greendale has accepted Carthew, I shall go to her mother
and tell her the story. I have little hope that it will do much
good. It is very hard to make a girl believe anything against the
man she loves, until it can be proved beyond doubt, and as Carthew
will of course indignantly deny that he had anything to do with it,
I expect that it will have no effect whatever, beyond making her
dislike me cordially. Still, that cannot be helped. It is clearly
my duty not only as her friend, but as the friend of her father and
mother. But I wish that the task did not fall upon me."

"I am glad to hear you say that, Major," George said, quietly. "I
can see, sir, that, as you say, it would be better if anyone else
could do it, but Lady Greendale has known you for so many years
that she must surely know that you would never have told her unless
you believed the story to be true."

"No doubt she will, George. I hope Miss Greendale will, too; but
even if she does not see it in that light I cannot help it. Well, I
will go ashore to the clubhouse and find out whether they have
heard anything about the entries for the cup."

When he returned he said to the captain:

"I hear that the Phantom has entered, Hawkins. I am told that she
has just come off the slips, and that she has had a new suit of
racing canvas made by Lapthorne."

"Well, sir, I think that we ought to have a good chance with her.
She has shown herself a very fast boat the few times she has been
raced, but so have we, and taking the line through boats that we
have both sailed against, I think that we ought to be able to beat
her."

"I have rather a fancy that we shan't do so, Hawkins. We will do
our best, but I have met Mr. Carthew a good many times, for we were
at school and college together, and somehow or other he has always
managed to beat me."

"Ah! well, we will turn the tables on him this time, sir."

"I hope so, but it has gone so often