nd tell him to precipitate matters a
bit if I succeed in hunting Simpkins up to Ballymoy House. If I fail
to head off the judge--I don't expect to fail, but if by any chance I
do--we shall have no time to spare, and must have Simpkins definitely
committed to the marriage as soon as possible. Not that it will really
be much use if the judge gets at him. Simpkins is just the sort of
dishonourable beast who'd seize on any excuse to wriggle out of an
engagement; particularly as he'll know that Miss King is scarcely in a
position to go into court and get damages for breach of promise."

CHAPTER XIII.

Sir Gilbert Hawkesby had the reputation of being a just and able judge,
a man of fine intellect, great vigour, and immense determination of
character. On the bench he looked the part which popular imagination
had given him to play. His eyes were described as "steely" by a lady
journalist, who had occasion to watch him during the sensational trial
of Mrs. Lorimer. His chin she described later on in her article as
"characteristic of a strong fighter." His manner in court was
exceedingly severe. In private life, especially during his summer
holiday, he tried not to look like a judge, and was always pleased when
strangers mistook him for a country gentleman, the owner of a landed
property. He had a broad figure, and emphasised its breadth by wearing
on his holiday loose jackets of rough tweed. He had strong, stout legs
which looked well in knickerbockers and shooting stockings. A casual
observer, not knowing the man, would have set him down as an ardent
sportsman, and would have been perfectly right. The judge loved
fishing, and was prepared to go long distances in the hope of catching
salmon. He liked yachting, and owned a small cutter which was one of
the crack boats of her class. Men who met him for the first time on
the banks of a Norwegian river, or at a regatta at Cowes, were more
impressed by his physical than his intellectual strength. They would
perhaps have suspected him of obstinacy, the obstinacy of the
inveterate prejudice of the country gentleman. They would not, unless
they knew him, have given him credit for being a man of wide reading,
and a judgment in literary matters as sound as his decisions in court.

Sir Gilbert had spent nearly a week in the Bournemouth villa which he
had taken for Lady Hawkesby. The place wearied him, and nothing but a
chivalrous sense of the duty he owed to his wif