he
pleasantest and most unsuspecting frame of mind. After answering
Caffyn's note he had met the Langtons as they came out of church and
returned with them to lunch. Dolly was herself again now, her haunting
fears forgotten with the happy ease of childhood, and Mabel had made
Mark feel something of the gratitude she felt to him for his share in
bringing this about. He had gone on to one or two other houses, and
had been kindly received everywhere, and now he was looking forward to
a quiet little dinner with the full expectation of a worthy finish to
a pleasant day. Even when he mounted the stairs of the house which had
been once familiar to him, and stood in Holroyd's old rooms, he was
scarcely affected by any unpleasant associations. For one thing, he
was beginning to have his conscience tolerably well in hand; for
another, the interior of the rooms was completely transformed since he
had seen them last.

Then they were simply the furnished apartments of a man who cared but
little for his personal well-being; now, when he passed round the
handsome Japanese screen by the door, he saw an interior marked by a
studied elegance and luxury. The common lodging-house fireplace was
concealed by an elaborate oak over-mantel, with brass plaques and blue
china; the walls were covered with a delicate blue-green paper and
hung with expensive etchings and autotype drawings of an aesthetically
erotic character; small tables and deep luxurious chairs were
scattered about, and near the screen stood a piano and a low stand
with peacock's feathers arranged in a pale blue crackle jar. In spite
of the pipes and riding-whips on the racks, the place was more like a
woman's boudoir than a man's room, and there were traces in its
arrangements of an eye to effect which gave it the air of a
well-staged scene in a modern comedy.

It looked very attractive, softly lit as it was by shaded candles in
sconces and a porcelain lamp with a crimson shade, which was placed on
the small oval table near the fern-filled fireplace; and as Mark
placed himself in a low steamer chair and waited for his host to make
his appearance, he felt as if he was going to enjoy himself.

'I shall have my rooms done up something in this way,' he thought,
'when _my_ book comes out.' The blinds were half drawn and the windows
opened wide to the sultry air, and while he waited he could hear the
bells from neighbouring steeples calling in every tone, from harsh
command to per