my hat you came first class."

The young man was clearly on the brink of an explosion, but controlled
himself with an effort. "I paid the winter rate; and mother who knows
the Cunard people very well, got a reduction. I assure you, Uncle
Archie, neither mother nor I is a fool, and we know quite well what we
are about."

As he spoke he raised himself with energy, and looked his companion in
the face.

The General, surveying him, was mollified, as usual, by nothing in the
world but the youth's extraordinary good looks. Roger Barnes's good
looks had been, indeed, from his childhood upward the distinguishing and
remarkable feature about him. He had been a king among his schoolfellows
largely because of them, and of the athletic prowess which went with
them; and while at Oxford he had been cast for the part of Apollo in
"The Eumenides," Nature having clearly designed him for it in spite of
the lamentable deficiencies in his Greek scholarship, which gave his
prompters and trainers so much trouble. Nose, chin, brow, the poising of
the head on the shoulders, the large blue eyes, lidded and set with a
Greek perfection, the delicacy of the lean, slightly hollow cheeks,
combined with the astonishing beauty and strength of the head, crowned
with ambrosial curls--these possessions, together with others, had so
far made life an easy and triumphant business for their owner. The
"others," let it be noted, however, had till now always been present;
and, chief amongst them, great wealth and an important and popular
father. The father was recently dead, as the black band on the young
man's arm still testified, and the wealth had suddenly vanished, wholly
and completely, in one of the financial calamities of the day. General
Hobson, contemplating his nephew, and mollified, as we have said, by his
splendid appearance, kept saying to himself: "He hasn't a farthing but
what poor Laura allows him; he has the tastes of forty thousand a year;
a very indifferent education; and what the deuce is he going to do?"

Aloud he said:

"Well, all I know is, I had a deplorable letter last mail from your poor
mother."

The young man turned his head away, his cigarette still poised at his
lips. "Yes, I know--mother's awfully down."

"Well, certainly your mother was never meant for a poor woman," said the
General, with energy. "She takes it uncommonly hard."

Roger, with face still averted, showed no inclination to discuss his
mother's character on