which came upon his face as he
perused the words of decided rejection which were written on that sheet;
but certainly, had poor Emily heard how he cursed her, how he vowed to
have revenge, and to humble her pride, as he called it, she would have
rejoiced rather than grieved that such a man had obtained no hold upon
her affection, no command of her fate. He was still in the midst of his
tempest of passion, when, without John Ayliffe being prepared for his
appearance, Mr. Shanks entered the room. His face wore a dark and
somewhat anxious expression which even habitual cunning could not
banish; but the state in which he found his young client, seemed to take
him quite by surprise.

"Why what is the matter, John?" he cried, "what in the name of fortune
has happened here?"

"What has happened!" exclaimed John Ayliffe, "look there," and he handed
Mr. Shanks the letter. The attorney took it, and with his keen weazel
eyes read it as deliberately as he would have read an ordinary law
paper. He then handed it back to his young client, saying, "The
respondent does not put in a bad answer."

"Damn the respondent," said John Ayliffe, "but she shall smart for it."

"Well, well, this cannot be helped," rejoined Mr. Shanks; "no need of
putting yourself in a passion. You don't care two straws about her, and
if you get the property without the girl so much the better. You can
then have the pick of all the pretty women in the country."

John Ayliffe mused gloomily; for Mr. Shanks was not altogether right in
his conclusion as to the young man's feelings towards Emily. Perhaps
when he began the pursuit he cared little about its success, but like
other beasts of prey, he had become eager as he ran--desire had arisen
in the chase--and, though mortified vanity had the greatest share in his
actual feelings, he felt something beyond that.

While he mused, Mr. Shanks was musing also, calculating results and
combinations; but at length he said, in a low tone, "Is she gone?--Have
you got that accomplished?"

"Gone?--Yes.--Do you mean my mother?--Damn it, yes!--She is gone, to be
sure.--Didn't you meet her?"

"No," said Mr. Shanks; "I came the other way. That is lucky, however.
But harkee, John--something very unpleasant has happened, and we must
take some steps about it directly; for if they work him well, that
fellow is likely to peach."

"Who?--what the devil are you talking about?" asked John Ayliffe, with
his passion still unsubdued