e diver that is sitting so calmly on
the rolling sea. There he is again."

"He 's gone now,--he has dived," said Tony; "there's nothing harder to
hit than one of these birds,--what between the motion of the sea and
their own wariness. Some people say that they scent gunpowder."

"That fellow shall!" said Maitland, as he fired; for just as the
bird emerged from the depth, he sighted him, and with one flutter the
creature fell dead on the wave.

"A splendid shot; I never saw a finer!" cried Tony, in ecstasy, and
with a look of honest admiration at the marksman. "I'd have bet ten--ay,
twenty--to one you 'd have missed. I 'm not sure I 'd not wager against
your doing the same trick again."

"You 'd lose your money, then," said Maitland; "at least, if I was rogue
enough to take you up."

"You must be one of the best shots in Europe, then!"

"No; they call me second in the Tyrol. Hans Godrel is the first We have
had many matches together, and he has always beaten me."

The presence of a royal prince would not have inspired Tony with the
same amount of respect as these few words, uttered negligently and
carelessly; and he measured the speaker from head to foot, recognizing
for the first time his lithe and well-knit, well-proportioned figure.

"I 'll be bound you are a horseman, too?" cried Tony.

"If you hadn't praised my shooting, I 'd tell you that I ride better
than I shoot."

"How I 'd like to have a brush across country with you!" exclaimed Tony,
warmly.

"What easier?--what so easy? Our friend Sir Arthur has an excellent
stable; at least, there is more than one mount for men of our weight I
suspect Mark Lyle will not join us; but we 'll arrange a match,--a sort
of home steeple-chase."

"I 'd like it well," broke in Tony, "but I have no horses of my own, and
I 'll not ride Sir Arthur's."

"This same independence of ours has a something about it that won't let
us seem very amiable, Mr. Maitland," said the old lady, smiling.

"Pardon me, madam; it has an especial attraction for _me_. I have all
my life long been a disciple of that school; but I must say that in the
present case it is not applicable. I have been for the last couple of
weeks a guest at Lyle Abbey; and if I were asked whose name came most
often uppermost, and always in terms of praise, I should say--your
son's."

"I have met with great kindness from Sir Arthur and his family," said
Tony, half sternly, half sorrowfully. "I am not likely ever