have detained him? He was in London on
business,--public business, too; and even if he had left town, how many
chance delays there are in travelling."

"I have said every one of these things over to myself, Harcourt; but
they don't satisfy me. This is a habit with Upton. I 've seen him do
the same with his Colonel, when he was a subaltern; I 've heard of his
arrival late to a Court dinner, and only smiling at the dismay of the
horrified courtiers."

"Egad," said Harcourt, bluntly, "I don't see the advantage of the
practice. One is so certain of doing fifty things in this daily life to
annoy one's friends, through mere inadvertence or forgetfulness, that I
think it is but sorry fun to incur their ill-will by malice prepense."

"That is precisely why he does it."

"Come, come, Glencore; old Rixson was right when he said, 'Heaven help
the man whose merits are canvassed while they wait dinner for him.' I
'll order up the soup, for if we wait any longer we 'll discover Upton
to be the most graceless vagabond that ever walked."

"I know his qualities, good and bad," said Glencore, rising, and pacing
the room with slow, uncertain steps; "few men know him better. None need
tell me of his abilities; none need instruct me as to his faults.
What others do by accident, _he_ does by design. He started in life
by examining how much the world would bear from him; he has gone on,
profiting by the experience, and improving on the practice."

"Well, if I don't mistake me much, he 'll soon appear to plead his own
cause. I hear oars coming speedily in this direction."

And so saying, Harcourt hurried away to resolve his doubts at once.
As he reached the little jetty, over which a large signal-fire threw a
strong red light, he perceived that he was correct, and was just in time
to grasp Upton's hand as he stepped on shore.

"How picturesque all this, Harcourt," said he, in his soft, low voice;
"a leaf out of 'Rob Roy.' Well, am I not the mirror of punctuality, eh?"

"We looked for you yesterday, and Glencore has been so impatient."

"Of course he has; it is the vice of your men who do nothing. How is
he? Does he dine with us? Fritz, take care those leather pillows are
properly aired, and see that my bath is ready by ten o 'clock. Give me
your arm, Harcourt; what a blessing it is to be such a strong fellow!"

"So it is, by Jove! I am always thankful for it. And you--how do you get
on? You look well."

"Do I?" said he, faintly, a