the room, too indignant to trust
himself a moment longer with the profusely grateful Dare.

"That man must go to-day," said Evelyn, after breakfast, to her husband,
in the presence of Lady Mary and Charles. "While he was ill I overlooked
his being in the house; but I will not suffer him to remain now he is
well."

"You remove him from all chance of improvement," said Charles, "if you
take him away from Aunt Mary, who can snatch brands from the burning, as
we all know; but I am going over to Vandon this morning, and if you wish
it I will ask him if he would like me to order his dog-cart to come for
him. I don't suppose he is very happy here, without so much as a
tooth-brush that he can call his own."

"You are going to Vandon?" asked both ladies in one voice.

"Yes. I am going on purpose to dislodge an impostor who has arrived
there, who is actually believed by some people (who are not such
exemplary Christians as ourselves, and ready to suppose the worst) to be
his wife."

Lady Mary and Evelyn looked at each other in consternation, and Charles
went off to see how Othello was after his night's work, and to order the
dog-cart, Ralph calling after him, in perfect good-humor, that "a
fellow's brother got more out of a fellow's horses than a fellow did
himself."

Dare waylaid Charles on his return from the stables, and linked his arm
in his. He felt the most enthusiastic admiration for the tall reserved
Englishman who had done him such signal service. He longed for an
opportunity of showing his gratitude to him. It was perhaps just as well
that he was not aware how very differently Charles regarded himself.

"You are just going?" Dare asked.

"In five minutes."

Charles let his arm hang straight down, but Dare kept it.

"Tell me, my friend, one thing." Dare had evidently been turning over
something in his mind. "This poor unfortunate, this Stephens, why did he
not tell you all this the _first_ time you went to see him in the
afternoon?"

"He did."

"What?" said Dare, looking hard at him. "He _did_, and you only tell me
this morning! You let me go all through the night first. Why was this?"

Charles did not answer.

"I ask one thing more," continued Dare. "Did you divine two nights ago,
from what I said in a moment of confidence, that Miss Deyncourt was
the--the--"

"Of course I did," said Charles, sharply. "You made it sufficiently
obvious."

"Ah!" said Dare. "Ah!" and he shut his eyes and nodded his he