"Oh, there'll be no trouble about that. In the Street called Straight,
my son, there are lights to show the way."

* * * * *

"Rum old cove," was Ashley's comment to himself as he went back to
Boston. "Got an answer to everything."

From the hotel he telephoned an excuse to Olivia for his unceremonious
departure from Tory Hill. "Had an upset," was the phrase by which he
conveyed his apologies, leaving it to her to guess the nature of his
mischance. As she showed no curiosity on the point, he merely
promised to come to luncheon in the morning.

During his dinner he set himself to think, though, amid the
kaleidoscopic movement of the hotel dining-room, he got little beyond
the stage of "mulling." Such symptoms of decision as showed themselves
through the evening lay in his looking up the dates of sailing of the
more important liners, and the situation of the Carral country on the
map. He missed, however, the support of his principle to be Rupert
Ashley at his best. That guiding motto seemed to have lost its force
owing to the eccentricities of American methods of procedure. If he was
still Rupert Ashley, he was Rupert Ashley sadly knocked about, buffeted,
puzzled, grown incapable of the swift judgment and prompt action which
had hitherto been his leading characteristics.

He was still beset by uncertainties when he went out to Waverton next
morning. Impatient for some form of action, he made an early start. On
the way he considered Rodney Temple's words of the previous afternoon,
saying to himself: "In the Street called Straight there are lights to
show the way, by Jove! Gad! I should like to know where they are."

[Illustration: ASHLEY GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT THEIR CONVERSATION WAS
EARNEST, CONFIDENTIAL.]

Nevertheless, it had a clarifying effect on his vision to find, on
walking into the drawing-room at Tory Hill, Miss Guion seated in
conversation with Peter Davenant. As he had the advantage of seeing them
a second before they noticed him, he got the impression that their
conversation was earnest, confidential. Olivia was seated in a corner of
the sofa, Davenant in a low chair that gave him the appearance of being
at her feet.

It was exactly the stimulus Ashley needed to bring his faculties into
action. He was at once in possession of all his powers. The feeling
inspired by the sight of them together transformed him on the instant
into the quick, shrewd, diplomatic officer in