mself from his musing. "Of
course I believe you, Mayne, and so will my brother. He ought not to
have doubted you. Ah, here he comes back."

I felt a curious shrinking as I saw Mr Raydon coming across the
enclosure; and as he entered there was the stern severe look in his
countenance which he put on when he was angry.

"I came to fetch you back, John," he said quietly. Then turning to me,
"May I know the cause of the disgraceful scene that was taking place a
little while ago?"

"Yes," cried Mr John, instituting himself as my champion directly. "It
seems that you have had unjust suspicions of my young friend Mayne, and
that his companion shared them. Mayne could not turn and thrash you,
but he could young Dean, and he did."

Mr Raydon looked at me sharply.

"You may take his word for it," continued Mr John, "as I do. There has
been a mistake."

"You have not altered a bit, John," said Mr Raydon drily. "Come."

"Yes, I'll go back with you, for there is so much to say. Come, Mayne."

I saw Mr Raydon raise his brows a little, and that was enough.

"Not now, Mr John," I said.

"But my wife, she wants to see you."

"Yes, sir, and I want to see her; but not now."

"He is quite right, John," said Mr Raydon. "Let him stay for the
present."

Mr John looked from one to the other and then said seriously--"As you
will, Dan. Good-bye then for the present, Mayne. There, keep up your
heart. I'll talk to my brother, and I'll warrant that before long he
will see the truth as I do."

He stopped back to say this, and then went on after Mr Raydon, leaving
me to fling myself on the bench, rest my elbows on the table, and bury
my face in my hands. For it seemed to me that I had never felt so
miserable before, and as if fate was playing me the most cruel of
tricks. I felt indignant too with Mr Raydon, who had seemed to look
upon his brother-in-law's faith in me with a cruel kind of contempt,
treating him as if he were an enthusiast easily deceived.

And all this stung me cruelly. I was touched in my pride, and the worst
part of it seemed to be that Mrs John might have so much faith in her
brother, that she would be ready to believe his word before mine.

As I sat there thinking, I was obliged to own that matters did look
black against me, and that with such terrible evidence in array, there
was some excuse for Mr Raydon.

"But she might believe me," I said, half aloud. But even as I said
this, I recalled h