se-limbed, slouching man, with stiff black hair and a shaven face.
His features were large and had been clear-cut, but by now they had
grown coarser, and his deep-set eyes, under heavy lids and bushy
eyebrows, alone survived unimpaired by time and life. Deep lines ran
either side from nose to mouth, and the like across his forehead. He had
cut himself while shaving that morning, and a large patch of black
plaster showed in the centre of his long, prominent chin: as he walked,
he now and then lifted a hand to pluck nervously at it; save in this
unconscious gesture, he betrayed no sign of excitement or preoccupation,
for, as he walked, he looked about him and once, for a minute, he
whistled.

"Awful!" said Lady Eynesford in a whisper.

"He wants a new coat," said Captain Heseltine.

"He looks rather interesting, I think," said Alicia.

At this moment a rare and beautiful butterfly fluttered close over Mr.
Medland's head. He paused and watched it for a moment. Then he looked
carefully round him: no one was in sight: the butterfly settled for a
moment on a flowerbed. Mr. Medland looked round again. Then he
cautiously lifted his soft hat from his head, wistfully eyed the
butterfly, looked round again, suddenly pounced down on his knees, and
pressed the hat to the ground. He was very close to the hidden tea-party
now, so close that Alicia's suppressed scream of laughter almost
betrayed its presence. Mr. Medland put his head down and, raising one
corner of the hat, peered under it. Alicia laughed outright, for the
butterfly was fluttering in the air above him. Medland did not hear her;
he looked up, saw the butterfly, rose to his feet, put on his hat, and
exclaimed, in a voice audible by all the listeners----

"Missed it, by heaven!"

"You see the sort of man he is," observed Lady Eynesford.

"An entomologist, I suppose," suggested Miss Scaife.

"He chases butterflies in the Governor's garden, and swears when he
doesn't catch them!"

"He fears not God, neither regards the Governor," remarked Dick, with a
solemn shake of his head.

"Don't be flippant, Dick," said Lady Eynesford sharply.

"He might at least brush the knees of his trousers," moaned Captain
Heseltine.

Meanwhile Mr. Medland walked up to the door and rang the bell. He was
received by Jackson, the butler; and Jackson was flanked by two footmen.
Jackson politely concealed his surprise at not seeing a carriage and
pair, and stated that his Excellency wo