rward
all letters to the post office at Byestry.

One letter, bearing a Scottish postmark, alone came for him after his
departure. It remained for close on two months on the table of the dingy
little hall. Then, fearing lest Antony's receipt of it should betray her
own carelessness, Mrs. Dobbin consigned it unopened to the kitchen fire.

CHAPTER X

AN ENGLISH COTTAGE

Kingsleigh is the station for Byestry, which is eight miles from it. It
is a small town, not much larger than a mere village, lying, as its name
designates, on the shores of the estuary, which runs from the sea up to
Kingsleigh. Chorley Old Hall stands on high wooded land, about a mile
from the coast, having a view across the estuary, and out to the sea
itself.

It was a grey day, with a fine mist of a rain descending, when Antony,
with Josephus at his heels, stepped on to Kingsleigh platform. In the
road beyond the station, a number of carts and carriages, and a couple of
closed buses, were collected. The drivers of the said vehicles stood by
the gate through which the passengers must pass, ready to accost those by
whom they had been already ordered, or pounce upon likely fares.

"Be yue Michael Field?" demanded a short wiry man, as Antony, carrying an
old portmanteau, and followed by Josephus, emerged through the gate.

For a moment Antony stared, amazed. Then he remembered.

"I am," he replied.

"That's gued," responded the man cheerfully. "'It the first nail, so to
speak. T'Doctor sent I wi' t'trap. Coom along. Got any more baggage?"

Antony replied in the negative. Three minutes later he was seated in the
trap, Josephus at his feet. He turned up the collar of his mackintosh,
and pulled down his tweed cap over his eyes.

"Bit moist-like," said the man cheerfully, whipping up his horse.

Antony assented. He was feeling an amazing sense of amusement. The
adventurous side of the affair had sprung again to the fore, after a week
of business-like detail,--writing letters of instruction to Riffle to
carry on with the farm till further notice, an office he was fully
qualified to fulfil; making certain arrangements with Lloyd's bank
regarding monies to be sent out to him; buying garments suitable for the
part he himself was about to play; and having one or two further
interviews with Messrs. Parsons and Glieve, in which the absolute
necessity of his playing up to his role in every way was further
impressed upon him.

The one difficulty