him,
and a half frenzy of dislike and repugnance in his mind.

CHAPTER L.

"Dick!" Curiously enough Dick had not thought till then that even a
high gate may be vaulted by a man whose heart has leaped it before him,
and who is in perfect training, and knows no fear. He had been more
discouraged by Eustace Thynne than any authority on the part of that
poor creature at all warranted, and his heart had failed him still more
when he thought that perhaps Chatty might have been talked over, and
might stand by him no longer. She was his wife, but what if her heart
had given him up! But when a man hears the voice he loves best in the
world calling him, everything takes a different aspect. "Dick!" Her
voice came first faint, so that he scarcely believed it; then nearer
and nearer, giving life to the silent world. The thin brown face of
the vagabond, as he had called himself, grew crimson with a flush of
happiness and new life. He could not wait until she came; his soul flew
to meet her in a great revulsion of confidence and joy. The gate was
high, but he was eager and she was coming. He put his sinewy, thin
hands upon it, and was over in a moment. And there she came, flying,
fluttering, her light dress making a line of whiteness under the trees.
She did not stop to ask a question, but ran straight to him, into his
arms. "Dick, Dick!" and "Chatty, my darling, at last!"--that was all
they said.

Minnie did not run so fast. She had not the same inducement; for
opposition, though very nearly as swift, has not quite the same impetus
as love. She only came up to them when these first greetings were over,
and when, to the consciousness of both, life had taken up its threads
again exactly where they had broken off. Chatty did not ask any
questions,--his presence was answer enough to all questions; but indeed
she did not think of any. Everything else went out of her mind except
that he was there.

"Mr. Cavendish!" Minnie came up breathless, putting her hand to her
side. "Oh, Chatty, you are shameless! Do you know what you are doing? It
was his duty--to satisfy us first. Mr. Cavendish, if she is lost to--all
sense of shame----"

Panting, she had got up to them, and was pulling Chatty away from him by
her arm.

"There is no shame in the matter," he said. "But, Chatty, your sister is
right, and I must explain everything to your relatives at once. There is
no time to lose, for the train leaves at six, and I want to take you