oor
until a row of small dark objects skimming the crest of the ridge above
became silhouetted against the sky. Then a gun cracked away to the right
and in another moment a dropping fusillade broke out.

CHAPTER VIII

GLADWYNE RECEIVES A SHOCK

It was about nine o'clock in the evening, and Gladwyne's somewhat noisy
guests were scattered about his house and the terrace in front of it.
Several of them had gathered in the hall, and Bella Crestwick, Lisle's
companion on the moors, stood, cigarette in hand, with one foot on the
old-fashioned hearth-irons, frankly discussing him. A few birch logs
glowed behind the bars, for on those high uplands the autumn nights were
chilly, but the wide door stood open, revealing a pale green band of
light behind the black hills, and allowing the sweet, cool air of the
moors to flow in.

The girl had gained something by the change from her outdoor attire to
the clinging evening dress, but it was with characteristic unconcern that
she disregarded the fact that the thin skirt fell well away from one
shapely ankle effectively displayed by a stocking of the finest texture.

"The man," she said, "is a bit of a Puritan. They still live over there,
don't they? His idea of English women is evidently derived from what his
father told him, or from early-Victorian literature. I'm inclined to
believe I shocked him."

"It's highly probable," laughed a man lounging near. "Still, I believe
the descendants of the folks you mention live three thousand miles from
his country, in the neighborhood of the Atlantic shore. One wouldn't
fancy that you'd like Puritans."

There was nothing offensive in the words, but his glance was a little too
bold and too familiar, and Bella looked at him with a gleam of malice in
her eyes.

"Extremes meet; it's the middle--the medium mediocrity--that's
irreconcilable with either end," she retorted. "For instance, I led a
life of severe asceticism all last Lent." There were incredulous smiles,
though the statement was perfectly correct. "It's a course I could
confidently recommend to you," she proceeded, unheeding; "of late you
have been putting on flesh with an alarming rapidity."

The man made no response and Bella resumed:

"Besides, the Puritans have their good points; they're so refreshingly
sure of themselves and their views, while the rest of us don't believe in
anything. You can't be a fanatic without being thorough, and in
renouncing the world and the