ortsman, which, together with the
Halbertons' introduction, was good enough for him. He only regretted
that he could not do the sporting honours of the place for their
visitor. There was a certain giddiness, he said, that troubled him at
unexpected moments and made him disinclined to go too far afield; but
he placed his rods and the contents of the gun-room at Radway's
disposal and pressed him to stay as long as the place amused him.

Jocelyn, as host, was very much the country gentleman, picking up the
thread of courtly hospitality at the point where it had been broken so
many years ago, almost without any effort. It is probable that he had
begun to realise that things were not well with him, and that since
Gabrielle might soon be left alone in the world, it would be wiser to
welcome a possible husband for her. Certainly he did his best for
Radway, and Radway, no doubt, found him delightful, for Jocelyn had
grown milder as he aged and had never been without a good deal of
personal charm. On the other hand, it is not unlikely that Radway told
him of his intentions with regard to Gabrielle, even though nothing so
definite as an engagement was announced. At any rate, the guest
settled down happily at Roscarna, and the morning after his arrival the
luggage cart was sent in to his hotel at Oughterard to bring back his
traps and gun-case.

Of course Gabrielle took possession of him. The terms of their new
relation had been fixed miraculously and finally by the character of
their moonlit meeting at Clonderriff. No formal words were spoken, but
they knew that they were lovers, having arrived at this heavenly state
after a whole year of waste. On Gabrielle's side there were never any
doubts or questionings. She was his altogether. She wanted him to
know all that could be known of her, and since she felt that so much of
her was the product of Roscarna, it was necessary that he should know
Roscarna first.

With the spells of moonshine withdrawn he knew it for the wan,
neglected ruin that it was, but her romantic passion for its stones
helped to maintain the first atmosphere of illusion. She showed him,
with a beautiful emotion, the room in which she had been born, the
lofts in which she had played with the stableboys in her childhood, her
alder-screened bathing place by the lake, the library where her
romantic education had been begun.

Here, by the most likely chance, they encountered Considine. He had
walked u