him
by force of personality, by reason of being what he was as apart from
all he had done.

None of the household grudged him his triumph or resented their own
dismissal from attendance in the West Room. The women-kind once more
superfluous to Caesar's well-being, resumed their wonted routine with
generous content.

Patricia's routine appeared to consist very largely of golf in which
she and Geoffry Leverson could undoubtedly give Christopher long odds.
Christopher, however, was undaunted, and the few hours he did not
spend in Aymer's company, he spent toiling round the links points
behind Patricia, play she never so badly. Geoffry complained bitterly
to Patricia in private that she was spoiling her game, but she,
indifferent to her handicap, continued to play with Christopher and to
ignore promised matches with Geoffry whenever her old playmate chose
to set foot on the green.

At length Geoffry could stand it no longer and protested loudly when
Christopher challenged her, that it was the third time she had put off
a return match. Christopher withdrew his challenge at once and
declared he would infinitely rather watch a match. Patricia demurred
and pouted, whereupon he sternly insisted that promises must be kept.

She played Geoffry and beat him by one point, secured by a rather
vicious putt, then lightly requesting him to take her clubs back to
the Club House with his, she summoned Christopher to take her home.
Geoffry had not protested again. He took early opportunity to
challenge Christopher instead and reaped a small revenge of easy
victories, half embittered, half enhanced by Patricia's plainly
expressed annoyance with the vanquished one. He knew she would have
condoled with him had he lost.

So the weeks slipped by unnoticed and autumn merged into winter.
Christmas came and went--with festivities in which both Patricia and
Christopher took active part.

Christopher read and studied, but did nothing definite, and the New
Year slipped along with rapid, silent foot. It was Caesar who at length
broke up the pleasant drifting interlude and he did it as deliberately
as he did everything else, urged by his haunting desire to see
Christopher finally committed to the future he had chosen.

"Why don't you go and see those road experiments they are trying in
Kent?" Aymer asked one day.

"Frost-proof roads? They are no good. It was tried in Germany. What I
would like is to run down to Cornwall and see how the Atlan