a rule--but it's rather marked when you never ask me to
meet anyone."

"I shall be delighted to see you at dinner to-morrow," said Jenny. "Will
you come?"

"Yes, I will come--I hope I know how to behave myself, don't I?"

"Oh, yes, you know well enough," she answered, delicately emphasizing
the difference between knowledge and practice. "All right, I shall
expect you."

"I know the meaning of it. That little Aspenick minx and her fool of a
husband are trying to get me boycotted--that's it."

Jenny, as her wont was, tried to smooth him down, but with little
success. He went off early, still very sulky, and growling about the
Aspenicks. For what it is worth, there was no doubt that they were now
busy leaders in the cabal against him, and he knew it.

"It won't be very pleasant, but we must carry it off with brave faces,"
said Jenny, referring to the next day's dinner. She looked vexed,
though, at this crossing of her arrangements.

Probably the dinner would have passed off tolerably, if not
comfortably--for Aspenick was a gentleman, and even Octon might feel
that he ought to be on his good behavior--when his temper recovered. But
unluckily his temper had not recovered by eleven o'clock the following
morning, and it was then that the lamentable thing happened.

I had finished my after-breakfast work with Jenny and had left the
house, to go down the hill to the Old Priory. The road through the park
crosses the path I had to follow, at about seventy yards from the house.
Approaching this road, I saw Lady Aspenick's tandem coming along on my
right. She was, as I have said before, an accomplished whip, and
tandem-driving was a favorite pastime of hers. To-day she appeared to be
trying a new leader; at any rate the animal was very skittish, now
rearing, now getting out of line, now sidling along--doing anything, in
fact, but his plain duty. She was driving slowly and carefully, while
the two grooms were half-standing, half-kneeling behind, looking over
her shoulders and evidently ready to jump down and run to the leader's
head at any moment. I stood watching their progress; it was pretty to
see her drive. Then I became aware of Octon's massive figure coming from
the opposite direction; he was walking full in the middle of the road,
which at this point is not very broad--just wide enough for two
carriages to pass one another between the banks, which rise sharply on
either side to the height of nearly three feet.

As L