d to lead the conversation adroitly up to a point at
which Vane said in a somewhat thick, unsteady voice:

"By the way, Garthorne, yes, that reminds me. You remember that night at
the Empire when we had a bit of a row, Boat-race night, you know--that
girl that I got out of the crowd--pretty girl, wasn't she?"

"Yes," replied Garthorne, repressing a desire to laugh out openly. "I
remember her quite well; a very pretty girl, and, if I may say so
without paying you a compliment, very like your noble self. In fact, if
such a thing hadn't been utterly impossible, she might almost have
been----"

"My sister!" said Vane, as he drank off the remains of his fourth brandy
and soda and put the glass down with a thump on the table. "Yes, that's
it, my sister, or at least not quite my sister, but--at least--well,
half-sister, you understand--my mother's daughter, but not my
father's--see?"

"I see, I see," said Garthorne, and then, before he could get any
farther, there was a quick knock at the door. Vane looked dreamily
round, and said:

"Come in."

The door opened, and Ernshaw entered, followed by Sir Arthur Maxwell.

"Good heavens, Maxwell! what on earth does this mean?" exclaimed
Ernshaw, with something like a gasp in his voice, as he saw Vane sitting
at the table in his shirt-sleeves--the friend with whom he had sat in
this same room the night before and had that long solemn talk--the
friend who had given him such solemn pledges.

The table was littered and disordered, the coffee pot had got knocked
over; there was a cup lying on its side in the saucer; a dish of bacon
containing a couple of rashers and two eggs congealed in fat, and scraps
of meat and broken bits of bread and butter lay about on the cloth.

This was like anything but one of the many orderly breakfasts which he
had shared with Maxwell at the same table; but what startled Ernshaw
more than anything else was the sight of the empty glass beside his
friend's plate, the brandy decanter with less than a wine-glassful in
it, and the two empty soda syphons on the table.

"Good morning, Ernshaw! Morning, dad! Jolly glad to see you. Come in and
sit down and have a drink--I mean, a bit of breakfast. The coffee's
cold, but I can get you some more if you wouldn't rather have brandy and
soda--plenty more brandy in the cupboard, soda too. Get it out and help
yourselves. Dad, you know Garthorne, of course. Ernshaw, you don't; let
me introduce you--very good fellow-