im that excuse; he had evidently taken away all his
correspondence this morning."

"Oh, it's of no consequence," said the girl lightly, though her face was
pale, and her eyes shone, as if through a mist of tears. "We are only
going shopping for the ball, and that is dull work for a man."

"Can I be of any assistance, Miss Penelope?" enquired Mr. Vermont. "Do
let me help; I love shopping!" But this neither of the ladies would
allow; and with a parting shot on the subject of Adrien's whereabouts,
Vermont took his leave.

His next move was to Waterloo Station, where he took a train to Hampton;
and a little after noon, Jasper Vermont was strolling along the side of
the river, smoking his cigar.

Very amiable he looked, and exceedingly interested in the boats, and
therefore it was not surprising that the man who let them out on hire
readily answered his questions as to the best season of the year, the
approximate number of customers, etc., all leading up to the main
question, had a boat with a lady and gentleman gone out that day?

"No," the man said. "Curiously enough, sir, no boat has gone out to-day
with a lady and a gentleman in it, like what you describe."

"Oh," said Mr. Vermont. "It was my mistake. I thought I saw a gentleman
rowing a lady down the river--rowing very well, too, in a light skiff."

"Ah!" said the man, puffing a cloud of smoke from his rough clay pipe,
"I know who you mean, now; a gentleman--regular swell, and a lady in
blue. Lor' bless yer, that ain't one of mine, that's a private boat
that's kept up at the Court, I think. Oh, yes, he's all right; gone up
stream, they have, and a nice day they've got."

This was what Jasper needed; and after strolling about among the boats
for a few minutes more he started off along the bank, keeping at such a
distance from the stream that, though he could see all who passed in the
boats, no one on the river could see him.

The beauty of the day, the shimmer and sparkle of the river, with the
soft lap of its waters, the singing of the birds over his head, all had
no effect on him. His dark, beady eyes noted nothing but the boats that
passed, none of which, as yet--though the afternoon was waning
fast--contained Adrien and Lady Merivale.

Yet he knew that he had not missed them, for he had taken his lunch on
the balcony of an inn commanding a view of the river, which he had kept
under survey from the time he had reached Hampton earlier in the day.

Steadily,