be approving of her conduct now," was my friend's natural
conclusion. Then one forenoon Scrymgeour travelled to town in the same
compartment as the old gentleman, who was exceedingly frank, and made
sly remarks about romantic young people who met by stealth when there
was no reason why they should not meet openly. "What does he mean?"
Scrymgeour asked himself, uneasily. He saw terribly elaborate
explanations gathering and shrank from them.

Then Scrymgeour was one day out in a punt, when he encountered the old
gentleman in a canoe. The old man said, purple with passion, that he
was on his way to pay Mr. Scrymgeour a business visit. "Oh, yes," he
continued, "I know who you are; if I had not discovered you were a man
of means I would not have let the thing go on, and now I insist on an
explanation."

Explanations!

They made for Scrymgeour's house-boat, with almost no words on the young
man's part; but the father blurted out several things--as that his
daughter knew where he was going when he left the _Heathen Chinee_,
and that he had an hour before seen Scrymgeour making love to another
girl.

"Don't deny it!" cried the indignant father; "I recognized you by your
velvet coat and broad hat."

Then Scrymgeour began to see more clearly. The girl had encouraged
the deception, and had been allowed to meet her lover because he was
supposed to be no adventurer but the wealthy Mr. Scrymgeour. She must
have told the fellow to get a coat and hat like his to help the plot.
At the time the artist only saw all this in a jumble.

Scrymgeour had bravely resolved to explain everything now; but his
bewilderment may be conceived when, on entering his saloon with the
lady's father, the first thing they saw was the lady herself. The old
gentleman gasped, and his daughter looked at Scrymgeour imploringly.

"Now," said the father fiercely, "explain."

The lady's tears became her vastly. Hardly knowing what he did,
Scrymgeour put his arm around her.

"Well, go on," I said, when at this point Scrymgeour stopped.

"There is no more to tell," he replied; "you see the girl allowed me
to--well, protect her--and--and the old gentleman thinks we are
engaged."

"I don't wonder. What does the lady say?"

"She says that she ran along the bank and got into my house-boat by the
plank, meaning to see me before her father arrived and to entreat me to
run away."

"With her?"

"No, without her."

"But what does she say about explaining ma