n Heaven's name, what does it all mean?" exclaimed Lambert, gazing
at the two cards, hearing the comments round him, yet utterly unable to
understand.

Segrave jumped to his feet.

"It means, young man," he ejaculated in a wild state of frenzy, maddened
by his losses, his former crime, his present ruin, "it means that you
are a damned thief."

And with frantic, excited gesture he gathered up the cards and threw
them violently into Richard Lambert's face.

A curious sound went round the room--a gasp, hardly a cry--and all those
present held their breath, silent, appalled at the terrible tragedy
expressed by these two young men standing face to face on the brink of a
deathly and almost blasphemous conflict.

Mistress Endicott was the first to utter a cry.

"Silence! silence!" she shouted shrilly. "Master Segrave, I adjure you
to be silent.... I'll not permit you to insult my guest."

Already Lambert had made a quick movement to throw himself on Segrave.
The elemental instinct of self-defense, of avenging a terrible insult by
physical violence, rose within him, whispering of strength and power, of
the freedom, muscle-giving life of the country as against the
enervating, weakening influence of the town.

He knew that in a hand-to-hand struggle with the feverish, emaciated
townsman, he, the country-bred lad, the haunter of woods and cliffs, the
dweller of the Thanet smithy, would be more than a match for his
opponent. But even as his whole body stiffened for a spring, his muscles
tightened and his fists clenched, a dozen restraining hands held him
back from his purpose, whilst Mistress Endicott's shrill tones seemed to
bring him back to the realities of his own peril.

"Mistress Endicott," he said, turning a proud, yet imploring look to the
lady whose virtues had been so loudly proclaimed in his ears, "Madam, I
appeal to you ... I implore you to listen ... a frightful insult which
you have witnessed ... an awful accusation on which I scarce can trust
myself to dwell has been hurled at me.... I entreat you to allow me to
challenge these two gentlemen to explain."

And he pointed both to Segrave and to Endicott, The former, after his
mad outburst of ungovernable rage, had regained a certain measure of
calm. He stood, facing Lambert, with arms folded across his chest,
whilst a smile of insulting irony curled his thin lips.

Endicott's eyes seemed to be riveted on Lambert's breast.

At mention of his own name, he s