stand there? Rupert's with him. Won't that do?"

"No, I think we ought to say how-d'you-do, here, and then pass him on to
Notya in the drawing-room."

"Very good. Stand firm. But they'll be hours rolling up the track. What
the devil do we want with an uncle? The last time we stood like this was
when our revered father paid us a call. Five years ago--six?"

"Six."

"H'm. If I ever have any children--Where's Miriam? I suppose she's going
to make a dramatic entry when she's sure she can't be missed."

"I hope so," Helen said. "The first sight of Miriam--"

"You're ridiculous. She's no more attractive than any other girl, and
it's this admiration that's been her undoing."

"Is she undone?"

"She's useless."

"Like a flower."

"No, she has a tongue."

"Oh, John, you're getting bad-tempered."

"I'm getting tired of this damned step."

"You swear rather a lot," she said mildly. "They're on the track. Oh,
Rupert's talking. Isn't it a comfortable sound?"

A few minutes later, she held open the gate and, all unaware of the
beauty of her manners, she welcomed a small, neat man who wore an
eyeglass. John took possession of him and led him into the hall and
Helen waited for Rupert, who followed with the bag. She could see that
his eyebrows were lifted comically.

"Well?" she asked.

"Awful. I know he isn't dumb because I've heard him speak, nor deaf
because he noticed that the horse had a loose shoe, but that's all I can
tell you, my dear. I talked--I had to talk. You can't sit in the dark
for miles with some one you don't know and say nothing, but I've been
sweating blood." He put the bag down and leaned against the gate. "That
man," he said emphatically, "is a mining engineer. He--oh, good-night,
Gibbons--he's been all over the globe, so Notya tells us. You'd think he
might have picked up a little small talk as well as a fortune, but no.
If he's picked it up, he's jolly careful with it. I tell you, I've made
a fool of myself, and talked to a thing as unresponsive as a stone
wall."

"Perhaps you talked too much."

"I know I did, but I've a hopeful disposition, and I've cured hard cases
before now. Of course he must have been thinking me an insufferable
idiot, but the darkness and his neighbourhood were too much for me. And
that horse of Gibbons's! It's only fit for the knacker. Oh, Lord! I
believe I told him the population of the town. There's humiliation for
you! He grunted now and then. Well, I'll show th