I've had a blow to-day full on the breast that fairly staggered me."

"By Jove!"

"Fact. I've just come from a mad ride along the shore. I've been mad,
I think, for two or three hours. Of all the monstrous, abominable,
infernal, and unheard-of catastrophes this is the worst."

He stopped, and puffed away desperately at his cigar.

"Don't keep a fellow in suspense this way," said Hawbury at last.
"What's up? Out with it, man."

"Well, you know, yesterday I called there."

Hawbury nodded.

"She was not at home."

"So you said."

"You know she really wasn't, for I told you that I met their carriage.
The whole party were in it, and on the front seat beside Minnie there
was another lady. This is the one that I had not seen before. She
makes the fourth in that party. She and Minnie had their backs turned
as they came up. The other ladies bowed as they passed, and as I held
off my hat I half turned to catch Minnie's eyes, when I caught sight
of the face of the lady. It startled me so much that I was
thunder-struck, and stood there with my hat off after they had passed
me for some time."

"You said nothing about that, old chap. Who the deuce could she have
been?"

"No, I said nothing about it. As I cantered off I began to think that
it was only a fancy of mine, and finally I was sure of it, and laughed
it off. For, you must know, the lady's face looked astonishingly like
a certain face that I don't particularly care to see--certainly not in
such close connection with Minnie. But, you see, I thought it might
have been my fancy, so that I finally shook off the feeling, and said
nothing to you about it."

Dacres paused here, rubbed his hand violently over his hair at the
place where the scar was, and then, frowning heavily, resumed:

"Well, this afternoon I called again. They were at home. On entering I
found three ladies there. One was Lady Dalrymple, and the others were
Minnie and her friend Ethel--either her friend or her sister. I think
she's her sister. Well, I sat for about five minutes, and was just
beginning to feel the full sense of my happiness, when the door opened
and another lady entered. Hawbury"--and Dacres's tones deepened into
an awful solemnity--"Hawbury, it was the lady that I saw in the
carriage yesterday. One look at her was enough. I was assured then
that my impressions yesterday were not dreams, but the damnable and
abhorrent truth!"

"What impressions--you haven't told me yet, you know?"