h Sir Stephen had obtained the land. Looking straight before him,
he asked:

"How did you get it, sir? I have heard that it was difficult to buy
land here for building purposes."

"Yes, I fancy it is," replied Sir Stephen, quite easily. "Now you speak
of it, I remember my agent said there was some hitch at first; but he
must have got over it in some way or other. He bought it of a farmer."
Stafford drew a breath of relief. "This is the Italian garden; the
tennis and croquet lawns are below this terrace--there's not time to go
down. But you haven't seen half of it yet. There's the breakfast-bell.
Don't trouble to change: I like you in those flannels." He laid his
hand on Stafford's broad, straight shoulder. "You have the knack of
wearing your clothes as if they grew on you, Staff."

Stafford laughed.

"I ought to hand that compliment on to Measom, sir," he said; "he's the
responsible person and deserves the credit, if there is any." He looked
at his father's upright, well-dressed and graceful figure. "But he
would hand it back to you, I think, sir."

There was a pause, then Stafford said:

"Do you know any of your neighbours--any of the people round about?"

"No; I was never here until yesterday, excepting for an hour or two.
But we shall know them, I suppose; they'll call in a little while, and
we will ask them to dinner, and so on. There should be some nice
people--Ah, Mr. Howard, we've stolen a march on you!"

"I'm not surprised, sir," said Howard, as he came up in his slow and
languid way. "I am sorry to say that Stafford has an extremely bad
habit of getting up at unreasonable hours. I wait until I am dragged
out of bed by a fellow-creature or the pangs of hunger. Of course you
have been bathing, Staff? Early rising and an inordinate love of cold
water--externally--at all seasons are two of his ineradicable vices,
Sir Stephen. I have done my best to cure them, but--alas!"

They went in to breakfast, which was served in a room with bay windows
opening on to the terrace overlooking the lake. Exactly opposite
Stafford's chair was the little opening on the other side from which he
and the girl from Heron Hall had gazed at the villa. He looked at it
and grew silent.

A large dispatch-box stood beside Sir Stephen's plate. He did not open
it, but sent it to his room.

"I never read my letters before breakfast," he remarked. "They spoil
one's digestion. I'm afraid the mail's heavy this morning, judging by
the