the tenacious devil would
follow him to London; and what was worse, as a hound from Dahlia's
family he was now on the right scent, and appeared to know that he was.
How was a scandal to be avoided? By leaving Fairly instantly for any
place on earth, he could not avoid leaving the man behind; and if the
man saw Mrs. Lovell again, her instincts as a woman of her class were
not to be trusted. As likely as not she would side with the ruffian;
that is, she would think he had been wronged--perhaps think that he
ought to have been met. There is the democratic virus secret in
every woman; it was predominant in Mrs. Lovell, according to Edward's
observation of the lady. The rights of individual manhood were, as he
angrily perceived, likely to be recognized by her spirit, if only they
were stoutly asserted; and that in defiance of station, of reason, of
all the ideas inculcated by education and society.

"I believe she'll expect me to fight him," he exclaimed. At least, he
knew she would despise him if he avoided the brutal challenge without
some show of dignity.

On rising from the table, he drew Algernon aside. It was an insufferable
thought that he was compelled to take his brainless cousin into his
confidence, even to the extent of soliciting his counsel, but there was
no help for it. In vain Edward asked himself why he had been such an
idiot as to stain his hands with the affair at all. He attributed it to
his regard for Algernon. Having commonly the sway of his passions, he
was in the habit of forgetting that he ever lost control of them; and
the fierce black mood, engendered by Robert's audacious persecution, had
passed from his memory, though it was now recalled in full force.

"See what a mess you drag a man into," he said.

Algernon read a line of the letter. "Oh, confound this infernal fellow!"
he shouted, in sickly wonderment; and snapped sharp, "drag you into the
mess? Upon my honour, your coolness, Ned, is the biggest part about you,
if it isn't the best."

Edward's grip fixed on him, for they were only just out of earshot of
Mrs. Lovell. They went upstairs, and Algernon read the letter through.

"'Midnight assassin,'" he repeated; "by Jove! how beastly that sounds.
It's a lie that you attacked him in the dark, Ned--eh?"

"I did not attack him at all," said Edward. "He behaved like a ruffian
to you, and deserved shooting like a mad dog."

"Did you, though," Algernon persisted in questioning, despite his
co