me with him and help him meet "this parson," whom he
seemed to dread unreasonably, as, in fact, he always did shrink from
doing anything alone when he could get a helper. I thought this would
be, at least, as queer as Dora's nursing of the other brother; but it
seemed so hard for the poor man, coming down in his anxiety, to be met
by Eustace either in his vague or his supercilious mood, that I
consented at last, so that he might have someone of common sense, and
walked down with him.

We could not doubt which was the right passenger, when a young
clergyman, almost as rough-looking as his brother, and as much bearded,
but black where he was yellow, sprang out of a second-class with
anxious looks. It was I who said at one breath, "There he is! Speak to
him, Eustace! Mr. Yolland--he is better--he will do well--"

"Thank--thank you--" And the hat was pushed back, with a long breath;
then, as he only had a little black bag to look after, we all walked
together to the lodgings, while the poor man looked bewildered and
unrealising under Eustace's incoherent history of the accident--a far
more conjectural and confused story than it became afterwards.

I waited till Harold came down with Dora; and to my "How could you?"
and Eustace's more severe and angry blame, she replied, "He wanted me;
so of course I went."

Harold said not a word in defence of her or of himself; but when I
asked whether she had been of any use, he said, smiling affectionately
at her, "Wasn't she?"

Then we went and looked at the shattered houses, and Harold showed us
where he had drawn out his poor friend, answering the aggrieved owners
opposite that there would be an inquiry, and means would be found for
compensation.

And when I said, "It is a bad beginning for the Hydriot plans!" he
answered, "I don't know that," and stood looking at the ruins of his
"Dragon's Head" in a sort of brown study, till we grew impatient, and
dragged him home.

CHAPTER IV.

THE WRATH OF DIANA.

Harold did not like clergymen. "Smith was a clergyman," he said, with
an expressive look; and while George Yolland had his brother and the
nurse I had sent, he merely made daily inquiries, and sometimes sat an
hour with his friend.

Mr. Crosse's curate had kindred in Staffordshire, and offered to
exchange a couple of Sundays with Mr. Benjamin Yolland, and this
resulted in the visitor being discovered to have a fine voice and a
great power of preaching, and as he