y when Ferris came, evidently ill at ease, though he
greeted Miss Barrington with elaborate courtesy, and would have done
the same with her niece, but the girl turned from him with visible
disdain.

"Sit down," she said coldly. "Colonel Barrington is away, but his
sister will take his place, and after him I have the largest stake in
the welfare of Silverdale. Now, a story has come to our ears which
if it had not been substantiated would have appeared incredible.
Shall Miss Barrington tell it you?"

Ferris, who was a very young man, flushed, but the color faded and
left his cheeks a trifle gray. He was not a very prepossessing lad,
for it requires a better physique than he was endowed with to bear
the stamp of viciousness that is usually most noticeable on the
feeble, but he was distinguished by a trace of arrogance that not
infrequently served him as well as resolution.

"If it would not inconvenience Miss Barrington, it would help me to
understand a good deal I can find no meaning for now," he said.

The elder lady's face grew sterner, and very quietly but
remorselessly she set forth his offense, until no one who heard the
tale could have doubted the origin of the fire.

"I should have been better pleased, had you, if only when you saw we
knew everything, appeared willing to confess your fault and make
amends," she said.

Ferris laughed as ironically as he dared under the eyes which had
lost their gentleness. "You will pardon me for telling you that I
have no intention of admitting it now. That you should be so readily
prejudiced against me is not gratifying, but, you see, nobody could
take any steps without positive proof of the story, and my word is at
least as credible as that of the interloper who told it you."

Maud Barrington raised her head suddenly, and looked at him with a
curious light in her eyes, but the elder lady made a little gesture
of deprecation.

"Mr. Courthorne has told us nothing," she said. "Still, three
gentlemen whose worth is known at Silverdale are willing to certify
every point of it. If we lay the affair before Colonel Barrington,
you will have an opportunity of standing face to face with them."

The lad's assurance, which, so far and no further, did duty for
courage, deserted him. He was evidently not prepared to be made the
subject of another court-martial, and the hand he laid on the table
in front of him trembled a little.

"Madam," he said hoarsely, "if I admit ever