insulted and
injured him.

"You don't know," he said, "what Lord Torrington is here for."

"Oh, yes, I do," said Priscilla. "I'm not quite an ass. I was listening
to Aunt Juliet and Lady Torrington shooting barbed arrows at each other
after dinner. Aunt Juliet got rather the worst of it, I must say. Lady
Torrington is one of those people whose garments smell of myrrh, aloes
and cassia, and yet whose words are very swords, you know the sort I
mean."

"Lord Torrington is chasing his daughter," said Frank, "who has run away
from home. I vote we find her first and then help her to hide."

"Of course. That's what we're going to do. That's why we're going off in
the boat tomorrow."

"But she's not on the bay," said Frank. "Miss Rutherford is too fat to
be her. He said so."

"Who's talking about Miss Rutherford? She's simply sponge-hunting.
Nobody but a fool would think she was Miss Torrington."

"Lady Isabel," said Frank. "He's a marquis."

"Anyhow she's not the escaped daughter."

"Then who is?"

"The lady spy, of course. Any one could see that at a glance."

"But she has a man with her. Lord Torrington said--"

"If you can call that thing a man," said Priscilla, "she has. That's her
husband. She's run away with him and got married surreptitiously, like
young Lochinvar. People do that sort of thing, you know. I can't imagine
where the fun comes in; but it's quite common, so I suppose it must be
considered pleasant. Anyhow Sylvia Courtney says that English literature
is simply stock full of most beautiful poems about people who do it; all
more or less true, so there must be some attraction."

Frank made no reply. Priscilla's theory was new to him. It seemed
to have a certain plausibility. He wanted to think it over before
committing himself to accepting it.

"It's not a thing I'd care to do myself," said Priscilla. "But then
people are so different. What strikes me as rather idiotic may be
sweeter than butter in the mouth to somebody else. You never can tell
beforehand. Anyhow we can count on Aunt Juliet as a firm ally. She can't
go back on us on account of her principles."

This was another new idea to Frank. He began to feel slightly
bewildered.

"The one thing she's really keen on just at present," said Priscilla,
"is that women should assert their independence and not be mere tame
parasites in gilded cages. That's what she said to Lady Torrington
anyhow. So of course she's bound to help us all she can