Yes. Believe me, Bayfield, I am as distressed about it as you are.
But there is this consolation. Not an atom of real harm has been done
so far. Lyn is in blissful ignorance as to who it was she met, and
there is no reason on earth why she should ever know."

Even while he spoke there occurred to him another aspect of the case--
and the probability that this had not been overlooked by Lyn's father
occurred to him too. Would not the latter regard him as upon much the
same plane as Hermia herself?

"You see," he went on, "I shall be clearing out the first thing in the
morning, so she," with a jerk of the thumb in the direction of far-away
Earle's, "is not likely to give you any further trouble. Besides, after
giving herself away like this, she will have to go her way as well. If
she doesn't, I advise you to let Earle into the story. She won't be
long there after that. By the way, would you mind letting me see
exactly what she has said? We shall know better where we are then."

"Yes, I think so," said the other.

Blachland took the letter and read it through carefully and deliberately
from end to end. It was a narrative of their _liaison_, and that only.
But the blame of its initiation the writer ascribed to himself. This he
pointed out to Bayfield.

"The boot was, if anything on the other foot," he said. "But let that
pass. Now, why do you suppose she has given all this away?"

"To revenge herself upon you for leaving her."

"But I didn't leave her. She left me--cleared with a young ass of a
prospector, during one of my necessary absences, of which I notice,
she's careful not to say one word. Clearly she never bargained for my
seeing this at all."

"By Jove! You don't say so?"

"It's hard fact. Well, her motive is to revenge herself upon me, but
not for that. It is because she had entangled that young fool Percy
West--had made him engage himself to her. He told me this the night we
were at Earle's, and I put my foot down on it at once. I gave her the
chance of drawing out of it, of releasing him, and she refused it.--I
put the alternative before her, and she simply defied me. `If you give
me away, I'll give you away,' those were her words. I couldn't allow
the youngster to enter into any such contract as that, could I?"

"Of course not. Go on."

"So I told him the whole thing on our way out the other morning. It
choked him clean off her--of course. I was as good as my word, and she
wa