since, he was in the habit of drawing very largely on his
recollections of that nursery of learning. Lunch had hardly begun before
a question from Cicely set him going, and for the rest of the meal he
regaled her with these reminiscences.

After luncheon he said to his wife:

"Upon my word, I noticed nothing whatever amiss. Cicely is a very
sensible as well as a deuced pretty girl."

"I happened to look at Malcolm occasionally," said she.

Sir Reginald thought that she seemed to imply more than she said, but
then women were like that, he had noticed, and if one took all their
implications into account, life would be a troublesome affair.

IX

A PHILOSOPHER

During luncheon an exceedingly efficient person had been moving briskly
behind the chairs. His face was so expressionless, his mouth so tightly
closed, and his air of concentration on the business in hand so intense,
that he seemed the perfect type of the silent butler. But as soon as
lunch was over, and while Cicely still stood in the hall listening with
a dubious eye to Malcolm's suggestion of a game of billiards, Mr. James
Bisset revealed the other side of his personality. He came up to the
young couple with just sufficient deference, but no more, and in an
accent which experts would have recognised as the hall mark of the
western part of North Britain, said:

"Excuse me, miss, but I've mended your bicycle and I'll show it you if
ye like, and just explain the principle of the thing."

There was at least as much command as invitation in his tones. The
billiard invitation was refused, and with a hidden smile Cicely followed
him to the bicycle house.

Expert knowledge was James Bisset's foible. Of some subjects, such as
buttling, carpentry, and mending bicycles, it was practical; of others,
such as shooting, gardening, and motoring, it was more theoretical. To
Sir Reginald and my lady he was quite indispensable, for he could repair
almost anything, knew his own more particular business from A to Z, and
was ready at any moment to shoulder any responsibility. Sir Reginald's
keeper, gardener, and chauffeur were apt however to be a trifle less
enthusiastic, Mr. Bisset's passion for expounding the principles of
their professions sometimes exceeding his tact.

In person, he was an active, stoutly built man (though far too energetic
to be fat), with blunt rounded features, eyes a little protruding, and
sandy hair and a reddish complexion which made his