up to that period, and as he remained likewise master of the field, he
was upon the whole very well satisfied.

These last few words which had been spoken to Henry by Admiral Bell,
more than any others, induced him to hasten his departure from
Bannerworth Hall; he had walked away when the altercation between Jack
Pringle and the admiral began, for he had seen sufficient of those wordy
conflicts between those originals to be quite satisfied that neither of
them meant what he said of a discouraging character towards the other,
and that far from there being any unfriendly feeling contingent upon
those little affairs, they were only a species of friendly sparring,
which both parties enjoyed extremely.

He went direct to Flora, and he said to her,--

"Since we are all agreed upon the necessity, or, at all events, upon the
expediency of a departure from the Hall, I think, sister, the sooner we
carry out that determination the better and the pleasanter for us all it
will be. Do you think you could remove so hastily as to-morrow?"

"To-morrow! That is soon indeed."

"I grant you that it is so; but Admiral Bell assures me that he will
have everything in readiness, and a place provided for us to go to by
then."

"Would it be possible to remove from a house like this so very quickly?"

"Yes, sister. If you look around you, you will see that a great portion
of the comforts you enjoy in this mansion belong to it as a part of its
very structure, and are not removable at pleasure; what we really have
to take away is very little. The urgent want of money during our
father's lifetime induced him, as you may recollect even, at various
times to part with much that was ornamental, as well as useful, which
was in the Hall. You will recollect that we seldom returned from those
little continental tours which to us were so delightful, without finding
some old familiar objects gone, which, upon inquiry, we found had been
turned into money, to meet some more than usually pressing demand."

"That is true, brother; I recollect well."

"So that, upon the whole, sister, there is little to remove."

"Well, well, be it so. I will prepare our mother for this sudden step.
Believe me, my heart goes with it; and as a force of vengeful
circumstances have induced us to remove from this home, which was once
so full of pleasant recollections, it is certainly better, as you say,
that the act should be at once consummated, than left hanging in terror