of his nature, as such strains sometimes will, or was this
stage adventurer, cold-blooded, unscrupulous, with a vein of
diabolical humour in his malevolence, the real Harold Caffyn?

And then she had seen the injustice of this and felt almost ashamed of
her thoughts, and with the wish to make some sort of reparation, and
perhaps the consciousness that she had not given him many
opportunities of showing her his better side, her manner towards him
had softened appreciably.

Caffyn only saw the effects, and argued favourably from them. 'Now
that fellow Holroyd is happily out of the way,' he thought, 'she
doesn't care for anybody in particular. I've only to wait.'

There were considerations other than love or pride which made the
marriage a desirable one to him. Mabel's father was a rich man, and
Mabel herself was entitled independently to a considerable sum on
coming of age. He could hardly do better for himself than by making
such a match, even from the pecuniary point of view.

And so he looked about him anxiously for some opening more suitable to
his talent than the stage-door, for he was quite aware that at present
Mabel's father, whatever Mabel herself might think, would scarcely
consider him a desirable _parti_.

Caffyn had been lucky enough to impress a business friend of his with
a firm conviction of his talents for business and management, and this
had led to a proposal that he should leave the stage and join him,
with a prospect of a partnership should the alliance prove a success.

The business was a flourishing one, and the friend a young man who had
but recently succeeded to the complete control of it, while Caffyn had
succeeded somehow in acquiring a tolerably complete control of _him_.
So the prospect was really an attractive one, and he felt that now at
last he might consider the worst obstacles to his success with Mabel
were disposed of.

He had plenty of leisure time on his hands at present, and thought he
would call at Kensington Park Gardens one afternoon, and try the
effect of telling Mabel of his prospects. She had been so cordial and
sympathetic of late that it would be strange if she did not express
some sort of pleasure, and it would be for him to decide then whether
or not his time had come to speak of his hopes.

* * * * *

Mrs. and Miss Langton were out, he was told at the door. 'Miss Dolly
was in,' added Champion, to whom Caffyn was well known.

'Then