, as they resumed their march, he,
carrying the fish, lagged in the rear, and thus they escaped his keen
eyes. Indeed, by the time they reached the Lodge, and as Miss Honnor was
about to enter, Lionel said to her that he felt quite warm and
comfortable, and proposed to go for a further walk down the strath
before dinner; but she peremptorily forbade this and ordered him off to
his own room to get a change of clothes.

It is not to be imagined that an incident of this kind could do aught
but sink deep into the mind of any young man, and especially into the
mind of a young man who had particular reasons for wanting to know how
this young lady was affected towards him. She herself had made light of
the matter; it had been merely a sudden impulse, born of her own
abundant good-nature; probably she would have done as much for Percy
Lestrange. But _would_ she have done as much for Percy Lestrange? Lionel
kept asking himself. He was vain enough to think she would not. Who had
been her _protege_ all this time? To whom had she given unobtrusive
little hints when she thought these might be useful? In whose exploits
and triumphs and failures had she shown an exceptional interest and
sympathy? Whom had she permitted to go fishing with her on those long
days when the world seemed to belong to the two of them? Whom had she
admitted into the little dell above the Geinig Pool which was her chosen
and solitary retreat? And he could not but reflect that while there were
plenty of women who were eager to present him with silver
cigarette-cases, blue and white flower-jars, and things of that kind,
there was not one of them, as he believed, who would dip her little
finger in a bottle of ink for his sake. More than that, which of them
would herself have dared ridicule in order to save him from ridicule?
And in what light should he regard this suddenly prompted action on her
part, which seemed to him so bewildering at the time, but which she
appeared to look on as only a sort of half-humorous freak of friendship?

These speculations only came back to the original question, or series of
questions, that had already puzzled him. Why should he set such store by
her opinion?--why be so anxious to please her?--why be so proud to think
that he had won some small share of favorable regard? It was not his
ordinary attitude towards women, who troubled him rather, and interfered
with his many interests and the calls of his professional duties.
Falling