diet of Cornish pasties and pollock under the delusion that they
were taking in local colour in the process. Mr. Pendleton's stomach
resented his own rash deglutition of these dainties, and in consequence he
was suffering too much with acute indigestion to think of the compensation
he would gain at next year's Academy by standing with a bragging knowing
air before pictures of the Cornish coast, expatiating to his bored
acquaintances (who had never been to Cornwall) on their lack of merit
compared with the real thing. Like most husbands, Mr. Pendleton had been
able to reach the conclusion that the real cause of his bodily and mental
discomfort was his wife, so he maintained a sulky silence behind the pages
of his newspaper.

With that lack of ceremony which the familiarity of marriage engenders in
the female breast, his wife leant across the table and plucked the paper
from his hand.

"Listen to me, Joseph," she said, "I want to talk to you."

Lacking the newspaper screen, Mr. Pendleton's rebellious tendencies
instantly evaporated beneath his wife's searching eye.

"Yes, my dear," he replied meekly. "What about?"

"About Sisily. Did you notice that she did not speak a word during
dinner?"

"Perhaps she was overcome with grief, my dear."

"Nonsense! Grief does not make a woman speechless. She's one of the dumb
sort of girls. I always mistrust a girl who hasn't plenty to say for
herself."

"Well, you know, my dear, she has had a strange sort of life. She hasn't
had the educational advantages of other young women"--Mr. Pendleton was
going to add "in her station of life," but a timely recollection of the
afternoon's disclosures caused him to substitute: "with wealthy fathers."

"Robert has neglected his duty to her shamefully. I've been thinking it
all over, and I'm half sorry now that I consented to take charge of her."

"Then why do it?" said her husband placidly.

"It's the scandal I fear," rejoined his wife, pursuing her own thought.
"There's bound to be a lot of talk and newspaper publicity when Robert
comes into the title. It would be much better to keep this quiet, after
all these years. There is really no occasion for it, if Robert will only
listen to reason. Robert wishes to avoid future trouble and complications
about the succession. That could be arranged by getting Sisily to sign
some agreement renouncing all claim on the title."

"I doubt if such a document would be legal, my dear," said her husband