aid the girl; "you
should hear how uncle praises you behind your back! Poor auntie--"

At that moment they turned a corner of the shrubbery leading up to the
house, and found themselves suddenly face to face with Mrs Rimbolt with
a gentleman and two or three of her lady guests. Jeffreys flushed up as
guiltily as if he had been detected in a highway robbery, and absolutely
forgot to salute. Even Raby, who was not at all sure that her aunt had
not overheard their last words, was taken aback and looked confused.
Mrs Rimbolt bridled up like a cat going into action. She took in the
situation at a glance, and drew her own inferences.

"Raby, my dear," said she, "come with us. Colonel Brotherton wishes to
see Rodnet Force, and we are going there. Oh, Mr Jeffreys," added she,
turning frigidly upon the already laden librarian, "when you have
carried Miss Atherton's things into the house, be good enough to go to
Kennedy and tell him to meet us at the Upper Fall. And you will find
some letters on the hall table to be posted. By-the-way, Colonel
Brotherton, if you have that telegram you want to send off, the
librarian will go with it. It is a pity you should have the walk."

To these miscellaneous orders Jeffreys bowed solemnly, and did not fail
to exhibit his clumsiness by dropping Raby's waterproof in a belated
effort to raise his hat. Mrs Rimbolt would hardly have been appeased
had he not done so; and it was probably in a final endeavour to show him
off as he departed that she added,--

"Raby, give Mr Jeffreys that basket to take in; you cannot carry that
up to the Falls."

"Oh, aunt, I've told Mr Jeffreys I can't trust him with it. It has
grapes in it. Didn't I, Mr Jeffreys?" she said, appealing gaily to him
with a smile which seemed to make a man of him once more.

"I will undertake not to eat them," said he, with a twitch of his mouth,
receiving the precious basket.

After that he sacrificed even his afternoon constitutionals, and took to
the life of a hermit until Wildtree Towers should be rid of its
visitors. But even so he could not be quite safe. Percy occasionally
hunted him out and demanded his company with himself and a few choice
spirits on some hare-brained expedition. Jeffreys did not object to
Percy or the hare-brained expedition; but the "choice spirits" sometimes
discomposed him. They called him "Jeffy," and treated him like some
favoured domestic animal. They recognised him as a sort of c