w. Men with strong reserves are necessarily a little
slow in coming into action; they are apt, too, as a decent cover for
their feelings, to affect more slowness than they feel. A woman can
rarely look at that kind of man without feeling a secret desire to rouse
him; there is so clearly something to rouse. It was Stonor's hair which
had given rise to the quaint name the native maidens had applied to him,
the "Gold-piece." It was not yellow hair, as we call it, but a shiny
light brown, and under the savage attack of his brushes the shine was
accentuated.

The guests were received in the drawing-room of Enterprise House, which
was rarely opened nowadays. It had a charming air of slightly
old-fashioned gentility, just as its dead mistress had left it, and the
rough Northerners came in with an abashed air. John Gaviller,
resplendent in the dress-suit, stood by the piano, with the little lady
on one hand and the large lady on the other, and one after another the
men marched up and made their obeisances. The actual introduction proved
to be not so terrible an ordeal as Stonor had feared--or perhaps it is
more proper to say, that it was so terrible he was numbed and felt
nothing. It was all over in a minute. "Miss Starling!" the name rang
through his consciousness like the sound of silver bells.

Face to face Stonor saw her but dimly through the mist of too much
feeling. She treated him exactly the same as the others, that is to say,
she was kind, smiling, interested, and personally inscrutable. Stonor
was glad that there was another man pressing close at his heels, for he
felt that he could stand no more just then. He was passed on to Miss
Pringle. Of this lady it need only be said that she was a large-size
clergyman's sister, a good soul, pious and kindly. She has little to do
with this tale.

In Stonor's eyes she proved to have a great merit, for she was disposed
to talk exclusively about Miss Starling. Stonor's ears were long for
that. From her talk he gathered three main facts: (a) that Miss
Starling's given name was Clare (enchanting syllable!); (b) that the two
ladies had become acquainted for the first time on the way into the
country; (c) that Miss Starling was going back with the steamboat. "Of
course!" thought Stonor, with his heart sinking slowly like a
water-logged branch.

"Isn't she plucky!" said Miss Pringle enthusiastically.

"She looks it," said Stonor, with a sidelong glance at the object of her
encomi