lly. "Fathers don't shuffle round their
womenfolk like that. They are husband and wife."

"Husband and wife!" The other smiled. But the older man pursed up his
lips.

"You'll find I'm right," he said. "She walked three steps ahead of him,
to avoid seeing him--and she did it unconsciously. Proof conclusive!"

The young man laughed.

"Doesn't carry conviction, uncle!" he said. "I'll bet you a fiver
you're wrong. Will you take me on?"

His companion smiled languidly.

"As you like," he responded.

The young man nodded; then he looked down lazily at his flannel suit.

"I suppose it's time to change," he said reluctantly. "Awful bore being
conventional abroad."

With another careless nod, he lounged off in the direction of the hall.

Exactly a quarter of an hour later, Clodagh emerged from her bedroom,
looking fresh and cool in a dress of rose-coloured gauze that, cut high
in the neck and possessing sleeves that reached the wrist, was yet
light and diaphanous in effect. She opened her door and, mindful of the
lateness of the hour, moved quickly out into the corridor. But scarcely
had she taken a step in the direction of the stairs, than a door
exactly opposite to her own was opened with equal haste; and the young
Englishman of the terrace appeared before her. Seeing her, he halted
involuntarily, and for a second their eyes met.

The glance was momentary; there was not a word spoken; but irresistibly
the colour rushed into Clodagh's face. It took her but an instant to
regain her composure, and to pass down the empty corridor with a touch
of hauteur; but long after she had gained the stairs, her heart was
beating with a new excitement. The glance that the stranger had given
her had been almost ill-bred in its absolute directness; but ill or
well bred, there had been no mistaking the unqualified admiration it
conveyed. The personality of the man had escaped her attention; the
fact that his hair was dark, his face attractive, and his figure tall,
slight, and graceful had made no impression upon her. All she was
conscious of--all that set her pulses throbbing, was the suddenly
awakened knowledge that, within herself, she possessed some subtle, and
previously unrealised power that could compel a man's regard.

She descended the stairs with a new sensation of elasticity and
elation; and at its foot found Milbanke awaiting her in conversation
with a suave, elderly man.

As she came within speaking distance, the two t