, and Louisa,
and swearing at London weather in true country fashion. He declared
that fogs paralyzed his intellect that he became positively imbecile,
not knowing how to fight his way in the folds of such a black pall.
Taxicab drivers he mistrusted; in fact, he had all an old sportsman's
hatred of mechanically propelled vehicles, whilst he flatly refused to
bring valuable horses up to town, to catch their death of cold whilst
waiting about in the fog.

So Luke had promised to pilot the party as far as the Danish Legation,
where they were to dine to-night. This was the only condition under
which Colonel Harris would consent to enter one of those confounded
motors.

Colonel Harris had remained loyal to the core to Luke and to his
fortunes. It is a way old sportsmen have, and he had never interfered
by word or innuendo in Louisa's actions with regard to her engagement.
His daughter was old enough, he said, to know her own mind. She liked
Luke, and it would be shabby to leave him in the lurch, now that the
last of the society rats were scurrying to leave the sinking ship.
They were doing it, too, in a mighty hurry. The invitations which the
penniless younger son received toward the end of the London season
were considerably fewer than those which were showered on him at its
beginning before the world had realized that Philip de Mountford had
come to stay, and would one day be Earl of Radclyffe with a rent roll
of eighty thousand pounds a year, and the sore need of a wife.

It had all begun with the bridge parties. Luke would no longer play,
since he could no longer afford to lose a quarter's income at one
sitting. Uncle Rad used to shrug indifferent shoulders at such losses,
and place blank checks at the dear boy's disposal. Imagine then how
welcome Luke was at bridge parties, and how very undesirable now.

Then he could no longer make return for hospitable entertainments. He
had no home to which to ask smart friends. Lord Radclyffe though a
monster of ill-humour, gave splendid dinner parties at which Luke was
quasi host. Now it was all give and no take; and the givers retired
one by one, quite unregretted by Luke, who thus was spared the
initiative of turning his back on his friends. They did the turning,
quite politely but very effectually. Luke scarcely noticed how he was
dropping out of his former circle. He was over-absorbed and really did
not care. Moreover his dress clothes were getting shabby.

To-night at th