tood firm and erect, insolence in
every line of it, reflected perchance from the smile that lurked about
the corners of his thin-lipped mouth.

The hat, which he had not had the grace to doff, set jauntily upon his
straight black hair, the jerkin of leather which he wore, and the stout
sword which hung from the plainest of belts, all served to give him the
air of a ruffler, or tavern knight.

The Chevalier, on the other hand, stood as if turned to stone. From his
enervated fingers the letter fluttered to the ground, and on his pale,
thin face was to be read a displeasure mixed with fear.

At length, with an oath, the old man broke the silence.

"What seek you at Canaples?" he asked in a quivering voice, as he
advanced into the room. "Are you so dead to shame that you dare present
yourself with such effrontery? Off with your hat, sir!" he blazed,
stamping his foot, and going from pale to crimson. "Off with your hat,
or Mortdieu, I'll have you flung out of doors by my grooms."

This show of vehemence, as sudden as it was unexpected, drew from Eugene
a meek obedience that I had not looked for. Nevertheless, the young
man's lip curled as he uncovered.

"How fatherly is your greeting!" he sneered. The Chevalier's eyes
flashed a glance that lacked no venom at his son.

"What manner of greeting did you look for?" he returned hotly. "Did you
expect me to set a ring upon your finger, and have the fattened calf
killed in honour of your return? Sangdieu, sir! Have you come hither
to show me how a father should welcome the profligate son who has
dishonoured his name? Why are you here, unbidden? Answer me, sir!"

A deep flush overspread Eugene's cheeks.

"I had thought when I crossed the threshold that this was the Chateau de
Canaples, or else that my name was Canaples--I know not which. Clearly
I was mistaken, for here is a lady who has no word either of greeting or
intercession for me, and who, therefore, cannot be my sister, and yonder
a man whom I should never look to find in my father's house."

I took a step forward, a hot answer on my lips, when from the doorway at
my back came Yvonne's sweet voice.

"Eugene! You here?"

"As you see, Sister. Though had you delayed your coming 't is probable
you would no longer have found me, for your father welcomes me with
oaths and threatens me with his grooms."

She cast a reproachful glance upon the Chevalier, 'neath which the anger
seemed to die out of him; then she went f