his gaiters
struck a discordant note. These were of good box-cloth and buttoned
from knee to ankle. Tight-fitting about the calf, but not shaped to
the leg, they fell well over the tops of the heavy boots, resting,
indeed, upon the insteps. They suited Anthony, for whom they might
have been made, admirably. They were, moreover, a wholly redeeming
feature, and turned his garb from that of a thousand corporals into the
homely attire of a gentleman farmer. So soon as you saw them, you
forgot the War. The style of them was most effective. It beat the
spear into a pruning hook. With this to leaven them, the rough
habiliments were most becoming. In a word, they supplied the very
setting which manhood should have; and since Anthony, sitting there at
his meat, was the personification of virility, they served, as all true
settings should, by self-effacement to magnify their treasure. The
ex-officer might have stepped out of Virgil's _Eclogues_.

He had finished his meal, cleared away the remains, set the table for
breakfast, and was in the act of filling his pipe, when the Sealyham
growled. Anthony, whose ears were becoming sharper every day, listened
intently. The next moment came a sharp tapping upon the door. In an
instant Patch was across the room, barking furiously....

Laying down his pipe and tobacco, Anthony followed the terrier and,
picking him up in his arms, threw open the door.

"So you didn't bar it, after all," said a mocking voice. "Well, my
conscience is clear. I warned you. And since you are at home and the
door is open, will you extend your hospitality to a benighted Eve?"

Anthony stepped to one side.

"I'm all alone," he said hesitatingly.

"So am I," said Andre, entering. "Oh, what a lovely fire! I'm just
perished," she added, crossing to spread her hands to the blaze. "It's
not a night to be motoring."

Anthony shut the door and put the terrier down. The latter ran to the
lady and sniffed the hem of her garments. After a careful scrutiny he
turned away....

"It's not a night," said Anthony, "to be walking the countryside in
evening dress. Have you had a breakdown?"

"Not that I know of," replied Miss Strongi'th'arm. "Don't be so
modest. I happened to be passing and I happened to see your light, so
I thought I'd come and see how Adam was getting on. Is it against the
rules?"

"I'm all alone," said Lyveden steadily.

"Is that an order to quit?"

"I'm only thinking of