louched deep in the big chair, he seemed quite lost in its
shadows.

II.

It was not ten minutes thereafter that the kindly innkeeper was thrown
into such a flutter by the arrival of his expected guests, that he
quite forgot to rouse the stranger sleeping in the deep chair by the
hearth.

"We've the house to ourselves, as I commanded, good Marmaduke?"
demanded Lord Farquhart.

"Quite to ourselves, your honor," answered Marmaduke, "save, oh, bless
my heart! save for this idler asleep by the chimney. I meant to send
him about his business ere you came!"

"Send him now, then," said Farquhart, indifferently, "and, gentlemen,
I can welcome you as to my own house."

"Why waken the lad if he sleeps?" demanded young Lindley, who had
seated himself astride of the arm of the chair that the innkeeper had
deserted. The young man's Irish blue eyes rested carelessly on the
sleeping lad. "Why throw him out, Percy? Is he only a chance patron or
a friend, Marmaduke?"

"A friend," answered that worthy--"leastwise a friend of a year's
standing, and he's slept like that since his last draught of wine."

"Why not let him sleep, Percy?" It was still young Lindley who was
interceding in the boy's behalf. "Only two things can induce sleep
like that--one's good wine, the other's a good conscience. Why
interfere with either? Sure, we're lacking in both ourselves."

"Well, let him sleep for aught of me," answered Farquhart,
nonchalantly. "In truth, it's so long since I've even seen sleep like
that, that it rests me somewhat to be in the room with it."

"If Marmaduke'll vouch for the wine the boy's had, I'll vouch for the
conscience," asserted Lindley, again taking sides with the unknown. He
laid a careless hand on the boy's head. "He's a likely lad, and it
seems to me that neither wine alone nor conscience alone could induce
sleep so deep. What's his name?"

"That's what I wish I could tell you, gentlemen," Marmaduke answered,
with some hesitation. "As I said, I've known him for a year or more,
and he's always promising me that next time, or some time, he'll tell
me who he is. But he's only a lad, and I was thinking just before your
honors came that perhaps I was doing wrong to let him drink away his
fortunes here--that I ought to be telling his family, if I could but
find out where and what it is."

"But does he drink so heavily, then?" demanded Ashley, crossing over
and looking down upon the lad. "A boy of his age and girth co