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 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY
 
 WITH A QUICK MOTION LADY MERCY 
 STEPPED BETWEEN ASHTON AND THE 
 DOOR" (Seepage 154*
 
 A 
 
 By 
 
 watt 
 
 Author of " The Magic Story 
 
 With a frontispiece in color by 
 3Frattk ^. 3Fatrhanka 
 
 IflBtOtt ::: H. 01. $80* 
 
 (Eompattg :::
 
 Copyright, 1909 
 BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 
 
 Entered at Stationer's Hall, London 
 All rights reserved 
 
 First Impression, February, 1909 
 Second Impression, March, 1909 
 
 Elcctrotypcd and Printed at 
 THE COLONIAL PRESS: 
 C. H. Sirnonds CBS. Co., Boston, U.S.A.
 
 DEDICATED TO 
 
 IDorot&p an 
 
 222554Q
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PACK 
 
 I. THE COINCIDENT i 
 
 II. THE INCIDENT 10 
 
 III. THE INTERVAL 38 
 
 IV. THE STORY ROBERT'S DELUSION ... 52 
 V. ROBERT'S DELUSION A FUTILE HOPE. . 66 
 
 VI. A COLLAPSE AND A CONFESSION ... 84 
 
 VII. THE PORTRAIT OF SIR RODERICK . . . 101 
 
 VIII. THE IDENTIFICATION MARK . . . . in 
 
 IX. BEHIND THE PORTRAIT 126 
 
 X. THE ONLY WAY 138 
 
 XI. THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SEA . . . 145 
 
 XII. AT HERTFORD'S FAVOURITE CLUB . . .161 
 
 XIII. THE FANCY OF DELIRIUM 177 
 
 XIV. WHAT HAPPENED DURING CONVALESCENCE . 189 
 XV. WHICH OF Two EVILS? 198 
 
 XVI. THE QUALITY OF A SIN 207 
 
 XVII. THE HAND OF GOD 215 
 
 XVIII. THE NEW LIFE 226 
 
 XIX. FEELING His WAY 235 
 
 XX. A STRANGE THING UNDER THE SUN . . 246 
 
 XXI. ROBERT Is PUT ON THE RACK. . . . 257 
 
 XXII. Two SIDES TO A PICTURE 268 
 
 XXIII. THE MEETING 287 
 
 vii
 
 viii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 XXIV THE CONFESSION .... 
 
 PAGB 
 
 208 
 
 XXV. A STIRRING OF DEEP PASSIONS 
 XXVI. THE KEY TO THE MYSTERY . 
 
 3*3 
 323 
 
 334.
 
 A GENTLEMAN OF 
 QUALITY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE COINCIDENT 
 
 THE wedding bells were ringing from the tower 
 of the Church of the Annunciation in London. 
 The occasion was the celebration of the marriage 
 of Lady Mercy Covington to Lord John Make- 
 peace Hertford, ninth earl of Ashton and Cow- 
 ingford, and because the bride had for three 
 seasons been the acknowledged beauty of London, 
 the function was of unusual importance. For 
 three successive seasons she had swayed the 
 social world about her, and her marriage now to 
 the man of her choice was considered an event. 
 The young earl, just past thirty, was a man of 
 sterling qualities and irreproachable character, 
 and in his own way was quite as prominent a 
 
 l
 
 2 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 favourite as the bride. Lady Mercy and Lord 
 John had known each other from childhood, and 
 although there were years intervening when each 
 seemed to have forgotten the existence of the 
 other, save in the general way in which one re- 
 members a playmate of childhood, fate had again 
 brought them together in formal presentation. 
 The wooing had been short and direct, and now 
 the wedding which was among the first of the early 
 morning weddings, held at sunrise, just as the 
 sun begins to polish the visible world with a 
 gloss of gold and ivory, when the birds begin their 
 daily carols, and everything is fresh and green and 
 glad. Not for one moment during the hours that 
 followed the ceremony, the wedding breakfast 
 at high noon, the informal reception during the 
 afternoon, and the formal reception in the eve- 
 ning, were the bride and groom left to themselves. 
 From the moment when the benediction was 
 pronounced by the Dean, until they stood side 
 by side again in the evening to receive their 
 guests, they had exchanged not one word alone 
 together. There was only now and then a silent 
 handclasp or a whispered word of tenderness 
 between them. 
 
 Then just at midnight when the spirit of gayety 
 was at its height, Lord John's valet thrust him- 
 self through the throng, and whispered something
 
 THE COINCIDENT 3 
 
 in the ear of his master. Those who witnessed 
 the act saw a look of intense annoyance on the 
 face of the earl as he murmured a sentence in 
 reply. The valet withdrew, and a moment later 
 the earl followed him, pausing beside the bride 
 as he passed her. 
 
 " I must leave you for a few moments, Mercy," 
 he said. " Robert has brought me a message 
 and I must attend to it." Then he smiled and 
 left her, touching her white arm with the tips 
 of his fingers as he withdrew. 
 
 It was that moment when the mystery was 
 born; that instant of leaving his bride and the 
 roomful of guests had a far reaching effect, and 
 destiny was at that moment shaking the dice- 
 box for a strange career in which the going out 
 of Lord John Hertford, a doubly belted earl, on 
 an apparently trivial errand, was the all important 
 factor. 
 
 When a half hour had passed and he had not 
 returned, the young countess became impatient, 
 and others in the room wishing to depart, asked 
 for the earl. Within an hour a servant was 
 sent to find Lord John, but returned presently 
 unsuccessful. Then the bride directed that her 
 husband's valet be sent to her at once. Old 
 Robert was almost as well known to the 
 countess as to the earl, for he had been Lord
 
 4 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 John's attendant, and was a man grown, in that 
 long ago when the two were playmates. When 
 he appeared, he did not wait for the question 
 he knew she would ask, but anticipated it. 
 
 " I do not know, my lady," he said. " I gave 
 him his hat and he went out, saying that he 
 would return immediately. I have waited at 
 the door for him ever since, and until your 
 ladyship sent for me. I know that he has not 
 returned." 
 
 " Why did he go out, Robert? " 
 
 " I do not know, my lady." 
 
 " You brought him the message which called 
 him away? " 
 
 " Yes, my lady." 
 
 " What was it? " 
 
 " The message that was given to me was this: 
 ' Say that his friend Tom must see him at once. 
 He will understand.' I told him, and he did seem 
 to understand. I gave him his hat and he left 
 the house. By my love for him, Miss Mercy ! 
 excuse me, my lady, that is all I know." 
 
 Mercy was very white by now, for she was 
 frightened. There was in her mind an inex- 
 plicable presentiment that he would not return, 
 that a great danger menaced him; but she 
 controlled herself admirably. 
 
 " Robert," she said, presently, " repeat again
 
 THE COINCIDENT 5 
 
 the message that was given to you. Repeat it 
 word for word, just as it was delivered to you, 
 for him." 
 
 " I have already done so, my lady. The 
 message was, ' Say that his friend Tom must 
 see him at once; he will understand.' That is 
 the exact message, word for word, just as it was 
 given to me just as I repeated it to him." 
 
 " Did he seem to understand to whom the 
 message referred? " 
 
 " Yes, my lady." 
 
 " Do you know to whom it referred? " 
 
 " No, my lady. Mr. Jack looked annoyed when 
 I mentioned the name. He made no comment." 
 
 " Was it a man who gave you the message? " 
 
 " Yes, my lady, a man and a stranger not a 
 gentleman. I think he was simply the bearer of 
 the message." 
 
 44 Robert, you have known Lord John since he 
 was born. What friend has he, who bears that 
 name, who might have called him out in that 
 manner, at this time, from such a gathering as 
 this one? " 
 
 44 My lady, I know of only two friends by that 
 name, and they are both here in the house at 
 this moment. I have no idea who it could have 
 been." 
 
 Mercy was silent several moments. She was
 
 6 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 endeavouring to control herself, and at last by 
 a supreme effort she succeeded. When she did 
 speak again, her voice was low and firm. 
 
 " Robert," she said, " the guests must not 
 know. Nobody must know. I will leave the 
 room, and you must announce that the earl is 
 suddenly ill ; that I have gone to him. Get them 
 away, out of the house, all of them, everybody; 
 then when they are gone, every one, come to me. 
 Oh, Robert! What could have happened to him? " 
 
 " Alas, Miss Mercy my lady I do not 
 know. Nothing, I think, only he has somehow 
 been detained. He may come at any moment." 
 
 But he did not come. The guests, loud in 
 their expressions of sympathy, departed. The 
 lights were extinguished and the great house 
 was shrouded in darkness, save for the glow from 
 two windows in the apartments that had been 
 refitted for the new countess. There, behind 
 closely drawn shades, still arrayed in her recep- 
 tion costume of satin and pearls, the young 
 countess was restlessly pacing the room, while 
 before her, with downcast eyes and his hands 
 behind his back, stood faithful old Robert. Three 
 hours had passed since Lord John left the par- 
 lours, and Robert had become dumb for lack of 
 further argument to appease the anxiety of his 
 mistress. His concern was as great as hers;
 
 THE COINCIDENT 7 
 
 his ignorance as profound. Mercy had sent her 
 maid to another part of the house; now she told 
 Robert to recall her. 
 
 " The servants must not know that he is gone, 
 Robert," she said wistfully. " He will surely 
 return before long, and you must wait up for 
 him. You will not desert your post? " 
 
 " No, my lady, no. I will wait." 
 
 " And the servants? " 
 
 " Take no heed of them, Miss Mercy. Leave 
 it all to me; and if I may venture one word of 
 advice " 
 
 " Yes, Robert; what is it? " 
 
 " Let your maid put you to bed, and send her 
 away as if nothing had happened. I will listen 
 for your bell while I watch for Mr. Jack for 
 my lord. You see I used to call him Jack when 
 he was a boy, and he likes to have me do so still, 
 when we are alone." 
 
 " He loved you, Robert." 
 
 " He loved me, and he loves me now, my lady. 
 He may be coming in at any moment, and I 
 must be at the door." 
 
 The earl did not return. The night wore away 
 and the following day dragged itself into the 
 past ; still he did not come. After that there were 
 weary days and nights, and then there were 
 weary weeks; but there was never a word or a
 
 8 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 sign of Lord John never a trace of him after 
 he passed through the door on his wedding night. 
 
 The great house was closed and the servants 
 were dismissed. Robert alone remained in charge 
 of the mansion, and Robert alone knew that its 
 mistress, the beautiful young countess, dwelt 
 there in solitude while the world their world 
 believed that she and the earl were travelling 
 abroad; and that same world had so many other 
 things to engage its attention, that it soon made 
 up its mind to forget them until they returned. 
 
 Robert dear old Robert was maid, cook, 
 everything, even father to Mercy through that 
 awful time. When he was not attending to her 
 wants he was wandering the streets in search of his 
 master. He was tireless, almost sleepless, pos- 
 sessed of one idea that he could, and one day 
 would, find Lord John. 
 
 Mercy never left her rooms. Her tearless eyes 
 never looked from the windows save at night 
 when the room was dark, and her white, set face 
 could not be seen from without. But she waited 
 and hoped; and as time went on, waited almost 
 without hope. 
 
 Once and only once, Robert suggested Scot- 
 land Yard and the police. 
 
 " No," she replied; " we will wait. If he lives 
 he will return. If he is dead there is no need to
 
 THE COINCIDENT 9 
 
 search. In either case we must be silent. The 
 world shall not know when or how he went away, 
 nor when or how he returns. If he is found, 
 you, Robert, will find him, or he will return to 
 me here." 
 
 Thus the weeks lengthened into months, until 
 they were near the end of the twelfth since his 
 disappearance; until time lacked only a few 
 days, to arrive at the first anniversary of the 
 wedding. And still the world in which Lord 
 John had lived and moved, believed that he was 
 travelling abroad with his wife; and still Robert 
 and the countess dwelt on alone, in hiding, in 
 secrecy, and in despair.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE INCIDENT 
 
 THE date was the same as that of the wedding 
 at the Church of the Annunciation in London. 
 The scene was altogether different, for it was the 
 interior of a bank in the city of New York at a 
 time when all banks are supposed to be deserted 
 the so called small hours of the morning when 
 even the bustle of the metropolis seems to hesi- 
 tate as if waiting for the dawn of a new day. 
 Outside the bank the streets were as light as they 
 always are in the business portions of a great 
 city, where the frequent points of illumination 
 dispel the gloom, however dense it may be. 
 Humanity strode past in either direction just 
 as it always does wherever it is hived within the 
 confines of a metropolitan centre. It never 
 sleeps; always moving, thinning out during the 
 middle watches of the night, thickening up again 
 as the hours tend toward the dawn. But it is 
 a heedless humanity and it rarely looks to the 
 right or to the left. It did not look toward the 
 
 10
 
 THE INCIDENT 11 
 
 bank then, or if it did, it paid no heed, for the 
 man who entered the side door with a key that 
 fitted the lock paused after he had entered and 
 stood for a full minute before a window where 
 all who passed that way might have seen 
 him. 
 
 The man was John Ashton. Perhaps no one 
 would have thought to question his right to be 
 there; many might have regarded his presence 
 there at that hour as unnecessary or strange, 
 but his right was unquestionable since he pos- 
 sessed a key and was cashier of the institution. 
 And the bank itself was a private one, the ac- 
 knowledged property of the great Henry Hoi- 
 lister, capitalist, financier, juggler of millions, dic- 
 tator of many national destinies. Ashton passed 
 into the counting-room, where he switched on 
 more lights, seated himself in the president's 
 chair, and with his hands thrust into his pockets 
 he remained for a long time as motionless as a 
 dead man. A physiognomist could have divined 
 nothing from his stony countenance. All that 
 any one could have observed was that the face 
 was handsome and noble, delicate and patrician, 
 and that his eyes, when he raised them, were 
 clear and steadfast though troubled. Presently 
 he shivered as he might have done had a 
 cold draught of air blown upon him. Then he
 
 12 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 rose from the chair and paced slowly to and fro 
 with bowed head, and with his hands clasped 
 behind his back. Often he unclasped them and 
 clenched his fists as if he would master the prob- 
 lem that bothered him, master it by sheer force 
 of will and brain. But his hands always returned 
 to their former position behind his back, and he 
 resumed the meditative pacing. 
 
 John Ashton had reached the crisis of his life. 
 The history of that life can be told in a paragraph. 
 It had been simple, straightforward, upright and 
 just. Henry Hollister, whom he knew as his 
 uncle, had been a father to him, had reared him 
 as a son, and from a time that antedated Ashton's 
 memory. He had passed through the phases of 
 school and college life, and had filled the lesser 
 posts of clerkship in the Hollister bank until now 
 he was cashier of that institution, and was 
 destined in time to become its president and to 
 inherit the millions that Henry Hollister had 
 amassed. He could not remember the time when 
 he and Hope Hollister had not been promised 
 to each other when they should grow up. It 
 began in their play when Hope's dolls represented 
 their family; it continued when they trudged to 
 school together, and as they approached maturity 
 the roots of their affection took a firmer, deeper 
 hold; and now the wedding was fixed. They
 
 THE INCIDENT 13 
 
 were to be married in the autumn on Hope's 
 twenty-first birthday, for that it should not be 
 sooner was a matter upon which the banker had 
 been insistent. There had never been a cloud 
 in the horizon of John Ashton's life until now. 
 But now he shivered as he thought of it a 
 cloud that was huge and black and overwhelm- 
 ing had fallen upon him from the clearest skies. 
 A moment of purest folly had created that cloud 
 which now extended seemingly from horizon to 
 zenith in his life. A moment of folly ; a moment 
 when he had forgotten Hope and all that she 
 meant to him. There had been other follies after 
 that inexcusable ones, and then the inevitable 
 reaping of the whirlwind in which jealousy had 
 played its part. The woman scorned had become 
 the proverbial fury; she had gone to Hope; 
 she had somehow made Hope listen, and now 
 he was here at the bank awaiting Hope by Hope's 
 request; nay, her command. 
 
 It was a strange letter that Hope had written 
 him, making that appointment at the counting- 
 room of the bank after she should leave the 
 reception at Madame Savage's. He had not 
 tried to conjecture what that other woman had 
 said. He knew something of the evil possibilities 
 of her character. Knowing as she must know, 
 that she had lost him, she would not hesitate as
 
 14 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 to the means of destroying him, even if the price 
 of it were her own moral doom and social downfall. 
 He knew her, alas, too well! Too well, indeed! 
 Could Hope be made to believe that any woman, 
 for any cause, would ever falsely charge herself 
 so vilely? He knew Hope Hollister, too. Her 
 pure and lofty spirit would have forgiven the 
 sin itself rather than the deception involved in it. 
 There would be no condoning that. He knew 
 that in all the world there is nothing so austere, 
 so relentlessly cruel as the judgment of the young 
 woman who is without guile. Ashton knew what 
 to expect from Hope Hollister, and yet and 
 yet he wondered if she might not relent and for- 
 give. 
 
 He had read the letter but once, but even with 
 that one reading it was not difficult for him to 
 picture the scene that had occurred. He knew 
 himself guiltily wrong in having idled away an 
 hour here and there in permitting another woman 
 to coquette with him; but he had intended no 
 wrong, committed no actual misdeed. Yet, 
 Hope's letter! It was terrible! He felt that in 
 it he was charged with the worst that could have 
 happened knew from those pages that he had 
 been so charged by the woman herself. It seemed 
 incredible, and yet then he read the letter 
 again while he waited.
 
 THE INCIDENT 15 
 
 " There is a condition of mind, John, so con- 
 clusive in its reasoning that it dwarfs all other 
 considerations, even those of the heart. That 
 condition is mine at the present moment. I 
 scarcely know what to say to you now that I 
 have begun to write, although I know all the 
 time what it is that must be said. It is certain 
 that I can never be your wife, certain now that 
 I never should be, certain that it would be an 
 affront to Heaven and before God if after what has 
 happened, after what has been revealed to me of 
 your nature, after this knowledge of your in- 
 justice has been thrust upon me, I should ever 
 consent to become one with you in the holy bonds 
 of wedlock. Shame on you, John, for what you 
 have done to me. Shame be upon you for ever for 
 the betrayal of my love, my confidence, my 
 trust in you. Shame, shame, shame! 
 
 " I feel at this moment as if I should never 
 hold my head up among people again ; for having 
 trusted you, and had my trust betrayed, leaves 
 me as a wreck upon the sands of the sea, without 
 hope of salvage, without redress against the 
 storms that have buffeted me ah, God! with- 
 out anything left save my own shame that I have 
 loved you all too well. 
 
 " How could you do it, John? How could you 
 betray the trust of a pure young woman? How
 
 16 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 could you pretend love for her when your only 
 passion was lust? Did you not realize when you 
 committed the deed, to what a dreadful pass it 
 must ultimately condemn me? Could you not 
 foresee what the result of your perfidy must be? 
 Was there no mentor near your heart to warn 
 you that you must for ever lose me, after that 
 happened? Or did you suppose that we could 
 go on just the same afterward? Did you not 
 realize that you were making me your victim? 
 That you were condemning me to eternal sorrow? 
 For the shame must be mine, John, almost as 
 much as your own, although I am an entirely 
 innocent party in the affair, and knew nothing 
 whatever about it until it was over and 
 past. 
 
 " And all the while you were telling me that 
 you loved me; all the while you were breathing 
 tenderness into my ears; all the while that you 
 were perfecting your plans and laying your 
 snares for the ruin of a soul, you were holding my 
 hands, kissing my lips pretending to love me. 
 To love me, forsooth! It is only yourself that 
 you have loved from the first, and were there 
 even no actual sin behind your act, if only the 
 wish to commit it were there, I should still re- 
 pudiate you wholly, I should still cast you off 
 as I do now, I should still look upon you with
 
 THE INCIDENT 17 
 
 horror, think of you with loathing, recall you to 
 memory with disgust. 
 
 " And yet, God help me, I love you, love you! 
 
 " But I must cast you off. I cannot have you 
 touch me again. I cannot live and feel your 
 presence near me. After what you have done 
 after the sin you have committed against me, 
 without considering what you have done to 
 others our paths must lie as wide apart as the 
 poles. 
 
 "I go to Madame Savage's to-night with my 
 father. I know that you have been bidden, also, 
 but I have heard you say that you do not intend 
 to go, so I shall leave this letter on the table in 
 your room for you to find. You will understand 
 it only too well when you read the words which 
 in full bitterness of heart I have written here. 
 It is not possible that I can leave Madam's be- 
 fore two; possibly it will be even later; I do not 
 know. But I feel that I must have one last 
 interview with you before I retire this night. 
 There are certain things which you must promise 
 me to do, and they must be done forthwith. 
 
 " So go to the bank and wait in the counting- 
 room for me until I come. If you are there by 
 half-past two it will be time enough; I should 
 arrive soon after that. I ask you to meet me 
 there because I do not feel that I could hold
 
 18 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 this necessary interview with you under the roof 
 of my father's house, where we have grown up 
 together from childhood. I could not discuss this 
 thing with you there I will not discuss any- 
 thing with you there ever again. If you sit at 
 the table in my father's house again, I will not 
 enter the dining-room; if you remain in the 
 house another night after this one, I will go away 
 and remain away until you have taken your de- 
 parture from it. That is how I feel, John; that 
 is how I must act and you know why, because 
 you know what fault you have committed. So 
 meet me there at the bank as I have asked you 
 to do; meet me for the last time, for hereafter 
 But I will leave that part of the subject until 
 to-night. Perhaps it would have been better 
 had I left it all till then. When I began to write 
 I intended merely to ask you to meet me there, 
 but the horror that lies on my soul because of 
 you is so great and so terrible that I have not 
 been able to withhold these words; they have 
 written themselves. Ah, the anguish of it all, 
 John! The folly of it! The pity of it !" 
 
 Ashton realized already even while trying to 
 convince himself that he did not, that Hope would 
 be relentless, that she would listen to no denial, 
 that she had already decided the woman's story
 
 THE INCIDENT 19 
 
 to be true, and that nothing he could say could 
 change her. But he could not see into his own 
 future. He could not know that this very cir- 
 cumstance was one of the dice of Fate that had 
 been cast against his present career. Born to 
 another sphere of life, Destiny meant that he 
 should fill it, and already, more than three 
 thousand miles away, in the city of London, 
 was setting out the mile posts of his future. He 
 was still striding restlessly up and down the room 
 when the rattle of carriage wheels on the pave- 
 ment arrested his attention, and he paused to 
 listen while the vehicle was whirled around the 
 corner and drew up at the side door of the bank. 
 Ashton caught his breath sharply as he listened. 
 Hope Hollister, the one woman in all the world 
 to him, was at the door; in another moment he 
 would admit her, and presently he would know 
 whether she believed him, or would continue to 
 believe the story of the other woman. He ad- 
 mitted her before she could press the electric 
 button, and he stood aside for her to pass along 
 the narrow, tiled corridor to the counting-room. 
 Then he followed her. 
 
 She had taken her stand with her back against 
 the end of the heavy oaken directors' table, with 
 her hands behind her, and resting upon it. Her 
 face was pale and beautiful and infinitely sad.
 
 20 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 Her eyes large and luminously black gazed upon 
 him sorrowfully, and yet with unconcealed love 
 in their depths. She was calm, broodingly calm, 
 like the hush that precedes the hurricane, he 
 thought. He felt that the very placidity of their 
 greeting was charged with ominous import. He 
 halted just inside the door, gazing at her with 
 his soul in his eyes. She was the woman he loved. 
 It seemed to him that he had never realized before 
 how beautiful she was, how superior to other 
 women, how sweet and pure and good. 
 
 " Hope! " he said after a moment, breathing 
 her name as if it were a prayer; and he took a 
 step nearer to her. But she raised one hand 
 quickly, and repelled him, and then permitted 
 it to return to its former position behind her as if 
 she required its additional support. 
 
 " I wrote you the note asking you to meet me 
 here after the reception, and left it in your room 
 at home where you would find it," she began 
 without preface, " because I believed it to be the 
 better way. Perhaps my logic is at fault. Doubt- 
 less I should not have come here to meet you at 
 this hour of the night; but there seemed to 
 me to be no other adequate way. It will be our 
 last interview, John, and I wished it to be entirely 
 without witnesses, and without the chance of 
 interruption."
 
 THE INCIDENT 21 
 
 " Our last interview, Hope? Surely you cannot 
 mean that." Ashton caught his breath sharply. 
 His fingers clenched into the palms of his hands, 
 but he stood straight and still before her, and 
 only an added paleness evidenced the shock her 
 words gave him. 
 
 " Our last interview," she repeated, deadly 
 calm. " Surely you must have known that I 
 intended it so. You must withdraw yourself 
 from daily association with me on one pretext or 
 another. I leave that to you. But we must not, 
 we cannot live longer under the same roof. We 
 have grown up together from babyhood as a 
 brother and sister might have done. For a little 
 more than a year we have been betrothed; and 
 I have loved you, John, as only a woman of my 
 temperament can love. I love you now, to my 
 infinite shame! God help me! " 
 
 "Hope! Hope! Oh, my love " 
 
 " Stop, John. Stand where you are. Do not 
 come nearer to me. You have wronged me be- 
 yond the hope of reparation; wronged me and 
 outraged my love for you so vilely that I look 
 upon you now and think of you now with horror 
 and aversion. Do not interrupt me. We will 
 not discuss the whys and wherefores of this un- 
 fortunate scene. The time for that is past. 
 You have sown the seed and you shall reap the
 
 22 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 harvest even though the bitter weeds of it, and 
 the rowen, shall be mine also. The shame of it 
 all is yours, not mine ; but the bitterness of it, the 
 pity of it, the hopelessness of it, is mine alone. 
 You will go out into the world seeking new scenes, 
 new faces, new affections and a new environment, 
 and presently you will forget; or if you do not 
 quite do that, your memory will be dulled and 
 blunted into semi-forgetfulness. But I? I must 
 for ever remain what I am now Hope Hollister, 
 with the shadow of lost love, lost confidence, 
 lost soul, almost, over my life. And you have 
 done this by a thoughtless, impetuous act, un- 
 mindful of my confidence in you, of my love for 
 you. Shame on you, John, to treat me so! 
 Shame on you to have brought me to the pass of 
 meeting you here in secret in the counting-room 
 of my father's bank, to dismiss you ! I could never 
 be your wife now, John. The holiness has all 
 gone out of it. You have left no uncut leaves in 
 your book of life. I should look upon you with 
 horror and think of you with loathing if you were 
 my husband, after what has occurred. I speak 
 harshly, I know. I meant to do so in order that 
 there might be no mistake, no argument, no 
 repetition of this interview, or any part of it." 
 
 "But Hope sweetheart may I not speak 
 in my own defence? May there not be some way
 
 THE INCIDENT 23 
 
 to convince you " He stopped, for again she 
 held up her right hand, repellently. 
 
 " No," she said. " You may not speak in your 
 own defence. It is too late for that now." 
 
 " I have sinned, Hope; I know it; I admit it; 
 but not with the motive, nor after the manner 
 that you now believe. I have wronged you, I 
 have tried your confidence in me to the breaking 
 point, but all the time I have loved you only 
 you. You see things much blacker than they are. 
 Forgive me, Hope! Let us forget all this and be 
 happy again. Be my wife as you have promised 
 to be. As such you will not only forgive, but 
 you will forget." He spoke rapidly, impetuously, 
 stepping nearer to her and stretching out his 
 arms toward her in supplication. 
 
 But she did not move. That expression of 
 stony calm did not leave her face. 
 
 " That is all," she said, as if she had not heard 
 him. " If you speak truthfully, and there is still 
 a portion of love, a moiety of respect in your heart 
 for me, you will make arrangements for changing 
 your place of abode at once. Make what pre- 
 text you will. Tell my father that I have jilted 
 you, that I have sent you away. It is the truth 
 and I will uphold you in it. But, John Ashton " 
 her eyes blazed almost fiercely into his for 
 that instant "I would not be your wife now, I
 
 24 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 would not kneel before God's altar with you now, 
 after what has happened, if all the world were to 
 plead with me in your behalf. That is all. You 
 may let me out of the bank, if you please." 
 
 She started to pass him, going toward the door, 
 and in that instant when he realized that he was 
 losing her for ever, when he understood that if 
 she left him now it would be never to return, he 
 lost control of himself. He threw out his arms 
 and seized upon her; he hugged her lithe body 
 against him, showering kisses upon her hair, for 
 he could not reach her face, and all the while 
 he talked rapidly, incoherently, with passionate 
 despair. 
 
 " You shall not go, Hope! You must not leave 
 me so. I cannot bear it! It will kill me! It is 
 killing you! Forgive! Forget! Rise above it 
 all! I love you! love you! " And throughout 
 it all she struggled desperately. 
 
 But suddenly he released her. He fell back 
 away from her gasping. He had chanced to 
 raise his eyes and they had fallen upon a figure 
 in the doorway at the opposite end of the room; 
 the doorway that communicated between the 
 counting-room and the private office of Henry 
 Hollister. 
 
 Hope saw his sudden alarm. Her gaze fol- 
 lowed his and discovered the cause of it, but in-
 
 THE INCIDENT 25 
 
 stead of being frightened by the unexpected ap- 
 pearance of her father there, her eyes flamed with 
 anger that the interview had been overheard 
 that he should have dared to listen. 
 
 The old man came forward slowly. His hand- 
 some, smoothly shaven face was as hard as 
 granite, his eyes as cold and relentless as polished 
 marble. A few feet away from them he paused; 
 and when he spoke it was with the same voice 
 he would have used in calling a meeting of his 
 directors to order. 
 
 " I will conduct you to the carriage, Hope," 
 he said. " John Ashton, you will remain where 
 you are till I return." 
 
 It was strange that it did not occur to John 
 Ashton then that Hope's father might easily 
 misconstrue the significance of the interview he 
 had overheard; that interview which he had 
 evidently planned to overhear. The " other 
 woman " had not once been mentioned or re- 
 ferred to. There had been no mention of a third 
 party to the wrong with which she had charged 
 him. Throughout it all she had spoken and 
 acted as if the sin were directly against her. She 
 had taken the stand of a pure woman who is 
 utterly without guile, and who, since time im- 
 memorial, has cast away the loaf because a bit of 
 mould has specked the crust. Her pride of purity
 
 26 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 and of self esteem had been outraged because 
 for a moment her lover had wandered, and she 
 had somehow been led to believe the worst of his 
 digression. Had Henry Hollister kept his hands 
 off, a month, or six months, or a year would have 
 discovered his daughter stretching out her arms 
 again toward John Ashton with all her confidence 
 in him restored, and all her love magnified by the 
 temporary separation. Hope was unreasonable 
 in her conclusions, relentless in her decisions, 
 cruel in her repudiation of the man she loved, 
 pitiless in her condemnation. With the un- 
 reasoning selfishness of a young woman who loves 
 for the first time, and who has idealized her 
 lover, she regarded what she believed John 
 Ashton had done, wholly and solely as a sin 
 against herself. But Ashton did not consider this, 
 he did not think of it at all while he awaited 
 the return of Henry Hollister. 
 
 He came, presently. He had taken his daughter 
 to the carriage, in utter silence ; in silence he had 
 turned away, uttering but one word to his coach- 
 man, and that was, " Home! " Then he strode 
 back into the bank, closing the two doors carefully 
 after him as he entered. 
 
 Ashton had moved around to the opposite 
 side of the big directors' table, so that when the 
 two men faced each other, it was across it; and
 
 THE INCIDENT 27 
 
 for a moment which seemed endless to both, 
 they looked clearly and squarely into each 
 other's eyes. It was Ashton who broke the 
 silence. 
 
 " I had no idea that you were in the private 
 office, sir," he said, lamely. 
 
 " No," replied the banker. " I did not intend 
 that you should have such an idea." And then 
 his wrath burst forth in a blaze of insensate 
 fury, for Henry Hollister was a strong old man 
 and a passionate one. His black eyes snapped 
 fire. His leonine, Webster -like features seemed 
 sharper and cleaner cut than ever. His olive 
 complexion became ashen in hue. " Oh, you 
 hound! " He seemed to shout the words, but 
 always without a raise in his voice. " You 
 scoundrel! You ingrate! You viper that stings 
 the hand that has nurtured and caressed you! 
 What have you done? What have you done to 
 me and to her? " 
 
 John Ashton was never more astounded in his 
 life than then. Was his uncle mad, or what could 
 have induced him to assume that attitude? Had 
 he, after all, listened to the words of that inter- 
 view? If so, why did he not understand that it 
 was Hope who had repudiated her lover, and 
 not Ashton who had repelled her? He was 
 bewildered.
 
 28 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Uncle Henry " he began, but the old 
 man interrupted him fiercely. 
 
 " Don't ' Uncle Henry ' me, you cur! " he 
 cried. " I am not your uncle, thank God! You 
 are no relation to me or mine. You are a found- 
 ling whom I discovered in a basket at my front 
 door when you were a month old, or less. You 
 are the bastard offspring of some illicit love upon 
 whom I took pity, whom I received into my own 
 house, whom I raised to manhood as one of my 
 own kin, whom I have nurtured and loved as a 
 son, to whom I would have given my daughter 
 for wife, to whom I intended to leave my fortune ! 
 And now, now ? Oh, my God! " 
 
 He turned his back to Ashton for a moment, 
 and great sobs shook him ; but he controlled them, 
 and, wheeling, returned to the attack. 
 
 Utter amazement was the only expression in 
 John Ashton's face and eyes. Before this last 
 statement of Henry Hollister's, he stood com- 
 pletely appalled. In the face of the assertion 
 that he was a nobody, even the agony of Hope's 
 desertion was momentarily belittled, half for- 
 gotten. He was still ignorant of the cause of the 
 old banker's tirade against him, but even that 
 was unimportant in view of the revelation that 
 had just been made to him. Not once did it 
 occur to him that the old man had placed a
 
 THE INCIDENT 29 
 
 horrible misconstruction upon the conversation 
 he had overheard; that the banker had already 
 convicted him of the worst of all crimes against 
 his house and the daughter of that house 
 betrayal. The horror of it was yet to come. 
 
 " And now, what have you done to me? " 
 cried the old man, leaning his weight upon the 
 table in front of him and bending far across 
 it so that he fairly snarled into the face of the 
 younger man. " How have you repaid me for 
 the care I have given you, for the love I have 
 bestowed upon you, for the confidence I have 
 reposed in you ? I should have known, thirty years 
 ago when I took you from my doorstep, that 
 the day would come when you would bite the 
 hand that fed you, dog that you are! I should 
 have known that the sin of your unknown father 
 and probably disreputable mother had poisoned 
 your blood and your morals like a scrofula. And 
 you dare to stand there before me, looking me in 
 the face as if you were as innocent of wrong as 
 a child unborn! " 
 
 "Mr. Hollister " Ashton spoke calmly and 
 gravely " upon my soul I do not in the least 
 understand why you should suddenly evince such 
 anger toward me. I am conscious of no wrong 
 against you, sir. Through all the years of my 
 life, since I have been old enough to understand,
 
 30 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 I have loved you as a father ; and now, when you 
 tell me that I have never had a claim upon you, 
 that I am a foundling, a nobody, I I am over- 
 whelmed with gratitude for what you have done. 
 But I think, sir, that I am glad you have told 
 me the truth. It was necessary that I should 
 leave your house and your employ at once, any- 
 way. You overheard what Hope said to me and 
 you know why that is so. And now, this " 
 
 " Damn you! " shouted the banker with 
 another outburst of fury. Then he turned and 
 darted to one corner of the room where a small 
 safe stood against the wall, and he dropped upon 
 one knee in front of it and spun the dial fiercely, 
 preparatory to opening it. Ashton continued 
 calmly with what he had to say. 
 
 " And now this revelation you have made to 
 me concerning my birth makes it all so much 
 easier. It furnishes an excuse for my going away. 
 If I am a nobody, as you say, I am not fit to be- 
 come Hope's husband under any circumstances. 
 You should tell her what you have revealed to 
 me. She should know the truth. Possibly it 
 will lessen the pain she suffers because of this 
 parting, for I am convinced that Hope loves me. 
 You do not know of the circumstances that led 
 to the interview you overheard to-night, but if 
 you will permit me, I will explain them to you..
 
 THE INCIDENT 31 
 
 You will understand then that there is perhaps 
 some excuse 
 
 The old man leaped to his feet and whirled 
 upon Ashton like a tiger, his features convulsed 
 with rage, his eyes blazing with fury. In his 
 rignt hand he held a small, silver-mounted re- 
 volver that he had taken from the safe, and now 
 he crouched, bending forward a trifle, and with 
 the muzzle pointing remorselessly at Ashton's 
 heart; and the younger man, when he saw the 
 act and realized what it meant, stood staring, 
 like one who is hypnotized. 
 
 " I am going to kill you, John Ashton," the 
 banker said, coldly, but with implacable wrath 
 in his voice. " I am going to kill you, John Ashton, 
 for what you have done to me and mine," he 
 repeated. " John Ashton! Bah! The name is 
 not even yours. I gave it to you in remembrance 
 of a friend I had in college, in England. I named 
 you for one of his titles. Thank heaven I did 
 not give you his family name." 
 
 " Shoot, sir," said Ashton, calmly, and smiling 
 for the first time. " It will be a very small 
 thing to give up my life to you, if you demand it." 
 
 The old man lowered the muzzle of the weapon, 
 but he retained his grasp upon it. 
 
 " Perhaps, after all," he muttered, " it were 
 better to let you live. You are a nobody; a
 
 32 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 thing without parentage, without a name, with- 
 out existence; a blot, an abomination, a pesti- 
 lence. Even my daughter whom you have 
 wronged believes that you will best get your 
 deserts by living, otherwise she would have 
 killed you herself. She is of my blood and bone." 
 
 " But I have never wronged her, sir; at least 
 not wilfully. She " 
 
 i " You lie! I read the letter that she wrote to 
 you asking you to meet her here after the re- 
 ception. I stood in that room and listened to 
 every word that passed between you. I wonder 
 now why I hesitate to shoot you down? I wonder! 
 But I will not; no, I will not. You shall live, 
 and by living you will be made to suffer far more 
 than the mere pain of death could inflict upon 
 you. How much money have you on deposit 
 in this bank, that is your own, John Ashton? " 
 
 " None at all save what I have earned because 
 of your bounty and goodness to me, sir." 
 
 " Answer me. How much money have you 
 on deposit in this bank? " 
 
 " I have a trifle a few dollars only, over ten 
 thousand dollars." 
 
 " And I have that much here, in this safe. 
 It was paid to me yesterday, too late to put it in 
 the vault." He turned to the safe again, reached 
 jnside for a package of money and tossed it on
 
 THE INCIDENT 33 
 
 the table. " There are ten thousand dollars in 
 that package; write your check for it." 
 
 " But, sir, I " 
 
 " Write your check for it, I say. Or sign your 
 name in blank and I will fill it in, later. Write, 
 or by heaven I'll kill you! " He raised the pistol 
 again, and Ashton, with a shrug, scrawled his 
 name, John C. Ashton, at the bottom of the 
 check. " Now put that money in your pocket, 
 and go," commanded the old man. 
 
 Ashton dropped the package of money into 
 the inside pocket of his coat, which he then but- 
 toned around him. He reached for his hat which 
 was on the table, took two steps toward the door, 
 and stopped. Turning, he faced again the still 
 infuriated banker. 
 
 " Mr. Hollister," he said, and he drew a step 
 nearer to the man, " won't you tell me why your 
 love and affection for me have so suddenly turned 
 to anger and hate? It cannot be because of my 
 obscure birth, for you have known that always. 
 Then why is it? It breaks my heart to leave 
 you in this manner, sir. I thought there could 
 be no feeling left in it after Hope's repudiation of 
 me, but " 
 
 " Stop where you are, John Ashton, or I will 
 yet kill you before you leave the room. Do you 
 think that even yet you can play the innocent,
 
 34 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 and hoodwink me? Don't you know that if the 
 truth were known, I would be justified in killing 
 you? Don't you know that I ought to shoot you 
 down like a dog, like the ingrate that you are, 
 for what you have done? What other father in 
 all the broad land, who had listened to a daughter's 
 confession as I have heard my daughter confess, 
 to-night, would control himself as I have done? 
 And you, who wronged her, you who have out- 
 raged her purity and innocence and have spoiled 
 her life you, who " 
 
 With a quick, cat-like spring John Ashton 
 caught the banker by the throat and choked 
 back further utterance. With the same motion 
 he tore the revolver from the old man's grasp and 
 sent it flying across the room; then he released 
 the hold upon his throat and caught him by the 
 shoulders, holding him there at arm's length and 
 glaring down upon him with more consummate 
 fierceness than Hollister, even, had shown that 
 night. He understood now. He comprehended 
 at last, the meaning of it all. 
 
 " My God! " he cried out. " You believe 
 that? You? Her father! Why, you miserable 
 old reprobate! You accursed man! You be- 
 lieve that of your daughter? Of Hope? You? 
 You? You? God! I wish now that you had shot 
 me before you dared to utter such a monstrous
 
 THE INCIDENT 35 
 
 thought. Why, if you weren't her father, I'd 
 I'd break your damned neck! " 
 
 Hollister struggled mightily, and he was a 
 powerful man although his once great strength 
 was now only spasmodic; but he succeeded in 
 tearing himself from Ashton's grasp and then 
 with a desperate effort he recovered possession of 
 the pistol. But the younger man was upon him 
 again, and once more he succeeded in tearing 
 it away from him so that it fell to the floor the 
 second time. 
 
 " It's true! It's true! You know it's true! " 
 the old man cried out in his fury. " It is in her 
 letter to you, almost in plain words. She talked 
 it to you and charged you with it and you did 
 not deny it. You could not. You confessed it. 
 Ah! You are chok " 
 
 The cry ended in a gurgle, and at the same in- 
 stant Ashton threw the older man forcibly from 
 him. He staggered backward a few steps, then 
 fell ; and in falling his head struck forcibly against 
 the edge of the open door of the small safe, and 
 he collapsed upon the floor in a huddled heap. 
 
 For a long time John Ashton stood looking 
 down upon him, barely conscious of what he had 
 done. But bit by bit the fury left him ; little by 
 little his sound and sober judgment returned. 
 Gradually his face cleared, and after a time that
 
 36 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 might have been a few minutes or a year so far 
 as his sensations were concerned, he lifted the 
 body from the floor and bore it to the couch. 
 Then he got down upon his knees and with his 
 ear pressed against Henry Hollister's bosom lis- 
 tened for the beating of that heart he had loved 
 so long and well. But he heard nothing. There 
 was not a sound or a motion that he could detect. 
 
 " I have killed him! " he gasped, rising at 
 last to his feet. " I have killed Hope's father 
 my own more than father ; " and he walked back- 
 ward step by step until he brought up against 
 the end of the table to which he clung as a drown- 
 ing man might have seized upon a floating plank. 
 It seemed hours after that, while he remained 
 gazing with fascinated eyes upon the thing that 
 was stretched upon the couch, and he was only 
 brought to his senses by the rumbling and clatter 
 of a heavy wagon that passed along the street. 
 
 Ashton sighed heavily. He turned to the 
 table, seated himself, and drawing a pad of paper 
 toward him, he wrote: 
 
 " We quarrelled. There was a struggle. I threw 
 him from me and he fell, striking his head against 
 the safe. I had no thought of injuring him, but 
 he is dead, and by my hand. 
 
 "JOHN C. ASHTON."
 
 THE INCIDENT 37 
 
 After an interval he crossed to the couch again, 
 bent forward and pressed his lips against the 
 banker's forehead; then, calmly he snapped off 
 the lights, and passed out upon the street.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE INTERVAL 
 
 IT is impossible to describe the emotions which 
 surged within the heart and brain and being of 
 John Ashton when he left the bank and walked 
 through the almost deserted streets of the city. 
 The thought of escape had not yet occurred to 
 him, and when the door closed behind him, he 
 actually paused and stood there upon the steps; 
 paused and waited without any object in view, 
 for he was objectless at that moment. There was 
 still a number of hours that must intervene be- 
 tween that time and the period when the city 
 would be astir with the busy life of another day. 
 He stroked his black, pointed beard, thoughtfully, 
 and now and then twisted nervously upon the 
 ends of his moustache. His face was white and 
 set, but it betrayed nothing of the tempest that 
 was raging within him. Presently he started 
 away aimlessly, not because he desired to go 
 anywhere, but because he found solace in the 
 exertion of walking, and he strode on and on,
 
 THE INTERVAL 39 
 
 until he stood at the entrance to the park just 
 as the darkness began to give way to dawn and 
 the birds commenced to twitter among the trees. 
 
 He turned toward the west, wandering onward 
 with the same slow tread, vaguely intending to 
 return to the bank when it should be time for the 
 business of the day to begin; and so, when he 
 arrived at the junction of Fifty-ninth street and 
 Broadway, he turned southward again, and he 
 pursued that course until he arrived at Sixth 
 Avenue, which he followed for a considerable 
 distance. 
 
 A barber was opening his shop a basement 
 shop, near Twenty-fifth Street as he passed, 
 and it occurred to Ashton that a shampoo would 
 do much to dispel the confusion in his brain. 
 He entered and seated himself in the chair, and 
 while the barber was placing the towel around 
 his neck, he said carelessly : 
 
 " You may shave off my beard and moustache." 
 
 He could not have told why he gave the order. 
 It was not the result of consideration. He had 
 not given the matter a thought until that moment, 
 and even when he uttered the request, the idea 
 of avoiding recognition by that means had not 
 occurred to him; but when, thirty minutes later, 
 he rose from the chair and adjusted his collar, 
 peering at himself in the mirror as he did so, he
 
 40 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 gave a start of surprise at the change that had 
 been wrought in his presence. His complexion, 
 naturally fair, was paler than ever now. Where 
 the beard had been removed, and in contrast 
 with the wavy blackness of his hair, it was almost 
 white. His nose seemed larger since the disap- 
 pearance of the heavy moustache, but it was as 
 straight and clean cut as though it were carved 
 out by the chisel of a master sculptor. His eyes 
 seemed larger, too, as though the deep blue in 
 their depths were enhanced by the removal of 
 the hair from his face ; and the pupils of unusual 
 size gave one the idea that they were black. 
 The change, also, brought out the lines of his 
 mouth in all their firmness. There were touches 
 of humour around the corners, but for the present, 
 sadness and severity had marked them for their 
 own. 
 
 " I look like another man," he mused. " If I 
 had cared for a disguise, I could not have thought 
 of a better one than this. Perhaps it is as well 
 that I am shaven. I will let chance decide what 
 I am to do. I will make no attempt to avoid 
 recognition. I will not hide, but if I am not 
 arrested before night, I will leave New York and 
 America for ever. So be it. Chance shall decide 
 for me." 
 
 He paid his bill and departed without a word,
 
 THE INTERVAL 41 
 
 and all that day he went about the streets of the 
 city, as unconcerned as though he were engaged 
 upon his every-day affairs. 
 
 The condition of his mind was remarkable. 
 He scarcely thought of Henry Hollister at all, 
 and if he did, it was only with regret that the 
 man was, as he supposed, dead, not with the 
 feeling of guilt upon his conscience that he had 
 killed him. That would come later when he had 
 partially recovered from the anguish of his life- 
 long separation from Hope. The death of her 
 father had severed whatever imaginary link there 
 might have remained, connecting her to him. 
 
 During the day, he met and passed upon the 
 streets many acquaintances, but not one of 
 them recognized him, even though his dress was 
 the same as yesterday. When, years afterwards, 
 he looked back upon that day, he realized that 
 he must have been in a semi -stupor, irresponsible 
 for what he did, and for what he failed to do. 
 But he could not realize it at the time. 
 
 Boys attempted to sell papers to him, and he 
 heard them cry something relative to the bank 
 where he had worked all his life, something about 
 Henry Hollister ; but he did not understand what 
 they said, and he would not read the papers, 
 believing that he already knew more than the 
 printed columns could tell him.
 
 42 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 Afternoon found him at the corner of Wall 
 Street and Broadway, and he realized that he 
 had been walking steadily for nearly twelve 
 hours that he had neither eaten nor rested in 
 all that time ; and at that moment, two gentlemen, 
 satcheled and bundled, hurried past him in the 
 direction of the East River. He heard one of 
 them say to the other, in Spanish : 
 
 " Querida Cuba! No mas que tres dias, Manue- 
 lito." 
 
 Ashton smiled. The haphazard words con- 
 veyed the suggestion for which his disturbed 
 soul had been longing. Travel! Reposing safely 
 within his pockets there were still the ten thousand 
 dollars he had realized on securities that were 
 his own personal property. The money belonged 
 to him, and to him alone. His own hands were 
 clean. The money would defray his expenses and 
 start him anew in another part of the world. 
 The impulse was upon him. He crossed the 
 street, and in a moment, without realizing the 
 price he paid, had purchased a satchel. There 
 was a haberdasher around the corner, and he 
 hurried there, filled the bag with whatever the 
 clerk suggested, and almost before he compre- 
 hended that he had formed a resolution, he was 
 hastening down Wall Street toward the Ward 
 Line pier.
 
 THE INTERVAL 43 
 
 Thus the steamship sailed away with him. 
 He went to Cuba, and for a week wandered 
 aimlessly about the city of Havana, doing noth- 
 ing; only thinking; always thinking. He con- 
 stantly hungered for news from home, but he as 
 studiously avoided it. 
 
 "It is the only way to forget," he thought, 
 when the longing for information concerning 
 Hope almost overcame him ; and he fled from the 
 intelligence that was his chief desire, just as the 
 reformed drunkard flees from convivial friends 
 of the besotted past. 
 
 Thence he took ship to Yucatan, and he passed 
 a month in Merida. Thence to Vera Cruz and 
 Mexico; and then on and on, pausing for a day 
 or a week in one place and another until at last 
 he found himself in San Francisco. 
 
 But that was too near home; and he was not 
 sufficiently far away from John Ashton and 
 Hope so he sailed for China and Japan. 
 
 His habits were regular. He indulged in no 
 excesses of any kind. He made no friends, hardly 
 any acquaintances. Fellow travellers regarded 
 him at first with displeasure, and then with inter- 
 est, for he was cordiality itself when addressed, 
 but never once began a conversation, and always 
 brought to a close as soon as possible one that 
 was introduced by another.
 
 44 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 After China and Japan, he visited other coun- 
 tries of the East. He passed considerable time 
 in India, and he hesitated a long while in Egypt. 
 He went to Turkey, to Italy, to Algiers, to France 
 and to Paris. 
 
 In the last place there were weeks and months 
 of indecision. He had not yet determined what 
 he would do with that future of which he had as 
 yet scarcely thought; but one day he took the 
 train and journeyed to the coast, crossed the 
 channel and went up to London. 
 
 The morning of his second day in London 
 brought with it a troop of ghosts. His face was 
 drawn and haggard and whiter than ever, for 
 this day was the anniversary of that one which 
 preceded the night of events so tragic in his life. 
 
 Ashton rose early that morning, breakfasted, 
 and started out for a walk. It made no difference 
 to him in what direction his footsteps took him, 
 and he wandered on and on until he was in the 
 country, and on and on still farther, until he 
 entered a village, and recognized the streets of 
 Greenwich. He paused several times in the main 
 thoroughfare to watch the street fakirs at their 
 games, studying the freaks of the educated dogs, 
 and the sabre swinging of the retired dragoon 
 with serious interest. 
 
 It was noon when he arrived at the Old Ship
 
 THE INTERVAL 45 
 
 inn, and he dined on whitebait in the open air, 
 lazily and absently watching the tan coloured 
 sails as they floated up and down the Thames, 
 envying the rugged boatmen, wishing that he 
 could change existence with the poorest of 
 humanity around him, wondering how much 
 longer he could endure the life he had lived for 
 an entire year. 
 
 In that manner passed several hours, until 
 the afternoon was far advanced, and he be- 
 thought himself of returning to London. Pres- 
 ently, when one of the little side wheel steamers 
 drew in at the wharf, he got aboard and was 
 carried among the maze of craft which crowded 
 the water of the famous river. 
 
 The boat landed him in the vicinity of London 
 Bridge, and again he walked on and on until 
 he found himself at Piccadilly Circus. There, 
 he paused a little while, and again strode on to 
 the top of St. James Street, and once more 
 halted. It was dark now, and only the street 
 lights illuminated the scene, but that was suffi- 
 cient to enable one to recognize friends as they 
 passed. 
 
 Ashton was thinking out the problem of re- 
 turning to New York and surrendering himself 
 to the law. There was no happiness in the 
 aimless, wandering life he was leading, and during
 
 46 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 the entire day he had been wondering if it would 
 not be better for him to go back to the scene of 
 the crime he believed he had committed, and give 
 himself up, and he had about decided that he 
 would do so, when he was roused from his stupor 
 by feeling a hand upon his arm, and hearing a 
 voice pronounce his name. 
 
 "Jack," said the voice. "Jack Mr. John 
 thank God I have found you! " 
 
 Ashton turned to find himself almost in the 
 embrace of a man who was past the prime of 
 life and who bore the unmistakable stamp of a 
 respectable upper servant. 
 
 " Oh, Jack Mr. Jack my lord you are 
 alive and well, are you not? I am not dreaming? 
 It is really you? I have searched for you every 
 day all the year; every day; and I knew that I 
 would find you. You will go home with me now, 
 sir? Everything is just as you left it. Do you 
 remember, my lord, that it is just one year ago 
 to-night that you went away? " 
 
 The man talked rapidly, so that Ashton had 
 no chance to speak until he had finished; and 
 he was startled when he was reminded that it 
 was indeed the anniversary of his going away. 
 
 " Who are you? " he asked the stranger, 
 wondering if he had really mistaken him for 
 another person, or if the old man was crazy.
 
 THE INTERVAL 47 
 
 " Ah, my lord Mr. Jack don't say that 
 you have forgotten Robert. These old arms 
 carried you when you were too young to walk. 
 Don't say that you do not remember Robert. 
 You will go home with me now, won't you, sir? " 
 
 " I have not forgotten you, Robert, if that is 
 your name, for the reason that I never knew you," 
 said Ashton calmly. 
 
 " Never knew me? Never knew old Robert? 
 Have you forgotten, my lord, who I am? " 
 
 " Robert," said Ashton, slowly, " I perceive 
 that you are in earnest, and that you mean all 
 you say; that you believe it. But you have made 
 a mistake. I am not the man you seek. I am not 
 a lord. You are an entire stranger to me. I have 
 never seen you before. You will have to search 
 elsewhere for your master. I wish that I might 
 help you to find him." 
 
 The expression of that wish was like a flood of 
 light upon Robert's intellect. He was positive 
 in his own mind that it was his master who stood 
 before him. He remembered having read of 
 strange cases of men who had wandered away, 
 forgetful of their own identities, of the faces of 
 old friends, of everything, and he felt sure that 
 Lord John was suffering from a malady of that 
 kind. It explained his strange disappearance; 
 it accounted for the continued absence; and
 
 48 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 it brought a pathetic happiness to the old servant, 
 for by reason of it he knew that his master had 
 not wilfully absented himself from his home, his 
 friends and his bride. 
 
 " If I can only induce him to go back with me," 
 was the thought in Robert's mind when Ashton 
 expressed the wish to assist him in the search for 
 his master, and he grasped at the straw thus 
 thrown out. 
 
 " You are so like him, sir," he faltered, finding 
 it hard to pretend to deceive the man before him, 
 whom he so thoroughly believed to be Lord 
 John. " Perhaps you could assist me. Will 
 you tell me your name, sir? " 
 
 " Ashton," was the calm reply, for the reveries 
 of the day had decided him to reassume the one 
 given him by Henry Hollister, and Robert 
 smiled, well pleased, for the name was another 
 proof of the correctness of his theory. 
 
 " My master is the Earl of Ashton, sir. Ashton 
 and Cowingford. Is your given name John, sir? " 
 
 ' Yes. My full name is John Cowingford 
 Ashton. I was named for an Englishman; 
 perhaps he was a relative of your master's. It 
 is the only way in which I can explain the co- 
 incidence. Now what can I do to help you, 
 Robert? " 
 
 " Oh, you can do a great deal, I know. Will
 
 THE INTERVAL 49 
 
 you come home with me and let me tell you the 
 story? " 
 
 " No, no; you can come to me to-morrow. 
 Perhaps it will give me some interest in life if I 
 assist you in this search." 
 
 " Come with me now, sir. It is early yet, and 
 you will see nobody but me. I am all alone in the 
 great house, sir. Will you come with me? It 
 will give me great pleasure." 
 
 " After I have eaten I will go to the house, if 
 it will do you so much good. You may tell me 
 how to find it." 
 
 " Ah, sir, if you would but come with 
 me now and let me prepare supper for you, 
 just as I would do for my master. You are 
 so like him, that I will feel that I am doing 
 it for him. It will make me very glad. You will 
 come? " 
 
 Ashton thought a moment. 
 
 " Yes, if it will please you so much to deceive 
 yourself, and you are sure that there are not 
 others there." 
 
 " There is only one other person, sir, and she 
 never leaves her room." 
 
 " Very well. If I can do anybody any good, it 
 will be a pleasant diversion." 
 
 Ashton raised one hand in signal to a hansom 
 and motioned for Robert to enter.
 
 50 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Shall I ride with you, sir? " he asked, hesi- 
 tatingly. 
 
 " By all means. Tell cabby where to take us, 
 and get inside." 
 
 Robert was so overjoyed by the success of his 
 efforts that he could scarcely speak and his 
 voice trembled when he gave the address to the 
 driver ; but they were soon on their way, and in a 
 very short time were set down at the door of the 
 house to which the young earl had taken his happy 
 bride, one year ago that very day. 
 
 " Wait, sir," said Robert, suddenly, remember- 
 ing that Lady Mercy might be at the window, 
 and recognize his companion as he had done. 
 The shock might kill her, or upset her reason, and 
 it must be avoided. " We will drive to the side 
 door, if you do not mind." 
 
 "Anything, Robert; anywhere. It makes no 
 difference to me." 
 
 " Shall I take you to my own cozy room, sir, 
 where I pass most of my time, or would you 
 prefer to go to the library? " asked Robert as 
 they entered the house. 
 
 ' Your own room, Robert." 
 
 ' Yes, sir. This way, then, if you please. It 
 is pleasant in here. I am very fond of this room, 
 for it was once my master's playroom. Will you 
 take that chair? We won't try to talk yet, sir,
 
 THE INTERVAL 51 
 
 until I have prepared some supper for you. Your 
 presence makes me very happy, sir; more happy 
 than I have been for a year ; happier than I ever 
 was in my life, I think. Oh, Jack, Jack, my boy 
 Jack, don't you know me yet? " 
 
 Ashton raised his eyes half angrily, but he saw 
 that tears were running down the old man's 
 cheeks, and he did not reply. Then Robert 
 turned and left the room.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE STORY ROBERT'S DELUSION 
 
 WHEN Robert returned, he had recovered the 
 imperturbable calmness for which English serv- 
 ants are renowned. He actually hummed a 
 favourite air 'to himself while he was engaged 
 in setting the table; and Ashton watched him 
 curiously, vaguely wishing himself indeed the 
 lost earl, returned to enjoy his own and to be 
 waited upon by such a servant. 
 
 Once, when Robert was absent from the room 
 for a longer period than usual, he returned bear- 
 ing a smoking-jacket and a pair of slippers, and 
 without a word knelt down and began to undo 
 the laces of Ashton's dust covered shoes. 
 
 " You might as well be comfortable, sir," he 
 said, when his guest demurred. " I was on the 
 point of saying that you used to like to wear these 
 slippers and this jacket when we were here 
 together in this way, and in this very room. You 
 are so like Lord John, sir, that I forget that you 
 are not actually he. You will pardon me, sir, if I 
 
 62
 
 THE STORY 53 
 
 speak in that way sometimes? It does me good 
 just to think that you are he. He was almost 
 like my own boy, you know, sir, and I loved him 
 just the same. You won't mind if I keep on 
 thinking that you are the earl, if the thought 
 gives me so much pleasure, will you? " 
 
 " No, Robert; it can do no harm, I suppose; 
 still, it seems to me to be a strange sort of pleasure. 
 You will find that the slippers will not fit me, 
 and that will disabuse your mind of this con- 
 ceit." 
 
 " Oh, they will fit you, sir, never fear. They 
 used to fit perfectly, you know, and I do not be- 
 lieve that your feet have grown. There, am I 
 not right, sir? " 
 
 " I can't deny it, Robert. It is all very strange." 
 
 "Yes, sir; very strange; so it is, but the 
 strangeness will wear off after awhile." 
 
 When the cold tongue, fresh bread, steaming 
 chocolate, the inevitable pot of marmalade and a 
 profusion of delicacies were placed upon the 
 table, Robert took his place behind the chair he 
 had arranged for Ashton, and bade him to the 
 repast. 
 
 ' You will sup with me, Robert," he said, as 
 he took the proffered seat. 
 
 1 Yes, sir, after I have waited upon you. You 
 will not mind if I prefer to do things just as I
 
 54 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 used to do them, before you went that is 
 before he went away? " 
 
 " No; please yourself, if you get any pleasure 
 out of it." 
 
 " Thank you, sir. Why, I feel ten years younger 
 than I did before I met you at the top of St. 
 James Street." 
 
 " Robert, are you sure that you are in your 
 right mind? Try to think, now, and see if you 
 are not labouring under some vivid hallucination. 
 This is all so confoundedly preposterous, and you 
 are in such deadly earnest, that by Jove, I begin 
 to think that perhaps I am the earl after all, and 
 that I have been living in a dream for thirty 
 years or more." 
 
 " Thirty-one, sir. Thirty-one last February." 
 
 " Eh? By Jove, that's funny. How the devil 
 did you know my age? " 
 
 " I held you in my arms before you were a day 
 old, sir." 
 
 " Well, upon my soul, Robert, I believe that 
 you are as crazy as a loon. I suspected it when 
 you first addressed me, but your earnestness 
 compelled me to believe you sincere." 
 
 " No, sir, I am in my right mind. Don't 
 think about that at all. You were thirty-one on 
 the tenth day of last February. Isn't that true? " 
 
 " Humph! Not quite, Robert. You are two
 
 THE STORY 55 
 
 days off, for my birthday happens on the twelfth. 
 At least," he added with suddenly clouded brow, 
 " that is the date I have always celebrated. 
 Look here, Robert, are you sure that your master 
 is not dead, and that the loss of one you loved 
 so dearly sort of queered you, eh? " 
 
 " Well, sir, if he had died, I think I should 
 have died, too. I won't deny that." 
 
 " Have you got a photograph of him? " 
 " Yes, sir. Here it is, and a perfect likeness, 
 too. It was taken just a week before you went 
 away." 
 
 " The devil it was! Eh? Is that the earl? " 
 " Yes, sir. Go to the mirror, sir, and look upon 
 the picture and then at yourself. What do you 
 think of it? " 
 
 " I think, if this is a likeness of the earl, I don't 
 blame you. It could not have been more like 
 me if I had sat for it myself." 
 
 "That it could not, sir; that's the truth. 
 Now, if you will sit here in this chair, I will bring 
 you one of your favourite cigars. They are all 
 the better for being a year older, you know." 
 " Yes, that is what the Englishmen think." 
 When Ashton had lighted the cigar, he smoked 
 on in silence for several moments while Robert 
 stood faithfully beside him, devouring him with 
 his eyes, stroking the backs of his own hands
 
 56 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 softly, his whole attitude one of devotion, almost 
 rapture. 
 
 Presently Ashton burst into a hearty laugh 
 the first time in a year that he had laughed 
 aloud and the sound, emanating from him- 
 self, was strange to him, and it ceased as abruptly 
 as it began. 
 
 " What is it? What is the matter? " asked 
 Robert. 
 
 " Suppose the earl were to walk in here now, 
 and find me arrayed in his smoking jacket, wear- 
 ing his slippers and smoking his cigars. What 
 do you think he would do, Robert? " 
 
 " He would sit right down here and smoke 
 with you, sir, and say it was an excellent joke. 
 I am sure that he would, sir." 
 
 " Well, perhaps he would, but I am not half 
 so sure of it as you are. How long has he been 
 away? " 
 
 " He left the house one year ago to-night, sir." 
 
 " Humph! And I left my home one year ago 
 to-night, too." 
 
 4 Yes, sir; certainly. Of course you did. 
 Don't you remember, there was a wed ahem! 
 a sort of party here, sir? A lot of your old 
 friends, and the Prince and Princess of Wales 
 and " 
 
 " Hold on, Robert. Great Scott, man! What
 
 THE STORY 57 
 
 are you talking about? I think I know what is 
 the matter. The party you refer to was a funeral, 
 eh? And the earl was dead? Now stop and 
 think if I am not right." 
 
 " You see, sir " calmly " you cannot be 
 correct, because if that were true, there would 
 be another earl here now. If he had died as you 
 say, the next in line would have inherited the 
 title and the estates. You understand that, do 
 you not, sir? " 
 
 " Yes, to be sure. Decidedly, this is the most 
 remarkable circumstance, take it all through, that 
 I ever heard of. Now you get that chair and put 
 it there. That's right. Sit down upon it, and 
 tell me the story of the disappearance of the earl, 
 from beginning to end. Perhaps we can get 
 something out of it; at all events, we'll try. 
 While you are telling it, I want you to observe 
 one thing." 
 
 " Certainly, my lord." 
 
 " Bosh! You carry this farce too far. I want 
 you to remember that you are speaking of the 
 earl and not of me. Have you exhausted every 
 effort to find him? " 
 
 " I have searched everywhere, sir." 
 
 " Did you notify the police? " 
 
 " No, sir, the countess would not have it so. 
 She preferred "
 
 58 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 "The countess! Good Heavens! Was he 
 married? " 
 
 " Yes, sir; the ceremony " 
 
 "Stop!" 
 
 Ashton leaped to his feet, kicked off the slip- 
 pers and threw off the jacket before Robert 
 realized what he was doing. 
 
 " Where is the countess now? " he demanded. 
 " Here in this house? Good God, Robert, you 
 don't suppose I want to be caught here under 
 these circumstances, do you? Where is my hat? " 
 
 " Please wait, sir. Let me help you on with 
 this jacket again. The countess is not here. 
 She is abroad, sir. She has been abroad a year. 
 There is no one in the house but ourselves." 
 
 " And a woman. You spoke about a woman. 
 Who is she? " 
 
 " A servant, sir." 
 
 " Where is she? " 
 
 " In her own room, sir. She is an invalid, 
 and never leaves it. There, that is better. Now 
 the slippers; so, and so; and your cigar? You 
 threw it away and you must have a fresh one. 
 Now, shall I tell you the story? " 
 
 " Yes. I'll play the earl for a little while and 
 listen to you. You gave me quite a start, 
 though." 
 
 Ashton had permitted himself to be gently
 
 THE STORY 59 
 
 thrust back into the chair, and so, rejacketed 
 and reslippered, he resumed his former posi- 
 tion. 
 
 " Where shall I begin, sir? " asked Robert. 
 " At the wedding ceremony? " 
 " Yes, if that is the proper place." 
 " Do you remember, sir, how beautiful Lady 
 Mercy looked that morning? " asked Robert, 
 musingly, for his mind had leaped back over the 
 year and the spectacle of that day was passing 
 in review before him. He saw again the in- 
 creasing dawn; heard again the twitter of birds; 
 felt once more the pleasure of that early morning 
 wedding; but he was rudely awakened from his 
 dream by the voice of Ashton, calmly inquiring: 
 " Who is Lady Mercy? The countess? " 
 Robert's emotions were too greatly magnified 
 to admit of expression. He could only stare at 
 Ashton in melancholy and pathetic silence, for 
 he did not know what to say. 
 
 He had thought that a delicate reference to 
 Lady Mercy might recall something of the rare 
 beauty of her face and character to the mind of 
 his guest that it might rekindle the spark of 
 memory which he firmly believed was smolder- 
 ing underneath a mass of forgetfulness so dense 
 that only time, patience and constant reference 
 to things of the past could remove it. There was
 
 60 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 not in his mind a single doubt that the rightful 
 earl was in his presence, enjoying his own. 
 
 He believed with the same sincerity that he 
 worshipped God, that Lord John had met with 
 some accident which had stolen his memory, 
 and that constant association with things of the 
 past would gradually restore it; but he was in 
 terror lest he should say something that would 
 again start him away, and the problem that he 
 had to face, and which at that moment seemed to 
 him to be the most vital, was how to keep the 
 earl there in his own home, under his watchful 
 care, until recollection returned, and he should 
 again become master of his faculties. 
 
 While preparing the supper, he had the fore- 
 thought to go to the apartments of the countess 
 and tell her that he had company in his own room, 
 and that he would return to her when his guest 
 had departed, for he had not dared to run the 
 risk of telling her who he believed that guest 
 to be until he had studied the situation thor- 
 oughly, and was prepared to act for each of 
 them. Now, his one thought was, how to bring 
 the countess and the earl together, for down deep 
 in his faithful heart he was convinced that such 
 a meeting would be the final solution of all the 
 difficulties; but he loved his mistress too well 
 to run the risk of introducing the earl into her
 
 THE STORY 61 
 
 presence until he was sure that he would recognize 
 her. When at last he responded to the question 
 that Ashton asked, it was to say, calmly: 
 
 " Yes, Lady Mercy is the countess. Would 
 you like to see her picture? " 
 
 " Surely, if you have one here." 
 
 " I have one that was taken at the same time 
 as yours the earl's, I mean. Here it is. Tell 
 me if you have any recollection of the face." 
 
 He gave the photograph into Ashton' s hands, 
 and the latter took it and held it face downward 
 while without severity, but in sincere earnest- 
 ness, he said, slowly: 
 
 " Robert, I cannot permit you to continue this 
 farce of associating me with the earl. It is not 
 good for you. Understand once for all that I 
 am not the earl, that I never heard of him until 
 I met you to-day, that I never saw this house or 
 this room before and that I will not be a party 
 to any such deception or attempt at deception. 
 At first it amused me, then it interested me, but 
 now it is taking a serious turn, and I cannot 
 permit it to continue. If there were no countess, 
 I might be disposed to humour you ; but as it is, 
 it is not to be thought of for an instant. Unless 
 you will promise me to drop the idea utterly, 
 and not to refer to it again, I must withdraw my 
 offer to assist you, and leave this place at once.
 
 62 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 Do you understand that I mean what I 
 say?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. I beg your pardon. I will endeavour 
 not to offend again. Now will you look at the 
 picture of the countess? " 
 
 " She is very beautiful. There is strength and 
 power as well as beauty in the face, too. Did 
 they love each other, Robert? " 
 
 " Yes, they loved as few people in this world 
 love." 
 
 Poor Robert. He was torn by a thousand 
 conflicting emotions. He had expected that there 
 would be some faint spark of recognition in the 
 mind of his guest when his eyes should fall upon 
 that portrait, but there was none. He looked 
 eagerly, with hunger in his eyes and heart, for 
 such a sign, but he saw none, and there shot 
 through him something like despair at the mag- 
 nitude of the task before him. 
 
 If he only dared to consult a physician; but 
 that was not to be thought of, for it would dis- 
 please Lady Mercy. No, there was only one way 
 and he sighed as he thought of it. He must 
 watch and wait, with patience, perseverance 
 and love. Love would conquer in the end. He 
 felt assured of that. If he were debarred from 
 referring to his guest as the master of the house, 
 and treating him as such, there was still one
 
 THE STORY 63 
 
 course left open to him, and that was, constantly 
 to bring the supposed earl in contact with reminis- 
 cences and things of the past, and thus gradually 
 to revive his recollection. 
 
 Something he did not know what, but he 
 thoroughly believed that there was something, 
 somewhere, which, if his lord were brought in 
 sudden contact with it, would fan that smoulder- 
 ing spark of memory into a blaze which would 
 burn away the obstructions over which he now 
 found it impossible to see. Robert honestly be- 
 lieved that he was constituted the special agent of 
 the Almighty for the purpose of administering 
 draughts of reminiscence to his master, and that 
 ultimately he would succeed in restoring health 
 and strength to the mind that was now wandering 
 through an unknown realm. If it was necessary 
 at first to give the medicine in small doses, and 
 without the consciousness of the patient, the 
 nurse must be patient and steadfast; and he 
 prayed for strength, endurance, humility and 
 knowledge to fulfil his mission. 
 
 But there was another, and, in some respects, 
 a greater responsibility upon him: the countess. 
 
 It was vitally necessary that something should 
 be said to her; but what? He had already told 
 her that he had a guest below, who was awaiting 
 him, and that was an unprecedented event in itself.
 
 64 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 During the year that had passed he had never 
 once admitted a stranger to the house; how, 
 therefore, should he now have a guest? And 
 having one, who was he? How account for his 
 presence without revealing all that he believed 
 to be the truth. 
 
 The countess, naturally, would require an ex- 
 planation; or rather, she would expect one. 
 Robert felt that he would rather defy a regiment 
 of interrogation points than to face the battery 
 of her great eyes. How should he reply to their 
 unvoiced questions? He almost forgot the im- 
 portance of the conditions immediately surround- 
 ing him, in contemplation of this new perplexity. 
 Should he tell her the truth? 
 
 In all his life, Robert had never lied for him- 
 self. He had lied for others, time and time again ; 
 but never for himself, and he did not know how. 
 His mind was too primitive and too honest to 
 permit him deliberately to tell her what he knew 
 to be an untruth regarding the most vital cir- 
 cumstance in her life ; and yet to tell her what he 
 honestly believed he absolutely knew to be the 
 unvarnished fact, might prostrate her; might be 
 her undoing, and might and he feared that 
 it would destroy the chances that God had 
 vouchsafed him, for the reclamation of his lost 
 master.
 
 THE STORY 65 
 
 In the meantime, Ashton had become impatient 
 for a continuation of the stoiy that Robert had 
 promised to tell him. His own history had made 
 him cynical; his experiences during the year 
 just passed had rendered him incredulous of all 
 things; but he was a man born with a natural 
 love for his fellow man; it was his nature to 
 recognize virtues at the same time that he blinded 
 himself to vices; he loved to overlook a great 
 fault, if by so doing he could discover an in- 
 significant good intention, and during the hour 
 that had passed since he entered the house of 
 the earl, he had come to the conclusion that 
 Robert was unqualifiedly mad. Harmlessly so, 
 perhaps, but thoroughly insane. A monomaniac, 
 utterly daft on the one subject, while remaining 
 entirely rational concerning everything else; and, 
 that being the case, it was very much better to 
 humour him to the utmost. 
 
 " Come, Robert," he said at last, " tell me 
 about that wedding, and what followed it; " 
 and Robert, thoroughly sincere, but still under 
 the influence of his thoughts, replied: 
 
 " Yes, my lord."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 ROBERT'S DELUSION A FUTILE HOPE 
 
 THERE was nothing forgotten or neglected in 
 the story that Robert told. He began at the 
 time when Lord John was a boy and related 
 everything that could, in his belief, serve to 
 reenlighten the recollection of his auditor. 
 
 He referred to the young man's chums at Eton 
 and Oxford, mentioning the names of many of 
 them; he even told of the childhood playfellow- 
 ship between Lady Mercy and the young earl, of 
 their long separation, and their subsequent meet- 
 ing. He related, graphically, how they became 
 engaged, and he told of the wedding in detail, even 
 describing the flowers and mentioning the names 
 of guests whose personality had been dear to Lord 
 John. He told of the early morning ceremony, 
 recalled the glory of that dawning day, the songs 
 of the birds, and the harmony and peace of the 
 entire scene. 
 
 Then, bit by bit, he went through the day of 
 
 66
 
 A FUTILE HOPE 67 
 
 reception, forgetting nothing, even to the most 
 trivial detail, and dwelling at considerable length 
 upon the message that was brought to him, and 
 which he in turn delivered to the earl: "Tell 
 him that his friend Tom must see him at once; 
 he will understand." 
 
 He told how he had placed the earl's hat on 
 his head, and watched him when he left the house, 
 and how he had waited at the door for his return, 
 until the peremptory summons from the countess 
 called him from his post. 
 
 During the recital his eyes never once left the 
 face of his guest. He watched him as the pro- 
 verbial cat watches the unregenerate mouse, en- 
 deavouring by his words to recall a sign of recog- 
 nition of the circumstances described. But there 
 was a chill at his heart when he realized his 
 utter failure, for there was not a suggestion of 
 responsiveness upon the face of the man who 
 listened. 
 
 Robert sighed resignedly, with the mental 
 reservation that he must be patient and wait; 
 and then he plunged into the subsequent hap- 
 penings, withholding only the fact that the 
 countess had remained in the home of her hus- 
 band while they were supposed to be travelling 
 abroad, and that she was still there, virtually 
 a prisoner, awaiting the return of the man she
 
 68 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 loved, and still strong in the confidence that he 
 would one day come back to her. 
 
 When at last the story was told, when even 
 Robert felt that there was nothing left to relate, 
 Ashton, who had permitted his cigar to go out, 
 relighted it, and leaning back in his chair, said 
 coolly : 
 
 " Robert, the earl is dead." 
 
 " Dead! " cried Robert. " No, sir, I do not 
 believe it." 
 
 " He is dead. Nothing short of death could have 
 kept him all this time away from " he hesi- 
 tated and raised the photograph of the countess 
 until he held it before his eyes " such a bride 
 as that. He is dead, or he would have come 
 back before this." 
 
 " It may be, sir, it may be; but I cannot 
 believe it," said Robert. 
 
 " Jealousy killed him. The fact that he was 
 called away from his bride even before he had a 
 chance to touch her lips with his, proves that. 
 Nothing short of the hate of a woman could have 
 been as relentless as that. We will give up the 
 search for Lord John, even before we begin it, 
 Robert." 
 
 1 Yes, sir, if you think best." 
 
 " And I will assist you to find his mur- 
 derer."
 
 A FUTILE HOPE 69 
 
 "Yes, sir; and even if his soul that 
 is, his memory, has fled, we will find his 
 body." 
 
 " Humph! That is a year old now, and you had 
 better let it lie ; but we will find out what became 
 of it." 
 
 " That is what I mean, sir. If we can find out 
 positively what became of his body, that is all I 
 ask ; and if you will promise to assist me, I shall 
 feel that success is almost within my grasp. You 
 see, sir" and Robert's face became pitiful in 
 the anxiety he expressed, lest he should again 
 say the wrong thing at the wrong time " be- 
 sides the countess and myself, you are the only 
 person in the world who knows that the earl ever 
 disappeared, and I need the advice and assistance 
 of a man like yourself; I do not know how to 
 act, alone, for, after all, sir, I am only a servant. 
 Then, by and by" there was marked hesita- 
 tion in the old man's speech now ' ' after you 
 have got things more thoroughly in your grasp, 
 perhaps I can induce you to meet the countess 
 and talk with her. You can understand how 
 isolated she feels, with nobody in the whole world 
 to turn to that is, nobody but me, and I am 
 nobody in a matter of this kind. It is all very 
 sad, sir, for she looks to me for everything, and 
 I well, I am not competent to do all that should
 
 70 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 be done, sir, or to advise upon any subject out of 
 my own sphere." 
 
 Ashton remained silent for several moments 
 after Robert ceased speaking. He was quietly 
 puffing at his cigar and watching the smoke as it 
 curled and eddied the frescoed ceiling. For the 
 first time in a whole year, he had found something 
 to interest him sufficiently to take his mind from 
 himself, and it was invigorating. 
 
 The photograph of the countess was still in 
 his possession, and he raised it several times, and 
 studied the features of Lady Mercy. The face 
 attracted him, interested him. It seemed to 
 appeal to him to give all the assistance he could 
 to this faithful old servant whose life and soul 
 were bound up in devotion to her and the missing 
 earl. 
 
 All the time that he was thinking and studying 
 the pictured face of Lady Mercy, he was himself 
 the subject of scrutinizing observation. Robert's 
 eyes never left him. They glowed with anticipa- 
 tion every time he realized that the thoughts 
 of his guest were fixed upon the countess. He 
 believed that Lord John felt the thrill of something 
 long forgotten and but dimly suggested to his 
 memory by the photograph of the woman he 
 had loved. 
 
 " Suppose, Robert," said Ashton, after he had
 
 A FUTILE HOPE 71 
 
 thought out what he considered best to do, 
 " suppose that the countess should feel that you 
 have taken a great liberty in revealing to an 
 entire stranger the secret that she has guarded 
 so jealously; suppose that she should reprimand 
 you for it what then? " 
 
 "I know that she will not take it that way, 
 sir." 
 
 " Possibly not, but women are apt to view 
 things differently from men. I can understand 
 why you should feel towards me as you do; 
 it is the likeness that I bear to the earl, but that 
 very fact will probably be offensive to her." 
 
 " Yes, sir, that is it; and it is something more 
 than that, too," referring to the first part of 
 Ashton's remarks, " you not only look like him, 
 sir, but you are like him in everything, and 
 that is why I know that you are good and noble 
 and that I ought to confide in you and ask your 
 help. And as for the countess taking offence 
 because you are like Lord John it isn't to be 
 thought of, sir." 
 
 " Has she no father, or brothers, or somebody 
 more appropriate than I, to whom she could 
 appeal? " 
 
 " No, sir. She is an orphan. She had one 
 brother, but he died in India, several years 
 ago."
 
 72 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Then some near friend of her father's or 
 brother's, or an old chum of the earl's would be 
 better." 
 
 " There is nobody, sir, in whom she is willing 
 to confide." 
 
 "It is a pity. It seems to me, Robert, that 
 there is a duty to be performed in this matter." 
 
 " Yes, sir; what is it? " 
 
 " Who succeeds to the title in the event of Lord 
 John's death? " 
 
 " A distant cousin." 
 
 " What is his name? Where does he live? 
 Who and what is he? In short, tell me all about 
 him." 
 
 " Well, sir, I don't rightly know where he is 
 now; I don't think anybody does know, for he 
 has not been in London for nearly five years." 
 
 " What is his name? " 
 
 " His name is Hertford. Perhaps, sir, you may 
 remember to have heard the name somewhere 
 before." 
 
 Poor Robert dwelt lingeringly upon the last 
 sentence, hoping against hope that there would 
 be some start of recognition in the face of his 
 auditor; hoping that the name would revive a 
 spark of memory, would touch a long disused, 
 untuned chord in the recollection of his guest; 
 but there was nothing. Ashton did not even
 
 A FUTILE HOPE 73 
 
 remove the cigar from his lips nor alter his 
 attitude by the diameter of a hair. 
 
 " No," he said meditatively, " I do not re- 
 member to have heard it before;" and Robert 
 breathed a sigh of intense disappointment. 
 " What is his given name? " 
 
 " His full name is Richard Herndon Hertford, 
 sir. His mother was a Herndon Lady Grace; 
 surely you must remember her, Mr. John, for " 
 
 "Robert!" 
 
 Ashton spoke sharply, at the same time casting 
 his half smoked cigar from him and rising from 
 his feet. 
 
 " I have warned you several times that you must 
 not continue this farce of persistently confounding 
 my identity with that of your missing master. 
 It is a harmless deceit, perhaps, except so far as 
 you are personally concerned, but it is not good 
 for you, and it must not continue, unless you 
 want me to go away and leave you, for I will 
 not remain and listen to that sort of twaddle. 
 I realize that you are in great distress over his 
 disappearance, and I am willing to help you in 
 any way I can, but there must be no more of that 
 sort of thing; I will not have it. I am not the 
 missing earl; I am not Lord John; I am not 
 even an Englishman. You should be aware of that 
 from my manner of speaking."
 
 74 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Yes, sir; yes, sir. Pardon me, pray pardon 
 me! I forget, you know. You are so like him, 
 and when I see you sitting there, looking just as 
 he looked, speaking with his voice, looking at 
 me with his eyes " 
 
 " Smoking his cigars and wearing his jacket 
 and slippers " 
 
 " Yes, sir, perhaps that has something to do 
 with it, too I forget myself. I am not as young 
 as I once was, sir. May I would you mind, 
 sir, if I should sometimes address you as Mr. 
 John? You see, that is your name, sir, and it 
 was his name, too. Perhaps if I could do that, 
 I would be less likely to offend you in the other 
 way, and it would humour the whim of an old 
 man. Would you mind it very much, sir? " 
 
 " Not in the least, Robert. Call me Mr. John 
 as much as you like, or Jack, if it pleases you 
 better. It should be an honour to any man to 
 be on terms of familiarity with as true and honest 
 a heart as yours. I wish from the depths of my 
 soul that I were the missing earl, returned to be 
 cared for and coddled by such a faithful old serv- 
 ant. But I am not, and I won't be milorded any 
 more." 
 
 ' Thank you thank you, Mr. John." Robert 
 uttered the name that he was permitted to use, 
 with a lingering enunciation impossible to describe.
 
 A FUTILE HOPE 75 
 
 It dwelt on his tongue like a delectable morsel, 
 too rare to be hastily parted with. " You will 
 resume your seat now, sir? Thank you thank 
 you! Now let me give you a glass of this sherry 
 and a fresh cigar. There! You gave me such a 
 start when you got up so suddenly, and I knew 
 that I had offended again. It is very kind of you 
 to put up with the mistakes that I am constantly 
 making. We were speaking of Mr. Richard 
 Hertford, I believe, and I had just mentioned 
 Lady Grace, his mother." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Lady Grace was called the most beautiful 
 woman in England in her time. It is ten years 
 since she died. Mr. Richard's father was General 
 Hertford. He was killed in India, shortly before 
 Lady Grace passed away. He was first cousin 
 to the late earl, Lord John's father, so you see, 
 sir " 
 
 " Spare me the family history, Robert, and come 
 down to Richard Hertford. How old a man is 
 he, and where is he likely to be found now? " 
 
 41 Well, sir, he is something more than ten years 
 your senior I remember that it is another 
 coincidence that you are the same age as Lord 
 John and he is a great traveller, seldom re- 
 maining in England more than a few weeks at a 
 time. He possesses a private fortune which is
 
 76 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 much more than sufficient for his needs, for I know 
 that he does not use half his income. I believe 
 that at the present time he is somewhere in 
 South America." 
 
 " Were Richard Hertford and the earl 
 friends? " 
 
 " The very best of friends, sir." 
 
 " Well, Robert, it is my opinion that an effort 
 should be made to communicate with Richard 
 Hertford at once. He is the proper person to 
 assist you and the countess in the search for the 
 missing earl, and he is the one who is entitled 
 to the title and estates if, as I believe, the earl 
 is dead. His bankers doubtless know where to 
 find him." 
 
 " I think they would, sir." 
 
 ' Then it is your duty to call upon them at 
 once." 
 
 " Very well, Mr. John, I will do so, but it is 
 only with the consent of Lady Mercy that I can 
 promise to communicate with him." 
 
 " Certainly. And now, Robert, it is long past 
 midnight and I must go." 
 
 " Surely, sir, you are not going away to-night! " 
 cried Robert, aghast at the mere thought, for 
 until that instant it had not occurred to him 
 that his guest had any idea of not remaining in 
 the house over night.
 
 A FUTILE HOPE 77 
 
 " What the devil do you expect me to do? 
 Sleep here? " demanded Ashton, in surprise. 
 
 " Most certainly, sir. You came here at my 
 request, as a favour to me. It is very late and 
 there is not a cab stand nearer than a mile. I 
 can provide you with every comfort, so that you 
 will not miss your luggage at all. I shall take 
 it quite unkindly, Mr. John, if you insist upon 
 going away to-night, and" with insinuating 
 deference " the earl would be deeply incensed 
 if he should return and discover that I had per- 
 mitted you to do so. You will remain, sir? " 
 
 John Ashton leaned back in the chair from 
 which he had partially risen, and laughed softly, 
 for he was intensely amused by the absurdity of 
 the situation. There could be no harm in remain- 
 ing as the guest of the old and trusted servant, 
 and he saw that Robert was genuinely pained by 
 the suggestion of his going away. 
 
 Had he known that the countess was in the 
 house, he would not for one instant have con- 
 sidered the idea of remaining, but he had been 
 assured that there was only one other person 
 besides Robert and himself beneath the roof, 
 and that person was doubtless the housekeeper 
 another old and tried dependent, like the one 
 before him. There was, also, a spice of adventure 
 about the affair, which fascinated him. He had
 
 78 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 permitted the circumstance to direct his thoughts 
 and actions for so long a time, that he now had 
 little inclination to resist its influence. And 
 again, the mere fact that the incident had forced 
 the ghost of a laugh from his sombre soul was 
 sufficient inducement of itself. He decided to 
 humour the old man still more, and stay. 
 
 " Very well, Robert," he said, laughing again. 
 " I will don one of Lord John's night shirts and 
 sleep in Lord John's bed, since you seem to wish 
 it so earnestly; only find them both without 
 delay, for I am very tired and your old sherry 
 has made me sleepy. By morning, doubtless, 
 you will see things differently, or at least more 
 clearly, and perhaps, under the circumstances, 
 it is my duty to remain." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; most decidedly it is. Will you excuse 
 me while I prepare the room? Ah, sir, it will 
 make me very happy to know that you are sleep- 
 ing under this roof to-night very happy indeed, 
 Mr. John." 
 
 He left the room with all haste, as though he 
 feared, if he hesitated, his guest might change 
 his mind, and yet insist upon departing. 
 
 When Ashton was alone, the incidents of the 
 present moment were speedily forgotten in the 
 anguish of that past from which he could not 
 escape. The novelty of the scene with Robert
 
 A FUTILE HOPE 79 
 
 had provided the first opportunity of immunity 
 from it that had been permitted him during all 
 that long and almost endless year, and of all the 
 days that it had contained the one just passed 
 had been the bitterest and most drear. 
 
 The very moment that found him alone again 
 with his own thoughts, however, reinvoked the 
 spectres that haunted him by day, that dwelt 
 with him by night, that travelled before, behind 
 and on either side of him, wheresoever he went 
 the ghosts of memory, of regret and of despair. 
 He forgot that there had ever been such a per- 
 sonage as Lord John Makepeace Hertford, the 
 Earl of Ashton and Cowingford; he forgot that 
 there was a countess, that there was a Robert, 
 and that he was at that moment strangely and 
 inexplicably installed in the residence of a peer 
 of England, an unbidden if not an unwelcome 
 guest. Memory conjured up before him the 
 wrath of Hope Hollister as she had appeared at 
 that terrible moment when he had bidden her 
 good by for ever; regret leered at him across the 
 chasm that his own act had dug between them 
 before that last meeting, and jeered at him from 
 the grave of Hope's father, filled, as he believed, 
 by his own impetuous act ; despair gnawed at his 
 vitals and seared his heart with the hot irons 
 of inquisitory reproof, and there was no joy in him.
 
 80 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 When Robert departed from the room, it was 
 as if he had carried the light with him, and so 
 left Ashton in total darkness, and he sat there, 
 plunged in blackness, with his head bowed 
 upon his hands, again utterly and desolately 
 alone. 
 
 The man who finds himself alone in body, 
 momentarily bereft of association with his kind, 
 experiences a pang of discomfort which is half 
 resentment, but which finds solace in the resolve 
 to return to and live again with the associations 
 of the past ; the man who is alone in soul, who has 
 cut himself adrift from everything that is past, 
 who feels that his solitude is greatest when surging 
 humanity jostles him the hardest, is benumbed. 
 He suffers as dumb brutes suffer, silently ; he lives 
 as the leper lives, miserably; and he dies as 
 martyrs have died, gladly. 
 
 The day at Greenwich with its whitebait and 
 jugglers and all that had succeeded it, faded from 
 view. Only the man remained ; only the solitary 
 man. 
 
 Great men, like lofty mountains, are solitary 
 because they tower so high; but they are sur- 
 rounded by brightness and the world is at their 
 feet. Men like John Ashton are unexplored 
 caverns in the earth, and they are solitary because 
 they have dived so deep; it is the blackness of
 
 A FUTILE HOPE 81 
 
 despair and the darkness of desolation which 
 surrounds them. The former is the harvest, 
 marking the fruition of accomplished ambition; 
 the latter is the reaping of the crop of renuncia- 
 tion. 
 
 It would have been difficult if not quite im- 
 possible for a psychologist to have defined the 
 condition of John Ashton's mind. His grief was 
 not of the poignant kind which groans in anguish 
 and conjures up pictures of the past to reagonize 
 remorse that has become partially benumbed. 
 Such grief had never been his, or if it had, it had 
 only touched him with spasmodic dashes here and 
 there, during the year that had passed. Such 
 grief comes only to him who has remaining some 
 glimmer of hope for the future, even though it 
 be distant and indistinct. With John Ashton, 
 hope was dead, and with it had died all things 
 of this world, leaving only him alive. 
 
 He would have gone to a dungeon with the same 
 indifference that he consented to sleep in Lord 
 John's bed; he would have accepted a king's 
 sceptre with the same lack of appreciation with 
 which he had swallowed Lord John's sherry. 
 His soul was ingulfed in a condition which may 
 be paradoxically described as intense indifference 
 a condition more to be dreaded than the 
 utmost agony that the physical being can suffer
 
 82 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 a condition more alarming than premeditated 
 crime with its results. 
 
 He did not hear Robert when the faithful old 
 man re entered the room and was not aware of 
 his presence until he felt a light touch upon one 
 of the hands that covered his face, and looked 
 up quickly to perceive that the old servant 
 was on one knee beside him, gazing anxiously 
 into his burning eyes. 
 
 " Mr. John, what is it? Are you suffering? 
 Have I been gone too long? " he exclaimed. 
 
 11 No, no! It is nothing, Robert, nothing. I 
 was dreaming, that is all; dreaming dreams. 
 Ah, Robert, you are the first of my kind who has 
 succeeded in calling me back to my own self for 
 a whole year, and it did me good, even though I 
 lapsed into my dreams again the moment you left 
 me. Perhaps if you will love me a little for the 
 sake of that lost master of yours whom I so much 
 resemble, I will not dream so often. Ho, ho, 
 Robert! You have made me sentimental, like 
 your old self; eh? Still I am in earnest in 
 deadly earnest." 
 
 It appeared for a moment as if Robert was 
 about to embrace him then and there, but he 
 controlled the desire with a visible effort. 
 
 " Ah, sir," he said, brokenly, " if you will let 
 me love you for his sake I will try to be content.
 
 A FUTILE HOPE 83 
 
 Come, Mr. John, your room is prepared; I will 
 conduct you to it at once. You are very tired. 
 Come, sir, you may have forgotten the way, but 
 I will show it to you."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 A COLLAPSE AND A CONFESSION 
 
 ROBERT conducted John Ashton to the room 
 that he had prepared for him, and having seen 
 that everything was arranged to his satisfaction, 
 bestowing a lingering touch here and there, he 
 at last, with marked hesitation and a wistful 
 glance at his guest, turned to leave the apartment. 
 
 " I will bring your coffee to you in the morning, 
 just as I used to just as I used to take it to 
 him," he said. 
 
 " Very well, Robert, I will sleep till you awaken 
 me, then. Was this the earl's room? " 
 
 ' Yes, sir. He always preferred it to any other 
 in this house; but he did not remain much in 
 London; he preferred the quiet of Hertford 
 Hall." 
 
 " Hertford Hall? Where is that? " 
 
 " It is the family seat, sir, in Hertfordshire. Is 
 there anything more that I can do for you, Mr. 
 John? " 
 
 " Nothing, Robert, thank you. Good night." 
 
 84
 
 COLLAPSE AND CONFESSION 85 
 
 " Good night, sir, and God bless you. Good 
 night." 
 
 He passed out silently and closed the door 
 behind him, leaving Ashton standing in the middle 
 of the room, fast lapsing again into that dreamy 
 state which was inevitable with him whenever he 
 was alone. It did not, however, return with 
 its accustomed monopolizing power, and there was 
 a half smile upon his face as he surveyed the room 
 in which he was, by a curious complication of 
 conditions, at once master and guest. And finally 
 with a shrug of his broad shoulders, he began his 
 preparations for the night. 
 
 If he could have followed the faithful servant 
 when he returned to the room where the inter- 
 view had taken place, he would have been amazed, 
 for no sooner had Robert entered it than he locked 
 the door and then dropped upon his knees and 
 sobbed aloud. His kind old face was buried in his 
 folded arms, where they rested upon the chair 
 that Ashton had occupied while he smoked Lord 
 John's cigars and drank Lord John's sherry. 
 
 The old man remained thus for many minutes, 
 praying silently. Only God and himself knew 
 what passed between them during that half 
 hour through which he never raised his head or 
 moved, except as his body trembled with the 
 emotions within him; but at last he rose, and
 
 86 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 wiping the moisture from his eyes, forced back 
 into his possession that placid, imperturbable, 
 expressionless countenance which belongs in fee 
 simple to the well trained English servant. 
 
 He regarded himself critically in the mirror, 
 and at last satisfied, he left the room and made 
 his way along the corridor to the front of the house, 
 thence up the steps to the second floor, and paused 
 finally before a door upon which he softly and 
 gently tapped with the ends of his fingers. 
 
 It was opened almost instantly, as though the 
 summons had been anxiously and impatiently 
 expected, and Robert crossed the threshold, 
 more perturbed in mind and body than he remem- 
 bered ever to have been before. 
 
 " It is very late, my lady," he murmured 
 apologetically. " My guest detained me longer 
 than I anticipated. I thought that perhaps you 
 had retired." 
 
 " And you wished it also, Robert ? Is that what 
 your words mean? " 
 
 : ' Yes, Miss Mercy. It was thoughtless in me 
 to say that I would return after my my friend 
 had gone;" and Robert turned his eyes away 
 from the clear, searching gaze that was bent 
 upon him. 
 
 He had decided that it would be best to deceive 
 his mistress regarding what he believed to be the
 
 COLLAPSE AND CONFESSION 87 
 
 truth, until he could feel the ground more securely 
 beneath him. He believed that it would be best 
 to temporize for the present, until he could study 
 more thoroughly the unfortunate malady from 
 which his beloved Mr. John was suffering; but 
 he had underestimated the clear perceptions of 
 his mistress; he had forgotten that during the 
 year she had learned to read his impassive face 
 as clearly as though his thoughts had been 
 written there in illumined type. 
 
 " Who is your guest, Robert? Who is your 
 your friend? " she inquired, imitating with the 
 faintest touch of satire his hesitation over that 
 last word, and at the same time resuming the 
 chair from which she had risen to admit him. 
 
 The old man hung his head, dismayed and 
 speechless. He had entered the room firm in the 
 belief that he could deceive Lady Mercy, but at 
 the threshold he encountered two obstacles, either 
 of which was sufficient to render utterly impotent 
 any deception that he might attempt to practise. 
 
 He realized the moment when she asked these 
 questions that he had not the power to lie to 
 her, and moreover, that if the power had been 
 given to him then and there, she would have 
 penetrated the veil of falsehood and demanded the 
 truth. His love for Lady Mercy is difficult to 
 analyze and can be comprehended only by those
 
 88 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 who have been blessed by such a devotion, or 
 who have, like Robert, bestowed it upon another. 
 
 She was at once his daughter and his mistress, 
 his child and his mother, his charge and his 
 religion. He was her dependent and yet she was 
 utterly dependent upon him. He filled the place 
 of father, mother, servant, counsellor and friend, 
 and in all these relations she possessed a twofold 
 claim upon him, for in addition to her own per- 
 sonality, she was the wife of his idol, and she had 
 been left to him as a sacred trust and care. 
 
 For the first time in his life, he did not know 
 in what words to reply to her. If he had dared 
 to raise his eyes to hers he would have seen that 
 his hesitation had sent a sudden wave of colour 
 to her face, to be succeeded the next instant by 
 a death-like pallor. Her eyes dilated and the 
 pupils became distended with suppressed excite- 
 ment, and her hands tightened their grasp upon 
 the arms of the chair in which she was seated. 
 Otherwise she gave no outward sign of the tempest 
 of impatience and expectancy that was raging 
 within her. 
 
 Throughout an entire year she had risen every 
 morning with the confident expectation that the 
 day would bring Lord John back to her, and she 
 had retired every night with a prayer upon her 
 lips that ere the hours of darkness had passed,
 
 COLLAPSE AND CONFESSION 89 
 
 she would be summoned from her sleep to welcome 
 him home. 
 
 With her the expectation of his return had been 
 more than hope ; it had been certainty. There had 
 never been a moment when she had given away to 
 actual despair, and it was that mental certainty 
 of his home-coming that had kept her alive, that 
 had preserved her beauty and maintained her 
 health. 
 
 She and Robert had been of one mind in this 
 respect. They had hoped alike, thought alike, 
 prayed alike, believed alike. Their perceptions 
 had focused at the same point, and each time that 
 he had returned from his daily wanderings in 
 search of his master, there had been little need 
 of conversation between them, for his face inevi- 
 tably told her all that his tongue could have 
 uttered. 
 
 Never until to-night had a stranger been 
 admitted within the house. Never until to-night 
 had Robert broken from his habit of passing an 
 interval of time with her, between the hours of 
 darkness and retiring. Never until to-night had 
 he manifested the slightest reluctance or hesita- 
 tion in replying to any question of hers ; and now 
 there had been, or was, a stranger in the house 
 a guest a friend! 
 
 Lady Mercy knew that something quite unusual
 
 90 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 had happened; she realized that Robert hesi- 
 tated to confida in her, and although she saw traces 
 of tears in his eyes, her delicate intuition told 
 her that they had been tears of happiness rather 
 than of sorrow; it told her that it was joy and 
 not grief that he was withholding from her. 
 
 It is a paradox of the human organism, that an 
 expectant soul can await the advent of joy with 
 much more fortitude and patience than it can 
 withstand the silent approach of grief. If Robert 
 had good news to impart, she could await his 
 own pleasure, and the moments thus passed would 
 give her the opportunity which she felt was quite 
 necessary, to prepare herself for the announce- 
 ment when it came. 
 
 Heaven and earth could hold but one joy for 
 her now, and hence it was that she believed she 
 could await with calmness the certain happiness 
 which Robert had brought to her and which he 
 hesitated to give, fearful of the effect that its 
 too sudden development might have upon her. 
 She could wait she had waited a whole year 
 and while she still waited, she resolved, with 
 heroic strength, to prepare herself. 
 
 " Who was your guest, Robert? " she inquired 
 again, presently, uttering the question softly. 
 
 Still he did not reply. He could not lie to her; 
 he dared not tell her the truth.
 
 COLLAPSE AND CONFESSION 91 
 
 " Has your guest departed? " she continued, 
 after another pause. 
 
 "No," replied Robert, slowly. " He is still 
 here." 
 
 " Still here? Still in this house? " she demanded 
 quickly, in great astonishment. 
 
 " Yes, my lady." 
 
 " Where is he? " 
 
 " He has retired." 
 
 " Retired? " 
 
 The countess gazed at Robert in wide-eyed 
 amazement. She bent forward towards him and 
 for a full minute remained silent, and then in a 
 voice which had sunk almost to a whisper, yet 
 which was distinctly audible, she murmured: 
 
 " Robert, tell me the name of your guest." 
 
 The old servant raised his head at last and fixed 
 his great pathetic eyes upon the face of Lady 
 Mercy; and while he gazed at her thus, she saw 
 two tears spring unbidden to his cheeks and roll 
 silently downward; otherwise the expression of 
 his face did not change ; and he did not reply. 
 
 " Robert, tell me the name of your guest," 
 the countess said again, speaking the words 
 automatically, in the same low tone, without 
 emphasis, almost without expression. 
 
 " His name, my lady, is John Ashton." 
 
 She did not move; for a moment it seemed as
 
 92 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 if she did not breathe. Her hands still grasped 
 the arms of the chair; her eyes were still fixed 
 upon the face of her servant, but they seemed to 
 gaze through and beyond him, not at him. Her 
 attitude was as though she had not heard the 
 words he had uttered, or if she had heard them, 
 did not understand. At last she sighed, and with 
 that sigh all the rigidity left her, and she sank 
 back into the depths of the chair. Presently she 
 spoke again. 
 
 " We will both be calm, Robert," she said, 
 " and presently you will find the courage to tell 
 me all there is to tell. Did you meet him on the 
 street while you were out in the early part of the 
 evening? " 
 
 " Yes, my lady." 
 
 " And he was an old friend of yours, 
 Robert? " 
 
 " Yes, my lady." 
 
 " Did you address him first, or or did he 
 speak to you? " 
 
 " He did not see me until I spoke to him, Miss 
 Mercy." 
 
 " And then " 
 
 " Yes, my lady." 
 
 " What then, Robert? " 
 
 " He did not know old Robert ! He 
 didn't know me! "
 
 COLLAPSE AND CONFESSION 93 
 
 The words came out in sobbing gasps, and the 
 old man leaned his arms upon the mantel and bur- 
 ied his tear-stained face between them. He could 
 not utter another word, then. All the pent-up 
 emotions of interminable hours burst their bounds 
 at last, and he no longer endeavoured to restrain 
 them. He had borne the burden to the point of 
 falling beneath it, and he could sustain it no 
 longer. 
 
 The countess sprang to her feet the instant 
 that he gave way. The paralyzing effect of the 
 announcement not yet half made, yet wholly 
 understood, vanished the instant she realized 
 that the faithful old man had given way, and 
 that it devolved upon her to sustain him. 
 
 She hastened to his side, and with her arms 
 around him led him gently to the chair she had 
 occupied. Then, when he was seated, she sank 
 upon one knee beside him while with tender 
 force she pulled his hands from his face and held 
 them in her own. 
 
 "Dear Robert!" she murmured. "Dear, 
 dear Robert. It has been very hard for you 
 very, very hard, and through it all you have been 
 so brave and good and gentle. Hush! Hush, 
 Robert. You must not give way like this. 
 Really, you must not, Robert. It is nothing very 
 dreadful, is it, Robert, except that he has
 
 94 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 forgotten? He he is not not ill, or 
 wounded? " 
 
 The old man tried to speak, but he could not. 
 He could only shake his head in silent negation. 
 The countess patted his hands and rubbed them, 
 waiting with an eagerness that was maddening, 
 for Robert to recover himself sufficiently to be 
 able to speak. It was as though he were a little 
 child who had been discovered in an act of wrong 
 doing, and, having been chided for it, is overcome 
 by the emotion which all must feel when forgive- 
 ness is vouchsafed; and she was the mother who 
 had chided and forgiven. 
 
 Gradually he became more quiet, and at last 
 Lady Mercy ventured another question. 
 
 " Tell me, Robert," she said, " does he look 
 well, or ill? Is he well, Robert? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " How does he look? Tell me! I cannot bear 
 it to wait much longer." 
 
 " He looks just as he did the day he 
 went away," came the reply, with spasmodic 
 interruptions. " I was passing the corner of St. 
 James Street and Piccadilly, my lady, and I saw 
 him standing there. He was looking at the crowd 
 without seeming to see it. I watched him for 
 some time before I dared to speak. I went 
 around him; I stood on either side of him, first
 
 COLLAPSE AND CONFESSION 95 
 
 one side and then the other, and then directly 
 in front of him, but although he looked at me, 
 he did not see me. I wanted to make sure that 
 it was Mr. John before I addressed him. I had 
 been looking for him so long, that I was afraid 
 lest my old eyes had played me a trick, or that 
 my imagination had superseded my judgment. 
 All the same, Miss Mercy, I was sure from the 
 first, and the more I looked, the surer I became; 
 and at last I spoke to him." 
 
 "Yes, Robert, yes; go on. I am listening. 
 You spoke to him; and then " 
 f" " Why, then, my lady, I am afraid I do not 
 rightly remember just what I did say. You 
 know I have been thinking over what I would 
 say to him when we met, every day since he went 
 away, but I somehow forgot it all then. I said 
 just what came to me first, I suppose, but I 
 don't in the least remember what it was except 
 that I called him Jack, just as I used to do when 
 he was a boy; and then, my lady oh, it was 
 horrible!" 
 
 " What was horrible, Robert? " 
 
 " He turned and looked at me as if I were a 
 perfect stranger. There was not a single sign 
 of recognition about him. I do not know all 
 that was said, only that he was sure that he had 
 never seen me before. You see, Miss Mercy, some
 
 96 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 accident must have happened to him the night 
 he went away some accident that made him 
 forget who he was, his name and everything 
 about himself. You have heard of such cases, 
 my lady? " 
 
 " Yes, Robert. Yes ; yes ! " 
 
 " I discovered that at once, for he was so 
 natural, and like himself in every other way, 
 that it was the only manner in which to account 
 for it. And I was in such terror every instant, 
 fearing that he would leave me. At first I tried 
 to make him remember, by reminding him that 
 I had carried him in my arms when he was a 
 little lad, but that and other things I mentioned 
 had no effect on him. He told me that I was an 
 utter stranger to him, but he said he believed 
 that I was in earnest and that he wished that he 
 could help me to find my master. That wish was 
 the straw I seized; and then I asked him if he 
 would tell me his name." 
 
 Robert had by this time recovered from the 
 effects of his late emotions, and now he rose from 
 the chair and returned to the mantel, where he 
 took once more the respectful attitude of a 
 servant. 
 
 " He told me that his name was John Ashton, 
 and when I informed him that my master was 
 the Earl of Ashton and Cowingford, it seemed for
 
 COLLAPSE AND CONFESSION 97 
 
 an instant to revive a spark of memory; but it 
 was only for an instant. The name is the only 
 part of his past that he recollects at all, and in 
 some strange way he has accounted for it by 
 fixing in his mind the belief that he was named 
 for an Englishman who was a friend of his parents ; 
 who was at Oxford with his father, doubtless. 
 Think of it, my lady. He told me that his full 
 name is John Cowingford Ashton. As soon as I 
 heard him say that, I felt sure that it would be 
 only a question of time when his memory would 
 return fully. Don't you think so, my lady? Don't 
 you think so, Miss Mercy? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, Robert. We will make him re- 
 member; you and I together. Did did you 
 mention my name to him, Robert? " 
 
 " Not yet, Miss Mercy ; not quite yet. It was 
 too soon. I thought it best to wait. My first 
 duty was to get him home." 
 
 " How did you do that, Robert? Ah! Suppose 
 you had failed! " 
 
 " I did not fail, my lady. He had said that he 
 would like to help me to find my lost master, and 
 I asked him to come here where I could tell him 
 all about it, so that he could give me his advice. 
 At first he said he would come to-morrow, but I 
 did not dare let him out of my sight, and at last I 
 prevailed upon him to enter a cab and come here.
 
 98 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 I tell you, Miss Mercy, I could have leaped for 
 joy when at last I had him comfortably seated 
 beside the grate in my room, wearing his own 
 jacket and slippers, with a glass of sherry beside 
 him and a cigar between his fingers, looking for 
 all the world as though he had not been away 
 at all. He was hungry and tired, and I prepared 
 some supper for him. It would have done your 
 heart good to have seen him eat, and to have seen 
 him smoke, too, after he had eaten. You remem- 
 ber what a smoker he always was, Miss Mercy? " 
 
 "I remember everything, Robert." 
 
 " He did not like it, though, because I kept 
 calling him my lord. It made him angry, and 
 twice he came very near leaving the house on 
 account of it. I think, really, though, that it 
 amused him more than it angered him, and that 
 he objected more on my account than on his own. 
 He actually thought I was a little queer in my 
 head, and he did not approve of my deceiving 
 myself in that way. You know that Mr. John 
 always thought more about the feelings of other 
 people than of his own. Why, Miss Mercy, there 
 is only one change one little bit of change 
 that I can discover at all; just one and it is 
 hardly noticeable." 
 
 " What is it, Robert? " 
 
 " His manner of speaking. The voice is the
 
 COLLAPSE AND CONFESSION 99 
 
 same; perhaps a trifle deeper, but that can be 
 accounted for by exposure; but his manner of 
 speaking is just a little different. I should say 
 that during the year he has been away, he has 
 been in America, or Australia, where I am told 
 they do not pronounce their words that is, 
 all of them just as they do here, and you know, 
 if the accident deprived him of memory, it 
 naturally must have made him forget how he 
 used to pronounce his words. He has learned a 
 different way of talking just as he has learned 
 a different way of thinking ; and it is not so very 
 different either." 
 
 " Tell me," said the countess, slowly, " what 
 you said to him after he had eaten his supper. 
 Tell me what happened then." 
 
 " My lady, that is the hard part of it. That is 
 the part that is so difficult to tell. It is what made 
 me hesitate about revealing the truth to you 
 when I came into your presence a little while 
 ago. You must bear in mind, Miss Mercy, that 
 his memory is entirely gone, and that in place of 
 it there are hallucinations strange and un- 
 accountable hallucinations. My lady, are you 
 strong enough to hear it all, and do you believe 
 that you can control your emotions sufficiently 
 to be patient, and to do the hardest thing that 
 ever anybody had to do wait? "
 
 100 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Yes, Robert. I am strong enough. As for 
 waiting, have I not waited with patience a whole 
 year, without knowing where he was or what he 
 was doing? Did you think that my fortitude 
 would desert me now that I do know where he is 
 and what he is doing? Yes, yes! I can wait and 
 watch, and help. Tell me what it is you want to 
 say. Is it that he has forgotten me? Is it that 
 he has forgotten my very existence? Is it that 
 he does not remember our childhood, our court- 
 ship the wedding itself? Is it that he has 
 forgotten that he has a wife? Tell me, Robert, 
 and tell me plainly. I am strong enough to hear 
 it, and what is more, I am strong enough to help 
 you to make him remember. Surely that is 
 enough. Tell me the worst, first. Let me hear 
 the best, last ; and then we will consult together 
 and decide what is best to do for his sake. We 
 will not consider ourselves, Robert; we will 
 only think of him, and of what is best for him. 
 Tell me, Robert; has he forgotten me, utterly? " 
 1 Yes, Miss Mercy, he has forgotten you 
 utterly! " was the sad response.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE PORTRAIT OF SIR RODERICK 
 
 THERE were several moments after Robert 
 replied to her question during which the countess 
 remained immovable, with her head bowed and 
 her hands resting idly upon the arms of the chair. 
 She had said that she was strong enough to hear 
 the truth, and she was, but it had come to her 
 with a greater shock than she had anticipated. 
 There is nothing so terrible as to be forgotten 
 by one who is loved. It is the only heart poison 
 for which there is no antidote; it is the only 
 mental calamity for which there is no specific. 
 
 " If I could only go to him unawares," she 
 murmured at last, addressing no one and merely 
 voicing the thoughts that were uppermost in her 
 mind. " If I could only approach him silently 
 while his back was turned and throw my arms 
 around him and turn his face towards me so 
 that he could look into my eyes, he would know 
 me then." 
 
 " No, no, my lady! " cried Robert, infinitely 
 101
 
 102 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 startled. " Such a thing is not to be thought 
 of. It would frighten him away. You would undo 
 all that has been done and render us much worse 
 off than we were before he was found. No, no, 
 you must not do that." 
 
 " Must not, Robert? " 
 
 " Must not, my lady. Pardon me, but it is 
 true. Listen, and I will tell you why." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " I thought at one time as you think now, that 
 he would remember your face, and I resolved to 
 make the test by showing him a photograph of 
 you; but first I deemed it best to speak of you." 
 
 "Yes, Robert." 
 
 " I did so in the most commonplace manner 
 that I could, and on the instant he leaped to his 
 feet, kicked off the slippers, threw off the smok- 
 ing jacket, and cried out, ' Good God, Robert, is 
 there a countess? ' What could I do, Miss Mercy? 
 He was for leaving the house then and there, 
 insisting that he was in a false position. ' Where 
 is she? ' he demanded. ' Here in this house? 
 You don't suppose I want to be caught here 
 under these circumstances, do you? ' He called 
 for his hat, and I had all I could do to make him 
 remain. I had to tell him that you were abroad, 
 and that the woman in the house was a servant, 
 an invalid who never left her room. I think he
 
 PORTRAIT OF SIR RODERICK 103 
 
 thought it might be the housekeeper, but it was 
 the only way that I could keep him. After that 
 I induced him to look at your picture. That 
 came about quite naturally, for he first asked to 
 see a photograph of himself." 
 
 " Of himself! Did he ask for it in that way? " 
 
 " No, my lady, no. He asked me if I had a 
 picture of the earl, and when I gave him one to 
 look at, he went to the mirror and remained for 
 quite a time, looking first at it, and then at his 
 own reflection in the glass. I could see that it 
 puzzled him mightily, too." 
 
 " What did he say? Did he speak about the 
 likeness? " 
 
 " Yes. He admitted that he did not blame me 
 for being deceived, if that was a picture of the 
 earl; and then I gave him your likeness." 
 
 "Well, Robert, well? Tell me what he said 
 and did then, Robert. Forget nothing. I want 
 to know every look and word. What then, 
 Robert? " 
 
 " Well, my lady, he just looked at it, that was 
 all. Then he said, in the calmest manner, that 
 you were very beautiful; but there was not the 
 least sign of recognition in his face. He kept 
 the picture in his possession, though, and I 
 noticed that he fixed his eyes upon it very often 
 while we talked, as though there was something
 
 104 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 about it which touched a chord of memory. I 
 have heard that people afflicted as he is realize 
 that they have forgotten things, and are ashamed 
 of it, and because they are, deny everything 
 which might betray them. I thought, maybe, 
 it was so with him, and that he was so emphatic 
 in his denial of everything simply because he 
 could not remember well enough to be sure. 
 Don't you think such a thing is possible? " 
 
 " Undoubtedly, Robert." 
 
 " I am very sure that I saw signs of his re- 
 membering things, when he thought I did not 
 notice. But you must not think of permitting 
 him to see you yet, and we must not let him 
 suspect that you are in the house. It would 
 not do. It would drive him away at once. I 
 am sure of it." 
 
 Lady Mercy sighed heavily. With every fibre 
 trembling from suppressed excitement with 
 every impulse of her soul straining upon the 
 leash which separated her from her husband - 
 with the intelligence that he was in the same 
 house with her, almost within reach of her hands, 
 and with the certain knowledge that she must 
 not go to him that he would repulse her if 
 she did so, she felt that the situation was more 
 than she could bear. 
 
 " How long will it be, Robert? How long a
 
 PORTRAIT OF SIR RODERICK 105 
 
 time do you think it will be before I can go to 
 him? " she murmured, brokenly. 
 
 The old servant shook his head. 
 
 " I cannot tell," he replied. " Nobody can 
 tell. In a day or two we may be able to approxi- 
 mate the time ; now, it would be wrong to attempt 
 to do so. You will listen to old Robert? You 
 will be guided by me, Miss Mercy? " 
 
 "Yes," she whispered; and then human 
 nature conquered. She leaned forward upon the 
 arm of her chair and wept. 
 
 Robert was too wise in his generation to dis- 
 turb her, for he knew that her tears would do 
 more than any argument he could use, to con- 
 vince her of the wisdom of his advice. He waited 
 patiently and silently until the paroxysm had 
 passed, and at last she raised her head and spoke. 
 
 " How did you prevail upon him to remain 
 over night? " she asked. 
 
 " It was, strangely enough, not difficult to 
 do," he replied, " although I am of the opinion 
 that he consented solely as a favour to me. It 
 is true that he started to go, but the hour was 
 late and he was very tired. I put him to bed in 
 Mr. Jack's old room, and he has consented to re- 
 main there until I take him his coffee in the 
 morning. I have dreadful misgivings, thpugh, for 
 to-morrow."
 
 106 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Misgivings? What are they? " 
 
 " He will wish to go away, and, my lady, I 
 cannot think of any plan by which I can induce 
 him to remain. His conviction that he is a 
 stranger and that he has no right here, more 
 than that, his firm belief that in remaining he 
 is taking an ungentlemanly advantage of the real 
 earl, will, I am sure, overcome every argument 
 that I can offer." 
 
 The countess bowed her head in thought. Pres- 
 ently she raised it again, and there was the 
 light of confident knowledge in her eyes. 
 
 " God, who sent him back to us," she said 
 slowly, " will not permit him to leave us again. 
 He will remain, Robert. I feel it. I know it. 
 There will be a way provided to detain him. 
 Leave it in the hands of Him who directed your 
 footsteps to the spot where your master awaited 
 you. He will wish to go out, naturally, but you 
 must go with him. You can find a reason for 
 accompanying him. You must find one." 
 
 ' Yes, my lady. But about his going abroad 
 before he recovers his memory. Have you 
 thought what that may involve, Miss Mercy? " 
 
 "No; what do you mean? " 
 
 " He is sure to be seen and recognized by some 
 of his friends. They will address him and he 
 will not know them. Others will bow to him
 
 PORTRAIT OF SIR RODERICK 107 
 
 ladies, perhaps and he will not recognize them. 
 There will be no end of complications of all sorts, 
 and I tremble, my lady, for the task that is before 
 me. I fear that I am not equal to it. I am too 
 old. My perceptions are not keen enough. My 
 judgment is not always clear." 
 
 " That, also," she replied reverently, " must 
 be left to the will of God. Even though such 
 things as you suggest should happen, they are 
 mere incidents, and we need give them no un- 
 necessary concern. He has returned; that is 
 the one great blessing, and the lesser ones will 
 come with time if we are patient, watchful and 
 firm. But, Robert, before he goes out again, I 
 must see him." 
 
 " My lady! Miss Mercy! " 
 
 " I must see him, Robert, without myself 
 being seen. I must see him, Robert; I must! " 
 
 " But how? " 
 
 " Cannot you think of a plan? " 
 
 The old man thought deeply, standing with 
 the ends of his thumbs and fingers together and 
 rocking forward and backward upon his toes and 
 heels, a thing that he would never have done 
 in the presence of his mistress had his mind been 
 less occupied. Suddenly his face brightened and 
 he looked up eagerly. 
 
 " There is a way," he said, " an excellent way,
 
 108 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 and it can be done without the slightest danger, 
 but I will have to commit an act of vandalism 
 which you may not feel inclined to permit." 
 
 "An act of vandalism, Robert? I do not 
 understand." 
 
 " Do you remember, my lady, the portrait of 
 one of the earl's ancestors which stands upon an 
 easel in one corner of the library? The portrait 
 of Sir Roderick of Hertford, the Crusader? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " You shall see Mr. John through the eyes of 
 the Crusader, Miss Mercy," continued the old 
 man eagerly, now thoroughly enthused with the 
 idea. " Nothing could be easier. With my 
 penknife, I will cut out the pupils of the eyes 
 in the portrait, afterwards, you know I can 
 paste a bit of black cloth against them and the 
 defacement will not be noticeable, then I will 
 draw the easel a trifle closer in the corner, and 
 don't you understand, my lady? You will 
 get behind the picture. The curtains which 
 drape the window will conceal you on one side, 
 and the bookcase will effectually screen you on 
 the other, so that he could not by any possibility 
 see you, unless he should make a point of peering 
 behind the easel. He is sure to look at that por- 
 trait long and earnestly, for he fairly worshipped 
 it when he was a boy. Why, even since he became
 
 PORTRAIT OF SIR RODERICK 109 
 
 a man, I have seen him stand and gaze at that 
 picture for minutes at a time. It always seemed 
 to have some sort of fascination for him, and when 
 he was a little fellow, he used to ask me the 
 strangest questions about it. It may be that he 
 will be angry when he finds that I have used my 
 penknife on his favourite picture. Do you think 
 he will, my lady? " 
 
 " No, Robert. When his memory has returned 
 to him with sufficient force to make him realize 
 what you have done, he will bless you, not blame 
 you for it. He has often told me about the 
 picture. When we were children, we often 
 looked at it together, and 'I remember that he 
 used to say then that the eyes always seemed to 
 him as if they were in a living person. Yes, he 
 will look at the picture, and in doing so, he will 
 look into my eyes." 
 
 " Suppose, my lady, that he should look at 
 it too long, and that you should give way and 
 betray your presence? " 
 
 " I will not do that, Robert; never fear." 
 
 " I have seen him stand for a whole hour be- 
 fore it, Miss Mercy. He used to tell me that when 
 anything troubled him, he went and told it to 
 the old earl, as he called the portrait, and that 
 it always did him good. Will you try to rest now, 
 dear Lady Mercy? I will go to the library and
 
 110 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 prepare the portrait, and when it is time, I will 
 call you and assist you to your place behind it. 
 Then I will take Mr. John to the library, and after 
 that after that, I am afraid I will not have a 
 chance to see you for several hours. I fear, my 
 lady, I fear very much that you will have to 
 prepare your own luncheon." 
 
 For the first time since their interview began, 
 Lady Mercy smiled. Then she glided forward 
 and, raising herself on tiptoe, before Robert 
 could understand what she intended to do, she 
 touched her lips to his forehead. 
 
 The old man tottered backwards as though a 
 bullet had struck him, and his face became fiery 
 red, like that of a schoolboy who has been sur- 
 reptitiously kissed by a wilful playmate. 
 
 " Miss Mercy," he said, severely, " you should 
 not have done that. One would think that you 
 were back again in short dresses but I thank 
 you for it. It is a much greater reward than I 
 ever could deserve." 
 
 The countess did not have an opportunity to 
 reply, for Robert bowed with great dignity, and 
 left the room.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION MARK 
 
 WITH the advent of daylight Robert betook 
 himself to the library and performed the work 
 of preparing it for the silent interview that was 
 to take place there, and so firm was his belief 
 in the righteousness of the deed that his hand 
 did not tremble when he desecrated the old 
 portrait of that ancient and now almost forgotten 
 head of the family, Sir Roderick Hertford, 
 the Crusader. 
 
 This duty done and everything arranged to his 
 satisfaction, his next care was for the countess. 
 She was aroused somewhat earlier than usual, 
 and while he passed the tray in at her door, he 
 assured her that he would summon her to the 
 library in ample time for her to conceal herself 
 before he should conduct Lord John thither 
 and then he prepared his new-found master's 
 breakfast. 
 
 Ashton was wide awake when Robert entered 
 the room, and he regarded the old servant with 
 
 ill
 
 112 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 a quizzical smile while the latter was arranging 
 the tray on a table beside the bed. 
 
 " Good morning, Mr. John," Robert said, on 
 entering the room and perceiving that his guest 
 was not sleeping. 
 
 He spoke with cheery brightness. His old face 
 beamed like the sunshine that gladdened the 
 world outside, and there was a confidence in 
 his manner that had been utterly wanting at their 
 last interview. 
 
 " Good morning, Robert," responded Ashton. 
 " You look as though the sunlight of a new day 
 had burned away all the fog that clouded your 
 brain last night. I hope it has." 
 
 :< Yes, sir. It has, quite. There isn't a bit 
 of fog there now." 
 
 " Well, that's comforting, surely. What have 
 we here? " 
 
 ' Two boiled eggs, a bit of toast and a cup of 
 coffee, sir. Did you rest well, Mr. John? Did you 
 sleep well? " 
 
 " Like a top." 
 
 ' That is good, very good. There is nothing 
 like one's own bed for good repose, but," he 
 added with precipitate haste, " good, healthy 
 fatigue will induce sleep anywhere. Now, sir, 
 while you are disposing of the contents of this 
 tray, I will prepare your bath, and after that I
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION MARK 113 
 
 will shave you as you have not been shaved for a 
 year." 
 
 He turned away before Ashton could reply, 
 and the latter, half smiling, murmured to him- 
 self: 
 
 " I believe the old rascal is as positive as ever 
 that I am Lord John, and that now he is playing 
 possum, just to put me off my guard. There must 
 be some way to convince him of his error, and, 
 for the old man's sake, I must find it. The trouble 
 is, that everything I attempt seems to rivet his 
 faith the stronger." Then he attacked the 
 toast, but his mind continued on in the same 
 strain. 
 
 " Who, for instance," he mused, " would have 
 imagined that the slippers and jacket would fit 
 me so exactly, to say nothing of the unaccount- 
 able likeness between the lost earl and myself? 
 If I had not shaved off my beard and moustache, 
 Robert would never have mistaken me, for that 
 the act did make a great alteration in my ap- 
 pearance, I have the proof in the failure of my 
 friends to recognize me that last day I spent in 
 New York." 
 
 His eyes followed the servant as he busied him- 
 self in the preparation of the bath, arranging 
 towels and cloths, flesh brushes and the general 
 paraphernalia of the matutinal plunge ; and again
 
 114 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 he smiled to himself, for he remembered, suddenly, 
 that there was upon his body one mark which 
 Lord John could not possibly have possessed. 
 
 It was on his left breast, over that spot where 
 the heart is popularly supposed to be located, 
 and it was itself the ineradicable evidence of an 
 unknown tattooer's skill, imprinted there before 
 the time when he could remember, and never 
 explained by his supposed uncle, Henry Hollister. 
 Doubtless the people who abandoned him as an 
 infant before the banker's door had marked him 
 for recognition. 
 
 At all events it was there, faint now, from the 
 wear of time, and by reason of the growth and 
 expansion of the cuticle, but nevertheless dis- 
 cernible. 
 
 " That will convince him as nothing else could," 
 thought Ashton as he leaped from the bed and 
 plunged into the bath that Robert had prepared. 
 
 " Robert," he called, when his skin was glow- 
 ing from the application of the rough towels, 
 " come here." 
 
 " I want you to look at this mark on my 
 breast. What is it, Robert? " 
 
 " A heart, sir." 
 
 'That is right; a heart. Did you ever see 
 that before, Robert? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, often."
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION MARK 115 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " Hundreds of times, sir." 
 
 " The devil you did! By the lord Harry, old 
 man, you make me think that you are either a 
 hopeless lunatic, a blithering idiot, or a damned 
 old rascal. Do you mean to tell me that Lord 
 John had a mark like that on his breast? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, precisely like it." 
 
 Ashton could only stare at the servant in 
 amazement, and the latter, perceiving his ad- 
 vantage, was not loath to make the most of 
 it. 
 
 " Don't you remember, Mr. Jack, how you 
 used to ask me about that mark when you were a 
 boy, and how we used to wonder how it came 
 there? Neither your father nor your mother 
 would ever tell you anything about it, and once, 
 sir, when you begged me to do so, I made bold to 
 ask the old earl, and he came mighty near sending 
 me away for it; don't you remember that? " 
 
 " No. I'm blessed if I do. Go on; what more 
 have you got to say about it? Let it all out now, 
 for you'll never have another chance." 
 
 " Why, there isn't anything more to say, sir, 
 unless it is that the mark has faded somewhat 
 more than I should have thought it would in one 
 year. Still, I suppose you have been travelling 
 in a different climate, and that may have had
 
 116 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 something to do with it. Don't you think so, 
 sir?" 
 
 " Oh, undoubtedly! " exclaimed Ashton with 
 bitter irony. " Look here, Robert, there is 
 surely something wrong about that cranium of 
 yours. I am strongly of the opinion that you 
 have got the worst kind of wheels in it, and every 
 one of them is going the wrong way." 
 
 " Wheels, sir? " 
 
 " Yes, wheels. That is an Americanism, 
 Robert, and I am an American. Do you under- 
 stand that? " 
 
 " I supposed that you had been in America or 
 Australia, sir, from your manner of speaking. I 
 guessed that, sir." 
 
 " Oh, you did! Well, you are the champion 
 guesser of two continents, I'll admit that. Do 
 you insist that your lost earl had a mark like 
 that on his breast? " 
 
 " Precisely like it, sir." 
 
 " Can you prove it? " 
 
 " Easily, sir." 
 
 " How? " 
 
 " By a letter you wrote to me when " 
 
 " By a letter that I wrote to you! " 
 
 " By a letter that you wrote to me when you 
 were at Hertford Hall at the time when I asked 
 your father about it," continued Robert firmly, for
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION MARK 117 
 
 the old man had taken the bit in his teeth at 
 last, and he refused to compromise with what he 
 believed to be the truth. 
 
 He saw, or thought he saw the advantage he 
 had gained, and he determined to make the 
 most of it before the opportunity was gone. He 
 had been compelled, up to that moment, to ad- 
 minister only homoeopathic doses of memory to 
 the strangely afflicted earl, but now he meant to 
 give him the genuine article to swallow. 
 
 " You had urged me so many times to ask your 
 father about it," he went on, " that I finally did 
 so, and then, according to promise, I wrote to 
 you of my failure, telling you that the old earl 
 very nearly dismissed me for my impertinence. 
 You wrote a letter back, thanking me, and assur- 
 ing me that you would make it all right with your 
 father, and that you would take all the blame. 
 I have that letter, sir, as I have all that you ever 
 wrote to me, and I can find it in ten min- 
 utes.," 
 
 " Humph! Well, you trot right down stairs 
 and find it, then, while I am getting into my 
 clothes. I'd like to see that letter, for upon my 
 soul, I don't believe that you possess such a 
 document. After that, I'll bid you good morning, 
 for it is utterly abhorrent to every principle of 
 my nature for me to remain here and even pas-
 
 118 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 sively become a party to the deception that you 
 are determined to practise upon yourself." 
 
 " Oh, sir, oh, Mr. John " 
 
 " Stop! Not another word. I won't have it! 
 I warned you last night, but the warning seems 
 to have done no good. I will not repeat it, nor 
 will I give you the chance to err again. 
 
 " Go and get that letter." 
 
 "Yes, sir; yes, sir. I will get it;" and with 
 ashen face the old man tottered from the room. 
 
 " This certainly beats everything I ever heard 
 of or read about," said Ashton aloud when he was 
 again alone; and then, while he busied himself 
 in dressing, he continued to think upon the laby- 
 rinth of coincidence apparently conspiring to 
 force him to accept a false position. 
 
 The're was the unaccountable coincidence of 
 likeness between the lost earl and himself, which 
 nobody, himself included, could deny. There 
 was the coincidence of names; on the one hand, 
 the earl of Ashton and Cowingford, and on the 
 other, John Cowingford Ashton. There was the 
 same physique and doubtless the same voice, 
 for a change in voice is more quickly discern- 
 ible than any other attribute of man; and 
 last, there was the coincidence of the tattooed 
 heart on the left breast, and if Robert was right 
 and did possess the letter to which he had re-
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION MARK 119 
 
 ferred, the old man could scarcely be condemned 
 for the opinion he had formed regarding the 
 identity of his guest. Ashton realized that fully, 
 but he was determined that he would put a stop to it. 
 
 How to account for these coincidences was 
 entirely beyond the subject of them. It is true 
 that he was a foundling, and the suggestion was 
 pertinent that it might develop that he was 
 related to the missing earl. He might be a 
 cousin, or even a twin brother, since it was shown 
 that their ages were practically the same, and 
 might be exactly so for all that Ashton could 
 tell, but opposed to such a theory was the un- 
 deniable fact that one was born and had always 
 lived in England, while the other was found on a 
 doorstep in the city of New York. 
 
 The name might easily be accounted for by the 
 statement of Henry Hollister that he had named 
 the foundling for a college associate, and that 
 friend might possibly have been the father of the 
 missing earl, only in that case the name would 
 more likely have been Hertford. 
 
 John Ashton shook his head in deep perplexity. 
 He was only clear about one thing, and that was 
 that he would get away from the complication 
 before old Robert could work himself any deeper 
 into the mire of credulity; and just as he arrived 
 at that decision Robert returned.
 
 120 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Here it is, sir," he said, extending a letter 
 which Ashton received and read to the last word. 
 Then he replaced it in the envelope and returned 
 it. 
 
 " Very good," he said calmly. " I am con- 
 vinced that you spoke the truth and I owe you an 
 apology for doubting you, Robert. Now I wish 
 to ask you a few questions." 
 
 " Yes, sir. I will reply to them if I can." 
 
 " Did Lord John ever have a brother? " 
 
 " No, sir, he was an only child." 
 
 " You are sure of that, Robert? " 
 
 " Positive, sir; I have been in the family all 
 my life ever since his father was a lad." 
 
 " Did he have a cousin a male cousin, or a 
 near relative who was stolen while he was a 
 babe? I mean one about his own age, or, in fact, 
 any age at all? " 
 
 " No, sir, never." 
 
 1 You would be likely to know about it if such 
 a thing had occurred in the family? " 
 
 " I am sure that I would know about it." 
 
 " Why are you so sure about it? " 
 
 " Because I have been in the family so long, 
 sir, and because the family has never been a 
 large one. Mr. Richard Hertford is the nearest 
 relative that my master ever had with the ex- 
 ception of his own parents."
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION MARK 121 
 
 " Where was Lord John born? " 
 
 " At Hertford Hall." 
 
 " Were you there at the time? " 
 
 " Not exactly, sir. I was with his father, here 
 in London. We were telegraphed for, and went 
 down on the afternoon train. Lord John was 
 born at two in the afternoon, and we arrived 
 there at seven in the evening. I remember it as 
 well as though it were yesterday, sir." 
 
 " Humph! Your statement seems to be un- 
 answerable, Robert. You ought to know." 
 
 " I do know, sir." 
 
 Ashton was silent. He believed that under the 
 circumstances it would be little less than a 
 downright act of cruelty for him to go away with- 
 out first dispelling the delusion in Robert's mind, 
 and he was now convinced that the old servant 
 was genuinely deceived. 
 
 Again, there was the countess. Robert had 
 said that she was travelling abroad. Ere long 
 she would return to be met by Robert's statement 
 that the earl was surely alive, had been at home, 
 and had gone away again, he could not tell 
 whither; and the countess, possibly on the point 
 of forming new ties, or at least partly recovered 
 from the effects of her loss, would be cast into a 
 new slough of despondency, infinitely worse than 
 the first.
 
 122 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Robert," he said presently, " I wish to have 
 a real, downright, sensible talk with you." 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " And I want you to reply to me with perfect 
 truth." 
 
 " I will do so, sir." 
 
 " You must neither equivocate nor temporize. 
 The time is past for that, now." 
 
 " Very well, sir." 
 
 " Do you really believe that I am the Earl of 
 Ashton and Cowingford? " 
 
 " I do, sir." 
 
 " Does it amount to more than mere belief? 
 Are you, in your own mind, certain of it? " 
 
 " I am, sir." 
 
 " Since when, Robert? " 
 
 " Since the first moment that I saw you." 
 
 " Has nothing happened since that moment 
 to shake your faith? " 
 
 " No, sir, nothing." 
 
 11 Not even my own positive denial? " 
 
 " Not even that, sir." 
 
 " Well, that is cool to say the least. Let us 
 begin now on the supposition that I am the lost 
 Lord John; what object would I have in denying 
 it?" 
 
 " Only your own conviction, sir. I believe that 
 you are sincere in denying it. I believe that you
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION MARK 123 
 
 think you are some other person that you have 
 forgotten who you really are." 
 
 " Well, by Jove! " exclaimed Ashton, aghast 
 at the spectacle that Robert had created. Then, 
 with sudden sadness, he added: " I wish to God 
 I could forget who I really am." 
 
 " And I, sir, wish to God, with all my heart, 
 that you could remember who you really are," 
 Robert responded. " Try, sir, try! Did not the 
 picture of Lady Mercy compel some responsive 
 memory in your heart? I thought that I saw it 
 there when you looked at the photograph." 
 
 " Hush, Robert. Can you not understand how 
 preposterous your belief is? If I were the earl, 
 how could I have forgotten it? " 
 
 " By reason of some accident, sir, or a severe 
 illness. It would not be the first case of the kind. 
 Men have met with accidents which have de- 
 prived them of memory and made them forget 
 the past." 
 
 " But I do not forget the past, my good man. 
 God Almighty knows that I remember it only too 
 well that I would leap for joy if I could erase 
 every recollection of it from my mind for ever. 
 Good heavens, do you suppose that I would 
 hesitate one instant between the misery of that 
 past and the promised joys of this present, if 
 there were any doubts concerning the truth?
 
 124 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 If I were John Hertford, do you think I would 
 deny it to you? Was there, could there have 
 been any cause that you have kept back from me 
 which could have induced your master to leave 
 home of his own accord? " 
 
 " Not one." 
 
 " Is there no way by which I can convince you 
 of your error, Robert? It must be done." 
 
 " I am sure, sir, that there is not." 
 
 " Well, for downright obstinacy, you are head 
 and shoulders over anything I ever saw. Can't 
 you think of some test that we might apply, that 
 would convince you? Was there no other mark 
 upon me besides that confounded tattoo busi- 
 ness? " 
 
 14 Not that I remember, sir." 
 
 " I am bound to convince you, somehow, Robert, 
 for I will not remain here and permit you to live 
 under any such hallucination. I shall leave 
 England to-morrow, but before I go, you must 
 be convinced." 
 
 " Oh, sir," cried Robert, " you will not leave 
 England! Ill die if you do that." 
 
 'Yes, I shall leave England; consider that 
 settled." 
 
 The announcement was too much for the old 
 man. He sank upon a chair and sobbed aloud, 
 and Ashton, after regarding him a moment with
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION MARK 125 
 
 consternation and deep contrition in his face, 
 added: 
 
 " Tut, tut, Robert. None of that. Stand up 
 and listen to me. There, that is better, old chap. 
 You make me feel like an infernal scoundrel 
 as though, somehow, I hadn't any right to assert 
 my own identity. Would you know the hand- 
 writing of Lord John, if you should see it? " 
 
 " Indeed I would, sir." 
 
 " Then get me pen, ink and paper. You shall 
 see some that is not his." 
 
 " Yes, sir. We will go to the library, sir, if 
 you will wait a moment here until I return. I 
 will be gone only a few moments."
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 BEHIND THE PORTRAIT 
 
 ASHTON was rather startled by the precipitate 
 haste with which Robert left the room, but he 
 attributed it to his desire to compose himself 
 before that test of handwriting, which Ashton 
 intended should be final, was tried. 
 
 There was, indeed, some truth in the conjecture, 
 for the faithful old man did wish to compose his 
 countenance before going into the presence of 
 Lady Mercy, who he knew was impatiently 
 awaiting the summons to the library where from 
 behind the screen offered by the portrait of the 
 crusader she could look again upon the face and 
 form of the man she loved. 
 
 She instantly detected, however, the pertur- 
 bation depicted upon Robert's countenance. 
 
 " What is it, Robert? What has happened? " 
 she demanded, the moment he made his appear- 
 ance. 
 
 " He is determined to leave us, Miss Mercy," 
 sobbed the old man. "He is going away, and 
 
 126
 
 BEHIND THE PORTRAIT 127 
 
 to-morrow he says he will leave England. What 
 shall we do? What can we do? " 
 
 " He must be prevented from going. There 
 will be a way, Robert. Wait until I have seen 
 him. There will be time enough after that. 
 Are you ready to take me to the library? " 
 
 " Yes, my lady." 
 
 " Come, then." 
 
 She went past him, through the open doorway, 
 and on down the stairs so rapidly that he found 
 it difficult to keep pace with her. Her own hands 
 seized the easel against which the portrait rested, 
 but she was not strong enough to move it from 
 its place. It was Robert who did that, and when 
 she had passed behind it and applied her eyes to 
 the holes that Robert's penknife had made, he 
 moved it back again so that she was effectually 
 a prisoner. 
 
 " Can you see around the room? " he asked 
 when everything was adjusted. 
 
 " Perfectly. Do you think it will be possible 
 for him to detect me here? " 
 
 " No, my lady, I do not. It is barely possible 
 for me to discover the defect, and I know that it 
 is there. He, not knowing it, will never suspect 
 your presence. Do you think you will be able 
 to retain your composure? " 
 
 " Yes, Robert."
 
 128 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " No matter what he says or does? " 
 
 "Yes; I will not give way. Go, Robert, go; 
 he is waiting." 
 
 " One moment, and I will go," he replied. 
 Then with deft fingers he placed writing materials 
 upon the table, arranged the curtains to suit 
 him, and hastened back to the room where he 
 had left his guest. 
 
 " Come, sir," he said. " I will take you to the 
 library now, if you please." 
 
 Ashton did not reply. He followed his con- 
 ductor in silence along the hall and down the 
 stairs to the library door, passed inside and 
 paused. 
 
 The portrait of Sir Roderick was in the corner 
 directly opposite the point where he entered the 
 room. It was a striking picture; one that would 
 have claimed attention anywhere, particularly 
 the attention of one as fond of art as John Ashton, 
 and he experienced an uncanny feeling as his 
 gaze encountered the eyes of the portrait which 
 were fixed upon him as though the stern old 
 warrior did not entirely approve of his intrusion. 
 
 "Whom does that portrait represent? One 
 of the family ancestors? " he inquired. 
 
 'That is Sir Roderick, sir; the portrait you 
 used to love so dearly. Look closer, sir. You 
 will remember it."
 
 BEHIND THE PORTRAIT 129 
 
 " Confound you, Robert. If I were not so 
 sorry for you I would be angry." 
 
 " Will you not look at the portrait more 
 closely, sir? " asked Robert unmoved. 
 
 " Not now. After we have tried that hand- 
 writing, I will. Where are the materials? Ah, 
 here they are. What shall I write? " 
 
 " Do you wish me to dictate it, sir? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " The last letter that I received from you, sir, 
 read something like this," said the old man, 
 calmly, determined that, inasmuch as he had now 
 boldly asserted his unfaltering belief, he would 
 adhere to it in public as well as in private. " Are 
 you ready? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " ' Robert Smithson ' never mind the ad- 
 dress ' Send Powers to the station at 9.45 ' 
 9.45 in figures, sir ' to-morrow morning. 
 He should bring the carriage as I shall have a 
 friend or two with me.' That is all, sir." 
 
 " How did he sign it? " asked Ashton, pausing 
 with uplifted pen, when the short note was 
 finished. 
 
 ' Just ' Hertford,' sir. Sometimes you signed 
 John Hertford, to checks and things of that 
 sort, but never Ashton, or Cowingford. You 
 always preferred to use the family name. Your
 
 130 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 letters to me were always signed with the one 
 name." 
 
 " Oh, they were, eh? Well, there it is. Now 
 take a look at it, and it may be that you will be 
 convinced of your folly." 
 
 He threw down the pen, and, rising, crossed the 
 room until he stood before the portrait behind 
 which Lady Mercy was concealed, and Robert, 
 who took two or three steps toward the table to 
 comply with the request, noticing what he had 
 done, stopped suddenly, too deeply concerned 
 over the possible discovery of the presence of the 
 countess to care to inspect the handwriting which 
 he was already convinced did not need inspection, 
 and so fearful that his mistress might do some- 
 thing to betray her presence, that instantly he 
 forgot everything except her purpose in coming 
 to the library. 
 
 Ashton, in his turn, forgot what Robert was 
 supposed to be doing in the unaccountable fas- 
 cination he felt for the portrait. He remained, 
 several moments, motionless, regarding it steadily, 
 feeling, with a tingling sense of uncanniness, 
 that the gaze was returned. 
 
 He was vaguely conscious of an inexplicable 
 attraction towards the likeness of the man who 
 had rested so many centuries in the grave, and 
 he experienced an indefinable wish that he could
 
 BEHIND THE PORTRAIT 131 
 
 change places with the knight who looked down 
 upon him with a glance as bold as any with which 
 he had met the infidel Saracen on his native 
 deserts. Twice he attempted to turn away, only 
 to discover that the portrait drew his eyes to 
 the pictured face with an irresistible attraction. 
 
 Presently he turned his gaze upon other paint- 
 ings in the room, only to find that the eyes of 
 Sir Roderick gleamed upon him from each, and 
 that the countenance of the warrior was drawn 
 in the sunsets, in the landscapes, among the 
 trees, and in the portraits of every work of art 
 with which the walls were decorated. 
 
 Robert, in the meantime, had approached 
 within a few feet of his supposed master, and 
 standing directly behind him, physically para- 
 lyzed by suppressed excitement, awaited the 
 result. His fingers were interlocked and each 
 hand strained upon the other with unrelaxed 
 tension, so that the knuckles gleamed brightly 
 red, like clouded rubies, the veins in the backs 
 of his hands became purple and swollen, and 
 contrasted strangely with the surrounding pallor. 
 
 His face was as white as the face of a corpse, 
 except in two spots over his eyes, where the blood 
 seemed to have collected its forces and paused, 
 held there by the power of the will to assist the 
 visual organs. He had paused in the act of
 
 132 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 stepping. His weight rested on the ball of his 
 right foot while the toe of the left one seemed 
 barely to touch the carpet. Had he been one of 
 the victims of Vesuvius in the destruction of 
 Pompeii and Herculaneum, overtaken in his 
 agonizing flight by the deadly sulphur fumes, 
 engulfed, sustained and preserved by the flood 
 of ashes that followed, and recreated by modern 
 art as other figures have been, anxiety, terror, 
 hope, doubt, faith and unbelief could not have 
 been more delicately depicted. He saw what 
 Ashton could not see. He knew what Ashton did 
 not know. He realized fully what Ashton only 
 sensed, as one experiences realities in dreams, 
 that there was life and hope and love, light and 
 warmth and feeling in the expression of the eyes 
 that looked down upon them from the picture. 
 
 Ashton saw only that there was something 
 living beyond and behind that painted canvas; 
 he saw it without belief or realization; he real- 
 ized it without sight or sense; he imagined all 
 that his inner being revealed without trusting 
 to his imagination ; he felt that his pulses thrilled, 
 yet denied to himself that they were stirred; he 
 breathed more deeply yet with shorter inhala- 
 tions, while he seemed not to be breathing at all ; 
 he saw moisture in the depths of those eyes, and 
 wondered if a painter's art had permitted the
 
 BEHIND THE PORTRAIT 133 
 
 brush to depict a reality like that, knowing while 
 he wondered that art had never builded so high; 
 and then while still attracted and repulsed, 
 beckoned and repelled as though he were the 
 steel between the positive and the negative 
 poles of a magnet, by a strange paradox, he re- 
 membered Hope. 
 
 There was no more likeness between the picture 
 and Hope Hollister than there might have been 
 between the icebergs of the frozen north and the 
 sands of blistered Sahara, but still there was the 
 thought. There was no likeness at all between 
 Hope Hollister and the woman whose identity 
 glowed behind the eyes of the portrait ; yet, still, 
 there was the thought. There was absolutely 
 nothing in the circumstances or in the sur- 
 roundings to suggest Hope Hollister to his mind, 
 and yet the thought came and brought with it 
 an indescribable feeling of awe and a wave 
 of tenderness which at once enthralled and 
 attracted him, and he drew a step nearer to the 
 canvas. 
 
 With his eyes fixed intently upon the pupils 
 of those orbs that seemed to him to beckon him 
 on, he paused again and sighed, raising his right 
 hand and passing it methodically across his brow. 
 
 For the moment he forgot where he was, for 
 across the wide ocean, among the mazes of that
 
 134 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 great city, through the thick walls of the house 
 and into the room where he stood leaped the 
 image of the woman he had loved so devoutly 
 whom he now loved so despairingly whose 
 memory throughout the year of wandering had 
 been his safeguard, his mentor, his religion. 
 
 " Hope, Hope! " he murmured. " My lost 
 love. What is it that brings you before me now, 
 so vividly that I can see every lineament of your 
 dear face in the grim visage of this old warrior? 
 What is the magic of this portrait which makes 
 you look at me out of his eyes? What has cast 
 the spell of your presence in this room, strange 
 to me and to you alike? Are you thinking of 
 me, my Hope? Has the past year of separation 
 been as bitter to you as it has been to me? " 
 
 He ceased speaking. Robert, not daring to 
 move, remained like a graven image hoping, 
 doubting, fearing, wondering. 
 
 There were several moments of absolute silence, 
 and then with startling distinctness, seemingly 
 from behind the picture, there came a heart- 
 breaking sigh. 
 
 Ashton came to himself with a start, and he 
 turned instantly to Robert. 
 
 "What was that?" he demanded. "Who 
 made that sound? " 
 
 " It was I, sir. I did it," replied Robert with
 
 BEHIND THE PORTRAIT 135 
 
 strange eagerness. He could lie for others, if 
 not for himself. 
 
 Still Ashton doubted, while knowing that he 
 ought not to doubt while believing that there 
 was no reason to doubt. He shook his head 
 incredulously. 
 
 " It came from behind the picture," he said. 
 
 Robert, not knowing what to reply, said noth- 
 ing. It was the wisest course he could have pur- 
 sued, and the next moment Ashton had turned 
 his face once again upon the portrait and was 
 once more plunged in his own thoughts. 
 
 It was the appeal that he had made to his 
 lost love that had forced the sigh from the count- 
 ess, for she, like Robert, believed that he was 
 appealing to his memory of her. The name Hope 
 was only a word to her. Taken in connection 
 with the words that followed, the man who 
 uttered them was only battling with forgetful- 
 ness and hoping that the veil which hid the past 
 from view might be drawn aside. 
 
 " Are you thinking of me, my Hope? " he 
 had said. " Has the past year of separation 
 been as bitter to you as it has been to me? " 
 
 His eyes were looking straight into hers; her 
 gaze was peering into the utmost depths of his 
 soul when the words were uttered; is it strange 
 that she sighed?
 
 136 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 She saw all that Robert had seen ; she believed 
 all that Robert believed. The boy with whom 
 she had played in childhood, the man whom she 
 had loved and married and from whom she was 
 parted on her wedding day, stood before her, and 
 she dared not make her presence known. 
 
 When he turned to speak to Robert she quickly 
 brushed the tears from her eyes, so that when he 
 looked again toward her she believed that she 
 was preparing to meet his glance, but she was in 
 nowise prepared for what she saw. 
 
 For the first time in all the months that had 
 passed since John Ashton and Hope parted in the 
 counting-room of Henry Hollister's bank, tears 
 welled up from his soul through his eyes and 
 rolled unheeded down his cheeks. But it was 
 only for a moment that he remained thus, for 
 then through his own tears he saw, or fancied 
 that he saw, tears in the painted eyes of the 
 portrait. 
 
 With a quick gesture he dashed his own aside 
 and stepped eagerly forward to obtain a nearer 
 view. 
 
 There was no mistake. There were tears in 
 the eyes of that pictured face, and while he 
 gazed upon them in amazement, they rolled down 
 the canvas. Tears! Real tears! 
 
 He looked again, bending forward still nearer,
 
 BEHIND THE PORTRAIT 137 
 
 and then he saw the eyes vanish as if by magic 
 while from behind the easel he heard another sigh, 
 half sob, half moan. 
 
 Instantly alert, he seized the painting by the 
 frame and hurled it across the room, exposing 
 to full view the exquisite face and quivering form 
 of Lady Mercy, now utterly terrorized by the 
 consciousness that her presence was betrayed 
 and that she stood revealed before him.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE ONLY WAY 
 
 THE anger which had been his motive in dashing 
 the portrait aside was quelled the instant Ashton 
 saw the living, breathing picture behind it. He 
 remained where he was, and for a second she re- 
 tained her position, neither speaking, while Rob- 
 ert crept slowly away toward a near-by window 
 where he concealed himself behind the curtains. 
 
 "John?" said the countess then; "John?" 
 
 Ashton did not reply, and she moved forward, 
 stepping through the now vacant easel and 
 approaching slowly the spot where he was stand- 
 ing. 
 
 " John? " she repeated, gliding still closer to 
 him and reaching out both hands appealingly. 
 Then she paused, without touching him. 
 
 Still he did not move. He felt that he could 
 not trust his own senses ; his powers of utterance 
 were paralyzed, his position unprecedented, in- 
 explicable, confounding; and all the while there 
 was something in the eyes of the woman so 
 
 138
 
 THE ONLY WAY 139 
 
 strangely introduced into his presence which 
 held his own in spite of himself; which com- 
 manded his silence and his respect. 
 
 But Lady Mercy could endure no more. She 
 realized that he looked upon her with unrecogni- 
 tion, and the sustaining power which until now 
 had upheld her in her effort to play the part she 
 had undertaken gave way. 
 
 She threw herself forward upon his breast, 
 clasping her white, soft arms around his neck, 
 and without a sigh, or sound, lost consciousness. 
 
 She would have slipped from his grasp to the 
 floor of the library, had not his own arms sus- 
 tained her, but he caught her as she would have 
 fallen, and lifting her gently, placed her in one 
 of the big library chairs. Then, straightening 
 up, he looked sharply around for Robert. 
 
 The old servant, however, was still concealed 
 behind the curtain and was too greatly fright- 
 ened, or perhaps too wise to make his presence 
 known. 
 
 " Robert! Robert! " called Ashton, but there 
 was no reply, and the American glanced again 
 at his companion in the chair, discovering that 
 her eyes were open that she was already re- 
 covering from her swoon. 
 
 " I am rejoiced that you are better, madam," 
 he said coldly. " I think, now that you are not
 
 140 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 in need of assistance, and lest you might have a 
 second attack, I will leave you." 
 
 He turned to go, but her voice compelled him 
 to wait. 
 
 "Stop, sir; stop, one moment, I pray you!" 
 she gasped. " Do you not see that I am suffer- 
 ing? Oh, for the love of God do not leave me 
 yet!" 
 
 He fell back a step or two and paused again. 
 
 " Why do you wish me to remain? " he asked, 
 regarding her intently and with some curiosity 
 in his glance. " Why are you suffering? Is it 
 because you, too, insist upon confounding my 
 identity with that of the lost Earl of Ash- 
 ton? " 
 
 " Yes," she faltered. 
 
 She had not strength enough to move; indeed 
 she seemed to possess barely sufficient energy to 
 speak. The trying experience through which 
 she had passed while concealed behind the por- t 
 trait, the continued repression of all her emotions, 
 followed by the sudden and alarming dnoue- 
 ment, had undone her completely. In that in- 
 stant she experienced greater despair than she 
 had felt during all the long year of sorrow and 
 waiting that had just come to a close. The hope 
 upon which she had lived until that moment, 
 seemed blasted now.
 
 THE ONLY WAY 141 
 
 Ashton studied her face closely before he 
 ventured to speak again, and then his question 
 was uttered so deliberately, so coldly, and to 
 her so cruelly, that it started her into instant 
 life, and she sprang from the chair, apparently 
 electrified. 
 
 " Madam," he said, " may I be so bold as to 
 inquire who you are? " 
 
 Then it was that she started up and confronted 
 him with flashing eyes and flaming cheeks, re- 
 animated, newly armed and equipped for the 
 battle that she must wage with the most subtle 
 foe in all the world, forgetfulness. 
 
 " I was, before I knew you, Lady Mercy Cov- 
 ington," she said deliberately. " Now I am Lady 
 Mercy Hertford, the Countess of Ashton and 
 Cowingford, your wife." 
 
 " Good God! " was all that Ashton could ejac- 
 ulate, and he started back as though stricken 
 by a bullet. 
 
 He had not imagined that she could be the 
 countess. Until this moment he had not noticed 
 the strong resemblance to the photograph he had 
 seen the night before ; Robert had told him that 
 she was on the Continent, and he had supposed, 
 if he had supposed anything, that the woman 
 before him was some relative or friend of the 
 family whom Robert had smuggled into the
 
 142 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 house to assist him in convincing his guest that 
 he was the missing earl. 
 
 Here was a complication one which bade 
 fair to be more trying than anything that Robert 
 might have conjured up, and Ashton did not 
 know how to meet it; and while he stood there, 
 half dazed by the announcement she had 
 made, the countess spoke again, calmly and 
 slowly. 
 
 " John," she said, " there must be some way 
 to make you remember. Won't you try to help 
 me? No matter how thoroughly you may be 
 convinced in your own mind that you are not 
 John Hertford, won't you have patience with 
 me and help me? Won't you, John? " 
 
 " Help you to convince me that I am your 
 husband? " he almost shouted. " My good 
 woman, you are mad! You must be mad! " 
 
 " No, John," she responded, as calmly as be- 
 fore, "it is you who are mad, not 1. Do you 
 think that I could be deceived? I, who have 
 loved you since we were children together? I, 
 your wife, if only in name? Robert, who has 
 known you from the cradle, might be deceived, 
 but not I. The whole world might be deceived, 
 but not I. My own eyes and ears might be 
 deceived, but not my heart, and that tells me 
 that you are John Hertford that you are
 
 THE ONLY WAY 143 
 
 my husband who has come back to me after 
 a whole year of waiting. Would my own heart 
 fail me in an extremity like this? " 
 
 He could only gaze at her in consternation and 
 amazement. 
 
 " Is this an asylum for the insane? " he 
 muttered. " Am I the plaything of a lot of 
 maniacs? " 
 
 " No," she replied as unmoved as ever, for 
 she was determined not to give way again, 
 " there is no one here who is insane. You have 
 forgotten, that is all. You are in your own house, 
 in the presence of your own wife. You were 
 called from my side the evening of our wedding 
 day, one year ago yesterday, and I have never 
 seen you since that time. Yesterday, Robert 
 met you and brought you home. Home, John, 
 home! Has the word no significance for you, 
 even if the name of your wife has not? " 
 
 Ashton did not immediately reply. He was 
 thinking trying to decide what was best to 
 do in order to convince her of her error, and 
 presently he decided. 
 
 There was only one way, only one. He would 
 tell her his own 'history ; tell her about Hope ; 
 about that scene with her in the counting-room 
 of the bank, and the one that followed it which 
 had ended so fatally. It would wrench his heart
 
 144 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 strings apart, but he would tell her. It was the 
 only way. 
 
 He crossed the room to the chair that she had 
 occupied, drew it forward, and then stepped back 
 again. 
 
 " Be seated, madam, if you please," he said. 
 " I have decided to tell you a story about my- 
 self, and perhaps, when you have heard it, you 
 will not be so eager to claim me for a relative; 
 but first permit me to ask you a question." 
 
 She took the chair and waited expectantly. 
 
 " Robert told me that you were abroad," he 
 continued. " Will you tell me how it happens 
 that you are here at this time? " 
 
 " I have never left the house since I entered it 
 on your arm, a bride," she replied. 
 
 " Am I so like your husband in everything 
 voice, articulation, features, motion, manner- 
 isms? " 
 
 1 Yes ; you speak with more directness, per- 
 haps, than you used to do, but the change is 
 very slight. One year's travel in America might 
 produce it." 
 
 " Listen, then, madam, and I will tell you my 
 story; I see there is no help for it."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SEA 
 
 " WHEN I was a baby, possibly two or three 
 weeks old," Ashton began, " I was found in a 
 -basket on the doorstep of the residence of a 
 banker in the city of New York. That was 
 nearly thirty-one years ago. The banker took 
 me in, kept me, and reared me with as much 
 tenderness as if I had been his own son, and in- 
 deed, until one year ago yesterday I believed my- 
 self to be his nephew. Then he undeceived me, 
 and how, you shall hear before I have done. 
 There was nothing about me to indicate that I 
 had a name, and he gave me the name of a friend, 
 an Englishman who had been his chum at col- 
 lege; that name is John Cowingford Ashton. 
 The only way in which I can account for the 
 coincidence in names, is that the father of your 
 husband was the friend for whom I was named. 
 I grew up in that family as happy as a boy could 
 be made to be by tender care and love. I ad- 
 dressed my benefactor as uncle, and regarded 
 
 145
 
 146 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 his daughter, who was born eight years after my 
 advent, as my cousin. Her I loved with the only 
 love that ever came into my life. When I became 
 old enough I entered my benefactor's bank as a 
 clerk, and step by step rose to the position of 
 cashier, which place I held until one year ago 
 yesterday, when I when I gave it up and came 
 away. 
 
 " The daughter's name was is Hope," he 
 continued after a moment's pause. ' You heard 
 me utter it when I stood before the portrait, 
 and, looking into your eyes, fancied that I saw 
 something in them to remind me of her. We 
 were to have been married, but because of an act 
 of folly, all my own, and the subsequent and 
 possibly consequent perfidy and shamelessness 
 of a woman because of that, I am here. Be- 
 cause of that the ceremony never was and never 
 can be performed. I cannot explain that act to 
 you except to say that I permitted myself to 
 make love to that other woman ; and that Hope 
 believed I sinned beyond her power to forgive, 
 sinned beyond redemption in her eyes. Nay, I 
 will be entirely frank with you. Why not? It 
 is your right to know the truth in order that you 
 may be convinced. I will tell it all to you. There 
 was a young woman in New York who chose to 
 flatter me with the outward expression of her
 
 THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SEA 147 
 
 regard. She was beautiful, attractive, possessed 
 of certain fascinations she well knew how to use, 
 and I I flirted with her, or permitted myself 
 to be flirted with. Pray do not think that I am 
 attempting to belittle my own fault. But I 
 saw the folly of it all very quickly. I sought 
 blunderingly, I suppose to withdraw from the 
 unpleasant complication, for while my tongue 
 had wandered from its loyalty to Hope, my heart 
 never had. Nor had there been any acts of in- 
 discretion, beyond a few tender hand clasps, some 
 whispered and meaningless sentences, and one, 
 just one, spasmodic embrace and kiss in the 
 conservatory of her guardian's house. Nothing 
 more than the things I have described, I swear! 
 And yet that woman chose to deceive herself 
 into the belief that she loved me. She wrote 
 many letters to me! I replied to only one, the 
 first. Finally her letters became threatening. 
 She told me that she would go to Miss Hollister 
 with the story, and she added significantly that 
 ' the story would lose nothing in the telling.' 
 She did go to Hope with her tale with one 
 she had manufactured for the occasion; with one 
 so repulsive in its conception and so revolting in 
 its details, that even now when I think of it I 
 stand appalled and almost incredulous, to think 
 that a woman could falsely charge herself so
 
 148 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 vilely. And Hope believed. Why should she 
 not do so when a woman, face to face with her, 
 charged herself with such a crime? 
 
 " Miss Hollister wrote me a letter and left it 
 on the table in my room for me to find. In that 
 letter, without intending to do so, she informed 
 me quite plainly how I had been charged, and 
 she told me with all candour that we must part. 
 In fact she asked me to meet her that night in 
 the counting-room of the bank it was a private 
 institution when she should leave a reception 
 she was to attend. She asked me to meet her 
 there for that last interview, because she had 
 determined never to exchange another word 
 with me beneath her father's roof. She even 
 told me that she would not again sit at the table 
 with me, and that if I remained another night 
 in the house, after that one, sjie would leave it 
 and would remain away until I had gone. 
 
 " Countess, if you could read that letter, if 
 you could have overheard the interview between 
 Miss Hollister and me at the bank that night, 
 you would perhaps comprehend how her father 
 came to grossly misconstrue each written sen- 
 tence, each spoken word. Henry Hollister's pater- 
 nal eyes had seen that something troubled his 
 daughter. He went to my room that evening 
 before I arrived, thinking I was there. He found
 
 THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SEA 149 
 
 the letter and read it. He read it believing all 
 the while that Hope was referring to herself in- 
 stead of another woman. Crazed as I now be- 
 lieve by that self deception, he too went to the 
 bank; he concealed himself in the private office 
 with the result that he overheard our interview, 
 which must have been even more ambiguous 
 than the letter. Before it was ended he inter- 
 rupted us. I had seized his daughter and was 
 holding her in my arms when he came upon us. 
 . . . He took her away, conducted her to the 
 carriage, ordering me to remain where I was. . . . 
 When he returned he was terrible in his anger 
 and I could not understand. ... It was then 
 he told me who I was or rather who I was not; 
 and then as his fury increased, he uttered words 
 that made me understand at last. 
 
 " The tempest of rage that shook me when I 
 did comprehend fully his meaning, and the 
 horrible thing he had made himself believe, 
 maddened me. It made an insane person of me. 
 I seized him, choked him, threw him from me to 
 the floor. ... In falling his head struck an iron 
 safe. . . . And he died." 
 
 Ashton paused and with a visible effort con- 
 trolled himself. 
 
 " I left the bank. I wandered through the 
 streets all that night and throughout the fol-
 
 150 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 lowing day. I visited a barber and had my 
 beard and moustache shaven. I changed my 
 name to Cornell, and I cannot understand now 
 why I did not give that name to Robert when he 
 met me on the corner of St. James Street, unless 
 it is that I had about decided to return to New 
 York and give myself up for the crime I had 
 committed. The remainder of the story you 
 know. The recital of it has given me more pain 
 than I can describe, and I sincerely hope that it 
 has served the purpose for which I have intended 
 it that you are convinced of the error into 
 which you and your servant have fallen because 
 of my strange and unaccountable resemblance 
 to your husband. Are you convinced, madam? " 
 
 He regarded her earnestly as he ceased speak- 
 ing. Then when she raised her eyes to his, and 
 he saw that they were as steadfast as ever, and 
 that his recital had had no effect upon her other 
 than to assure her that he was struggling under 
 the effects of an hallucination, he started back 
 in anger, finding it difficult to believe in his own 
 senses. 
 
 " John," she said, rising and coming closer to 
 him, "what could have put all of that awful his- 
 tory into your head? Did you dream all those 
 things while you were ill, and have you carried that 
 frightful sorrow around with you ever since you
 
 THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SEA 151 
 
 recovered? I am your Hope, John. There is no 
 such banker, or if there is, it is somebody you have 
 met while you were still ill, and the remainder 
 of the story you have imagined. Can you not 
 see it so? " 
 
 " I regret, madam, that I cannot," he replied 
 coldly. " With your permission, I will go." 
 
 " Not yet! Not yet! " she cried, extending one 
 hand with a rapid gesture, and detaining him. 
 
 " I insist, madam, that I must go. I have al- 
 ready remained too long." 
 
 " Tell me, John, the address of the banker, 
 Henry Hollister? " 
 
 " Why that? " 
 
 " You have been endeavouring to convince me 
 that I am in error, and now it becomes my duty 
 to convince you that it is you who err." 
 
 " Indeed! In what manner? " 
 
 " I will cable to New York at once. I will as- 
 certain if there is a banker there, living, by that 
 name; if so, if he ever had in his employ or ever 
 knew such a person as John Ashton, and if that 
 is also true, what was the manner of his leaving 
 his employ." 
 
 " I cannot consent to it. The cable would 
 find Hope. She would suffer anew. It cannot be 
 done." 
 
 " You mistake me. I have a friend who re-
 
 152 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 sides in New York. I will cable to her. She will 
 make the inquiry for me at the bank. I will not 
 spare words in the message. I will instruct her 
 how to act in everything. Wait. I will write 
 the message now and you shall approve of it 
 before it goes. Robert will send it for us. If the 
 reply confirms your story, I will believe. May 
 I write it, John? May I?" 
 
 " Yes, write it if you must," he said, shrugging 
 his shoulders and dropping into the chair. " It 
 seems to be the only way to convince you, and 
 I shall return to New York and surrender myself 
 to the law, anyway. Write." 
 
 She hurried to the table where Ashton had 
 written the letter of dictation for Robert, but he 
 did not see her when she discovered it. She gave 
 a sudden start, seized and folded it, and hastily 
 thrust it into the bosom of her morning robe. 
 Then she took up the pen and wrote. 
 
 " Listen," she said presently, rising and re- 
 turning to the chair where Ashton was seated, 
 " I will read the message to you; or do you pre- 
 fer to read it for yourself? " 
 
 " No, read it." 
 
 " It is to the friend of whom I spoke. We were 
 schoolmates and inseparable while she remained 
 in this country. She married an American. 
 Listen."
 
 THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SEA 153 
 
 " I listen, madam." 
 
 " ' Is Henry Hollister, banker ' (giving the 
 address) 'alive? Has he ever had in his employ 
 or does he know John Ashton? When to both. 
 Reply immediately full particulars. Vital im- 
 portance. Strictly confidential.' Can you sug- 
 gest anything to add to the message? " 
 
 " Nothing, madam." 
 
 " You are quite sure? " 
 
 " Quite so." 
 
 " Will you wait for me while I call Robert? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 Robert, anticipating that he was about to be 
 summoned, stole from behind his curtain through 
 the door into the hallway, and having permitted 
 sufficient time to elapse after she rang the bell, 
 reappeared. 
 
 When the countess had given him his instruc- 
 tions and he was gone, she returned to Ashton, 
 who was standing in the middle of the floor. 
 
 " You will await the reply, here? " she asked 
 anxiously. 
 
 " No, madam." 
 
 " You must, John, you must. It is only fair." 
 
 "It is impossible. Many hours must elapse 
 before you can receive an answer, and I know 
 already what it will be." 
 
 " You believe that you know. Don't go, John,
 
 154 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 I pray you do not go until the reply comes. You 
 do not know what it will be. You said you would 
 consent that I should try this test." 
 
 " Shall I tell you what the reply will be? " he 
 asked, smiling cynically. 
 
 " Yes," she replied, " tell me." 
 
 She only thought of gaining time so that she 
 could conjure up some plan that would keep 
 him there. 
 
 "Your reply will read something like this: 
 ' Ashton murdered Hollister one year ago. Arrest 
 him.' Good heaven, madam, I left my written 
 confession on the desk when I went out from the 
 counting-room that night. Do you think there 
 could be any doubt concerning the reception 
 accorded your friend when she goes there to 
 inquire for me? Don't you realize that it will 
 involve her, and do you wish to do that? There 
 is such a thing as outfollying folly, and my man- 
 hood revolts against the thought of permitting 
 myself longer to remain a party to it. I must go. 
 When your reply comes, you will be convinced. 
 If you suffer while you await its arrival, you will 
 feel all the more respect for me because I did not 
 remain to be a witness to your regret for this 
 scene." 
 
 With a quick motion Lady Mercy stepped 
 between Ashton and the door, and stood facing
 
 THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SEA , 155 
 
 him. A physiognomist might have discovered 
 infinite possibilities in her countenance. Its 
 startling beauty was greatly heightened by the 
 excitement of the moment. Her eyes, always 
 brilliant, gleamed with a new light which dazzled 
 and held him, and he almost recoiled before the 
 intensity of her gaze. She seemed to have grown 
 taller and stronger in that brief instant, and by 
 sheer force of will to have reached out and seized 
 control of the situation. 
 
 "You must not you shall not go!" she 
 exclaimed, although her voice was not raised and 
 her words were as calmly spoken as any that she 
 had uttered during that unprecedented conver- 
 sation. " No matter who you are; whether you 
 are my husband, or the man whom you claim 
 to be, you have no right to go out now, and you 
 shall not go! You shall not go! " 
 
 " Lady Mercy " he began, but she raised 
 one arm and stopped him. 
 
 " You refer to your manhood," she said, 
 attacking him on another point, and permitting 
 the suggestion of a ring of scorn to permeate her 
 tones; " do you think it is a manly thing to do, 
 to leave me now in order that you may seek your 
 own pleasure while I remain here to suffer alone? 
 I think it is cowardly." 
 
 " Cowardly, madam? "
 
 156 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Yes, cowardly. There is no other word to 
 apply to it." 
 
 " I think it is cowardly for me to remain, when 
 I know what the result will be it would be an 
 act of the most abject kind of cowardice. I must 
 
 go." 
 
 " You cannot go unless you put me away from 
 this door by force. I will not step aside to permit 
 you to pass." 
 
 " In that case, madam, I shall feel compelled 
 to do that very thing," he replied. 
 
 " What! You would do that? " 
 
 " If necessary, yes." 
 
 " Oh, God, is there nothing that will induce 
 you to remain? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 "Then do it," she said desperately. " I shall 
 not stand aside. Use your man's brute strength 
 against a woman's pleading, if you will. You 
 shall leave this room in no other manner." 
 
 She stood facing him with her arms, half bare, 
 thrown widely apart and covering the doorway, 
 and when he took a step nearer to her, 
 she did not move, nor did she turn her gaze from 
 his. 
 
 She was breathing heavily, for deep down in 
 her soul she believed this to be the one struggle 
 of her life. There was no doubt in her mind;
 
 THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SEA 157 
 
 only conviction, made the stronger by Ashton's 
 determination to go. 
 
 Perhaps he had masqueraded in America as 
 John Ashton. Perhaps he had secured a clerkship 
 in a bank over there. Perhaps he had known 
 Henry Hollister, and Hope, and had, during the 
 tortuous vagaries of his unbalanced mind, learned 
 to love her, or to think that he loved her. Per- 
 haps, even, it was true that Henry Hollister was 
 dead and that he had fallen by this man's hand. 
 All this and more might be possible, still he was 
 none the less her husband. That, she did not, 
 could not doubt. It was with her a settled con- 
 viction; and if all those possibilities were true, 
 was it not all the more vital that she should 
 detain him there? 
 
 The cable might say that the banker was dead, 
 and that he had been killed by John Ashton, but 
 it certainly could not say that John Ashton had 
 been known to them above a year. She would 
 wait. She would know how to act when the 
 message arrived, for in her heart she believed 
 that word would come that Henry Hollister was 
 still living, and that he did not, and never had 
 known John Ashton. 
 
 The man was in a difficult position. He was 
 determined that he would depart from the house 
 before that cablegram could arrive, and yet facing
 
 158 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 him was the unpleasant situation of being com- 
 pelled to thrust aside, by force, the woman who 
 opposed him with such vehemence that he could 
 not doubt her sincerity. Indeed it was the very 
 fact that he could not and did not doubt her which 
 rendered him all the more determined to go. 
 
 " Perhaps it is possible for us to temporize," 
 he said, presently, grasping at the only plan that 
 presented itself. " Will you listen to a sugges- 
 tion I have to make? " 
 
 " I will listen, John." 
 
 " If John were not my name," he replied, 
 shrugging his shoulders, " I should resent your 
 constant repetition of it. Under other circum- 
 stances I should be glad to have you so address 
 me. This is my suggestion: I will return to my 
 hotel and there await the arrival of Robert, 
 whom you will send to me with whatever message, 
 verbal or written, you care to despatch after you 
 have heard from New York. Will that suffice, 
 if I give you my word that I will do as I 
 say?" 
 
 'Wait; if the message I send is for you to 
 return here, will you do so? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Not even to hear my apologies, if apologies 
 are necessary? " 
 
 ' They will be unnecessary in any case."
 
 THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SEA 159 
 
 ' You do not reply. If I request you to return 
 here, will you do so? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then I will not consent. I demand as my 
 right, that you remain here." 
 
 " And I insist that I go." 
 
 " You shall not go." 
 
 "I must go I will go. Stand aside, Lady 
 Mercy, and spare yourself and me the indignity 
 you threaten." 
 
 " It is you who threaten; not I." 
 
 " Will you step aside? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " I beg that you wll do so." 
 
 " I refuse." 
 
 He regarded her earnestly for a moment, 
 but there was no sign of faltering in her steady, 
 unflinching eyes. Then he moved a pace nearer 
 and stretched forth one hand until it rested on 
 one of her uplifted arms. 
 
 " Beware! " she whispered; then, suddenly, 
 before he could reply, she threw her arms around 
 his neck, and with unnatural strength forced 
 him back into the room over against the couch 
 and down upon it, exerting all her weight and 
 power to hold him there. 
 
 " Don't go! Don't go! For God's sake, don't 
 go! " she moaned. " I will die if you go now!
 
 160 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 Don't leave me. I pray, I beg, I entreat, remain! 
 Remain until the message conies! Cannot you 
 see that this is killing me? Don't go! Don't go! 
 Oh, God, help me to keep him! God help me! 
 God help me! God help him /" 
 
 Her voice died away in a moan. Her arms 
 relaxed and fell from around his neck, and she 
 sank back, mercifully unconscious. 
 
 Ashton straightened up. He placed her more 
 comfortably on the couch, adjusted a cushion 
 under her head, and with a tenderness such as he 
 had not experienced since his parting with Hope, 
 bent over and touched his lips to her forehead. 
 
 " Poor child," he murmured. " I doubt if you 
 have suffered more than I during this interview, 
 but you will approve my course when you have 
 read the message from across the sea." 
 
 Then he turned away and went out of the 
 house, down the street, and was soon lost in the 
 shuttle-like crowd of a London thoroughfare.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 AT HERTFORD'S FAVOURITE CLUB 
 
 JOHN ASHTON'S emotions when he departed 
 from the residence of the Earls of Ashton and 
 Cowingford, are indescribable. He was deter- 
 mined, but dazed. A chain of circumstances as 
 inexplicable as they were remarkable had com- 
 pelled him to discuss his own affairs with another, 
 when he had utterly and for an entire year 
 declined even to discuss them with himself. He 
 had been forced into a betrayal of the incidents 
 of that last night in New York ; he had permitted 
 a cablegram to be sent; he had voluntarily 
 placed himself in a position from which there was 
 no escape, and he had decided irrevocably 
 decided, he believed to return to the city of 
 his birth, to surrender to the law, and voluntarily 
 to stand trial for the killing of his benefactor, 
 Henry Hollister. 
 
 Nor was this all. The scenes of the preceding 
 night, with its inexplicable entanglements and 
 the interviews with old Robert and with Lady
 
 162 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 Mercy, might have overwhelmed a stronger man 
 than he was. 
 
 If he could have doubted her sincerity; if he 
 could have believed that she was mad; if he 
 could have accounted for her extraordinary be- 
 lief in any logical way, or in any manner satis- 
 factory to his own mind even though illogical 
 in itself, he might have smiled on the whole 
 thing and have gone on his way, reserving the 
 incident only as a memory; but he could not do 
 this. His only connected thought when he de- 
 parted from the house was devout thankfulness 
 that he had escaped, and firm determination 
 that he would avoid every possibility of a second 
 interview. It was his intention, vague though 
 real, to return at once to his hotel fortunately, 
 he had not mentioned its name and to remain 
 in seclusion until the time for the sailing of the 
 first steamer for New York. 
 
 Everything else was a jumble in his brain. 
 He started out in the direction he wished to walk 
 much as a drunken man reels toward home 
 instinctively. 
 
 He passed people on the street without seeing 
 them. He crossed crowded thoroughfares, dodg- 
 ing in and out among the swarms of cabs and 
 buses without realizing that he dodged, without 
 knowing that many times he barely escaped col-
 
 AT HERTFORD'S CLUB 163 
 
 lision with horses and wheels, without hearing 
 the angry and warning shouts of drivers, " bob- 
 bies " and pedestrians, who, less absorbed than 
 himself, regarded personal welfare and physical 
 immunity from harm as worthy of attention. 
 
 Not he. He might have been in Cairo, in 
 Paris, on desert plains, or in a wilderness, and it 
 would have been the same. His thoughts were 
 in New York ; his eyes saw only Hollister's bank, 
 and Hope, and her father; his soul was wander- 
 ing beyond the limit of its earthly sphere, and 
 the power of locomotion alone seemed to have 
 remained with his body. 
 
 He turned into Piccadilly, striding on as 
 rapidly as the crowds on the street would per- 
 mit him to do, jostling, colliding, and bumping 
 his way through the throng, unheeding the angry 
 gestures and rough words that often were hurled 
 at him because of his clumsiness ; and so arrived 
 at Dover Street. 
 
 There, however, the throng of vehicles was so 
 dense that he continued still farther on his way, 
 and presently attempted to cross among the maze 
 of horses and wheels so that he could turn into 
 Albemarle Street, for he was stopping at Browne's, 
 which has an entrance on both streets. 
 
 For a moment he hesitated, waiting for an 
 opening through the crush, and at length, be-
 
 164 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 lieving that he perceived one, he darted forward, 
 leaped past one madly driven horse, dodged 
 behind a cab, slipped, pitched forward like one 
 who dives from a pier into the sea, and plunged 
 headlong directly against the glistening shoulder 
 of another rapidly moving animal. 
 
 Much sooner than could be expected almost 
 suddenly traffic on that side of the street was 
 suspended; carriages and cabs came to a halt as 
 though a word of command had been given by 
 one in authority. 
 
 A driver or two leaped to the ground, " bob- 
 bies " ran toward the scene, and the gentleman 
 whose horses had caused the disaster stepped 
 down and hurried forward to the spot where the 
 prostrate man lay, directing his coachman to 
 pull up to the curb and wait while he followed 
 those who bore the stricken man to a chemist's. 
 
 The crowd which always collects at such 
 scenes gathered there, and it was with difficulty 
 that the gentleman made his way through it; 
 but he succeeded, and presently stood near those 
 who were bending over the injured man in the 
 effort to determine if he still lived. 
 
 Presently he framed the question that was 
 uppermost in his mind. 
 
 " No, he is not dead," replied the chemist, 
 " but he is severely injured. Perhaps you may
 
 AT HERTFORD'S CLUB 165 
 
 know him, my lord," he continued, recognizing 
 his questioner; " he is a gentleman." 
 
 " Indeed." 
 
 Without another word the owner of the car- 
 riage pressed forward and bent over the senseless 
 form, but he started back instantly, apparently 
 overwhelmed by what he saw. 
 
 "Good God!" he exclaimed. "It is Lord 
 John! " 
 
 " Quick! " he continued authoritatively. " Get 
 a litter of some kind. Haven't you a cot or a 
 mattress here, my man? Get it. Officer, drive 
 that crowd away from the door. Eh? Who is 
 he? Lord John Hertford, the Earl of Ashton and 
 Cowin Ah, doctor! I am glad that you hap- 
 pened to be near. It's Lord John. I didn't 
 know that he was back must have come last 
 night or this morning haven't seen or heard 
 a word of him in a year or more. Will he live? 
 Is it very bad, doctor? " 
 
 " Bad enough. Broken head and broken ribs. 
 We can't move him far, but he must be got out 
 of this before he revives, if he ever does. Where 
 can we take him, my lord? Isn't there a club - 
 
 " Yes the Sachem right around the corner 
 
 just the place have some of these fellows 
 carry that cot Bobby, clear away that rabble 
 
 Doctor, the chemist here, will send for who-
 
 166 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 ever you wish to help you. Come, now, men. 
 Be awake! A minute may mean life or death to 
 my best friend." 
 
 Thus it happened that John Ashton was 
 carried, insensible, to one of those quiet little 
 clubs with which London abounds. This partic- 
 ular one had in the past been a favourite resort 
 of the Earl of Ashton and Cowingford, and here 
 perhaps he was more intimately known than in 
 any other place in England. And as though fate 
 took a wicked delight in playing with the destiny 
 of this self-condemned outcast, the man who 
 believed that he recognized and took him there 
 had been the most intimate friend and constant 
 associate of the lost earl; by name, Lord Archie 
 Quinlan. 
 
 The club was deserted at that time of day. 
 Most of its members had not breakfasted when 
 the accident occurred, but the news spread, as 
 such news will, and it was not long before the 
 clerk was besieged with inquiries concerning the 
 condition of Lord John. 
 
 To every question the same reply was given: 
 " He is still unconscious, but the doctors do not 
 regard the injury as fatal." 
 
 When everything had been done that could be 
 done, but while the doctors were still struggling 
 to overcome the coma into which the accident
 
 AT HERTFORD'S CLUB 167 
 
 had thrust their patient, Lord Archie descended 
 to the lounging room, where he found a group of 
 the earl's friends awaiting him. 
 
 " How did it happen? " " When did it hap- 
 pen? " " Where did it happen? " " What the 
 devil were you thinking of, to run him down? " 
 " When did he get back? " " Did you know 
 that he was in town? " " Is he out of danger? " 
 " Where is he hurt? " " Are any bones broken? " 
 These were specimens of the questions that were 
 hurled at him as he entered the room, and after 
 he had replied to them as best he could, he said, 
 suddenly : 
 
 ' There is one question that I would like to 
 ask, if anybody could answer it." 
 
 " What is it? " somebody inquired. 
 
 " Did the countess return with him? Somebody 
 must go and tell her, you know." 
 
 " True enough! Look here, Archie, I have an 
 idea," exclaimed another intimate friend of the 
 earl. 
 
 " Let me have it, then; I confess that I am 
 done up. Good God! If he should die, I would 
 feel as though I had killed him." 
 
 Lord Archie turned away from them then, 
 and walked to one of the windows, where he stood 
 looking out upon the street, tapping the panes 
 with his fingers and struggling manfully to con-
 
 168 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 trol himself. They left him to himself, and pres- 
 ently he rejoined them, as calm and direct as ever. 
 
 " Well, Buxton, what is your idea? " he de- 
 manded. 
 
 " Why, Jack's man old Robert, you know. 
 He's in town. I saw him on the street yesterday. 
 We might send for him, and er it seems to 
 me that er he'd be the best one to go to 
 the countess; eh? If you should show up there, 
 old man, she'd be frightened out of her seven 
 senses before you said a word she would, 
 'pon my soul, for you're as white as a ghost now. 
 It's got to be done quick, too, for the thing is 
 blazoned all over town already, and the news'll 
 be fired at her like a shot out of a gun if we don't 
 hurry." 
 
 ' You're right, Bux. But we'll not send for 
 him. I'll go fetch him myself." 
 
 " Pshaw, man! That won't do at all." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " Why, you'd have to go to the house. Lady 
 Mercy would see you, don't you know. She'd be 
 sure to be at one of the windows, and all that. 
 It always happens that way when one wishes to 
 break bad news; eh? I mean when one is obliged 
 to break bad news. We'll send one of the lads 
 after Robert and have him here; eh? Don't 
 you think that is better? "
 
 AT HERTFORD'S CLUB 169 
 
 " Perhaps so; yes." 
 
 " Good, then. You write a note to Robert " 
 
 " Damn it, old chap, what do I want to write 
 a note for? " interrupted Archie. " I'll take 
 your idea and improve upon it. Here, my lad, 
 come here. What is your name? " 
 
 " Mike, m'lud." 
 
 " Do you know where the Earl of Ashton and 
 Cowingford resides? " 
 
 " Yes, m'lud." 
 
 " Well, go there as quickly as you can, ask for 
 Lord John's man Robert, and tell him that his 
 master has met with an accident " 
 
 " Say that he has sprained his ankle, or some- 
 thing like that, you know," broke in Sir Thomas 
 Buxton. 
 
 " and say that he has sprained his ankle," 
 continued Archie, as if he had not heard the in- 
 terruption. " Tell him it is nothing serious, and 
 that he is not to alarm the countess on any - 
 
 " That's just the best way to alarm her," in- 
 terposed Buxton hastily. 
 
 " Be quiet, Bux. He is not to alarm the count- 
 ess, but he is to tell her that the earl is injured, 
 slightly injured, mind you, and er what the 
 devil more can he say? Crandyl, you speak. 
 You've been gaping like an owl for the last ten 
 minutes."
 
 170 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 Geoffrey Crandyl lowered himself an inch or 
 two in his chair, blew a column of smoke toward 
 the ceiling and drawled, lazily: 
 
 " Well, if I were Mike, and I were sent to see 
 Robert, I should say, ' Please, sir, Mr. Robert, 
 Lord John wishes your attendance at the Sachem 
 at once, and please, sir, tell my lady that he will 
 bring a friend home to dinner with him.' Least 
 said soonest mended, you know, Archie. It's all 
 rot, you know, making up messages for this sort 
 of thing. Just tell the truth." 
 
 " What? " exclaimed Buxton. " Do you mean 
 to say that it is best to send word that Jack's 
 nearly dead, and may be so before they can get 
 here? " 
 
 ' Yes, if that were the truth, but fortunately 
 it isn't. Send word to what-d'ye-call-him, Robert, 
 that Hertford is here and wants him at once. 
 That's enough, and it's the truth, too." 
 
 ' You are right, Geoff," said Lord Quinlan, 
 and so the boy was despatched. 
 
 It happened that faithful old Robert, having 
 delivered the cable message to be forwarded, had 
 hastened back to the house, fearful that his 
 mistress might sorely need him in the crisis that 
 was taking place in her life, and he arrived there 
 only a few moments after the departure of John 
 Ashton.
 
 AT HERTFORD'S CLUB 171 
 
 Hastening at once to the library, he found Lady 
 Mercy still unconscious upon the sofa, and his 
 guest gone. 
 
 For a moment he believed that she was dead, 
 and he stood beside her, not daring to move, 
 overwhelmed by the dread of what he might find 
 if he searched for cause. 
 
 Her face was like wax, with just a faint sug- 
 gestion of colour beneath the skin. She reclined 
 quite at ease, as though she were sleeping, yet 
 there was no gentle rise and fall of the lace which 
 covered her bosom; there was no expansion and 
 contraction of that white throat, no quiver of the 
 eyelids, no fluttering of the long black lashes 
 that fringed them. She was very still so still 
 that Robert was appalled. 
 
 That last frantic embrace that she had be- 
 stowed upon Ashton, and the scene which fol- 
 lowed it, had torn away the fastenings at her 
 neck, as it had loosed the ripples of dark hair, 
 which now clustered pathetically around the 
 white, still face, framing it, in that darkened 
 room, in what seemed to be a mass of ebony, and 
 rendering her appearance more deathlike than 
 it really was. 
 
 Robert paused only for an instant, however. 
 Then he fell upon his knees beside her and began 
 chafing her hands, calling her by name, and en-
 
 172 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 treating her with all the eloquence he possessed 
 to open her eyes and to speak to him ; to tell him 
 that she was not dead. And thus he sat, stroking 
 her hands and calling upon her, how long, he 
 never knew hours it seemed to him; until at 
 last she sighed and breathed, and the old man 
 knew that she was coming to herself again. 
 
 But it was some time longer before she was 
 conscious of what was passing near her, and 
 Robert waited. Even his master was forgotten 
 during those moments of agony when he feared 
 that his lady would never speak to him again, and 
 now that consciousness was returning he could 
 wait. 
 
 "John," she murmured; then, slowly, she 
 opened her eyes great, sad, wondering eyes 
 which did not comprehend what they looked 
 upon. 
 
 She fixed them upon her faithful servant and 
 held them there, staring idly while she tried to 
 remember; and bit by bit it all came back; 
 piece by piece it all returned to her, and the old 
 man saw her tears gather and glide downward, 
 although she manifested no other sign of weeping. 
 
 At last, after what seemed to be an interminable 
 period of waiting, she spoke. 
 
 " Has he gone, Robert? " she asked, whisper- 
 ing the words.
 
 AT HERTFORD'S CLUB 173 
 
 " I fear so, my lady," was the heartbroken 
 reply. 
 
 " When? " 
 
 " I do not know, my lady. He was not here 
 when I returned." 
 
 Again she was silent a long time; and then: 
 
 " How long ago was that? " 
 
 " An hour, perhaps. I do not know." 
 
 She closed her eyes again, to think, but after 
 several moments opened them again. 
 
 " We will follow him, Robert," she said. 
 
 " Follow him, my lady? How? We do not 
 know where he has gone." 
 
 " Yes, Robert, I know. At least I know where 
 he will go. He will take the first steamer that 
 sails for New York. He almost told me as much 
 as that. We must be passengers on the same 
 hark! What was that? " 
 
 Robert, too, had started at the sound, for it 
 had not been heard in that house in a long time. 
 
 "It is the front door bell, my lady. Shall I 
 attend to it? " 
 
 " Yes yes. It may be that he has relented 
 and returned. Go! Go quickly!" and she sprang 
 from the couch and began pacing the floor while 
 Robert hastened to reply to the summons. 
 
 The short time that he was away seemed end- 
 less, though it was in reality but two or three
 
 174 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 minutes; but old as Robert was, he came back 
 on a run, his face beaming, and his whole being 
 convulsed with the joy of the news he brought. 
 
 "He is found! He is found!" cried Robert. 
 " Oh, my lady! I believe that he has come to 
 his senses at last!" and the old man plunged 
 into a chair and sobbed with joy. 
 
 The countess started forward and seized him 
 by the shoulder. 
 
 " What do you mean? Tell me! " she de- 
 manded. 
 
 " He has sent for me." 
 
 "Sent for you?" 
 
 " Yes, my lady; from the Sachem. He is 
 there. The boy said so. I was to come at once. 
 Lord John needed me. At the Sachem, my lady 
 the little club in Albemarle Street. He is 
 there there at the Sachem, with Lord Quinlan 
 and Sir Thomas Buxton. Don't you understand? 
 He has gone there there with his friends, and 
 they have done what we could not do ; they have 
 made him remember who he is. He is safe 
 safe safe! He has remembered. I must go 
 at once at once; I may go? " 
 
 'Yes, yes, Robert, go! Hasten! Return 
 to me as soon as you can ; or, if you are delayed, 
 send a messenger to me. I shall " but she 
 ceased speaking, for Robert was gone.
 
 AT HERTFORD'S CLUB 175 
 
 " Has he really remembered? " she mused, 
 ' ' Or is it merely that he has chanced to encounter 
 one or more of his friends, again denied his 
 identity, and they have sent for Robert to assist 
 them? " 
 
 She walked steadily up and down the library 
 floor for nearly an hour, her brows contracted, 
 her hands clenched behind her, her head bent 
 forward, her whole attitude that of one who is 
 confronted by a crisis which one false move will 
 render fatal, and she was preparing to encounter 
 that crisis proudly, bravely. 
 
 Presently she crossed the room and stood before 
 a mirror, gazing long and intently into the clear, 
 earnest, steadfast depths of her own honest eyes; 
 peering by the aid of the glass into the utmost 
 recesses of her own soul; estimating her own 
 strength; invoking to her aid, by prayer and by 
 concentration of mind, the power of God and 
 every dormant force within her. 
 
 " No more sighing; no more weeping; no more 
 fainting," she murmured to the reflection. " I 
 am fighting for my life and I must not falter. I 
 am struggling for him, and I must be strong and 
 fearless. There shall be no hesitation now; all 
 must be firm and unyielding. Pleading cannot 
 win, force will. Argument will not avail, deter- 
 mination must prevail. He shall see me, not as I
 
 176 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 am, but as I was. God is on my side and some- 
 thing tells me that all will be well." 
 
 She left the library, went up the stairs to her 
 own apartments, and an hour later, when Robert 
 returned, he found the shutters open, the house 
 alight, and his mistress prepared for any emer- 
 gency that might arise.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE FANCY OP DELIRIUM 
 
 JOHN ASHTON, still unconscious, still shrouded 
 in that awful coma from which the utmost efforts 
 of the doctors had failed to rouse him, was con- 
 veyed to the house of the lost earl and laid upon 
 his bed. The Times and Telegraph and other 
 papers recounted at length the story of the 
 accident, describing with considerable effect how 
 he had been run down on the street by the horses 
 of his best friend, carried to his favourite club, 
 and finally taken to his home. They compli- 
 mented the countess upon her remarkable forti- 
 tude in bearing up under the shock, for at the 
 time of going to press it was by no means certain 
 that the earl would live. And then Heaven 
 only knows how they obtained the news, and got 
 it so exactly alike, too they related how he had 
 returned from the Continent the evening before 
 he met with the disaster; had come back intend- 
 ing to open his town house for a short time only, 
 
 177
 
 178 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 and then to retire to Hertford Hall for an in- 
 definite period. 
 
 A short quotation from the Times will not be 
 amiss, as bearing upon the method the world took 
 to deceive itself, and to compel this utter stranger 
 to assume the title and estates of one of the 
 oldest and best families in the United King- 
 dom: 
 
 The earl was on his way to the Sachem Club at 
 the time of the accident, for it is the favourite 
 resort of his most intimate friends. He knew that 
 it had long been the habit of Lord Quinlan to break- 
 fast there, and believed that he would encounter him. 
 
 The year that his Lordship has spent in travel 
 with his bride has been as replete with happiness as 
 the most earnest well wishers of the earl and his 
 countess could desire, and it was his intention to 
 complete the long holiday by having at the hall a 
 selected few of his intimates, and in that way to atone 
 for the long period of silence that has endured since 
 Lady Mercy Covington became his bride. 
 
 Now he is stricken down. Death crouches close 
 beside his couch awaiting an opportunity to leap 
 upon him unawares, and to tear him away from 
 those who love him; but there are those on the 
 watch who will be unceasing in their vigilance. 
 
 The countess rarely leaves his bedside, and then
 
 THE FANCY OF DELIRIUM 179 
 
 only when fatigue overcomes her, and she is forced 
 away by her friends. By some extraordinary para- 
 dox she has infinite faith in his recovery, even when 
 the eminent physicians in attendance upon his 
 Lordship shake their wise heads in despair. 
 
 It is unnecessary to dwell further upon the 
 period during which John Ashton was unconscious 
 of all things. It extended into weeks, and often 
 during that time despair entered the house only 
 again to be expelled by hope; and at last he 
 opened his eyes in the light of understanding 
 opened them, and saw, looking into his own, the 
 great, wistful, but steadfast eyes of Lady Mercy. 
 But he was too weak to utter any protest then, 
 and he closed them again, wondering. 
 
 He was conscious that she bent over him and 
 that her lips touched his forehead. He knew 
 that her hand rested upon his brow, and some- 
 how it gave him a sense of infinite relief, so that 
 presently he slept again. 
 
 After that it was always the same. Each time 
 he opened his eyes, it was to encounter hers, 
 always tender, always wistful, but also unflinch- 
 ingly direct, unfalteringly earnest, unqualifiedly 
 determined, and he sighed and wondered, know- 
 ing that he must wait for an explanation of things 
 that he could not understand.
 
 180 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " The cablegram what of it? " he managed 
 on one occasion to whisper. 
 
 " You must not think of that now," she re- 
 plied. " Wait until you are stronger; then I will 
 read it to you." 
 
 "You received an answer? Tell me; I 
 must know." 
 
 " Yes, I received a reply." 
 
 " Read it to me." 
 
 " Not now, John. When you are stronger I 
 will read it to you." 
 
 " Read it to me now. I must know what it 
 said." 
 
 She realized that it was best to comply with 
 his request, so she sent to her apartments for 
 the message and read it aloud. 
 
 ' Banker Hollister alive and well. Does not 
 know John Ashton.' That is all, dear." 
 
 " All? " The room seemed to be swimming in 
 chaos, so great was his amazement. 
 
 ' Yes, that is all the message contains. You 
 must not dwell upon these things now; wait 
 until you are better and then we will discuss 
 them." 
 
 " Does not know John Ashton? Does not know 
 John Ashton? " murmured the sick man as if 
 he could not believe the evidence of his senses. 
 "What does it mean? Alive! Thank God for
 
 THE FANCY OF DELIRIUM 181 
 
 that! I thought I killed him. He lives. Thank 
 God! But does not know John Ashton? What 
 does it mean? " 
 
 " Listen to me, dear," said Lady Mercy, 
 quietly, but firmly. " I shall not permit you to 
 talk any more of this matter, but to set your mind 
 at rest, I will tell you a little more if you will 
 promise to dismiss the matter from your mind 
 until you are well. Will you do that? " 
 
 " I will try." 
 
 " My friend has written to me since she sent 
 the message " 
 
 11 Written to you? How long ago was that? 
 How long have I been here? " 
 
 " Nearly three weeks. Not another word, 
 now, or I will leave you. Will you obey 
 me?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Nellie said she could not imagine why I 
 wished such strange information, but neverthe- 
 less she went at once to procure it. She found 
 Mr. Hollister. He received her at once. She 
 describes him as a fine looking man past middle 
 life, with smooth shaven face, bushy hair and 
 brows, and piercing black eyes. Wait, I will get 
 the letter and read to you from it, and then you 
 must go to sleep again. Will you be patient 
 while I go to my room? "
 
 182 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " No ; tell me. It will be as well, ' ' he murmured. 
 She took one of his hands between her own and 
 stroked it gently while she continued : 
 
 " Mr. Hollister received her very kindly, and 
 she told him she had called to inquire if he knew 
 or ever had known a man named John Ashton, 
 whereupon he shook his head and replied calmly 
 that he knew no such person, following up the 
 answer by inquiring why she asked him such a 
 question. Nellie told him that a friend of hers 
 in London had requested the information, and 
 she read the message to him, omitting my name, 
 of course." 
 
 " Ah! Well? What did he say then? " 
 
 " He replied: ' Inform your friend that I do 
 not know and that I never have known a person 
 whose name was John Ashton.' That is all, dear, 
 and I must insist that you do not permit the 
 matter to disturb you any more. When you are 
 strong enough, you shall have the message and 
 the letter to read, but you must not refer to the 
 subject again. And now I am going to leave you, 
 for you must rest. I fear that I have done wrong 
 in permitting you to refer to it at all." 
 
 She bent over him, and for one instant her lips 
 touched his; then, silently, she left the room. 
 
 But though John Ashton closed his eyes, he 
 did not sleep. His mind kept busily at work in
 
 THE FANCY OF DELIRIUM 183 
 
 the effort to unravel the tangled skein in which 
 he had become involved. 
 
 "It is fate," he thought, " a conspiracy of 
 fate. But Henry Hollister spoke the truth; 
 he does not know and never has known a person 
 whose name was John Ashton, for the name was 
 never mine by any right. But he is not dead. 
 He lives and I have one less burden to bear. I 
 can see it all now. The blow only stunned ; 
 it did not kill. He recovered, he found my con- 
 fession upon the table and destroyed it. Only 
 Henry Hollister and I know about that scene in 
 the bank. My sudden departure has been ac- 
 counted for in some other way, and I have been 
 repudiated. He does not know and never has 
 known a person whose name was John Ashton. 
 I never was John Ashton. Who am I? Who 
 am I f " 
 
 His fever was returning. He thought he 
 laughed aloud, but he made no sound that the 
 nurse sitting at the far end of the room could 
 hear. 
 
 " Who am I Who am I? Perhaps I am Lord 
 John Hertford. Perhaps I am the Earl of Ashton 
 and Cowingford. Everybody has conspired to 
 make me so ; it must be so. Yes yes, it must 
 be so. They are right and I am wrong." 
 
 He thought he believed that the words
 
 184 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 were shouted aloud with his utmost strength. 
 He imagined he was standing again in the library 
 and that Robert and Lady Mercy and a throng 
 of people were assembled there. He could see 
 them. They were all pointing their fingers at 
 him and shouting, yelling, screaming at him that 
 he was John Ashton. He knew who he was. 
 He was Lord John Hertford, the lost earl, but 
 he could not make them believe it. 
 
 They derided him, scoffed at him, scorned him, 
 and in that fever of imagination which had 
 taken possession of him he leaped upon them; 
 he thrust them from him ; some of them he struck 
 with his fists; others he spat upon; oh, how he 
 struggled, but he could not make them believe. 
 He could not drive them from the room. They 
 leered at him from every shadow, screeching, 
 " John Ashton! John Ashton! " until the whole 
 world rang with the denunciation, and in that 
 room there was only one who believed him, and 
 that was Sir Roderick. True he had been dead for 
 centuries, but his eyes still lived, and they be- 
 lieved him. Yes, those wonderful eyes believed. 
 
 " John Ashton! John Ashton! John Ashton! " 
 yelled the jeering crowd, which had now aug- 
 mented to a multitude; and again he attacked 
 them, fiercely, murderously. 
 
 "I am not John Ashton!" he shouted
 
 THE FANCY OF DELIRIUM 185 
 
 and he did shout it aloud this time, leaping 
 from his bed and striking fiercely at his imaginary 
 foes, mad with the fever that was consuming his 
 brain. 
 
 The nurse sprang towards him. Lady Mercy, 
 Robert, and one of the doctors ran into the room 
 and attempted to seize him. He brushed them 
 aside as though they were feathers, seeing only 
 the scoffers, the deriders, the horde of friends 
 who would not believe. 
 
 11 1 am not John Ashton! There is no such 
 person as John Ashton there never was such 
 a man! He does not live! He never lived! 
 Away, I say ! Mock me mock me, if you will, 
 I am not John Ashton. What! You do not be- 
 lieve? Ask old Sir Roderick; he knows. Ask 
 the countess ; she knows. Everybody knows but 
 you everybody ! I am not John Ashton ! I 
 never was John Ashton! There never was a 
 John Ashton, so how could I be he? " 
 
 He broke into a wild laugh and again bnished 
 his enemies aside, but the unnatural strength 
 was wearing out. 
 
 "Who am I?" he continued, changing his 
 tone, and fixing his eyes intently upon the count- 
 ess who was nearest to him. 
 
 All the violence was gone now; only the fever 
 remained. All that unnatural strength was
 
 186 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 succeeded by weakness so great that he tottered 
 where he stood and swayed as if he would fall, 
 and Lady Mercy put her arms around him while 
 she led him gently but firmly toward the 
 bed. 
 
 "Who am I?" he repeated feebly. "You 
 told me who I was. Tell me again. You know; 
 Robert knows; everybody except myself knows 
 who I am. Tell me who I am. I cannot remember. 
 There is something wrong here that will not let 
 me remember; " and he put one hand to his 
 head in evident pain. 
 
 Gently she forced him back upon the bed and 
 drew the covers over him; but when she would 
 have stepped aside, he seized her hand and held 
 it tightly in his own. 
 
 "Tell me," he said, "tell me who I am! I 
 cannot remember." 
 
 'You are Lord John Hertford, dear," she 
 murmured, " but more than all else, you are my 
 husband." 
 
 ' Yes yes, that is it ; that is it ; I am 
 Lord John Hertford. I will remember now. I 
 will not forget again. Strange strange 
 strange, that I should have forgotten. And you 
 are Hope, are you not? You are Hope? " 
 
 1 Yes, I am your hope. Will you be quiet, 
 now, John? "
 
 THE FANCY OF DELIRIUM 187 
 
 " Yes yes, I will be quiet if you are Hope 
 my Hope. You said that, did you not? My 
 Hope? Let me hold your hand and I will be 
 very quiet. I am so tired; so tired. I have had 
 a long tramp such a long tramp. Yes yes, 
 I will rest now; but I am not John Ashton; you 
 know that I am not John Ashton, do you not? 
 Tell me! " 
 
 1 Yes, I know that you are not John Ashton, 
 dear." 
 
 She motioned to the others to leave the room, 
 and when they were gone, she fell upon her knees 
 beside the bed, and still holding his hand clasped 
 between her own, she bowed her head upon his 
 breast and prayed; and while she was praying, 
 sleep crept silently into his brain and took posses- 
 sion ; and the burden of her prayer was a thanks- 
 giving to God that even in his fevered dementia 
 he had remembered who he really was; and she 
 prayed that when his understanding returned, 
 he might still remember; that he might be per- 
 mitted to awake from his slumber, master of the 
 faculties that she believed he had lost. 
 
 So at last she rose from her position and stood 
 beside him, looking down upon him with all the 
 love of a woman's soul in her calm, unfaltering, 
 steadfast gaze. 
 
 Presently she turned away and, calling the
 
 188 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 nurse to his bedside, went silently to her own 
 room, where behind closed doors she sank upon 
 her knees again and prayed on, earnestly, fer- 
 vently, beseechingly.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 WHAT HAPPENED DURING CONVALESCENCE 
 
 THE relapse into which John Ashton had been 
 thrown by his interview with Lady Mercy proved 
 to be serious, so that for many days after the 
 occurrence, his life was despaired of. But the 
 crisis passed and hope returned to the weary and 
 anxious hearts that were watching over him. 
 
 Days lengthened into weeks and weeks into 
 nearly two months, however, before he was strong 
 enough, propped by pillows, to sit up in bed, and 
 respond to questions addressed to him; and as 
 such questions had only to do with his physical 
 condition, they were infrequent and unimportant 
 so far as his convalescence was concerned. 
 
 Never, during that anxious time, was the sub- 
 ject that was uppermost in his thoughts referred 
 to in any way by anybody. 
 
 Lady Mercy, who throughout his waking hours, 
 was almost constantly by his side, avoided the 
 subject as she would have avoided a deadly 
 poison, and if by chance she detected an expres- 
 
 180
 
 190 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 sion in his eyes which portended a return to it 
 by himself, she escaped from the room without 
 delay. 
 
 But, if she could have known, he was as deter- 
 mined to let the matter rest as she was. He 
 thought of it often indeed it was rarely absent 
 from his mind, but he had decided not to refer to 
 it again until he was once more possessed of 
 sufficient strength to face the world alone. 
 
 What he would do when that time came, he 
 had not decided. There was time enough for 
 that, and meanwhile he could think and plan; 
 and that was what he did, unceasingly, but never 
 with that calm judgment and care which was an 
 essential part of the character of the man. 
 
 His faculties, like his muscles, were weak and 
 emaciated, incapable of deliberation and con- 
 secutive reasoning, and the nurses and doctors, 
 and such others as entered his presence, " mi- 
 lorded " and " lord Johned " him without in- 
 terruption or protest on his part. 
 
 During the first days of returned consciousness, 
 whenever the countess was within the range of 
 his vision, his eyes never left her face. He watched 
 her all the time with an intermixture of wonder 
 and awe and reverence; and she met his gaze 
 always with a smile of reassurance, and went 
 about her duties with an unvarying calm and
 
 DURING CONVALESCENCE 191 
 
 assurance of possession which created an im- 
 passable barrier between her and argument or 
 opposition. 
 
 He made no comment when she addressed him 
 in endearing terms; he had not the strength, 
 nor the energy, and he knew that opposition 
 could do no good; and so, while he gradually 
 became better and stronger, he permitted things 
 to drift along as they were, without in the least 
 realizing that he was day by day getting deeper 
 and deeper within the maze of a tangle from 
 which extrication would some day be next to 
 impossible. 
 
 Lord Archie Quinlan called every day and some- 
 times oftener during the twenty-four hours; 
 but he was not permitted to see the patient, 
 although Ashton was told of his visits, his solici- 
 tude and his anxiety. 
 
 Other members of the Sachem, and of other 
 clubs, where the earl had held membership, were 
 also indefatigable in their inquiries, and in many 
 of the clubs bulletins were posted every evening, 
 stating with great minuteness the condition of 
 the injured man. 
 
 Cards were left at, or sent to, the house by the 
 hundreds; letters expressive of sympathy sur- 
 feited the post bag ; messages came from abroad, 
 and the whole world seemed to know that Lord
 
 192 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 John Hertford was at his London home battling 
 with death. 
 
 But Ashton knew little of these things, and 
 heard of them only when card, letter or message 
 came from some one who had been an especial 
 favourite with the earl then, indeed, the count- 
 ess mentioned the fact casually, in the hope that 
 there would be some expression of appreciation 
 on his part, but always without success. 
 
 One day she said to him, quite suddenly : 
 
 " John, dear, I have received such a lovely 
 letter from Agnes Dunmore. She is in Egypt 
 with her mother. Would you like me to read it 
 to you? " 
 
 " No," he replied; " I do not care to hear it." 
 
 " You used to be so fond of her, John." 
 
 "Did I?" he smiled in reply, and made no 
 further remark; and after that, the countess 
 rarely reminded him of absent friends. 
 
 One day he asked for Robert, and when the 
 old man, rejoiced by the summons, came to him, 
 he said: 
 
 " Robert, do you remember telling me about 
 Mr. Richard Hertford? " 
 
 " Certainly, Mr. John," was the reply. " We 
 talked about him the evening you came home. 
 I remember it very well." 
 
 f< Do you know his present address? "
 
 DURING CONVALESCENCE 193 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Is there any way in which you can find it 
 out? " 
 
 " I fear not. His bankers might know it, but 
 sometimes they are months at a time without 
 news of him." 
 
 " I wish you would make the effort. If his 
 address can be ascertained, I wish you to write 
 to him at once and request him to return without 
 delay. Will you attend to it? " 
 
 " Immediately." 
 
 " Very good. Let me know when it is done. 
 That is all at present." 
 
 Robert repeated the conversation to his mis- 
 tress. 
 
 She thought deeply before she replied ; but at 
 last she said: 
 
 "It is a good plan. I heartily wish Richard 
 were here, but he dislikes being called home, and 
 I greatly doubt if he will come, even if he receives 
 the word." 
 
 " Refuse to come when Mr. Jack is so ill? " 
 exclaimed Robert, aghast. 
 
 Lady Mercy smiled. 
 
 " You forget, Robert, that Mr. Hertford is 
 probably so far away that it will take months 
 for a letter to get to him, and more months for 
 him to get here. He would argue that the letter
 
 194 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 had been so long on the way, and it would con- 
 sume so much more time for him to reply to it 
 in person, that his cousin would be either re- 
 covered, or dead before he could get here 
 and he would not start. He would be rejoiced 
 by the first condition and pained by the other, 
 for we both know how fond he always was of the 
 earl. He cares nothing for the title and he does 
 not want the estates. No, he would not come, 
 unless he had completed his tour, and in that 
 case he will soon be at home, anyway. You may 
 procure his address, if it is possible to do so, and 
 I will write to him, leaving the matter so that 
 he can act upon his own judgment when he re- 
 ceives the letter." 
 
 The address was, however, not procurable, 
 and so Robert told Ashton when he was again 
 called to the bedside; and the stricken man only 
 sighed and closed his eyes. 
 
 Nearly three months had elapsed after the 
 accident, before John Ashton was able to don 
 his outer garments and sit by the window where 
 he could look out upon the street, but after that 
 he spent every day there, with Lady Mercy at 
 his side. They conversed upon almost every 
 subject which the ingenuity of either could sug- 
 gest, save that one which was uppermost in the 
 minds of each, affecting her with a terror un-
 
 DURING CONVALESCENCE 195 
 
 namable, lest he should still have preserved the 
 hallucinations of the past, and him with reluctance 
 against the time when it should be necessary to 
 call up in her earnest eyes that expression of 
 pain and horror he had once seen there. 
 
 He meant that the time should come when he 
 would speak again, and to some purpose but 
 not yet not yet. When he should be stronger ; 
 when he was well again but not till then. 
 
 There was only one way in which he offended 
 her now, and she noticed it with dismay, al- 
 though she made no comment. He never used 
 any name in addressing her. True, he did not 
 call her madam, as he had done when they talked 
 together the first time, for he noticed that when 
 he did so during the first days of his convales- 
 cence, it pained her; so now, he used no form of 
 address whatever ; nor was it necessary, for when 
 she was in the room she was constantly at his 
 side, and whenever he raised his eyes her own 
 warm, sympathetic glance met them. 
 
 Thus they drifted on, becoming more and more 
 intimately acquainted, she, on her part, detect- 
 ing many traits of character and disposition that 
 were different from those possessed by the man 
 she had married, but attributing them all to 
 what she regarded as the natural cause ; and he, 
 on his part, learning more and more each day of
 
 196 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 the beauty of her matchless character, of the 
 infinite goodness of her soul and of the indomi- 
 table steadfastness of purpose which actuated her 
 every impulse. 
 
 All the love she had bestowed upon her lost 
 husband, she gave ten times over to the man upon 
 whom she lavished such tender and unceasing 
 care. It vibrated in every tone that she uttered; 
 it glowed in every glance of her expressive eyes; 
 it thrilled in every touch of her taper fingers; it 
 dwelt in her presence and filled the room when 
 she entered it remained there when she was 
 gone. 
 
 A human being may not plunge headforemost 
 into the sea without becoming wet, nor can he 
 become ingulfed in an ocean of love without 
 feeling and realizing and at last succumbing to 
 the irresistible element that surrounds him. Go- 
 liath, sleeping, may be chained down by pigmies. 
 John Ashton, dormant, passive, submissive, could 
 not escape the influence which closed tighter and 
 more tightly around him with every hour of 
 every day. 
 
 Whenever the countess entered the room, he 
 was instantly aware of it, although he heard no 
 sound. If she came behind him and reached out 
 her hand to touch his brow, he knew the beginning 
 of the act as well as the result of it, for he could
 
 DURING CONVALESCENCE 197 
 
 feel the increasing warmth that came with its 
 nearer approach. 
 
 If, from a distant part of the room, she per- 
 mitted her eyes to dwell upon him, he was in- 
 stantly conscious of her gaze, and it soothed and 
 quieted him; and when, hours at a time, she sat 
 beside him with his hand clasped in hers, he 
 experienced something akin to the rapture of a 
 babe resting on its mother's breast that ab- 
 sence of all emotion, which is the purest and 
 holiest peace induced by the fulness of love. 
 
 If, by chance, she was absent from his side 
 longer than was her habit, he became fretful, 
 uneasy, anxious, impatient, and he would con- 
 vince himself that the bright light through the 
 window was oppressive, and order his chair 
 turned so that he could watch the door through 
 which she must appear when she came to him; 
 and when she came, he would turn again toward 
 the light, forgetting that it had annoyed him. 
 
 Thus, steadily he became stronger. The chair 
 at the window, with every journey that he madebe- 
 tween it and the bed, became less distant and easier 
 of accomplishment, and he realized that the time was 
 approaching when he must fulfil his destiny and go. 
 
 But the anticipation of it, instead of giving 
 him joy, inspired him with dread indefinable, 
 unreasonable, relentless dread.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 WHICH OF TWO EVILS? 
 
 WHILE John Ashton was daily becoming 
 stronger, his friends were more and more impatient 
 to see him, and among the most persistent of 
 these were Lord Archie Quinlan and Sir Thomas 
 Buxton. 
 
 Geoffrey Crandyl contented himself with send- 
 ing a short note in which he said that he kept 
 close watch of the bulletins, but that he would 
 not attempt to intrude himself upon his old 
 friend until he was assured that his presence was 
 desired. In the meantime, etc., etc. 
 
 Ashton, on the other hand, steadily resisted 
 these advances and paid no heed to a message 
 that Quinlan sent him, protesting that, unless he 
 was soon received, he would be forced to the 
 conclusion that Lord John censured him for the 
 accident, for which he was really in no way re- 
 sponsible. 
 
 One day, however, while he was smoking his 
 cigar by the window, having arrived at that stage 
 
 198
 
 WHICH OF TWO EVILS? 199 
 
 in his recovery when he could move about the 
 room, in which, however, he was still confined, 
 Robert came to him with the information that 
 Lord Archie was in the library and would not 
 take No for an answer in short, that he in- 
 sisted upon seeing his friend, or upon being told 
 that the acquaintance was no longer desired. 
 
 " Be it so, then," he replied. " I do not wish 
 to see him. I do not blame him for the accident ; 
 you may tell him that as strongly as you can put 
 it; but I do not care to see him or anybody." 
 
 Robert was in the act of turning sadly away to 
 deliver the message, when they were both startled 
 by the sudden appearance of Quinlan himself, 
 who had followed Robert up the stairs and was 
 standing in the open doorway. 
 
 " I'm here, Jack, anyway, whether you like 
 it or not," he said, advancing into the room. 
 " You are obliged to see me for a moment. 
 What in the world is the reason you are so offish? 
 Surely you do not blame me for that unfortunate 
 accident? " 
 
 " I certainly do not," replied Ashton, coldly. 
 " I alone am responsible for it." 
 
 " Then why have you so persistently refused 
 to see me? " 
 
 " I am not well, and I prefer to see nobody. 
 That is the only reason."
 
 200 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " But you are nearly recovered now." 
 
 " Nearly, yes. But not quite." 
 
 " You are not at all like yourself, Jack," said 
 Archie, after a moment's pause. 
 
 " Not as you expected to find me, you mean. 
 No, I am not. I doubt if I ever will be just what 
 you mean." 
 
 " Nonsense! Why do you feel that way, old 
 chap? " 
 
 Ashton smiled, and replied, coolly: 
 
 " There are physical, mental, moral, logical, 
 and personal reasons, too numerous to mention." 
 
 Quinlan laughed heartily. 
 
 " Then, for heaven's sake, do not go into them. 
 I won't pretend to have the capacity to under- 
 stand them; but that reply sounded more like 
 you than anything you have said since I entered 
 the room. Do you know that Bux, and Geoff 
 Crandyl are quite as anxious and done up about 
 your exclusiveness as I am? Won't you see them, 
 Jack? It will do them no end of good." 
 
 " After a while perhaps. At present, no." 
 ' What the devil is the matter with you, any- 
 way? " 
 
 " I have grown weary of attempting to ex- 
 plain what is the matter with me. You stated 
 a moment ago that I am not at all like myself. 
 Suppose we let it go at that."
 
 WHICH OF TWO EVILS? 201 
 
 " You may, but I won't; nor will the others. 
 Are those broken bones all mended? " 
 
 "Yes; every one. Physical strength is all 
 that I need now." 
 
 " You won't be long in regaining that." 
 
 " No ; another week or two will fix me all right." 
 
 " And then? I say, you will let us give you a 
 dinner; eh? " 
 
 " No, I think not, thank you. As soon as I 
 am able to travel, I shall go away." 
 
 " Where are you going? " 
 
 " I have not decided." 
 
 " Well, I won't bore you any longer now, and I 
 distinctly refuse to pay any attention to your 
 coolness to-day. Shake hands now, as proof 
 that you forgive me for running over you, and 
 I'll get along and tell the fellows what an in- 
 sufferable bear you are." 
 
 He extended his hand and Ashton took it. 
 For a moment they were both silent, and then 
 Quinlan spoke again. 
 
 " That's more like you. You'll get out of this 
 condition soon. In the meantime, do not sup- 
 pose that we are going to permit you to have your 
 own way, for we haven't the slightest intention 
 of doing so." 
 
 When he was gone Ashton began to reflect. 
 
 " This is only the beginning," he thought
 
 202 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " There is worse, far worse to come. I must get 
 well quickly and go away. I wish that I were 
 strong enough to travel now; I would go to- 
 night but that is not to be thought of." 
 
 He leaned back and closed his eyes in the effort 
 to plan out the form of leave taking he would 
 adopt when the time came for his last interview 
 with the countess. Methods innumerable sug- 
 gested themselves to him, but one by one were 
 thrust aside as impracticable, ineffectual, incon- 
 sistent, or impossible. 
 
 Lately since he had been able to do so he 
 had read the papers exhaustively, and he knew 
 that the whole world in which the Earl of Ashton 
 and Cowingford had lived and moved was 
 familiar with the accident, its cause and its 
 results. For the first time, a realization of the 
 full effect that his sudden and unexplained de- 
 parture would have upon the countess forced 
 itself upon him and he shuddered when he 
 thought of it. At that moment, too, she entered 
 the room for some article that she had left there, 
 spoke cheerily to him and passed out again. 
 Ashton sighed and then groaned aloud, for she 
 had brought with her something that he had not 
 faced before a realization of the full effect that 
 his sudden and unexplained departure would 
 have upon himself.
 
 WHICH OF TWO EVILS? 203 
 
 He had not forgotten Hope Hollister. He 
 thought of her daily almost hourly but he 
 dwelt upon her memory as the recollection of 
 one who was dead, while this new love had some- 
 thing within it that had never formed a Com- 
 ponent part of his love for Hope. 
 
 She had been the passion of his life ; Mercy was 
 its completeness. Hope had preempted the 
 ardour of his youth and growing manhood; 
 Mercy was the acme of all things desirable to 
 attain. Hope was a memory ; Mercy was a living, 
 breathing, present fact. Hope had taught him 
 the rudiments of love; Mercy completed the 
 education. He saw in the present the fulfilment 
 of every dream of the past. Through Hope, he 
 had created an ideal ; in Mercy that ideal existed. 
 
 The plain, sad truth came home to him with 
 all its force, now that he thought of tearing him- 
 self away from the presence of that gentle nurse, 
 that constant companion of his bedridden hours, 
 that loving woman, and he realized that all the 
 agony he had suffered by reason of his separation 
 from Hope Hollister was only a drop in the bucket 
 compared to the awful moment that would bring 
 him face to face with eternal separation from 
 Lady Mercy Hertford. 
 
 Still, full justice must be accorded to John 
 Ashton, for it was not of himself that he thought ;
 
 204 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 it was of her, and the effect that his going would 
 have upon her. 
 
 " This world of hers believes that I am her 
 husband," he thought. " It knows, or thinks 
 that it knows and it is the same thing that 
 the earl is here. It believes that we, the countess 
 and I, have been abroad during the past year 
 that we returned to London together. It knows 
 nothing of the disappearance of the earl, or of 
 the terrible trials through which the countess 
 has passed. It expects me to appear or, as 
 that same world would term it, to reappear, and 
 to assume all the prerogatives of Lord John." 
 
 He hesitated, and shuddered; and then his 
 mind plunged again into that chaos of circum- 
 stance which surrounded him on every side. 
 
 " Suppose that I permit things to drift on as 
 they are until I am strong enough to travel, and 
 then, at the first opportunity, steal away like a 
 thief in the night, for ever, leaving only a letter 
 for her to explain why I go ; telling perhaps of my 
 love for her; going over, for the second time, 
 that history of the past which I would rather 
 forget; reaffirming my true identity with all 
 the force at my command; repudiating, utterly, 
 all knowledge of the earl, of his past, his present, 
 or his future; reasserting that I never in my life 
 saw Robert until the moment when he met me
 
 WHICH OF TWO EVILS? 205 
 
 on the corner of St. James Street and Piccadilly, 
 and mistook me for his master that I never in 
 my life saw her until I looked into her eyes through 
 the holes that Robert had cut in the portrait 
 of Sir Roderick. If I recite my duty to her, to 
 the world in which she lives, to the friends of the 
 lost earl, to the Hertford family, to Richard 
 Herndon Hertford, the cousin who should suc- 
 ceed to the title to God ! What will it all 
 avail? She will not believe. No, no; it would 
 be better far better, if I should go and say 
 nothing. Better still, if I should go without 
 denying the identity with which she and others 
 have invested me, leaving behind me the im- 
 pression that it is some other and unnamable 
 reason that drives me hence. Better still, for 
 her sake that I should drive a murderous knife 
 into her tender heart, and so still it for ever, and 
 end its sufferings for all time, and to eternity. 
 
 ' Then, if I go, what is the legacy that I leave 
 behind me? I condemn her, for ever, to the very 
 torture that for an entire year she has so heroically 
 combated. I condemn her to a lifetime of regret, 
 remorse, suffering, shame; for she will feel the 
 remorse and imagine the shame even though 
 there shall exist no cause for either. I drag the 
 name that she has struggled to preserve inviolate 
 through this trying time I drag that name into
 
 206 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 the realm of rebuke, I cover it with shame and 
 ignominy, I destroy for ever the character of 
 Lord John Hertford, I estrange his friends, I hold 
 him up for all time to censure and to contempt. 
 
 " She will never believe that I am not her 
 husband. The world will never believe that I 
 am not the Earl of Ashton and Cowingford. I 
 cannot prove that I am not he. I have nothing 
 except the baptismal right to the name that I 
 have always borne, and Henry Hollister will 
 deny me even that right. 
 
 " There are those in New York who would 
 know me, but have I the right or is it my duty to 
 call upon them to the chagrin and public shame 
 of the woman who claims to be my wife? 
 
 " I cannot prove my identity. I cannot con- 
 vince Mercy of the truth. I cannot convince 
 this world of hers of its error. I cannot bring 
 sorrow, perhaps death or insanity, upon the 
 woman I love and who loves me with all her 
 heart and soul and strength. 
 
 " Oh, God, in mercy make plain to me the path 
 that I must tread ! In pity, show me the way that 
 I must go! In charity for all, invest me with the 
 knowledge to choose between two great evils, 
 that which is the lesser." 
 
 Tears of anguish oozed between his fingers as 
 he bowed his head upon his hands.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE QUALITY OF A SIN 
 
 JOHN ASHTON did not raise his head again for 
 a long time, and when he did, the same doubt 
 and perplexity were in his eyes and upon his 
 face. 
 
 " Let me look upon the other side of the pic- 
 ture, in all its hideousness," he murmured; and 
 then lapsed again into thought. 
 
 " Suppose that I were to remain? Suppose 
 that I were to accept, passively, the decree that 
 has been passed upon me? Suppose that I no 
 longer deny that I am the Earl of Ashton and 
 Cowingford? Suppose I usurp his prerogatives, 
 his title, his estates, his personal effects his 
 wife ! " 
 
 He rose from his chair and crossed the room; 
 turned and retraced his steps to the chair again. 
 His hands were clenched ; his face was white and 
 drawn; his lips moved, although he uttered no 
 sound; his brows were wrinkled, and his eyes 
 looked wild and haggard. 
 
 207
 
 208 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " What then? " he mused. 
 
 " That Lord John Hertford is dead, I verily 
 believe but the Earl of Ashton and Cowing- 
 ford lives. He cannot die until the family becomes 
 extinct. He lives in the being of that cousin 
 Richard who is wandering, God knows where, in 
 search of game and adventure. I would to God 
 that he were here. Something tells me that he 
 would listen to and believe me that he alone 
 could convince Mercy of her error. 
 
 " If I remain, the day of his return will come 
 - what then? Will he also deceive himself as the 
 others have done? Will he insist, even against 
 my protestations, that I am Lord John? Will 
 he, too, force me into the retention of estates 
 that are really his, and address me by a title that 
 should belong to him? Or will his penetration 
 be keener, clearer and truer, and when I go to 
 him, as I surely will, if that time ever comes, and 
 tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
 but the truth what then? What then? " 
 
 Again he got upon his feet and strode across 
 the floor, pausing at intervals while he walked, 
 passing his hands in despair across his forehead, 
 and sighing deeply. 
 
 ' What is the quality of the sin that I commit 
 if I remain? What is the quality of the sin that 
 I commit if I go away? " he asked himself.
 
 THE QUALITY OF A SIN 209 
 
 " There is no question here between right and 
 wrong; it is a question between sin and sin. 
 Shall I sin against Richard Hertford, or shall I 
 sin against Mercy? Shall I steal from him a 
 title for which he does not care, and estates 
 which he neither values nor needs, or shall I 
 steal from her, her happiness, her reason, perhaps 
 her life? 
 
 " Shall I, in order that he may inherit that which 
 he has never expected to attain, condemn her 
 to misery? Shall I, in order that he may assume 
 the title of earl, trample upon her pride and put 
 an indelible stain upon the name of Hertford? 
 
 " If I remain, there is only one course for me 
 to pursue, proud assumption of all that is ex- 
 pected of me, wilful murder of my own memory, 
 secret marriage remarriage, she will call it 
 with the countess. If I go, there is only one 
 journey that I can take suicide. 
 
 " Yes, that is it. It is the only way. That is 
 the solution. I will kill myself," he cried aloud. 
 " It shall be suicide. It is the only outlet that is 
 left. She will forgive and forget. Her world will 
 forget and therefore forgive. 
 
 " The Times will say that Lord John, suffer- 
 ing from dementia induced by the unfortunate 
 accident in Piccadilly, in a moment of madness 
 took his own life. She will mourn for me but she
 
 210 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 will not censure. She will grieve for me, but she 
 will love again, remarry, and forget. Yes, yes! 
 That is the solution. Suicide. I will kill myself. 
 Ah!" 
 
 He had turned and found that Lady Mercy was 
 standing not three paces away, and he knew that 
 she had heard the words he had uttered aloud. 
 
 Her face was deathly white, and her eyes were 
 wide with horror ; but when she spoke, her words 
 came calmly and distinctly. 
 
 " John," she said, " what is it I heard? What 
 were you saying? I did not hear aright, did I? " 
 
 He went nearer and took one of her hands in 
 his. 
 
 " Sit down, Mercy," he said tenderly. 
 
 It was the first time he had ever addressed her 
 thus, and it brought a flush of pleasure to her 
 cheeks a flush that fled almost as soon as it 
 appeared. 
 
 " The time has come when we must go over 
 again that old subject that is your despair, but 
 we will go over it calmly now. It shall be dis- 
 cussed without excitement, and as there is a 
 God above us, whose blessing you deserve, you 
 shall pass judgment upon me, and by your de- 
 cision I will abide. Will you be calm and listen 
 to me with care, and if you can, with confidence 
 in my sincerity, even though you still regard
 
 THE QUALITY OF A SIN 211 
 
 me as the victim of an hallucination. Will you 
 do that? " 
 
 " Yes, John." 
 
 " Will the repetition of all that I have said to 
 you on this subject influence you? If I again, 
 with all the power at my command, deny that I 
 am your husband, that I am the Earl of Ashton 
 and Cowingford will you believe? " 
 
 " No, John, I will not believe. It is not a 
 matter of belief with me, it is knowledge. I 
 know who you are." She spoke calmly. 
 
 " Do you believe that I am in my right mind? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then how do you make what you regard 
 as a fact concerning my identity consistent with 
 my denial, unless I am insane? " 
 
 " I believe that you are as sane as I am. Your 
 denial of the fact is the result of forgetfulness 
 induced by some illness or accident. The things 
 that you believe that you remember are fruits 
 of the imagination, resultant from the same con- 
 dition or conditions. That is how they are con- 
 sistent. And is there not proof positive in the 
 cablegram I received from Nellie, supported by 
 the letter she wrote later? The man whom you 
 supposed you had killed is alive and well. He 
 does not know and never did know a person by 
 the name you claimed as your own."
 
 212 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Is there nothing, Mercy, that I can say, that 
 will convince you of the error into which you have 
 fallen? " 
 
 " There is no error, and therefore there can 
 be nothing sufficiently powerful to convince me 
 that one exists. Robert recognized you. I 
 recognized you. Your club friends recognized 
 you. The world has recognized you." 
 
 " When Richard Hertford returns, if I desire 
 to do so, will you go with me into his presence 
 and hear me while I assure him that he is the 
 rightful heir to the title and estates of Ashton 
 and Cowingford? " 
 
 " No. I cannot prevent you from commit- 
 ting an act so foolish, if you are determined 
 to do so, but I can and will refuse to be a 
 party to it. John, dear John, why will you be 
 so " 
 
 " Hush, Mercy! Be calm. Remember that I 
 have told you that I will abide by your decision. 
 You have decided. I will not falter. But there 
 are conditions upon which I must insist. Who 
 pronounced the words that made you the wife 
 of Lord John Hertford? " 
 
 " Sir Malcolm Douglass, the dean of the Church 
 of the Annunciation." 
 
 " Do you know him personally? I inquire as 
 a stranger, Mercy, not to give you pain."
 
 THE QUALITY OF A SIN 213 
 
 " I believe you, John. Yes; he is a dear friend 
 to us both." 
 
 " Will you send for him to come here, and will 
 you permit me an hour alone with him, so that I 
 can tell him the truth as I see it? And after that, 
 if his religious scruples will permit him to act, 
 will you let him marry us as you would say, 
 again, but as I say, will you let him utter the 
 words that will make you my wife? " 
 
 " John! John! " she cried. " What is it you 
 would force me to do? Go again to the altar 
 with a man who is already my husband? " 
 
 " No, no, Mercy. Stand here in this room, if 
 you will, with only those present whom you shall 
 yourself select; Robert, perhaps, and one or 
 two others. The dean will arrange for the license 
 if he will consent to perform the ceremony 
 and he will keep the secret. It is the only way, 
 Mercy. It must be that, or nothing." 
 
 " Suicide? " she whispered. 
 
 " No, that is unnecessary now, since you over- 
 heard me; but it is that, or I must go away 
 for ever." 
 
 " You will not leave me again, John! Promise 
 me that you will not." 
 
 " If the dean bids me remain, I will obey him, 
 and may God bless you and have mercy upon 
 me."
 
 214 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " So be it, John. I will send for the dean. Are 
 you strong enough to see him now? Shall I 
 send for him at once? " 
 
 " Yes; at once, Mercy, at once."
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE HAND OF GOD 
 
 IT was five o'clock in the afternoon when the 
 dean, in response to the message sent to him by 
 the countess, made his appearance at the house, 
 and after half an hour passed in the library with 
 Lady Mercy took his way to the room where 
 John Ashton was awaiting him. 
 
 He was the personification of the ideal church- 
 man, in face, in figure, in voice, and in demeanour. 
 An enormously large man he was, but so well 
 proportioned that his size did not impress you 
 until you stood beside him ; and there was benevo- 
 lence and goodness in every line of his face. 
 
 There were dimples of humour near the corners 
 of his mouth which did much to belie the rigid 
 firmness of his lips, and he seemed to exude from 
 his person, calmness, gentleness, firmness, and 
 strength. 
 
 He entered the room alone, Ashton having 
 insisted that there should be no accompanying 
 introduction or announcement; and he came 
 
 215
 
 216 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 forward with extended hand and hearty, resonant 
 voice. 
 
 "Jack, my boy," he said cordially, " I should 
 have been in to see you long ago, but I have 
 just returned from the Continent. How are you? 
 Almost well, eh? " 
 
 " Recovering rapidly, sir," replied Ashton. 
 " Will you be seated? " 
 
 "Thank you; yes. It does me good to see 
 you. The account that I read of your accident 
 did not give much hope of your recovery, and 
 now I find you almost as good as new. I am 
 delighted." 
 
 " Did you see the countess? " asked Ashton, 
 coming abruptly to the object of the call. 
 
 " Oh, yes " cheerily "we chatted together 
 a few moments before I came up here. She 
 is not looking well, Jack. You must make 
 haste and get about again, or you will have to 
 change places with her, you the nurse and she 
 the invalid." 
 
 " Did she tell you that I especially desired 
 your presence here? " 
 
 11 Why, certainly. She said that in the note 
 she sent me." 
 
 " Did she tell you why? " 
 
 " Partly partly, Jack. I don't like con- 
 fidences second hand, though. You had better
 
 THE HAND OF GOD 217 
 
 tell me yourself. I believe she intimated there 
 is something wrong with your memory, and that 
 you wish to discuss the matter with me." 
 
 The shrewd old churchman did not deem it 
 necessary to tell Ashton that the countess had 
 delivered the note to him in person, and that she 
 had remained closeted with him in his study 
 nearly an hour, during which she had related the 
 whole, sad story of the past year; and that he 
 had listened, at first in utter astonishment, then 
 in dismay, and at last with entire conviction 
 that her view of the case was the correct one. 
 
 He had known and loved them both from 
 their infancy, and his sympathy was with her 
 from the start. Still, he had gone to his interview 
 with the earl with many misgivings at his heart, 
 every one of which was scattered and forgotten 
 the moment he entered the presence of John 
 Ashton. 
 
 " Do you believe that I am Lord John Hert- 
 ford? " was the next question, and it was uttered 
 in a tone that almost amounted to aggressiveness, 
 for Ashton realized that he was playing his last 
 card in the game of destiny that had been so 
 strangely forced upon him. 
 
 The old dean did not at once reply. The 
 astonishment depicted upon his face was not 
 assumed; it was real, for the suddenness of the
 
 218 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 question took him off his guard; but only for 
 an instant. 
 
 Still, the time was sufficiently long to convince 
 John Ashton that the countess had not antici- 
 pated him by pleading her own cause first. In 
 this, as we know, he deceived himself, for decep- 
 tion in any form could comprise no part of the 
 character of the venerable dean. 
 
 "Certainly certainly, Jack," he replied 
 quickly. " What else am I to believe? " 
 
 " Anything else, except that, sir." 
 
 " You will have to explain, my boy. I do not 
 understand you," said the dean, calmly. 
 
 " I am not the man for whom you mistake 
 me; that is all." 
 
 The words were uttered quietly, but firmly. 
 There was no faltering in the tones that John 
 Ashton employed. There was no excitement; 
 but there was determination and emphasis un- 
 mistakable, and the dean did not immediately 
 respond. 
 
 " The whole world seems to insist upon investing 
 me with the title and estates of a man of whom 
 I never heard until old Robert met me on the 
 street," Ashton continued in the same quiet 
 tone, keeping his eyes unflinchingly upon the face 
 of the churchman. " I foolishly consented to 
 come here with him here to this house, not
 
 THE HAND OF GOD 219 
 
 knowing at the time that the countess was a 
 self-incarcerated prisoner here; and from that 
 moment a chain of circumstances, so marvellous 
 and inexplicable that when I consider them I 
 am utterly overwhelmed, has militated against 
 my denial, and has seemed to force me, against 
 my will, into the possession of the name, the 
 estates, the title, and even the wife of another 
 man. And now, I perceive that even you are 
 a victim of the same self-deception. It is for the 
 purpose of telling you this strange story that I 
 have insisted upon your presence here. It is 
 to advise with you concerning the dilemma that 
 engulfs me, to discuss this matter fully as a man, 
 as a friend to the earl and to the countess, and as 
 a minister of God. You married them that 
 morning more than a year ago; you have known 
 each of them from their childhood; you have the 
 power of God behind you in the work that you 
 do, in the advice that you give, and in every act 
 of your life. I beseech you now to ask that God 
 whom we both worship, but who is nearer to 
 you than to me, to imbue you with additional 
 clearness of perception, so that He may direct 
 you to lead me in the right way, for as you lead, 
 I shall follow. I " 
 
 The old dean raised one hand to enjoin silence. 
 
 Then, calmly, he rose from his chair, raised
 
 220 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 his grand old head until his eyes seemed to gaze 
 through and beyond the ceiling of the room into 
 the realms beyond, and after standing thus for 
 a moment, silent, preoccupied, he said distinctly, 
 clearly and in a deep voice which penetrated to 
 the uttermost parts of the room : 
 
 " Let us pray." 
 
 Then he sank upon his knees beside the chair, 
 clasped his hands together, bowed his head, and 
 while John Ashton, awed by the simple sublimity 
 of the act, buried his face in his hands and waited, 
 the churchman began, in low, even tones, a 
 supplication so earnest, so powerful, so reveren- 
 tial, that word by word it sank into and engraved 
 itself upon the memory of the man who listened, 
 and remained with him as long as life dwelt 
 with'in his body. 
 
 He prayed as John Ashton had requested him 
 to pray, that he, as a minister of God, might be 
 directed in the right way that he might be 
 given the power to see things clearly, as they 
 should be seen that the mortal in whose 
 interests he invoked the intervention of the 
 Almighty might be governed and directed aright 
 that his memory might return to him so that 
 he would see things clearly, and as they were 
 that the awful responsibility that rested upon 
 him, the minister, as the adviser of this man and
 
 THE HAND OF GOD 221 
 
 this woman, might become a lasting blessing to 
 each of them, and that forgiveness for all might 
 be vouchsafed to them, should there be any error 
 in their duty to God and towards man. 
 
 When, at last, the sound of his voice ceased, 
 he rose from his knees, and reaching out his right 
 hand, rested it for a moment upon the brow of 
 his companion, while he said solemnly: 
 
 " John, the immutable power of God, the 
 Almighty, is with us now. It has descended 
 upon me and upon you, through me. Wisdom 
 has not been given to me, but I shall bow to the 
 inscrutable wisdom of our Father in heaven, 
 knowing that I am right, in the advice that I 
 shall give to you in this hour of your greatest 
 need. I came here with a heavy heart, doubting 
 my own power, and filled with misgivings regard- 
 ing my right to assume the responsibility of this 
 moment. Those doubts and those misgivings are 
 gone. I feel within me something that is new, 
 and strange and real. God knoweth all things. 
 Where our understanding falters, His continues. 
 He doeth all things; He also doeth all things 
 well. If He doeth all things, hath He not then 
 imposed upon you these conditions from which 
 you say you cannot escape? " 
 
 The dean ceased speaking, but after a pause 
 that was almost imperceptible, he continued:
 
 222 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " There is, in all things that happen upon the 
 earth, the hand of God. That hand is upon you 
 now. If it rests heavily, and you stagger and 
 falter beneath its weight, it is to make you 
 stronger, better, greater, nobler. You and I and 
 everybody are but instruments in His hands for 
 the better modelling of some inscrutable design. 
 Battle as you may, there is no escape from 
 that guiding, directing hand. Whatever doubts 
 remain in your heart, they will be quelled and 
 stilled. Now, my son, if it is still your wish, I 
 will listen to what you have to say." 
 
 Calmly, and with that same sublime dignity, 
 the dean resumed his chair, and his eyes became 
 kinder, gentler, as they rested upon the face of 
 John Ashton and waited for him to speak. 
 
 Then, in that moment, John Ashton hesitated. 
 
 " Why should I repeat the story everybody 
 refuses to believe? Why should I utter the name 
 of Henry Hollister, in proof of my identity, when 
 Henry Hollister has already declined to furnish 
 that proof? " he asked himself. " Is it not fruit- 
 less to argue further? Hope Hollister might 
 indeed furnish the proof, but have I the right to 
 demand it of her? That past of mine, so far as it 
 concerned her, is buried ; shall I dare to resurrect 
 it ? Might she not also deny my identity, repudiate 
 the tale that I would tell? And where am I to
 
 THE HAND OF GOD 223 
 
 turn if not to her? No, let the dead past bury 
 its dead; let the living present partake of new 
 life. If God doeth all things, and doeth all things 
 well, as this good man says, I am, as he also 
 says, but an instrument in His hands." 
 
 He raised his eyes again then, and said slowly: 
 
 " I will be guided by you. I can only repeat 
 what I have already related to Mercy. The 
 only man who can prove my identity denies that 
 he ever knew me. Is it best that I should tell 
 the story, or that I should try to forget it? " 
 
 " I think it is best, John, that it be forgotten. 
 I will confide to you that Mercy has told me all. 
 I already know the story that you would tell. 
 Do not repeat it. Let it be forgotten." 
 
 "So be it, sir," murmured Ashton, solemnly. 
 " Henceforth, I am Lord John Hertford, the 
 Earl of Ashton and Cowingford, and may God 
 have mercy upon us all." 
 
 " Amen! amen! " the dean responded, reveren- 
 tially. 
 
 " Did Mercy tell you that I insist upon a 
 wedding ceremony? " asked Ashton, presently. 
 
 " Yes; and I approve." 
 
 " You will perform it? " 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " And for her sake, without publicity? " 
 
 "Yes."
 
 224 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " When shall it be done? " 
 
 " At once. Before noon to-morrow. I will 
 arrange everything for you. It is her request. 
 I will come here at half -past ten with all prepara- 
 tions made. And now, John, do you not feel 
 happier? Is there not a new peace in your heart? " 
 
 "I do not know. I cannot tell," Ashton 
 replied, slowly. " There is one request that I 
 would like to make one supplication to you as 
 a man." 
 
 " What is it, my son? " 
 
 " That you will be my friend, always, sir." 
 
 " I can promise you that, freely." 
 
 "ATou will remember this hour? " 
 
 " As long as God gives me life, I will not forget 
 it," replied the dean, solemnly. 
 
 " Thank you. I will not detain you longer now. 
 As you go out, will you see Mercy and tell her? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 Then John Ashton was left alone with his 
 thoughts, but what they were has never been 
 revealed. 
 
 There was no turning back now. It was too 
 late for that. The deed was done. Henceforth 
 he must live and act a lie. John Ashton must be 
 buried from that hour. John Hertford must be 
 resurrected and live. 
 
 The new earl smiled bitterly. There was no
 
 THE HAND OF GOD 225 
 
 joy for him in this deception. He could not 
 repudiate the responsibility for the fraud he had 
 decided to perpetrate. It rested upon him and 
 upon him alone. He could not cast it off upon 
 the shoulders of the good man who had advised 
 with him.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE NEW LIFE 
 
 " I PRONOUNCE you man and wife." 
 
 The words were uttered solemnly, distinctly, 
 impressively, nor was the blessing which followed 
 the announcement less inspiring. 
 
 Dean Douglass ceased speaking, and a happy 
 smile lighted up his face as he stepped forward 
 and shook the groom warmly by the hand, at the 
 same time imprinting a fatherly kiss upon the 
 brow of Lady Mercy. 
 
 From that moment, Lord John's health 
 steadily improved. He became stronger with such 
 rapidity that within a week after the ceremony 
 he deemed himself quite well. 
 
 By common consent, neither he nor the countess 
 referred to the subject that had so distressed them 
 both, but which had affected them so differently. 
 He became, without effort, and in every outward 
 sense, the man whom everybody believed him to 
 be; and she continued the loving, beautiful, 
 trusting woman that she had always been.
 
 THE NEW LIFE 227 
 
 He went about among the friends of the lost 
 earl with entire composure and with perfect 
 naturalness. At first, she endeavoured to be 
 always with him, lest he should offend an old 
 acquaintance by non-recognition, striving always 
 to keep secret from the world the existence of 
 that strange forgetfulness from which she believed 
 he suffered. She coached him constantly, and he 
 listened to and obeyed her in everything. 
 
 One day she showed him a photograph of a 
 beautiful woman, about her own age. 
 
 " Do you know who it is, John? " she asked, 
 after she deemed that he had studied it sufficiently 
 long. 
 
 " No, dear," he replied, " I do not." 
 
 " I hoped no, I believed that you would 
 remember Agnes Dunmore," she said, and there 
 was a ring of pain in her voice. 
 
 " Forgive me, Mercy," he replied, sadly, " I 
 remember nobody. Would to God I could re- 
 member everything you wish. Tell me, dear, who 
 is Agnes Dunmore? " 
 
 " She is a distant relative of yours; a far 
 removed cousin, and at one time, long, very long 
 ago, when you were children, you engaged your- 
 selves to each other. She was Agnes Chisholm 
 then. She married Lord Dunmore, who used to 
 be Robert Crandyl. He died within the year.
 
 228 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 Their place is Oakdale and it adjoins your seat 
 in Hertford. They are coming here to-night. 
 Her mother, Lady Babbington Chisholm, will be 
 with her. I believe you have called her Aunty 
 Bab since you were a boy, and do still. You 
 will not forget? " 
 
 " No, Mercy, I will not forget." 
 
 Methods of this kind were her constant resource, 
 and under her tutelage, the occasions were rare 
 when he gave offence. 
 
 Among the men at the clubs and about town, 
 Archie Quinlan was his constant companion, 
 and for the genial, hearty young peer, the new 
 earl conceived an honest and sincere affection. 
 
 The countess, who knew the true worth of her 
 husband's friend, took him into her confidence 
 one day, and told him much concerning the 
 malady from which the earl suffered, but with- 
 out going to the extent of explaining that 
 it had included her, and also him. And after 
 their talk Archie went straight to his friend and 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " Look here, Jack, why in the world haven't 
 you told me about this thing before? " 
 
 " What thing, Archie? " inquired the earl, 
 raising his brows. 
 
 " Why, that you have somehow forgotten such a 
 lot of things. Mercy has just told me about it.
 
 THE NEW LIFE 229 
 
 By Jove, old chap, but I'd consider myself lucky 
 if I could forget a lot of things that I don't care 
 to remember. Do you know what I am going to 
 do now? " 
 
 " No " smilingly " I haven't the least 
 idea." 
 
 "I'm going to constitute myself mentor and 
 post you. I'll just give you the pedigree of 
 everybody we see approaching us that is, 
 everybody whom you ought to know. Look! 
 There comes Bux. Bux, for short, you know. 
 Ahem! Sir Thomas Buxton, baronet. Son of 
 Sir Thomas Buxton deceased; grandson and 
 great grandson several times over, of ditto; very 
 proud of the ditto ; about the only thing he is 
 proud of, too, unless it is his pack of hounds and 
 his roan hunter, Crank, which he believes can 
 jump over the moon and, egad, I believed it, 
 too, the only time I ever tried to ride him. Don't 
 on any account forget to inquire after Crank. 
 You've ridden him to hounds often." 
 
 " Who is that with him? " 
 
 "Geoff Crandyl another intimate; too lazy 
 to breathe; third son of old Lord Dunmore by 
 second wife; half brother-in-law to Agnes; one 
 of the best fellows you ever knew, but so infer- 
 nally lazy that he makes everybody tired 
 really. Funny that you forget him. I say, old
 
 230 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 chap, was I, also, among the individuals of the 
 forgotten past? " 
 
 " I am afraid you were, Archie." 
 
 " Devilish unkind, I call that. However, you 
 remember me now, don't you? ' 
 
 " Perfectly." 
 
 " Well, I suppose that will have to do. Now, 
 tell me, when are you going down to the Hall? " 
 
 " Just as soon as it is consistent to do so." 
 
 " Shall you ask the same people that you 
 always have? " 
 
 " That depends. I think, since you know 
 something of my condition of mind, I will suggest 
 that you consult with Mercy and make out the 
 list between you. Then you can go over it with 
 me and prepare me for the ordeal; eh? Will 
 you do it? " 
 
 It was two months, however, before they were 
 ready to go into the country, for there were 
 social obligations to be fulfilled in town before 
 departure could be thought of. At last, however, 
 the time came, the London house was closed, and 
 the earl, with his countess, their servants, and 
 baggage, repaired to Hertford Hall, to be followed 
 shortly by a selected few who had been chosen as 
 their guests. 
 
 As the days and weeks and months came and 
 went, the name of John Ashton faded into a
 
 THE NEW LIFE 231 
 
 memory only. The new earl became more and 
 more accustomed to his surroundings, his friends, 
 and the numerous cares that devolved upon him 
 by reason of the position he occupied. 
 
 His natural buoyancy of spirits returned to him 
 in a large measure, although there were hours 
 when he stole away by himself, lest the agony and 
 doubt and dread that pursued him should be 
 revealed to Lady Mercy. And he could not bear 
 the thought of that. 
 
 But withal he was happy, and in outward 
 seeming, much like the light hearted, fun loving, 
 careless, genial John Ashton who had lived such 
 a contented life in New York. And strangely 
 enough, also much like the Lord John that these 
 new friends had known and loved in the past. 
 
 There was one source of happiness in his life 
 which consigned regret and remorse to utter 
 oblivion, except at such moments when it would 
 steal upon him unawares and carry him backward 
 upon the wings of memory. It was his love for 
 Lady Mercy. His eyes followed her whenever she 
 was where they could rest upon her. When she 
 was absent, he constantly listened for the sound 
 of her approaching step. When she was beside 
 him, he was blissfully happy. 
 
 Supreme content dwelt with them in the 
 paradise they had created. They understood
 
 232 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 each other without expressing their thoughts 
 aloud. They each knew in advance, what the 
 other was about to say. They dwelt together in 
 perfect unity. 
 
 Often the new earl recalled the impressive words 
 uttered by the dean that day when he had called 
 him to his side to tell him the story of his life, and 
 bit by bit he began to believe that his present 
 surroundings was the working out of an immutable 
 law in which he himself was only a passive 
 instrument. 
 
 Regarding Richard Hertford, of whom he often 
 thought as the man who by right should possess 
 the title and estates which he enjoyed, there came 
 no news; and at such times he resolved again 
 that when he appeared he would tell him every- 
 thing. 
 
 The season in the country came to a close, and 
 they returned to London; and now John Ashton 
 was so intrenched in his position as the earl, that 
 its duties and obligations, its customs and require- 
 ments, became a matter of course, so that gradually 
 he forgot that he was not what he seemed, and 
 the intervals of retrospection became fewer, 
 farther apart and less poignant. 
 
 True, now and then, he thought of John Ashton 
 vaguely, as of one who was dead, but who seemed 
 never to have possessed part or place with him.
 
 THE NEW LIFE 233 
 
 He remembered Hope as one who had been loved 
 and lost by that other being. He lived a different 
 existence a different life he was another 
 being, in body, in soul, in thought, in deed. 
 
 He knew that he was the centre of all things 
 to two beings his wife, who loved him with all 
 the wealth of her great and passionate heart; 
 to Robert, who worshipped him as one who is 
 far above other men. 
 
 Dear old Robert! The same respectful, watch- 
 ful, careful, considerate soul, with his fealty and 
 his steadfastness shining in his eyes, who had 
 grown younger and spryer since the return of his 
 master, who anticipated every want, foresaw 
 every desire, who worshipped the earl and 
 adored the countess with an intensity indescrib- 
 able. 
 
 In the old man's room, his Bible remained 
 spread open every day at the same page, and every 
 night, ere his white hairs touched the pillow, he 
 read again the same chapter that had given him 
 comfort that night of the earl's return. 
 
 While time drifted on, that incident, too, became 
 a memory which dwelt only in the hearts of those 
 who were concerned in it, but which never found 
 utterance upon their lips; and when, on the 
 anniversary of the day of that secret marriage 
 performed by the dean, Lady Mercy gave birth
 
 234 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 to a son, it was put aside for ever, except in 
 prayers of thanksgiving and praise. 
 
 Still, Richard Hertford did not appear. Still, 
 no word came from him to tell that he lived or 
 had died. Even his bankers knew nothing con- 
 cerning him, and it seemed to the new earl, who 
 often pondered over his long absence, that the 
 strange destiny that pursued him had also thrust 
 aside the real heir, in order to confirm him more 
 invulnerably in the place that he had usurped. 
 
 So, looking into the clear, calm eyes of his wife, 
 and feeling the touch of her soft arms around him, 
 he became, bit by bit, the victim of her great 
 love a happy man.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 FEELING HIS WAY 
 
 THE steamship Indian Empress arrived at 
 Liverpool on the fifth day of September, nearly 
 six years after the remarkable meeting between 
 John Ashton and old Robert at the corner of 
 St. James Street and Piccadilly. 
 
 Among the passengers who immediately sought 
 the railway station and took the fast express for 
 London was a tall, bearded, powerfully built 
 man, whose skin was tanned almost to the colour 
 of a Hindu, and whose clear, piercing gray eyes 
 seemed at a glance to comprehend everything 
 they rested upon. And while he stood upon the 
 station platform, waiting for the guard to assign 
 him to a compartment he could occupy in solitary 
 possession during the run to London, a close 
 observer would have noticed that he took an 
 almost eager interest in everything he saw, as if 
 his eyes had for a long time been strangers to the 
 scenes about him. 
 
 His baggage and there was not much of it 
 235
 
 236 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 bore the initials " R. H. H." Under his left arm 
 he carried a bundle of papers, just purchased, 
 which he was reserving for diligent perusal in the 
 quiet of his compartment. 
 
 " Seven years and two months to a day since 
 I left England," he said aloud as the guard 
 closed and locked the door after him. 
 
 Then he threw aside his coat, for the day was 
 warm, filled and lighted a pipe that showed signs 
 of much service, arranged himself comfortably 
 among the cushions of his compartment, and 
 commenced his inspection of the papers. 
 
 There were the Times, the Telegraph, the Pall 
 Mall Gazette, the Court Journal, and, in fact, 
 every London paper that could be procured at 
 the stall, and what was strange concerning his 
 inspection of them was, that instead of delving 
 first for the general news, he turned at once to 
 the society columns, scanning each item with 
 the same close attention that the shears editor 
 of an afternoon daily might have employed. 
 
 There was no evidence of enjoyment about him 
 in the occupation, such as might have been 
 expected in one who had been so long absent 
 from his native land; instead, the expression 
 of his face was stern and cold ; and when, at last, 
 his glance rested upon the following paragraph, 
 fierceness glittered in his eyes, and his strong
 
 FEELING HIS WAY 237 
 
 hands involuntarily clutched the paper more 
 tightly. 
 
 " Lord John Hertford, Earl of Ashton and 
 Cowingford, accompanied by the countess, their 
 two children, and suite, have returned from 
 Switzerland. They will depart immediately for 
 Hertford Hall, to be followed shortly by a se- 
 lected number of guests. Among those who are 
 included in the invitations are," etc. 
 
 He carefully marked the item, and later, when 
 he had scanned each one of the papers with the 
 same care, cut it out, with others that he had 
 discovered in the same way, placed them in his 
 pocketbook, and hurled the remnants of his 
 search through the window. 
 
 Then he leaned back among the cushions, 
 closed his eyes, and appeared to be sleeping, 
 but he was wide awake when the train rushed into 
 the station in London. 
 
 That same hard, unyielding expression was 
 upon his face, when later he entered his favourite 
 club on Northumberland Avenue, and ordered 
 such refreshments as he needed. 
 
 The hour was still early, for the lights were not 
 yet in use, and while he waited he dashed off a 
 note, called a messenger, and despatched it with 
 instructions to observe the utmost haste, and to 
 pursue the person to whom it was addressed
 
 238 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 until found, if it took the bearer of the message 
 all over the United Kingdom. 
 
 Richard Hertford was not one who uttered 
 his thoughts aloud at any time, and just now he 
 possessed an especial reason for thinking silently, 
 but because afterwards his emotions at that 
 time were revealed to a selected few, we are 
 permitted to read them. 
 
 " Poor old Jack," he mused, " for your sake I 
 must be careful in what I do. I must familiarize 
 myself with everything that has occurred here 
 during the seven years of my absence, before I 
 act, or even speak; and when the blow falls, 
 it must descend with crushing force with 
 irresistible power. Is it some hideous con- 
 spiracy, I wonder, and can Mercy Covington have 
 had a hand in it! God! How many, many times 
 I have asked myself that question since I escaped 
 from that hell in Borneo and got back to partial 
 civilization in India, only to learn of this new 
 horror. 
 
 "Mercy Mercy! Can the being whom I 
 loved as a child and worshipped as a woman 
 can you, the only love of my life, whom silently 
 I resigned to Jack for his happiness and yours 
 can you, who unknowingly exiled me from 
 England and home can you have sunk so low 
 as this? "
 
 FEELING HIS WAY 239 
 
 It was remarkable that while he was the victim 
 of such agonizing emotions, not a trace of their 
 existence appeared upon his countenance. Out- 
 wardly, his face was as calm as ever, but it was 
 the calmness of long study and continued effort. 
 He possessed the stoicism of a Mayo Indian, 
 whose expression never changes, in joy or in 
 sorrow, in peace or in the grasp of the most 
 excruciating pain. 
 
 " Poor old Jack! " he thought again. " You 
 died in my arms; I buried you; I covered your 
 face from earthly view for the last time, with these 
 hands, and over your far away grave I uttered 
 the only prayer that has passed my lips since I 
 was a child. I knew you, Jack; I knew you 
 beyond a doubt. You are dead, buried. How, 
 then, can another have taken your place here? 
 My God, how can it be? " 
 
 He remained there, buried in thought, and 
 rarely raising his head, more than an hour. He 
 was practically alone in the club, for it was at a 
 time of day when the frequenters were absent, and 
 thus far he had not encountered an acquaint- 
 ance; and the fact that he was unlikely to do 
 so had been his object in going there. 
 
 After the passing of the first hour, his eyes 
 frequently sought the door, and at last, when 
 another half hour had elapsed, his glance was
 
 240 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 rewarded, for a figure entered the room and came 
 rapidly toward him with extended hand and 
 smiling, wondering face. 
 
 " Dick, old fellow! " cried the new-comer, " this 
 is the grandest, best, happiest surprise I ever had 
 in my life. Your note took me clean off my feet. 
 Well, well, well! It is really you! We thought 
 you were dead feared that you were, at least. 
 But why in the world did you want me to keep 
 still about your arrival? By Jove, Dick, I am 
 glad to see you again! " 
 
 All the time he was talking, he was shaking 
 Richard Hertford's hand as though it were a 
 pump handle, and the grasp was returned with 
 equal cordiality, for there was an old time affection 
 between these two that time nor distance could not 
 efface or lessen. 
 
 " Sit down, Archie, and tell me all the news," 
 said Hertford, quietly; "that is, if you have a 
 few moments to spare." 
 
 " A few moments to spare? Well, I should say 
 I have. I'd break an engagement with her Majesty 
 the queen for the sake of a good chat with you. 
 But tell you all the news of seven or eight years 
 which is it? in a few minutes? Well, that is 
 beyond me. Suppose you give me a little news 
 yourself. Where in the world have you been all 
 this time? "
 
 FEELING HIS WAY 241 
 
 " I have been a slave to a lot of' niggers on the 
 island of Borneo nearly three years of the time," 
 replied Hertford, calmly. 
 
 " Good heavens! A what? " 
 
 " A prisoner and a slave. That is the truth, 
 Archie. I escaped at last, and here I am. Not 
 a soul knows that I am in London. I travelled 
 incog, and " 
 
 "But why? You should have wired, or done 
 something. We'd have gone wild with delight at 
 news from you; but you are here now, anyway." 
 1 Yes, I am here now," replied Hertford, 
 smiling. ' You see, Archie, I know you fellows 
 up at the Sachem. If you had known I was 
 coming, you'd have had out a brass band or 
 something equally monstrous, and no end of 
 claptrap which I do not like. Now, tell me, how 
 is everybody? Who among my friends is dead? 
 Whom shall I miss when I appear among them 
 again? " 
 
 " Not one, Dick, I verily believe; that is, 
 nobody whom you care a rap about. How 
 thoroughly well you are looking. Slavery must 
 have agreed with you." 
 
 "I've had six months or more in which to pick 
 up. Yes, I am well; very well." 
 
 Suddenly, and quite irrelevantly, Lord Archie 
 Quinlan uttered a shout of laughter, so that his
 
 242 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 companion stared at him in undisguised astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 "What is it that is so funny?" he asked, 
 presently. 
 
 " I was thinking of Jack. How surprised he 
 will be." 
 
 Hertford gave an imperceptible start, and then 
 said, quietly: 
 
 " Yes, I imagine he will be surprised." Then 
 controlling himself admirably, he added: "Tell 
 me about him, Archie." 
 
 " There isn't much to tell about him except 
 that he is the happiest man this side of heaven. 
 That's the truth, too. Why, it is six or seven 
 years or thereabouts, since he and Mercy Coving- 
 ton were married, and one would think they were 
 an engaged couple yet, with the wedding day set 
 for to-morrow." 
 
 " They are happy, then? Lord John and Lady 
 Mercy? " 
 
 " Happy is no name for it. They're the shining 
 example for the kingdom. You never saw any- 
 thing like it. But you will have a chance to 
 beheld for yourself, for we're all going down to 
 the Hall next week, for a month. By Jove! If 
 we can only keep your presence in England a 
 secret until then, and have you walk in upon 
 them unannounced, won't there be a scene?
 
 FEELING HIS WAY 243 
 
 Shall we try it? That is what passed through 
 my mind when I laughed. Shall we try it? " 
 
 " Yes; it is just what I wish to do. Tell me, 
 Archie, has the earl changed very much? " 
 
 " Who? The earl? Oh, you mean Jack. He 
 has grown a little older, perhaps, like all the rest 
 of us, but he's just the same old Jack. I suppose 
 you have heard about the accident? " 
 
 " I haven't heard about anything. What 
 accident? " 
 
 " Why, I ran over him in the street on 
 Piccadilly. Nearly killed him. Smashed his head 
 and broke his ribs, and all that. I was terribly 
 done up about it." 
 
 " When was that? When did it happen? " 
 
 " Let me see; it was in May. Yes, that's the 
 time. Jack and Mercy had just returned from 
 their honeymoon on the Continent. They took a 
 whole year, but bless you, it was only the t>e- 
 ginning. They have been keeping it up ever 
 since, and will, I think, to the end of their days. 
 Nobody knew they were back; they arrived only 
 the night before, you know, and Jack was on 
 his way to the Sachem to find me, or Bux, or 
 somebody. I bowled him over like a ninepin, 
 or rather my horses did. He was carried into a 
 chemist's, and there I saw who it was. We took 
 him around to the club, sent for old Robert, who
 
 244 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 broke the news to Mercy, and then we took him 
 home. It was nearly four months no, about 
 three before he was out again." 
 
 " Indeed. Old Robert is still alive, then? " 
 
 " Very much alive. He's like a father to Jack. 
 Follows him around like a shadow, with a beatific, 
 far away sort of expression on his countenance 
 that must be seen to be appreciated. I tell you, 
 Dick, that is the happiest family in England." 
 
 " And Mercy? Is she well and happy, too? 
 Quite herself, I mean? " 
 
 " Well and happy? Quite herself ? You should 
 see her. She was beautiful before always, I 
 suppose, but she is a dream now the per- 
 sonification of bottled up joy and bliss. There 
 is nothing like it anywhere else in the world. 
 And the children " 
 
 " Children? " 
 
 " Certainly. What is the matter with you? 
 Isn't it quite natural that they should have 
 children? It seems so to me." 
 
 Hertford decanted a glass of wine, swallowed 
 it, and then said calmly : 
 
 ' Tell me about them, Archie." 
 
 1 There are two of them, a boy and a girl. 
 Richard your namesake, by the way, for he is 
 called Richard Herndon is three years old, 
 and Agnes has been here about a year; I don't
 
 FEELING HIS WAY 245 
 
 know exactly. I'm not much on children. As 
 a general thing, they are a nuisance, but some- 
 how Jack's children seem different from the 
 common run. I suppose it is because they are 
 his and Mercy's; eh? " 
 
 Hertford did not reply. He was thinking 
 deeply.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 A STRANGE THING UNDER THE SUN 
 
 THERE was a short pause in the conversation, 
 during which Richard Hertford bent every power 
 of his strong intellect upon the problem confront- 
 ing him. 
 
 Long before the beginning of the interview with 
 Lord Quinlan, he had decided to say and to do 
 nothing regarding the knowledge he possessed 
 concerning the real Earl of Ashton and Cowingford 
 until he had made himself familiar with every- 
 thing connected with the installation in his place 
 of the man who at that moment possessed the 
 title and estates. 
 
 He knew that it was of vital importance that 
 he should know everything before he acted. He 
 realized that he must play a part in the drama 
 now being enacted at Hertford Hall, and which 
 had been going on for four or five years he did 
 not know which. That he must appear to be 
 equally deceived with the others was important, 
 and he had schooled himself for the part. 
 
 246
 
 A STRANGE THING 247 
 
 The brief mention of the children in the para- 
 graph he had read that morning had not attracted 
 his attention; it is doubtful if he saw it, so that 
 when Quinlan made mention of them, he was 
 astounded. 
 
 The information already imparted by Archie 
 amazed him in every way, for he could not under- 
 stand how two people could be so perfectly happy 
 as they were described to be, with the constant 
 dread of a terrible exposure hanging over them. 
 That Lady Mercy was a party to the deception, he 
 did not doubt. He could not doubt it. How, 
 indeed, could it be otherwise? 
 
 It was within the realm of possibility that a 
 stranger might impose upon the credulity of the 
 world at large, and convince it that he was some- 
 body whom he really was not. Such things had 
 been done before, and successfully done. Cir- 
 cumstances, personal likeness, a thousand dif- 
 ferent things united, might create the means for 
 bringing about such a condition, if the director 
 of it all were a man of resource, and had 
 thoroughly prepared himself for the part he was 
 to play. 
 
 Hertford realized this fully, even in the face of 
 having to deceive such intimate friends as Quinlan 
 and Buxton. But there were two persons who he 
 believed could not be deceived that is, if they
 
 248 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 continued in their right minds. They were Lady 
 Mercy and old Robert. 
 
 In his thoughts he dwelt upon Robert first. 
 The man who had cared for Lord John since his 
 babyhood. There was not a mark upon his body 
 that he did not know. There was not a char- 
 acteristic with which he was not familiar. To 
 deceive old Robert would be almost as difficult 
 as to deceive his wife. He could not believe that 
 the old man had submitted to a bribe, and yet, 
 how else could the matter be accounted for? 
 Had he been induced to shut his eyes to the 
 facts because of his love for Mercy and at her 
 solicitation? 
 
 That might be; but that brought him back 
 again to the most revolting part of the whole 
 thing, and that was, the irrevocable decision 
 at least he believed it was irrevocable that 
 Mercy herself was not deceived; that she was 
 particeps crimini in the matter. 
 
 " Deceive a wife? " he thought. " Deceive a 
 woman like Mercy Covington? Impossible! " 
 
 He knew that Lord John had disappeared from 
 his wife's side within a few hours after the wedding, 
 and he remembered now that he had no knowledge 
 concerning the date upon which she had become 
 the wife of his cousin; but nevertheless she was 
 his wife the woman who loved him. How
 
 A STRANGE THING 249 
 
 could she be deceived? But all this needs a word 
 of explanation. 
 
 Richard Hertford was one day, nearly five years 
 before the date of his interview with Archie 
 Quinlan, idly strolling along the principal 
 thoroughfare in the city of Buenos Ayres, Argen- 
 tina, impatiently awaiting the time for the 
 departure of a steamer on which he had taken 
 passage for England. 
 
 For two years he had been wandering among the 
 forests of Brazil, and other countries of South 
 America, scaling the Andes and otherwise search- 
 ing for excitement, adventure, and game. At 
 last, he had tired of the amusement, and decided 
 to return home, so he made his way to the nearest 
 seaport, which proved to be Buenos Ayres. 
 
 He was engaged in inspecting the wares of a 
 jeweller, displayed behind a plate glass window, 
 when he felt somebody brush against him, and 
 turning suddenly with a word of remonstrance 
 upon his lips, had almost gasped with surprise 
 upon beholding, in the supposed stranger, his 
 cousin, Lord John Hertford. 
 
 On his own side the recognition was instan- 
 taneous; on the other there was no recognition 
 at all at least, not at once. In response to his 
 exclamations of astonishment and pleasure at the 
 meeting, the earl answered not a word, but
 
 250 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 stood gazing at him with a perplexed expression 
 upon his countenance that was at once strange 
 and pathetic, and Hertford, perceiving that some- 
 thing extraordinary was the matter, linked his 
 arm in the earl's and led him, a willing captive, 
 to his hotel. 
 
 There, in his own room, away from eaves- 
 droppers and observers, he had with great effort 
 succeeded in drawing from the other a very little 
 information which was subsequently supple- 
 mented by the perusal of some papers that he 
 found in Lord John's possession; and among 
 these, by a strange chance, was the marriage 
 certificate of his union with Mercy Covington. 
 
 That the earl had met with a serious accident 
 of some sort was evident, for aside from the 
 condition of mind in which his cousin discovered 
 him, there was a livid scar extending from the 
 right cheek bone upwards through his hair to 
 the crown of his head. 
 
 Lord John was poorly dressed, destitute of 
 money, and nearly starved when Richard Hertford 
 encountered him. He had no recollection what- 
 ever concerning himself, only insisting that his 
 name was Jack, but shook his head in hopeless 
 despair when questioned further. 
 
 He seemed, however, to feel that he ought to 
 know his cousin. Some faint spark of recollection,
 
 A STRANGE THING 251 
 
 almost extinguished, gave him the impression 
 that he had found a friend, and he submitted 
 willingly to the guidance and care of Richard 
 Hertford. 
 
 On the day following this strange encounter, 
 the steamer in which Hertford had taken passage 
 for England was burned at the wharf, and im- 
 patient of delay, the more so now that he was 
 anxious to get the earl to his home as speedily 
 as possible, for better medical attendance and care, 
 the traveller succeeded in securing berths in an- 
 other vessel which was to sail on the same day, 
 by way of India and the Suez Canal, touching at 
 several ports on the voyage. 
 
 The time consumed would be manifestly greater, 
 but Lord John's physical condition seemed per- 
 fect, and Richard believed that during the voyage 
 he could do much towards beginning the mental 
 cure of the stricken man. 
 
 Subsequently, the ship on which they were 
 passengers became disabled by the breaking of 
 the shaft, and then they drifted aimlessly about 
 for days and weeks until, at last, overtaken by a 
 terrific storm, the vessel was cast, a hopeless 
 wreck, upon an unknown coast. 
 
 There were a dozen survivors, among them 
 Richard Hertford and his cousin, and all of them 
 fell into the hands of the savages who inhabited
 
 252 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 that wild and unfrequented part of the world. 
 What became of the other ten survivors Hertford 
 never knew, but by a fortunate chance, in the 
 division of them among the savage tribes, the 
 cousins remained together. 
 
 They were taken far inland by their captors, 
 who made slaves of them, compelling them to 
 perform the most menial kinds of labour, and sub- 
 jecting them to daily tortures under which only 
 the hardiest and strongest constitutions could 
 hope to survive. 
 
 Under this severe treatment, the earl failed 
 daily, until at last he was unable to get about at 
 all ; but as his bodily health declined, his mental- 
 ity became stronger, so that slowly but surely 
 recollection of many things returned to him. 
 
 The wreck had deprived them of everything 
 they possessed except what they carried upon 
 their persons, and even this had been taken 
 from them by the natives, with their clothing, 
 so that the papers that Lord John had somehow 
 preserved until after his meeting with Richard 
 were also lost. 
 
 Richard Hertford did everything that man 
 could do to preserve the life of his cousin. When 
 the natives would have put him to death because 
 he was no longer useful to them, he gladly took 
 upon himself the labour of both in order that his
 
 A STRANGE THING 253 
 
 life might be spared. But he continued to grow 
 weaker and weaker, while his brain became 
 stronger and clearer, and at last he died. 
 
 After he was gone, when Richard had time to 
 go over, with great care, all that had been revealed 
 to him during those last days, he was forced to 
 admit that it did not tell him half he wished to 
 know not half of all that he should know, 
 and, reduced to a simple statement, it really did 
 not amount to much. 
 
 Written out at length by Richard Hertford 
 after his escape from the savages and while he was 
 in Bombay, that part of it which is important 
 here was this: 
 
 Lord John Hertford and Lady Mercy Covington 
 were married at the Church of the Annunciation, in 
 
 London, on the (the exact date is forgotten) 
 
 day of May, 18 . The day was beautiful. There 
 was a wedding breakfast at the residence of 
 Lord Hertford, an informal reception during the 
 day, and a grand function of the same sort in 
 the evening. In the midst of it, Robert, Jack's 
 man, brought him a note, or a message, or some- 
 thing it is not clear what it was, which induced 
 the earl to leave his bride and go out of the house 
 alone. 
 
 He did not remember why he went out, or who 
 it was who called him, and from the moment
 
 254 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 when he left his own door all recollection ceases, 
 until he was too ill to be about, lying under a 
 thatch roof beneath the scalding sun of Borneo. 
 He died in my arms and was buried by me there, 
 where he died, in Borneo. Prior to the date of 
 his marriage, his memory was exact and correct, 
 but from the instant that he received the blow 
 which destroyed his mind, everything was blank. 
 He remembered nothing of having been in Buenos 
 Ayres, how he got there, how long he was there, 
 or in fact anything whatever concerning his life 
 after the blow fell upon him. 
 
 That he had received a blow is proven by the 
 fact that there was a livid scar extending from 
 the right cheek bone upwards through the hair 
 to the crown of his head. His hair covered the 
 scar, but had not grown through it. From its 
 appearance, I should say it was inflicted by a 
 sharp pointed instrument, for example, such as 
 longshoremen use in the pursuit of their occupa- 
 tion; in other words, an iron hook. 
 
 That is all that has to do with the purposes 
 of this history. 
 
 When Richard Hertford arrived in Bombay, 
 he found that he was unacquainted with any of 
 the officers stationed there in short, that he 
 knew nobody, and his first care, after providing 
 himself with proper clothing, and by means of
 
 A STRANGE THING 255 
 
 the cable, by which he communicated with his 
 bankers money, was to secure a file of London 
 papers, and study them, and it so happened that 
 one of the first things he saw was a mention of 
 the doings of Lord John Hertford and his beautiful 
 wife, formerly Lady Mercy Covington. 
 
 For a time he would not believe the evidence 
 of his own eyes, but when he came across 
 announcements of like character again and yet 
 again, he told himself that some monstrous thing 
 had happened some terrible thing which it 
 was his duty, to the dead and the living alike, 
 to investigate. 
 
 Again he had recourse to the cable. His bankers 
 were instructed to furnish him with certain infor- 
 mation at once, and requested to keep the fact of 
 his reappearance in the world a close secret until 
 he gave permission to reveal it. He gave his 
 confidence to nobody, but he studied and thought, 
 and wrote unceasingly; and he remained in 
 Bombay, using only the cables for his source of 
 information, until he was assured that there 
 could be no doubt that another and a stranger 
 had usurped the place that had belonged to his 
 dead cousin, and now bore the title and enjoyed 
 the estates which, by right, were his own. 
 
 Then, when he was satisfied that all that could 
 be done at that distance was accomplished, when
 
 256 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 his health was entirely recovered, and he felt 
 in every way equal to the task before him, he 
 took ship for home. 
 
 The long, almost endless hours consumed by 
 that journey were hours of reflection and study 
 to him. 
 
 The condition that he was obliged to face when 
 he should arrive upon the scene was beyond his 
 imagination. Try as he might, he could not 
 understand its possibility, and he often wondered 
 if he were not suffering from some hideous night- 
 mare, some devilish hallucination which would 
 fade away and be forgotten the moment he 
 stepped foot upon English soil. 
 
 And now, after all he had gone through, in 
 thought, in study, in wonder and in alarm, he 
 confronted the most amazing condition of all, for 
 here before him, in the city of London itself, was 
 the closest and most intimate friend Lord John 
 had ever knowjti, who calmly told him that the 
 earl and Lady Mercy had just returned from their 
 honeymoon on the Continent when a certain acci- 
 dent occurred; that they had been travelling to- 
 gether a year; that they were blissfully happy, 
 and that Lord John had changed, " not a bit."
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 ROBERT IS PUT ON THE RACK 
 
 RICHARD HERTFORD raised his eyes and asked: 
 
 " When are you going down to Hertford Hall, 
 Archie? " 
 
 " Next week; during the early part of it," was 
 the instant reply. 
 
 " I will go with you." 
 
 " Good. That is what I want you to do." 
 
 " But before I go, I wish I could have an inter- 
 view with old Robert." 
 
 " Why? " 
 
 " Well, to make the surprise more complete, 
 I would like to have a talk with him and make 
 some arrangements. Robert loves me almost as 
 well as he used to love Jack, you know." 
 
 " Yes, I know; as he used to love Jack; but the 
 love that he used to bear his master was nothing 
 to the adoration and worship that he gives him 
 now." 
 
 " What do you mean ? That he loves him better 
 than he ever did? " 
 
 257
 
 258 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 "Yes; it increases with his years. However, 
 I do not think there will be any difficulty about 
 your seeing him, for he is in town." 
 
 "In town? Didn't he go down with with 
 the family? " 
 
 " No. He was left behind for a few days to 
 attend to some extra commissions for Jack. I 
 think you will find him at the house now. Shall 
 I go around with you? " 
 
 " No. I know you have an engagement of 
 some sort, and I will not detain you. Suppose 
 you breakfast with me at Browne's at ten in the 
 morning. Can you do that? " 
 
 " Certainly. I'd like to see Robert when he 
 discovers you, though." 
 
 Richard only laughed. He did not invite Lord 
 Archie to accompany him, and so presently the 
 young peer rose to take his leave, after reaffirming 
 the agreement to breakfast together on the 
 following morning. 
 
 Richard Hertford remained buried in thought 
 for a long time after he was again alone, and the 
 burden of his meditation was : 
 
 " What shall I say to Robert? " 
 
 No matter how much study he gave to the 
 problem, however, he could not decide what 
 was best to do, and at last, with a heavy sigh, 
 he rose and prepared himself for the street,
 
 ROBERT IS PUT ON THE RACK 259 
 
 having come to the conclusion that it would be 
 best to be governed entirely by circumstances, 
 and to permit events to shape themselves. 
 
 It was nine o'clock in the evening when he rang 
 the bell at the side door of the London residence 
 the same door through which John Ashton had 
 entered on that eventful night when the old 
 servant discovered him and the summons was 
 immediately answered by the faithful servant, 
 who was entirely alone, and who had just begun 
 his preparations for bed. 
 
 Hertford stepped through the door into the 
 entry without speaking, while Robert drew back 
 to permit him to answer, for, coming back from 
 the lighted room as he had, and emerging into 
 the darkness of the entry, it was impossible for 
 him to see the features of his caller with sufficient 
 distinctness to recognize him and Richard 
 Hertford was certainly the last person in the 
 world whom he at that moment expected to 
 encounter. 
 
 This was as Richard had hoped it would be, 
 for by that means he would be enabled to deter- 
 mine if the old man's intelligence had remained 
 unimpaired sufficiently for him to recognize his 
 voice in the darkness. 
 
 " A voice," he had argued to himself, " is the 
 most difficult thing in the world to counterfeit,
 
 260 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 and if Robert recognizes mine, and by it knows me 
 at once, I will know that he could not have been 
 deceived by the voice of this interloper who has 
 stolen everything that poor Jack possessed." 
 
 He stepped through into the entry, closing 
 the door behind him, thus enveloping them in 
 darkness that was almost total, and then, while the 
 old man waited in respectful silence, he spoke. 
 
 " Is the earl in town? " he asked indifferently; 
 and he heard Robert utter a gasp of surprise, 
 and knew that he started back with astonish- 
 ment, so he continued: " I have heard he has 
 returned from Switzerland, but that he has 
 already gone to Hertford Hall." 
 
 " Who are you, sir? " exclaimed Robert in a 
 low tone. " Pardon me, if you please, sir, but I 
 there was something about your voice which 
 seemed familiar. Will you speak again, sir? " 
 
 " I have been absent a long time, and you may 
 have forgotten me," said Hertford slowly; but the 
 next instant he felt himself seized in an embrace 
 that was almost frantic, while the old man cried 
 out in a voice that was tremulous with agitation : 
 
 " Forgotten you? Forgotten Mr. Richard? 
 No, no! I could not forget you. Thank God! 
 Thank God! Oh, sir, forgive me. I could not 
 restrain myself. We have despaired of your return. 
 We have all feared that something dreadful had
 
 ROBERT IS PUT ON THE RACK 261 
 
 happened to you, you have been away so long. 
 But come in, come in, sir, where there is a light 
 so that I can see your face. How delighted Mr. 
 Jack and Miss Mercy excuse me my lord 
 and my lady will be to welcome you home again. 
 Come in, come in, Mr. Richard. Oh, sir, I am made 
 ten years younger by this minute. They do not 
 know at the Hall that you have returned? That 
 is good. We will surprise them, and then my old 
 eyes will see you and my Jack together again. 
 God is good to me, Mr. Richard, very good. Come 
 in, come in." 
 
 Trembling with excitement, the old man led 
 him into the same room to which he had con- 
 ducted John Ashton long ago, clinging to him 
 as if he feared that if he released his hold, the 
 apparition for such he almost feared it might 
 turn out to be would fly away and leave him. 
 
 But it was no apparition, as the next moment 
 proved to his satisfaction, for beneath the bright 
 lights of the room, the sturdy, athletic, magnif- 
 icently proportioned figure of Richard Hertford 
 proved to be very material. 
 
 " It is Mr. Richard! It is Mr. Richard! " cried 
 Robert, nearly beside himself. " Sit down, sir, 
 sit down. What can I get for you? A glass of 
 wine? A cigar? In one moment." 
 
 He disappeared in spite of Richard's remon-
 
 262 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 strance, and presently was back again bearing a 
 tray upon which he had arranged everything 
 that he could hastily secure, and then, while his 
 visitor laughingly helped himself, he stood back, 
 eagerly regarding him, with all his good old soul 
 in his eyes. 
 
 " When did you arrive in town, Mr. Richard? " 
 he asked at last. 
 
 " Only this evening, Robert," was the reply. 
 " I saw Lord Quinlan, and he told me that you 
 were here, so I decided to come and see you, and 
 so get all the news from the best possible source; 
 and you must have a lot to tell me, Robert, for 
 I have not received a line concerning those I 
 love since I went away, seven years ago." 
 
 " Seven years; seven years and two months, 
 sir. You see, I remember. It is a very long 
 time, Mr. Richard. Many things happen in seven 
 years," and he cast his eyes downward as his 
 thoughts went back to one year out of that seven, 
 that had been a year of torture to himself and to 
 one other whom he could have named. 
 
 However, that secret had been religiously kept 
 between him and the countess, and he had 
 promised her upon his faith in God that he would 
 never reveal it to anybody ; but he did not when 
 he made the promise foresee, and he could not 
 now imagine, how difficult the keeping of his
 
 ROBERT IS PUT ON THE RACK 263 
 
 promise would one day prove to be. He did not 
 anticipate the questions that he was on the point 
 of being called upon to answer. He had never 
 realized that he would have to utter lies 
 downright lies, in order to keep his word with 
 Lady Mercy; but the time was at hand. 
 
 " Yes," said Hertford, " many things may 
 happen in seven years, and it is to find out from 
 a source that I know is absolutely truth itself, 
 that I have come to you to ascertain just what has 
 happened." 
 
 " Well, sir," said Robert, brightening again, 
 " I can tell you all that has happened to us, in a 
 very short time. There was the wedding of Mr. 
 John and Lady Mercy, and there are the children 
 two of them, Mr. Richard! and such good, 
 beautiful children you never did see, and never 
 can see elsewhere." 
 
 " I quite believe that, Robert, from your stand- 
 point, at least." 
 
 " The first was a boy, sir and such a boy! 
 The very living image of Mr. John! and as like 
 him as two peas! And my lord did not forget 
 you, sir. No, indeed! Miss Mercy wished the 
 boy to have her father's name, but he insisted 
 that he should have yours, and have it he did. 
 Mr. John insisted that he should have your name 
 and no other."
 
 264 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 "The devil he did!" 
 
 " Eh? Yes, sir. Young Richard is past three, 
 but he looks five he is so manly and brave. You 
 will see in him the image of what his father was 
 at his age, sir. And the little girl is Agnes, for 
 Lady Agnes Dunmore. That was the wish of 
 Lady Mercy. She is almost a year and a half 
 old, Mr. Richard, and as beautiful as Lady 
 Mercy herself, only I think she also favours 
 the Hertfords more than she does the Coving- 
 tons." 
 
 " Lord Quinlan referred to an accident that 
 happened to the earl, Robert," interposed Hert- 
 ford. "What was it?" 
 
 11 That was a year and one day after the wed- 
 ding, sir," said Robert, turning away his head for 
 an instant. " Lord Quinlan's horses knocked him 
 down in Piccadilly. His head was hurt, and some 
 of his ribs were broken; but he is all right now, 
 though he was confined to his bed for a long 
 time. It was three or four months before he was 
 able to leave the house." 
 
 " Indeed! Who cared for him during that 
 time, Robert? " 
 
 " Who? Why, my lady, sir. Who else would 
 she permit to care for him? She rarely left his 
 side, and she nearly wore herself out in her 
 attendance upon him. But everybody is well
 
 ROBERT IS PUT ON THE RACK 265 
 
 now, sir, and very happy. God has been very 
 good to us all." 
 
 " Humph! Where was Lady Mercy when the 
 accident happened? " 
 
 " Here, sir, in this house. He had just left 
 her only a few moments before the time that 
 it takes to walk from here to the scene of the 
 accident Albemarle Street and Piccadilly." 
 
 " I understand that they had just returned 
 from their honeymoon trip, Robert; is that 
 so?" 
 
 " Yes, sir; just returned," said Robert, looking 
 away again. 
 
 " When did they return? When did they arrive 
 at this house? " 
 
 " Just the evening before, the earl came, 
 sir." 
 
 " The earl came! Did not the countess come 
 with him? " 
 
 " Certainly, sir. It is the same, is it not? 
 They are never apart for more than an hour at 
 a time." 
 
 Richard Hertford sighed. The complexity of 
 affairs was getting to be more than he 'could 
 master. 
 
 " Were you abroad with them, Robert? " was 
 his next question. 
 
 " No, sir, I remained here."
 
 266 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " How was that? I thought that the earl 
 always took you with him when he travelled? " 
 
 " I did not go with him at that time, sir. I 
 remained here." 
 
 " Why was that, Robert? " 
 
 " I suppose he did not want me, sir." 
 
 " That is strange. Whom did he take? " 
 
 " I think, sir, that he did not take anybody at 
 all." 
 
 " Do you mean to say that they travelled 
 alone? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. I know that Lady Mercy did not 
 have a maid, and I am quite sure that Mr. John 
 had no man with him." 
 
 Robert was becoming very uneasy under this 
 close questioning, and he wondered at it without 
 once imagining the true reason, for if he attributed 
 any cause to it at all, it was to the interest that 
 Richard Hertford felt in everything that had 
 happened during the time of his absence. Never- 
 theless, the questions worried him; but he was a 
 servant who was too well trained to express sur- 
 prise, or to question his interrogator. 
 
 ' Was not that a strange thing for them to 
 do, Robert? " asked Hertford. 
 
 " Perhaps so, sir; I do not know." 
 ' Was it the earl's wish or did the countess 
 desire it? "
 
 ROBERT IS PUT ON THE RACK 267 
 
 " I do not know, sir." 
 
 " What time did they start upon their journey? 
 What train did they take? " 
 
 " It was rather late in the evening, sir." 
 
 " They did go away that same night, eh? " 
 
 " Certainly, sir. May I refill your glass, Mr. 
 Richard? " 
 
 " Yes, if you like. Let me think a moment. 
 Did not Lord Quinlan say something about an 
 event which happened during the reception? 
 Oh, yes ! My cousin was called out by something, 
 or somebody, was he not? " 
 
 " Yes, sir; but he was only called away for a 
 moment. The guests did not know about it." 
 
 " Was he absent from the house for a long 
 time, Robert, or did he return immediately? " 
 
 Poor Robert ! Here was a question that he had 
 not anticipated, and he did not know how to 
 reply, so he sat staring at his companion, 
 speechless.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 
 
 RICHARD HERTFORD pretended not to notice 
 the perturbation that disturbed the old servant. 
 It was not his policy to do so, but on the reply 
 he believed a vital point depended. He perceived 
 that Robert was astonished and dismayed by the 
 questions, so he purposely uttered them as calmly 
 and as indifferently as it was possible to do. 
 
 " Who was it that called him out? " he asked, 
 presently, leaving the last question unanswered, 
 but determining to return to it again. 
 
 " I do not know, sir." 
 
 " And was he out long? " 
 
 " I was trying to remember," murmured Rob- 
 ert, partially recovering himself as he recalled 
 the fact that in deceiving this man he was acting 
 under the specific orders of his mistress, and that 
 his allegiance belonged to her and not to him. 
 "It is so long ago that I am sure I cannot be 
 exact about the time. I remember that he was 
 gone so long that we became anxious." 
 
 268
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 269 
 
 " Ah! He did return, then? " 
 
 " Did return? Why, sir, what do you mean? " 
 
 It was Richard's turn to be somewhat dis- 
 mayed now. Had he said too much? He feared 
 so, for the moment, and therefore he repeated 
 the question in another form. 
 
 " I mean," he said, " were the guests still here 
 when he returned? " 
 
 " I think not, sir. I know that he did not see 
 them again." 
 
 " Was not that a strange proceeding, Robert? " 
 
 The old man's eyes flashed indignantly, as he 
 replied with deliberation: 
 
 " I have never presumed to question the 
 conduct of Lord John Hertford, sir." 
 
 " Forgive me, Robert. Of course you have not. 
 You are such an old friend, that I forget that you 
 are a servant. You saw Jack when he returned? " 
 
 " Certainly, sir. I was the first to see him." 
 It was the absolute truth, as Robert understood 
 the facts, even though it was misleading so far 
 as Richard Hertford was concerned. 
 
 " How did he look? Had anything happened to 
 him during his absence? " 
 
 " He did not tell me that anything had hap- 
 pened, sir." 
 
 ".Did he talk with you then? " 
 
 11 Why, yes, sir, I believe so. I don't suppose
 
 270 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 my memory is as good as it was once, and I fear 
 that I could not repeat the conversation. May 
 I ask a question, Mr. Richard? " 
 
 "Certainly, Robert; certainly. What is it?" 
 
 " Why, sir, it seems strange I beg your 
 pardon that you should be so interested about 
 such matters, and I feared that something might 
 have been said that had come to your ears, about 
 the fact that Mr. John did not see his guests again 
 that night. I only wished to ask if such is the 
 case, and if it is, to beg that you will not repeat 
 it to my lady." 
 
 " No, no, Robert. Something that Quinlan 
 said put it into my head, I suppose. It really is 
 not worth consideration." 
 
 " Well, sir, Mr. John complained of a headache 
 that morning, while taking his bath. I remember 
 it very well, and that evening it was announced 
 in the drawing-room that he was not well, and 
 wished to be excused. I think, sir, that he was 
 anxious about something, but he did not tell me 
 what it was. In fact, I had noticed for some days 
 that something troubled him, but I ought not 
 to mention it, sir, and I hope you will pardon 
 me. I think it is the first time in my life that 
 I" 
 
 ' Yes, yes, Robert. You are, of the best of 
 servants, I know, My questions are to blame
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 271 
 
 for your uneasiness. Do you know where they 
 travelled, while on their honeymoon? " 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " And they are very happy, now? " 
 
 " I never saw two people happier, sir." 
 
 " The earl is just like his old self, eh? " 
 
 " Yes indeed! " (Robert was on safe ground 
 now.) " He will be so delighted to see you." 
 
 " I am sure of that. Quite sure. I will be none 
 the less pleased when I am face to face with him. 
 He has not changed at all, eh? " 
 
 " Not at all." 
 
 Richard Hertford was silent a moment, and 
 then, in a tone that suggested that he had just 
 recalled the fact, he said suddenly : 
 
 " I wonder if that old mark has worn away 
 yet." 
 
 " What old mark do you mean, Mr. Richard? " 
 asked Robert. 
 
 " He used to say," continued Hertford, 
 musingly, and as if he had not heard Robert's 
 question, " that when that mark disappeared, 
 he would die. He was always superstitious 
 about it, you know, because nobody seemed to 
 know how it got there." 
 
 " Oh, yes, sir. I know now what you mean. 
 That tattoo mark on his breast. I have often 
 heard him say the same thing."
 
 272 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " It has not disappeared then? " 
 
 "No. It is quite plain yet, though much fainter 
 than when he was a boy. It will never wear 
 away, sir." 
 
 " Have you seen it lately? " exclaimed Richard, 
 for the instant astonished out of his usual calm, 
 for that was the one thing upon which he had 
 depended, should all else fail, to prove that the 
 present incumbent of the title of the Earl of 
 Ashton and Cowingford was a fraud. And now 
 Robert referred to it as though it were marked 
 upon his person, where Richard was positive 
 that it could not be. He had seen it upon the 
 breast of the man who had died in Borneo. It 
 was not possible that its counterpart could be 
 on the breast of this stranger. 
 
 ' Yes, sir," replied Robert. "I see it every 
 day that is, every morning when I lay out his 
 clothes for him, and rub him down after his 
 exercise with the clubs, and his cold plunge. 
 He is just as particular about all that as he 
 always was." 
 
 Hertford stared at Robert in dismay. 
 
 " Is this old man lying to me? " he asked him- 
 self. " It must be so. I will never believe that 
 the man who at this moment bears the title of 
 Lord John Hertford wears the same mark as 
 that upon the breast of my cousin who died in
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 273 
 
 my arms in Borneo. It cannot be. This alone 
 convinces me that I am face to face with a mon- 
 strous conspiracy in which Robert Smithson is 
 implicated as one of the parties. And if that is 
 so, Mercy Covington must also be a party to it." 
 
 His questions ceased and he sat there thinking, 
 forgetting where he was in the intensity of his 
 concentration of mind upon the subject confront- 
 ing him. 
 
 When he began the conversation with Robert, 
 he was immediately convinced of the innocence 
 of the old servant of any complicity in the fraud 
 that had been perpetrated, but now he believed 
 differently; and the more he thought of it, the 
 stronger became his conviction that he was being 
 deliberately deceived; and the change in his 
 sentiments was due entirely to Robert's assertion 
 that the tattooed heart was upon the breast of 
 the man now at Hertford Hall. 
 
 " I must go down there and see for myself," 
 he mused. " There is no other way. I, too, must 
 pretend to accept this fellow, and I must keep 
 up that pretence until the moment comes when I 
 can unmask him. But will that moment ever 
 come? I have nothing except my unsupported 
 word to offer; how, then, can I hope to prove 
 that my statements are correct? Certainly my 
 word will not stand for a moment against the
 
 274 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 assertions of the countess, particularly in such a 
 matter as this. What could I, who have been seven 
 years absent from England, know that can be 
 proved to be better knowledge than that pos- 
 sessed by the Countess of Ashton and Cowingford? 
 Nothing! If I should undertake to do such a 
 thing, there would at once be a cry raised, that 
 disappointed because of his marriage and the birth 
 of an heir, I make the attempt to prove my case 
 only in the hope of succeeding to the title myself. 
 The whole world would laugh at me, and end by 
 putting me in prison or in a lunatic asylum. 
 
 " There is only one way only one thing that 
 offers any hope of success, as I see the conditions 
 now, and that is, to marshal all my forces, and 
 then, when they are sufficiently strong, confront 
 the man himself with them, and so force a con- 
 fession from him; and that confession cannot be 
 in secret, for then it would avail nothing. There 
 must be concealed listeners men whose oaths 
 will be unassailable. 
 
 "Well, then? What then? What do I gain 
 by all this? The title? I do not want it. Its 
 possession would be a nuisance and a bore. I do 
 not want it. What else? The downfall of Mercy 
 Covington, who, to my certain knowledge, is at 
 this moment living with a man to whom she is 
 not married, and is the mother of children who
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 275 
 
 have no legal existence? Shall I be the one to 
 expose all this? I who have exiled myself from 
 civilization because I loved her, and knowing 
 that she loved my cousin Jack, went away that 
 he might win her and make her happy? Shall 
 I do this? Can I do it? My God, who can reply 
 to that question for me? Certainly I can answer 
 it for myself. Can I crush her to the earth, 
 steal away her good name and destroy her for 
 ever, even though she has sinned beyond redemp- 
 tion? Would that be evidence of my great love 
 for her? 
 
 " She loves this man. I hear it on every side. 
 Their happiness has been dinned into my ears 
 by Quinlan and by Robert until I am convinced 
 of its truth. Do I not owe the same duty to her 
 love for him that I did to her love for Jack? 
 And ought I not to protect, rather than to crush 
 him, if I am consistent? 
 
 " And if she loves him, does she not love her 
 children even more? Are they not more to her 
 than all the world besides, and shall I manifest 
 my love for her by destroying them as I might 
 crush worms in my path? Is it just, and have 
 I the right to take away their names, to deny to 
 them legal existence? Shall I wantonly crush 
 two innocent babes, and cast them forth upon 
 the world, covered with shame I who do not
 
 276 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 want the title, who have no use for the estates? 
 I, who love their mother? Shall I drag the name 
 of Hertford in the dust and mire of a scandal 
 such as this? Shall I render Jack's memory a 
 byword, and shock the whole world with the 
 history of his wife's crime? " 
 
 Robert had silently left the room during this 
 interval of thought, and now Richard Hertford 
 rose and with bowed head and clenched hands 
 began pacing the floor. 
 
 "That is one side," he continued. "Let me 
 look at the other; let me study the events, as in 
 my imagination I can see them, one by one, 
 chronologically : 
 
 " There is a wedding. The whole town is 
 invited. The day passes; evening falls. The 
 parlours are alight; perfume fills the air; music 
 plays behind banks of flowers ; guests throng the 
 house. The groom and his bride wait in their 
 allotted place to receive the congratulations of 
 their friends ; the first, happy beyond the dreams 
 of heaven; the other, concealing the heart of a 
 fiend beneath the smiling exterior of a beautiful 
 and happy bride. The whole world their 
 world stands spellbound at the spectacle of a 
 pair so fortunately united, so appropriately 
 matched, so happy in the possession of each other. 
 The gates of heaven seem wide open before themj
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 277 
 
 the very air is filled with peace, and joy, and har- 
 mony, and love. 
 
 " Outside, in the dark, concealed by the shrub- 
 bery near the side door of the mansion, lurks a 
 human figure, shrouded in the gloom. In face 
 and in figure he is strangely like the groom. In 
 costume, he is identical. In creating the likeness, 
 whatever nature has failed to do, art has supplied. 
 Outwardly they are the same, in face, in form, 
 in figure, in feature, in voice, in motion for 
 it must all be so in order to deceive those who 
 have been and are to be deceived but inwardly 
 they are as different as heaven and hell. Heaven 
 reigns in the breast of one ; hell lurks, and screams, 
 and struggles in the heart of the other. 
 
 " His eyes glare through the window at the 
 moving throng. Their owner knows that he will 
 soon stand there; that it is now only a question 
 of moments when the man who is now there will 
 be lying stark and senseless upon his back, to be 
 borne silently away into forgetfulness and oblivion. 
 Everything has been planned to the most minute 
 detail. Nothing is forgotten or neglected. Clock- 
 work could not be more perfectly regulated. 
 
 " The agreed upon hour approaches. Some 
 one appears at the door some one from the 
 inside. It is an old servant of the family a 
 man who has passed his life (and it has already
 
 278 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 been a long one) in its service a man, loved 
 by his master, and loved so well that his aid 
 alone in this monstrous conspiracy insures its 
 success. 
 
 " He closes the door and returns inside, saying 
 nothing. The opening and closing of it were 
 signals, and upon them the devil outside acts. 
 
 " A moment later, he steps boldly forward, 
 and concealing his face as best he can, rings the 
 bell. It is answered, a note is passed in, with 
 directions that it be given at once, and privately, 
 to the groom. 
 
 " The same old servant receives it, and he 
 carries it to the master who loves him and whom 
 he is supposed to love, and gives it into his hands, 
 knowing that it is the instrument that will con- 
 demn him to death gives it to him smiling, 
 knowing that it is a death warrant follows 
 him to the door, knowing that he is looking 
 upon him for the last time, and that within the 
 hour, another, and a stranger, will enter to take 
 his place gives it to him, and smiles and bows, 
 rubs his hands complacently together, perhaps 
 involuntarily pats his pocket, or raises his un- 
 wavering eyes to Lady Mercy for a glance of 
 approval of the monstrous thing that he has 
 done goes with him to the door, still smiling, 
 still patting his pocket, his heart a clod of coldness
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 279 
 
 and wickedness before which Satan himself might 
 blush with envy. 
 
 " He opens the door for his master, and the 
 happy groom steps out into the darkness. The 
 door closes, and the earl is alone, blinded by the 
 obscurity he faces. 
 
 " Somebody approaches from behind, and the 
 groom half turns to be met by a crushing blow 
 before which he sinks down silent and lifeless. 
 Blood streams from the wound in his head, but 
 he is picked up and borne away through the 
 gloom, and presently that lifeless, inanimate 
 thing, that only a few short minutes before was 
 Lord John Hertford, a happy groom, surrounded 
 by hundreds of friends who would have died to 
 have saved him, is whirled away through the 
 night, God alone knows whither. 
 
 " Back there on the doorstep stands a man, 
 waiting. He is calm, composed, master of himself 
 and of the situation. He wears the same smile 
 that glowed upon his face before this horrible 
 thing occurred, only it is more placid now. The 
 worst part of the deed is done that is, the most 
 difficult part; the remainder is comparatively 
 easy. 
 
 " He waits until the noise made by the wheels 
 dies away in the distance. Perhaps he lights a 
 match to discover if there are stains of blood upon
 
 280 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 the doorstep, and seeing none, laughs softly. 
 Presently he steps boldly forward and rings the 
 bell, or taps upon the door. It opens, and he 
 stands face to face with that same old servant 
 and they smile into each other's eyes . . . my 
 God!" " 
 
 For a moment Richard Hertford paused, over- 
 come by the tragedy of his own thoughts. 
 
 " Can this picture that my mind paints be 
 true? "he asked himself. " It comes to me like 
 an inspiration. I will pursue it to the end. 
 
 " That old servant greets this man as though 
 he were his lord, returned. He chides him gently 
 because he has been so long absent. He leads 
 him away through the corridors and rooms, to 
 the one which until now was the groom's. There, 
 he turns up the lights and regards him earnestly, 
 studiously, and after satisfying himself thoroughly, 
 announces that the make-up is perfect. 
 
 " He mentions the mark of the tattooer's needle, 
 and is assured concerning that, and then an- 
 nounces that the guests are awaiting the return 
 of the earl, and suggests that they go down at 
 once; but here the courage of the interloper 
 falters. He dare not face that throng of guests 
 and intimate friends of the outraged earl. It is 
 too soon. He refuses. 
 
 1 Go down and say that I am ill,' he says.
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 281 
 
 ' Tell them anything you please, only get rid of 
 them all. Send the bride to me at once. All 
 has gone well so far, but too much effrontery 
 may ruin everything.' 
 
 " The servant obeys. The guests depart. 
 The countess joins him. The lights are extin- 
 guished. The house is silent. 
 
 "Perhaps the guilty pair depart that night; 
 perhaps they remain until another day. God 
 only knows, and it does not matter. They are 
 together ; the earl is out of the way. The coronet 
 belongs to them; their plans have succeeded. 
 And somewhere, hurtling away through the dark- 
 ness, is that senseless thing that was once a man, 
 but which now must be a hopeless imbecile 
 a man without a name, forgotten by the world, 
 and by himself; but these two give no thought 
 to him. His day has passed theirs has just 
 begun. 
 
 " They go away together, alone. Even that 
 old servant is left behind. They do not fear him. 
 If he talks, there are asylums for the insane 
 where he can be placed. If he should tell the 
 awful story, it would be madness talking, not 
 sanity. 
 
 " They go away alone, manless and maidless, 
 the better to prepare for the ordeal of their return ; 
 and that preparation is perfect. Not a thing is
 
 282 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 forgotten. A year of careful study provides for 
 every emergency. Good God! Who would 
 not become proficient under the tutelage of a 
 beautiful fiend like Mercy Covington. 
 
 " The year passes the student graduates. 
 The two return as they departed, like thieves in 
 the night ; that same old servant waits to receive 
 them. 
 
 "The night passes; morning dawns; then, 
 that crime created earl walks abroad. He prefers 
 to face the first ordeal alone, and he selects the 
 favourite club of his predecessor, and fate, which 
 doubtless intended to kill him, involuntarily 
 assists him. He is knocked down in the street 
 by the horses of the very man he intended first 
 to deceive. He is carried to the club that he had 
 intended visiting. That same old servant is sent 
 for. The ingenuity of Satan wins again. 
 
 " This man is carried to this house. The partner 
 of his crimes hangs over him. His life is despaired 
 of, but he does not die. He was saved for me ! 
 
 ' That accident is a fruitful thing. It renders 
 easy all that might otherwise have been difficult. 
 There is nothing more to fear nothing save one 
 thing, a man ; but that man is far away ; he has 
 not been heard from ; he may be dead ; it is hoped 
 that he is dead ; that man is Richard Hertford 
 myself.
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 283 
 
 " Almighty God watches over Richard Hertford 
 and spares his life through perils such as no man 
 ever faced before and lived to describe them. 
 Almighty God directs through the labyrinth of 
 distance the wandering steps of that poor for- 
 gotten imbecile that was once the Earl of Ashton 
 and Cowingford, and in a far away corner of the 
 world he encounters the one friend who in all the 
 world is the only person left to recognize him. 
 
 " The ship for England burns at the wharf. 
 The next one taken is hopelessly wrecked. The 
 devil is still on the watch, and takes sly chances 
 to delay the return. These two one who knows 
 so much and yet can tell nothing, and the other 
 who could tell all things and dare all things, 
 yet knows so little, are cast from a trackless sea 
 upon an uninviting coast, and are left there to 
 perish. 
 
 " The stricken one, worn out by the awful 
 hardships, succumbs to them and dies ; the other, 
 invigorated by the thought of the information 
 that he will take home to the loved ones who are 
 mourning the disappearance of the earl, escapes 
 is here. 
 
 " He returns to find the sorrowing wife; he 
 discovers a fiend. He returns, hoping yet to win 
 the woman he has loved; he finds her a polluted 
 thing, a murderess, a shame to her sex, to the
 
 284 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 world, to all mankind a blot upon the face of 
 the earth. He returns to find this ! 
 
 " That is the other side of the picture; shall I 
 hesitate in the duty I have to perform? No! 
 With God's help, no! Man, whoever you are, I 
 will not spare you! Woman, vile and loathsome 
 as you are, so shall the world know you to be! 
 Children, innocent though you are, hideous crime 
 pollutes your young blood, and you shall not be 
 spared. 
 
 " I swear it! I will crush you all, all. Sin 
 shall not triumph because I once loved a woman. 
 Justice shall obtain! The memory of Jack Hert- 
 ford shall triumph! I will bring back his memory 
 from that far away grave, and he shall stand 
 before you all, your accuser, your judge, your 
 destruction. I swear it! " 
 
 Through it all, Richard Hertford did not utter 
 a word that might have been heard three feet 
 away. Through it all, this strange, strong man 
 preserved the inscrutable expression of his fea- 
 tures. An observer would have thought him un- 
 moved by the thoughts within; and when, at 
 that moment, Robert reentered the room, he saw 
 nothing out of the ordinary in his demeanour. 
 
 He began an apology for his absence, but 
 Richard stopped him. 
 
 "It is no matter," he said. " I was glad to
 
 TWO SIDES TO A PICTURE 285 
 
 be alone for a moment. When do you go down 
 to the Hall?" 
 
 " To-morrow, sir." 
 
 " On what train? " 
 
 " The first one, sir. At 6.30 in the morning." 
 
 " I will go with you." 
 
 " Ah, sir. That will be a pleasure." 
 
 " I will go with you. I dare not trust you alone, 
 Robert. You love your master and your mistress 
 so well, that in spite of my wish to surprise them, 
 you would reveal my presence, eh? " 
 
 " Lady Mercy might discover that I had a 
 secret, sir. I cannot hide things from her. She 
 reads me like a book." 
 
 " So I imagine. I will meet you at the train, 
 Robert. Goodnight." 
 
 " Must you go, sir? " 
 
 " Yes. Good night." 
 
 " Good night, sir; God bless you! " 
 
 " Hush, Robert! Let the blessing of God 
 descend upon those who deserve it. Good 
 night." 
 
 He hurried out of the house before Robert 
 could open the door for him, and left the old man 
 standing in his wondering way, gazing after his 
 disappearing figure; and presently the faithful 
 old fellow returned to his room and prepared for 
 rest, little thinking of the horrible thing he had
 
 286 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 become in the mind of the man who had just 
 left his side. 
 
 Richard Hertford hurried back to his club 
 and thence to Browne's, in Dover Street, where 
 for hours after he had gone to his room he rest- 
 lessly paced the floor, thinking and planning for 
 the morrow, and becoming with each new plan 
 more and more involved within the maze of those 
 conditions he was called upon to face. 
 
 He did not forget to write a note to Archie 
 Quinlan, telling of the change in his plans which 
 would render the engagement for the morning 
 impossible of fulfilment. He told him that his 
 call upon Robert had decided him to hasten to 
 Hertford Hall, and begged that he would follow 
 him down on the afternoon train. He did not 
 know why he asked that, but there was a feeling 
 that he would like to have someone near at hand 
 upon whom he could depend. 
 
 And then he threw himself down upon his bed, 
 and slept.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE MEETING 
 
 DURING the years that had passed since that 
 secret and eventful marriage at which Dean 
 Douglass officiated, that grand old man had 
 become a firm and constant friend of John 
 Ashton. 
 
 Whenever the duties of his office would permit 
 of leisure, he passed it with Lord and Lady Hert- 
 ford, and the affection that sprang up between 
 them became a matter of remark by all their 
 friends. The subject that had been discussed 
 between the new earl and the churchman just 
 before the ceremony was never again alluded to 
 and the serious side of it had long been dismissed 
 from the dean's mind. 
 
 On this occasion, the earl and countess having 
 just returned from an extended visit to Switzer- 
 land, a note had been at once despatched to the 
 dean, asking that he cast all cares aside and join 
 them without delay at Hertford Hall. It so 
 happened that he embarked on board the same 
 
 287
 
 288 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 train that carried Richard Hertford and Robert 
 Smithson thither. They occupied different com- 
 partments, however, and neither the dean nor 
 Richard knew of the presence of the other until 
 the train stopped at the station, where a convey- 
 ance from the Hall was waiting for the dean and for 
 Robert. Then they met each other face to face and 
 the recognition was instantaneous and mutual. 
 
 " Richard Hertford! " cried the dean. 
 
 "Dean Douglass!" exclaimed Richard. Then 
 they shook hands heartily, and together they 
 entered the carriage. 
 
 " Are you going to the Hall? " inquired Richard, 
 as soon as they were seated. 
 
 " Yes. I go there every chance I get. It is a 
 second home to me since John and Mercy were 
 married." 
 
 Richard stared at him speechless. 
 
 " Another victim of the deception," he thought. 
 " Truly, this man has left nothing undone to 
 assure the success of his plans." 
 
 " Does John know of your home coming? " 
 asked the dean, presently. 
 
 " No. I am inflicting a surprise upon them." 
 
 " Excellent! I am glad that it is my good 
 fortune to be present. We have talked about 
 you every time we have met, and John has cabled 
 all over the world for news of you."
 
 THE MEETING 289 
 
 " Indeed. When did he do that? " 
 
 " Just before he went to Switzerland. I was 
 anxious to know if he had received any replies, 
 and lo! here you are, in the same carriage with 
 me, and I am literally taking you to him," 
 
 " Has Jack changed any in all these years? " 
 
 " Not a bit. Not a bit. He is just the same old 
 Jack, and hardly a day older. In fact, he seems 
 to have been growing younger lately. You have 
 changed somewhat, Richard." 
 
 " Oh, yes. I have been through enough to 
 change most men," was the reply, and then the 
 thought: " Even the dean cannot see any change 
 in him. God! What an actor this man must be." 
 
 " How is Mercy? Also unchanged? " was his 
 next query. 
 
 " Yes; unless you would call access of beauty 
 a change. Really, Richard, I regard her as the 
 most beautiful woman I ever saw and her soul 
 is more perfect than her face." 
 
 Richard groaned inwardly, but he uttered no 
 sound. Presently he said: 
 
 " Robert tells me that there are two lovely 
 children." 
 
 " Robert is correct. Lovelier children never 
 lived. Did he tell you that the boy is named 
 for you? " 
 
 " Yes."
 
 290 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " It is true; but he is called Herndon, so that 
 the names would not be confounded when you 
 returned." 
 
 " Ah. Did they then expect me to return? " 
 
 " Most certainly. Others despaired of your life, 
 but they never did. Only the last time I talked 
 with John, he said that he was positive you would 
 return, alive and well; and we have all prayed 
 that you would. Now, our prayers are answered. 
 What joy there will be in the household to-night ! 
 How Mercy will cry out when she sees you! 
 How John will seize upon you and almost sob 
 with delight! I knew that John loved you, 
 Richard, but I have seen him lately, actually 
 suffering with anxiety, lest something had hap- 
 pened to you; and yet he has never given up 
 hope." 
 
 " Humph! " 
 
 " Even the children have been taught to speak 
 of you. They know your picture and when asked 
 whom it represents, reply that it is Uncle Richard. 
 What do you think of that? " 
 
 " I think it is very remarkable." 
 
 " Do you? I don't. I think it is very lovely. 
 It should be very gratifying to you." 
 
 " Dean," said Richard, after a moment of 
 silence, " did you not marry them? " 
 
 " Certainly. I thought you knew it."
 
 THE MEETING 291 
 
 " I suppose I did. Were you at the reception 
 that night? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Did not something happen? Was not Jack 
 called out, or was he not ill, or something of the 
 kind?" 
 
 ' Yes, I think he was, now that you speak of 
 it. I had forgotten, though. Word came to us 
 that he was not well, and wished to be excused. 
 We all took our departure soon after." 
 
 " When did you see him again? " 
 
 " When he returned from his wedding tour 
 some while after it, in fact, for I was abroad at 
 the time. As a matter of fact, after he was run 
 down in Piccadilly by Archie Quinlan. Have you 
 heard of that? " 
 
 " Yes; I have been told about it. His illness 
 was not serious, then? " 
 
 " The accident. Yes " 
 
 "No; at the time of the reception." 
 
 " No, I have been told that it was nothing more 
 than a momentary indisposition. Ah, here we 
 are." 
 
 As the carriage drew near to the broad veranda 
 the only modern thing about the ancient old 
 pile Richard Hertford perceived that there were 
 five persons awaiting their approach, and one 
 quick glance revealed to him who they were:
 
 292 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 The man whom he had come there to unmask; 
 the woman whom he had known in the past as 
 Mercy Covington; the boy who, by the irony of 
 fate, was his own namesake; the little girl who 
 was named for a long ago sweetheart of the dead 
 earl ; and the nurse. 
 
 They saw and recognized him, also, as soon as 
 the carriage came plainly into view. 
 
 Lady Mercy released her hold upon the hand of 
 her son, and ran forward with a glad cry of wel- 
 come. John Ashton, who recognized the stranger 
 instantly, because of his constant and careful 
 study of photographs of him, caught his breath, 
 hesitated the fractional part of a second, and 
 then strode forward behind his wife, also wearing 
 an expression of genuine pleasure ; the boy hung 
 back with drooping head, and the nurse, with 
 the baby in her arms, remained immovable and 
 placid. 
 
 Paradoxical as it may seem, John Ashton was 
 really glad that Richard Hertford had appeared. 
 He felt that the time had come when the ghost 
 that had haunted him for years could be laid 
 for ever, in one way or another, and which ever 
 way that might prove to be, he would welcome 
 its approach. 
 
 He had prepared for this meeting by years of 
 study and rigorous schooling. He had fully
 
 THE MEETING 293 
 
 decided what he would do, and having decided, 
 nothing could shake him from his purpose. He 
 had determined irrevocably determined that 
 'he would make a full and complete confession to 
 Richard Hertford. He had promised himself 
 and his God that the revelation should be made 
 at the very first moment when the opportunity 
 occurred; that there should be no delay, no 
 putting off, no procrastination of any sort; that 
 Richard Hertford should hear the truth, the whole 
 truth, and nothing but the truth as soon as it 
 might be possible to relate it to him after his 
 arrival in England. 
 
 But he had also decided that his purpose should 
 remain a secret in his own heart until it was 
 expressed to the man himself, lest his wife and 
 the good dean should advise against it, as he 
 greatly feared they would do; and in order to 
 carry out his intention exactly as he desired, he 
 knew that he must permit no evidence of it to 
 appear in his conduct at the moment of the first 
 meeting between him and the man whom he had 
 wronged. 
 
 It was because of that decision that he now 
 approached Richard Hertford as if they were 
 indeed cousins as if he were in fact the one 
 with whom the returned wanderer had played 
 in childhood
 
 294 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 It was also the policy of Richard Hertford to 
 appear to be deceived at that first meeting. He, 
 too, had schooled himself for the part he was to 
 play, and his calm, strong face exhibited nothing 
 but pleasure when he seized the hand he would 
 have crushed to a pulp had he followed the 
 inclination of his heart. As it was, he shook it 
 with every demonstration of genuine pleasure. 
 
 "Jack, old fellow!" he cried, with an effort 
 that was as great as any he had ever made in his 
 life, " everybody has told me that you were 
 unchanged. By Jove, they were right. And 
 Mercy! " 
 
 He turned and embraced her, and she clung 
 to him, raising her face to his; and for the 
 first time in her life she kissed him on the 
 lips. 
 
 He shuddered when he felt that caress. It 
 thrilled him to the utmost fibres of his being. It 
 made him dizzy, and a wave of pallor swept over 
 him, like faintness like the near approach of 
 death. 
 
 " Perhaps, after all, there is some excuse for 
 this interloper," he thought quickly, as he drew 
 away from her and turned hurriedly towards 
 the children, lest the others should discover the 
 pain in his face, and wonder at it. Strangely 
 enough, it was of the betrayal of his love he
 
 THE MEETING 295 
 
 thought then, not of his purpose in being there. 
 " With her for a temptress, what man's honour 
 could she not kiss into obscurity? " 
 
 He seized upon young Richard and raised him 
 in his arms. 
 
 " My namesake! " he exclaimed. " They told 
 me truly when they said you were like your 
 father, Richard." 
 
 " They tall me Herndon, tause your name's 
 Richard, too," was the calm reply. " You is 
 my Uncle Richard, an' I love 'oo, tause my papa 
 said so." 
 
 " My God! " thought Hertford. " Have they 
 taught this innocent child to plead their infamous 
 cause with me? Shall I feel pity for them? 
 Heaven help me to be firm! " 
 
 He put the boy down and took the baby from 
 the arms of the nurse; but little Agnes was 
 afraid of him and showed it. Her red lips quivered 
 when she raised them for him to kiss, and she 
 immediately extended her arms to the nurse, to 
 be taken back again. 
 
 The welcome to the dean was no less cordial, 
 and presently they all went into the house, Ashton 
 leading the way. 
 
 " Richard," he said, when they were in the 
 library, striving to render the utterance of the 
 name as natural and unaffected as it would have
 
 296 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 been had the real earl been there to pronounce it, 
 " not a word yet about your adventures. We- 
 want to hear them all from the beginning to the 
 end, and there is not time now. Robert will show 
 you to your room, and when you have made 
 yourself comfortable, you will find me here, 
 awaiting you." 
 
 " All right, Jack. I will make myself at home, 
 never fear," replied Hertford; and in thought he 
 added: " Precisely what Jack would have said. 
 Not a tone of the voice, not an expression of the 
 face, not a mannerism different from what would 
 have been his. I do not wonder that the world 
 has been deceived. How boldly he plays his part, 
 too. There is not the slightest indication of fear 
 of me." 
 
 His heart hardened in that moment, more 
 than it had done before. He vowed anew that 
 he would not hesitate in his duty. 
 
 ' You are looking so well, Richard," said Mercy 
 as he turned to leave the room. " One might 
 almost imagine that you had not been away at 
 all, now that you are here again." 
 
 " I might say the same for you, Mercy, and for 
 Jack, also," he returned; " and yet, it is over 
 seven years since I left England. Tell me, are 
 you happy? " 
 
 " So happy, Richard! So happy! "
 
 THE MEETING 297 
 
 " And there is not a cloud in your life ? Nothing 
 to regret? " 
 
 " Not one cloud! Not one regret! God has 
 truly blessed me, and now that you are here, I 
 am blessed anew." 
 
 " Not one cloud! Not one regret! My God, 
 what does it mean? " Richard asked himself as 
 he turned and left them.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE CONFESSION 
 
 THE dean did not need to be shown to his 
 apartment, for he was almost as much at home 
 at the Hall as he was in his own house in London, 
 or upon his estates in Scotland. The " Dean's 
 Room " was religiously set apart for his sole 
 occupancy, and was never, even in his absence, 
 given to another. 
 
 When he had changed" his apparel, he descended 
 the stairs and cautiously made his way out of 
 the house. He wandered away among the trees 
 to a retreat that he often sought when he wished 
 to be alone, for he was not the one to intrude 
 himself upon the reunion of these long separated 
 friends, and he shrewdly guessed that he would 
 not be missed before it was time for the midday 
 meal. 
 
 The retreat that he sought was an old stone 
 house of Moorish design, one story high, with a 
 flat roof upon which flourished a miniature flower 
 garden and grove. It was as old as the castle 
 
 298
 
 THE CONFESSION 299 
 
 itself, and was hidden away in the woods on the 
 bank of a rushing brook, and had long been in 
 disuse until John Ashton discovered it and fitted 
 up the one room it contained. 
 
 To that room he always retreated when he 
 wished to be alone, and it was kept locked against 
 all intruders. But outside there was a flight of 
 stone steps which led to the roof, and there the 
 old dean kept a hammock concealed, so that when 
 he desired solitude, he could withdraw it from its 
 hiding place, and attach it to the posts that had 
 been set beneath the bower of wistaria. Thus 
 concealed from the view of everybody, he would 
 doze, and dream, and prepare the milestones 
 for those sermons which astounded and awed 
 his London audiences. 
 
 Now he adjusted the hammock, and having 
 fixed his herculean proportions comfortably within 
 it and drawn a warm rug over his form, he 
 straightway went to sleep. 
 
 Within the Hall, other things were happening. 
 
 Richard Hertford, having made what change he 
 desired in his appearance, descended to the 
 library, where he found Ashton and the countess 
 awaiting him. 
 
 They chatted together, upon indifferent sub- 
 jects for a few moments, and then Mercy, with a 
 happy smile on her face, rose to go.
 
 300 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 44 I admit that I am selfish," she said demurely, 
 " for I know that you two wish to be alone to- 
 gether, and here I have been inflicting myself 
 upon you, knowing all the while that you both 
 heartily wish I would go. Let me advise you to 
 take a walk in the grounds while you talk over 
 old times. The day is beautiful, and you will 
 enjoy it more than sitting here; and John, one 
 moment before you go out." 
 
 He followed her into the hallway, instantly, 
 leaving Richard to suppose that it was her inten- 
 tion to warn this stranger again ; and could he have 
 heard her question and Ashton's reply, he would 
 have been more than ever confirmed in his belief. 
 
 " John," she whispered, placing her hands upon 
 his shoulders, and looking steadily up into his 
 face, with moist, pathetic eyes, " do you remem- 
 ber yet? " 
 
 " Yes, Mercy," he replied, calmly. " I re- 
 member all that need be said or done." 
 
 " Thank God! " she murmured. 
 
 Then he kissed her lips and they separated. 
 
 44 Richard," he said, reentering the library, 
 44 do you recollect the old rookery, down by the 
 brook? " 
 
 44 Perfectly, Jack. It was my favorite resort 
 when I was a boy; but if I am correct, you used 
 to avoid the place."
 
 THE CONFESSION 301 
 
 The remark was quietly made, but there was a 
 method in it, for in reality, the place was always 
 a favourite with the dead earl. Ashton did not 
 know that, but he answered naturally: 
 
 " I have always liked it. I have had it fitted 
 up and use it as a den to which I retire in my 
 bearish moods. Shall we go there? " 
 
 "Yes; I should like it of all things." 
 
 " Come then. I have a great deal to say to 
 you, and you will have a great deal to say to me, 
 I think. There we shall be undisturbed." 
 
 Richard might have confessed that he was 
 surprised by this manner of address; instead, he 
 forced a good imitation of a hearty laugh, as he 
 replied : 
 
 " You speak as though we had mutual confes- 
 sions to make, Jack. I hope it is nothing serious," 
 and then before Ashton could reply, he added: 
 " Would you not like to have Mercy with 
 us?" 
 
 "No; not now. Are you ready? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then come." 
 
 On their way to the rookery, the conversation 
 was about the house, the grounds, the gardens, 
 the shrubbery, the horses anything except the 
 subject upon which they were both thinking; 
 and when Ashton unlocked the door and waited
 
 302 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 for his companion to enter, the latter, with a 
 light laugh, remarked: 
 
 " By Jove, you have made it comfortable 
 here." 
 
 Ashton did not reply. He closed the door 
 behind him, but did not lock it; still, the act 
 had an unpleasant effect upon Richard, who for 
 a moment wondered with surprise if the man 
 whose guest he was had brought him there to 
 murder him. 
 
 However, he shrugged his shoulders disdain- 
 fully, and throwing himself into a chair, lighted 
 a cigar, and casting the match into the fireless 
 grate, said calmly: 
 
 "It is cool and fine here; just the place for a 
 secret confab. I envy you the possession of this, 
 Jack, for to tell the truth, I have the devil's 
 own time escaping from humanity." 
 
 " Is that the reason why you select the utter- 
 most parts of the earth for your wanderings? " 
 asked Ashton. 
 
 " Partly; not wholly." 
 
 He did not raise his eyes, and therefore he did 
 not see the deathlike pallor that now whitened 
 the face of John Ashton ; if he had seen it he would 
 have made no comment, for he, too, felt an 
 oppressiveness in the air, and a presentiment that 
 the ensuing half hour was to bring forth strange
 
 THE CONFESSION 303 
 
 developments; but even he had no idea how 
 thoroughly strange and startling they were 
 destined to be. 
 
 " Richard Hertford," began Ashton solemnly - 
 so solemnly that his voice seemed altered, as 
 though it had suddenly become deeper and 
 stronger, and imbued with a ring of manhood 
 undeniable; "you spoke the truth a moment 
 ago, when you suggested that I was bringing you 
 here for the purpose of making a suggestion, 
 for that was and is my purpose. Richard Hert- 
 ford, you are Lord Hertford, the Earl of Ashton 
 and Cowingford not I! " 
 
 Ashton had expected that Richard would leap 
 to his feet in astonishment and unbelief, but in 
 this he was deceived, for he did not move a muscle 
 or alter the expression of his face in the slightest 
 degree, as he replied, without a tremor in his 
 voice, and without raising it by so much as half 
 a tone : 
 
 " I know it. Go on." 
 
 " You know it! " exclaimed Ashton, for the 
 instant surprised out of his calm. ' You recog- 
 nized the difference when you first saw me? " 
 
 "No. I knew it before I ever saw you. Go 
 
 on." 
 
 " In that case, my lord, the task is easier for 
 me," said Ashton slowly, his calmness renewed,
 
 304 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 and his purpose more steadfast than ever. " I 
 have feared that you would be as difficult to 
 convince as were the others." 
 
 " What others? " 
 
 " Those whom I have struggled to convince of 
 the truth. Mercy, old Robert, Dean Douglass." 
 
 " Do you mean that you have made the effort 
 to convince them that you are not Lord Hert- 
 ford? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I do not believe you." 
 
 Ashton's face became whiter still. His hands 
 clutched the chair back, where they rested upon 
 it; but he controlled himself, and murmured, 
 as though he had not heard aright : 
 
 " You do not believe me? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " It does not matter. You shall hear me to 
 the end. Afterwards you shall be convinced that 
 I have spoken the truth." 
 
 " I doubt it. Go on." 
 
 " I have, from the very first, felt that you would 
 not be deceived, and before the fatal step was 
 taken which placed me in the position I now 
 occupy, I endeavoured with my utmost effort 
 to get a trace of you, so that you might be com- 
 municated with." 
 
 " I do not believe you. Go on."
 
 THE CONFESSION 305 
 
 Again Ashton's lips tightened, and his face went 
 whiter still. 
 
 " Have you faith in your own gentility? " he 
 asked, coldly. 
 
 " What do you mean by that? " 
 
 " Admitting that you have no respect for me 
 in my effort to tell you the truth, you should 
 respect yourself sufficiently not to forget that 
 you are a gentleman. It is not necessary con- 
 stantly to reiterate your unbelief in my state- 
 ments." 
 
 " In your presence I respect nothing, not even 
 myself," replied Hertford coldly, "for I stoop 
 lower than I ever did before, when I consent to 
 listen to you. You are beneath contempt; I 
 voluntarily place myself on the same level. Go 
 on." 
 
 Ashton smiled bitterly. He was silent for a 
 moment, and then he said slowly: 
 
 " I will not permit you to anger me I believe 
 that you are a just man, if an implacable one. 
 In your position I am not sure that I would not 
 be as despicable, for in your present attitude 
 permit me to say that you are so." 
 
 Richard Hertford did not manifest a sign that 
 he heard. His face remained as calm, as cold, 
 and as hard as it was at the beginning of the 
 conversation.
 
 306 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " Go on," he said; that was all. 
 
 " Am I assured that you will hear me through 
 to the end, notwithstanding your doubts? " asked 
 Ashton, after another short pause. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Will you tell me how you knew that this 
 fraud existed, even before you saw me? " 
 
 "No; I will tell you nothing." 
 
 "So be it. My story will surprise you, at 
 least. Fortunately, the facts concerning it, or 
 at least that part of them which interests you, 
 are not dependent upon my own word, but can 
 be proven by witnesses whose evidence you cannot 
 doubt. I refer to Dean Douglass, to Lady Mercy, 
 and to old Robert." 
 
 " I respect the dean, infinitely, at the present 
 time; beware that you do not utter words that 
 will endanger that respect. As for the others, 
 I have, at present, nothing to say." 
 
 John Ashton did start back then, and his hands 
 clenched the chair back still more tightly. 
 
 " Do you dare to refer to Lady Mercy in that 
 manner? " he whispered, because his agitation 
 and anger were too great for him to risk speaking 
 aloud. 
 
 " I advise you to proceed with your narrative, 
 and not to quibble over details," rejoined Hert- 
 ford, deliberately.
 
 THE CONFESSION 307 
 
 Ashton bowed, controlled himself, and then 
 in a low, even tone, began the recital of the 
 story of his life. 
 
 " I was born," he said, " in the month of 
 February presumably between the eighth and 
 twelfth," (mentioning the year), "where, I do 
 not know. When I was about two weeks old, I 
 was discovered on the doorstep of a mansion 
 in the city of New York. The person who dis- 
 covered me was a banker and a rich man, by 
 name, Henry Hollister. He is still living, or was 
 living only a short time ago. You see, therefore, 
 that I was a foundling." 
 
 "It is in keeping with your future career. 
 Go on." 
 
 " The man who found me gave me a name, and 
 as that name is coincidental with everything 
 that I have to say, I will repeat it. I was named 
 John Cowingford Ashton; by that name I was 
 baptized; with that name I grew to manhood, 
 loved and cared for as a son, but made to believe 
 that I was a nephew." 
 
 He paused for a moment, and then, as Richard 
 Hertford made no sign or comment, he proceeded, 
 and detail after detail, related the history of his 
 life in New York from childhood to manhood. 
 He told of the birth of Hope and how they had 
 grown up together, more like brother and sister
 
 308 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 than like cousins; he described the beginning of 
 his career in the bank, and everything connected 
 with that career, to the moment when he cast 
 it behind him for ever, on that terrible night when 
 he believed that he had been the means of the 
 death of Henry Hollister. 
 
 He told of his love for Hope, omitting nothing, 
 even explaining the cause of their separation; 
 he described the night of terror, when he had 
 wandered through the city streets, believing that 
 he wore the brand of Cain upon his brow; his 
 call at the barber shop ; his sudden determination 
 to leave the country for ever; his preparation, 
 his sailing away under the name of John Cornell, 
 and why he selected that name. He gave a 
 detailed description of his wanderings from that 
 moment, until his meeting with Robert, on the 
 corner of St. James Street and Piccadilly; and 
 through it all, he spoke in the calm, even tone 
 that one might have employed in reading from 
 a book, a history which did not concern, but only 
 abstractly interested the narrator and the audi- 
 ence. 
 
 And all the while Richard Hertford remained 
 immovably fixed in his chair, never changing his 
 position, never altering the expression of his iron 
 face, never commenting by a single word upon 
 what he heard, as inscrutable as a sphinx, as
 
 THE CONFESSION 309 
 
 hard and relentless as the obsidian cliffs over 
 which he had toiled during his wanderings among 
 the Andes mountains. 
 
 " And now," said Ashton finally, " I come to 
 the beginning of that part of my history which 
 directly concerns you. You discover, by the date 
 that I have given, that my encounter with Robert 
 was precisely one year after the night I left the 
 bank, and that also it was precisely one year 
 after the disappearance of the earl, your cousin, 
 whose name I have borne from that day to this." 
 
 Then, with even more graphic intensity than 
 that with which it has already been portrayed 
 upon these pages, he related his conversation 
 with Robert on the street, his reasons for wel- 
 coming the advent of something to interest him 
 and take him out of himself; he described in de- 
 tail the interview and the incidents of that night ; 
 his subsequent consent to sleep in the house, be- 
 lieving that Lady Mercy was absent. He told 
 of the events of the following morning, when 
 Robert examined the tattooed figure on his 
 breast, and exhibited the letter, written when the 
 earl was a boy, to prove that he also was likewise 
 marked. 
 
 He omitted nothing that happened at that time, 
 describing his own indignation and determination 
 to leave the house and the city at once told
 
 310 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 how he consented to go to the library, there, at 
 Robert's dictation, to write a letter in the very 
 words which formerly, on one occasion, had been 
 employed by the earl told how subsequently 
 he had remembered the letter and had looked for 
 it, and had not found it; but that he had for- 
 gotten it until it was too late to be of service 
 and then, minutely, he described his encounter 
 with the eyes that glowed upon him through the 
 holes cut in the portrait of old Sir Roderick, the 
 Crusader. 
 
 He omitted nothing of the effect they had had 
 upon him, and how he discovered that he had 
 been gazing into the eyes of a human being. He 
 told how he had hurled the portrait across the 
 room, thus discovering the presence of the count- 
 ess, and almost word for word, and incident for 
 incident, he related the interview that followed 
 the discovery. 
 
 His attempt to escape from the house, and from 
 Lady Mercy, he told in detail. How she had 
 barred the way, and how at last he had left her, 
 unconscious on the couch, and dashed away, 
 only to be run down and nearly killed by the 
 horses of Lord Quinlan, and that he had recovered 
 consciousness only to find that he was again 
 within the toils from which he had so vainly tried 
 to escape, with Lady Mercy watching over him,
 
 THE CONFESSION 311 
 
 and with the whole world of London apprised of 
 the intelligence that Lord John Hertford was at 
 home, injured, and likely to die. 
 
 And then he went through all that he suffered 
 in mind at the time of his convalescence. He 
 spoke of the call that Lord Quinlan made upon 
 him; told how he had instructed Robert to make 
 another effort to ascertain the address of Richard 
 Hertford, and described that long session of 
 reasoning with himself, at the end of which he had 
 finally determined to assume the position that 
 seemed by fate to be forced upon him, , and to 
 consent to become what he was not, provided the 
 dean should also insist upon his doing so after 
 he had heard the story the real story of his 
 life. 
 
 There, he paused for a moment, and for the 
 first time during more than an hour, Richard 
 Hertford spoke. 
 
 " It is a clever tale, well concocted," he said, 
 " and even if I believed it, you are not less a 
 scoundrel, for you consented to consider the wife 
 of Lord Hertford as your own. But I will listen 
 to the end. I promised myself that. If there is 
 more to tell, go on." 
 
 "You mistake," returned Ashton, quietly, 
 replying to the hideous accusation unmoved, 
 knowing how false it was. " Lady Mercy and I
 
 312 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 were married by Dean Douglass, in the library, 
 where I first saw her." 
 
 " Indeed. The time of that marriage if it 
 really occurred may be vital. Lord John 
 Hertford was, I believe, alive when it took place. 
 He was with me; he died in my arms; I buried 
 him myself. You know now how I recognized 
 in you the scoundrel that you are. You know now 
 why I have no pity for you, and later, you will 
 know why I do not believe the story you have 
 told, and will not believe what there is yet to 
 tell." 
 
 41 My God! " muttered John Ashton, hoarsely; 
 and he bowed his head in agony upon his breast. 
 " When did Lord Hertford die? " he asked, in a 
 broken voice. 
 
 " Lord Hertford lives. I am Lord Hertford." 
 
 " True. What was the date of the death of 
 Lord John? " 
 
 " I will tell you that in my own good time, Mr. 
 Ashton." 
 
 " My God, how cruel you are! " 
 
 " You have not completed your tale. Go on."
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 A STIRRING OP DEEP PASSIONS 
 
 'THERE is not much more to tell," resumed 
 John Ashton. "The dean came at my solici- 
 tation, but he would not permit me to relate the 
 story as I have told it to you. Mercy had told 
 him enough, he said. He spoke words to me that 
 I will never forget ; I could repeat them now, but 
 they would not avail with you. He performed 
 the ceremony in the library four years ago the 
 twenty-ninth day of last month August. Will 
 you tell me now the date of Lord John's death? " 
 
 " If you will tell me first at what hour of the 
 day your remarkable wedding took place." 
 
 " At half -past ten o'clock in the forenoon." 
 
 Richard Hertford, for the first time since the 
 interview began, altered the expression of his 
 face. He smiled grimly as he said with low 
 toned emphasis: 
 
 " Lord John Hertford passed away in my arms 
 about two hours before sunset on the twenty- 
 ninth day of August, four years ago; that is to 
 
 313
 
 314 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 say, he died about half-past three o'clock in the 
 afternoon of the day that you were married. 
 Your children are nobodies; you are a criminal. 
 Listen to me, now, for I have something to say." 
 
 He paused, and for a moment seemed to 
 gloat upon the fearful agony suffered by his com- 
 panion, for John Ashton stood staring at him, 
 stupefied by the statement he had heard. It had 
 benumbed his brain, already tried almost beyond 
 endurance, and he did not fully comprehend it, 
 even yet; and then Richard Hertford went on 
 pitilessly : 
 
 " I believe part of your story," he said, " but 
 I don't believe all of it. That part of it which 
 deals with your imposition on the old dean, I 
 credit. That part of it which refers to your im- 
 position upon my cousin's friends, I credit. 
 That part of it which relates to your appearance 
 upon the streets of London at the time of the 
 accident, I credit, and I also believe that the 
 accident was an intervention of the devil to 
 enable you the better to carry out your infamous 
 schemes. That part of it which happened after 
 that time, so far as it relates to the world in 
 general, and not to Robert, or to to her you 
 call your wife I credit, but I believe that 
 everything else you have uttered here to-day is 
 a lie."
 
 A STIRRING OF DEEP PASSIONS 315 
 
 Ashton only shuddered. Hertford continued. 
 
 " I believe that you knew Mercy Covington 
 before she became Mercy Hertford. I believe 
 that you were a pauper, an ex-convict, or some- 
 thing worse. I believe that you somehow won 
 the love of Mercy Covington, who was already 
 engaged to marry my cousin. I believe that you 
 two, together, plotted and planned this hideous 
 thing from its inception, and that your unac- 
 countable resemblance to the earl, the likeness 
 of your habits and characteristics, and the known 
 talent of some obscure tattooer, was its incentive. 
 I believe that Robert Smithson was your ac- 
 complice and hers. I believe that on the night 
 of the wedding reception, when John Hertford 
 disappeared, you waited outside, with other 
 accomplices, and having enticed the bridegroom 
 to your side, that you, or somebody in your 
 employ perhaps the very man who tattooed 
 the heart upon your breast struck him a 
 murderous blow on his head with an iron hook, 
 and that afterwards he somehow escaped you, 
 and wandered away, an imbecile for that is 
 what he was when I discovered him." 
 
 Still Ashton said nothing, and Hertford rose 
 from his chair and stood before him, with up- 
 raised hand, menacing in his attitude, grand in 
 his rage, sublime in the self-control that he exerted.
 
 316 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " I believe," he continued, mercilessly, " that 
 you entered that house after its true owner had 
 been borne away senseless, and that Robert 
 Smithson met you at the door, and conducted 
 you to an isolated room, there to recover yourself. 
 I believe that your courage failed you there and 
 that you sent down word that you were ill and 
 begged to be excused, so that the guests would 
 depart sooner, and your partner in crime could 
 go to you. I believe that you, accompanied by 
 her, went away that night, through the darkness, 
 taking no man or maid, and that you spent a 
 year in the careful study of the parts you were to 
 play, and in the manufacture and preparation of 
 this story you have told. I believe that with 
 hellish ingenuity, assisted by a wicked woman, 
 you foresaw everything and arranged for every- 
 thing and even the accident may have been 
 included in that plot, although it might have 
 proved more serious than you had planned. It 
 certainly happened opportunely and in the right 
 place for your purposes. I believe that you fore- 
 saw the event of my return, and prepared for it 
 with the same skill, fearing to wait for me to 
 accuse you, lest I should have concealed witnesses 
 when I did so as I should have done had you 
 not forestalled me. I believe " 
 
 John Ashton raised his head slowly until his
 
 A STIRRING OF DEEP PASSIONS 317 
 
 eyes met those of the man before him, and they 
 burned so fiercely that for an instant Richard 
 Hertford hesitated; but only for an instant, for 
 he again began the sentence: 
 
 " I believe that this woman, this hideous 
 woman, was your " 
 
 " Stop, Richard Hertford, or I will kill you 
 where you stand!" breathed Ashton, bending 
 forward and glaring upon this relentless man. 
 " Accuse me of what you will, but spare her, if 
 you wish to live! " 
 
 " Bah! Can a worm grapple with a python? 
 Don't talk to me of killing, lest your own carcass 
 provide the corpse. I do not fear you. You have 
 every reason to fear me; and your words are 
 suggestive. They make me wonder why I do 
 not kill you. I repeat: I believe that Mercy 
 Covington, your " 
 
 His words ended in a gasp, for the fingers of 
 John Ashton were at his throat, choking off 
 further utterance. His own flew up and seized 
 upon his assailant. Neither man spoke. It was 
 giant against giant; fury against fury; outraged 
 despair against righteous rage. 
 
 For a moment only they were locked together, 
 swaying where they stood, with furious eyes, with 
 clenched teeth, distended nostrils, breathless; 
 then Richard Hertford was lifted from his feet
 
 318 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 and hurled, as though he were a child of puny 
 strength, crashing against the wall, and John 
 Ashton, instantly recovering from his rage, 
 stood where they had struggled, waiting for him 
 to rise. 
 
 Then, before he could speak, and ere the fallen 
 man sought to rise, the door was flung ajar, and 
 in the opening, with hands raised, and his grand 
 old head towering over them, stood the magnif- 
 icent form and awe inspiring presence of Dean 
 Douglass. 
 
 " Peace! " he said, solemnly. " Peace! God 
 has sent me here! " 
 
 Ashton bowed his head in shame; Hertford 
 rose slowly to his feet, and waited silently, so 
 that they made the strange spectacle of two 
 antagonists with murder in their hearts a moment 
 since, standing side by side, humiliated by the 
 presence of a superior being. 
 
 " Peace! " repeated the dean, drawing nearer 
 to them, still with upraised hands, while his 
 eyes flashed from one to the other, conquering 
 them where they stood. " Would ye do murder 
 here? Think ye one would benefit if the other 
 expired? John, would you resent a false imputa- 
 tion against the fair name of your wife false 
 in the sight of God by loading her with the 
 greater shame that would have been enacted
 
 A STIRRING OF DEEP PASSIONS 319 
 
 here? Richard, where is your manhood, that 
 you impugn the chastity and virtue of the 
 woman you have always loved? Are ye mad- 
 men, both? Shame! Shame! Shame upon ye 
 both!" 
 
 Awed, they remained silent, and presently the 
 dean spoke on. 
 
 " John, Richard, listen to me; I address you 
 both. The hand of God has been in this wonder- 
 ful affair from the start. By His infinite goodness, 
 He long ago made all that concerns you now 
 plain to me. In His wisdom, He sent me here 
 this day, installing me where I could hear all that 
 has passed between you, for not a word that has 
 been uttered in this room has escaped me. It is 
 in my power, through His blessed goodness, to 
 set your doubts at rest to place you both where 
 you belong to do justice to every desire that 
 burns, at this moment, in the heart of each. I 
 will fulfil the mission that He has given me to 
 perform. But there is another that must be un- 
 derstood first. Richard, tell me in what part of 
 the world was it where you say John Hertford 
 died? " 
 
 " In Borneo." 
 
 " Borneo! On the twenty-ninth day of August, 
 four years ago, said you? " 
 
 "Yes."
 
 320 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " At a time which you say was two hours be- 
 fore sunset? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " At what hour is sunset, there, on that date? " 
 
 " I do not know. It is rather early, for the sun 
 is in the northern heavens." 
 
 " True. It sets then not later than five o'clock. 
 What time, then, think you, is it here? " 
 
 Ashton gasped aloud. Hertford gazed upon 
 the dean, astounded. 
 
 "It is between seven and eight hours earlier 
 in the same day, so that, if the death of Lord 
 John had occurred as late as sunset, there would 
 still have been some minutes to spare," continued 
 the churchman, replying to his own question, 
 " and, therefore, if he died between three and 
 four o'clock in the afternoon, the ceremony that 
 I performed between this man here and Lady 
 Mercy Hertford took place five hours at least 
 after the death of Lord John. Do you not both 
 see the hand of God in this? " 
 
 Neither of the men replied. Both stood awed 
 by the sudden revelation, so simply told; and 
 both realized its unmistakable truth. 
 
 " Richard," continued the dean, " do you 
 remember can you recall the birthday of your 
 cousin John who lies dead in Borneo? You were 
 ten years old then."
 
 A STIRRING OF DEEP PASSIONS 321 
 
 1 Yes, sir, I remember it. I was here at the 
 Hall." 
 
 ' True. Do you remember that I was here 
 also? " 
 
 ' Yes ; I recall it now that you mention it." 
 
 " Do you recall aught else concerning that day, 
 Richard? " 
 
 " I remember that my uncle, the earl, was 
 absent in London, I think and that he was 
 sent for, and came several hours after John was 
 born. He was accompanied by Robert." 
 
 " Precisely. Aught else? " 
 
 Richard shook his head doubtfully. 
 
 " Think! " commanded the dean. " Was 
 there undue excitement about anything? Do 
 you recall a commotion of any sort? Cannot you 
 recall that I took you for a long walk that day, 
 so long that you complained many times, and 
 wondered why I kept you with me? And do you 
 not remember that I went out again in the eve- 
 ning, carrying a lantern, and arrayed in a rubber 
 coat, because rain was falling? Tired as you were, 
 you wished to go with me, and cried because you 
 could not. Do you remember that? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. I do remember it now." 
 
 " You never knew why I kept you with me all 
 that day? " 
 
 " No."
 
 322 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 " It was because your listening ears were 
 everywhere, and I feared lest you should hear that 
 which it was desirable to keep from you. You 
 had haunted that region of the house where your 
 cousin was born, every chance you could get. It 
 was there where the secret that it was desirable 
 to keep from you was located. That secret you 
 shall now hear. It is a story that has often, alas, 
 been repeated in the history of the world, and in 
 the experiences of those who make enemies of men 
 and women. I will not trepass upon your unbelief, 
 Richard, for I have proof of all that I shall say." 
 
 " Do not, sir, do me the injustice to think that 
 I will doubt you," said Richard, calmly. 
 
 " I will not. You loved me when you were a 
 boy. I believe that you love me now. At least, 
 you know that I am not one to deceive you." 
 
 " I do, sir." 
 
 " Then listen to what I have to tell you."
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE KEY TO THE MYSTERY 
 
 1 YOUR uncle and I were friends from child- 
 hood," began the dean. " We were classmates. 
 Our friendship became stronger with advancing 
 years. I was frequently a guest at this place, 
 and it so happened that I was here at the time 
 of the accouchement of Lady Hertford, which 
 event took place ten or twelve days before it was 
 anticipated. You were here, also, and much of 
 the time with me." 
 
 " I remember it, sir." 
 
 " The physician who had been engaged to 
 attend the countess had not arrived; a local 
 physician, now dead, was called. It was because 
 of his infamy, since in part atoned for, and I 
 hope, forgiven, that the necessity of this moment 
 arises. Lady Hertford gave birth to two children 
 at that time, and one of those two, the elder, 
 stands there, known to you as John Ashton, but 
 known to me as Lord Hertford, the Earl of 
 
 Ashton and Cowingford." 
 
 323
 
 324 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 The two men who listened stood gazing blankly 
 before them, appalled. Neither spoke. 
 
 " Now," continued the dean, " be seated. I 
 will tell you how I know this to be true." He 
 waited until they were seated, and then, having 
 also drawn up a chair so that it faced them, began 
 again. 
 
 " The doctor, who was the direct cause of the 
 events that followed, hated your uncle, the earl, 
 and if I could admit that hate in any form were 
 just, he had sufficient cause to cherish it in his 
 heart. I will not tell you what that cause was; 
 all of the persons concerned have gone before a 
 higher tribunal, and we have no right to review 
 their sins. But this man hated. He had sworn 
 revenge a pitiful word, but, in this case, a 
 terrible one; but years came and went and he 
 did nothing. 
 
 "Your uncle your father, John having 
 made all the restitution and atonement he could 
 for the wrong he had done, believed at last that 
 he had nothing to fear from the man who had 
 sworn vengeance against him; but as events 
 proved, that man only awaited opportunity; 
 and at last it came, in the absence of the London 
 physician in the necessity for his presence at 
 the bedside of the suffering countess; and it was 
 I who summoned him.
 
 THE KEY TO THE MYSTERY 325 
 
 !< Immediately upon his arrival he sent for a 
 nurse of his own selection, and expelled from the 
 room the one who was in regular attendance, so 
 that behind closed and locked doors those two 
 were the only persons present when the children 
 were born. I was here in this room awaiting 
 news from the house; my friend, the father, was 
 in London, and with him was Robert Smithson, 
 who, had he been present, would have informed 
 me at once of the strange proceeding. The ex- 
 pelled nurse did endeavour to do so, but I could 
 not be found. The mother your mother, 
 John was stupefied with chloroform, and never 
 knew, thank God, that she gave birth to two boys 
 instead of one. 
 
 " An hour or more before the arrival of the 
 earl, while I was still sitting here, I heard my name 
 pronounced, and discovered the physician stand- 
 ing in the open door. 
 
 " ' I have come to tell you the news,' he said, 
 with a smile that I did not like. ' The countess 
 has given birth to a son, both are doing well, 
 and I will not be needed again before the arrival 
 of the regular physician. Good day, sir, and be so 
 kind as to inform the earl that I shall make no 
 charge for my services. Our accounts are square 
 at last.' 
 
 " He turned then and left me, and I hastened
 
 326 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 to the house, disturbed by what he had said. I 
 found in the room adjoining the chamber where 
 the mother and her babe lay, intense excitement, 
 wild commotion, general upheaval. The nurse 
 who had been summoned by the doctor was 
 writhing in agony upon the floor, servants and 
 others were working over her, and she gave every 
 evidence of having been poisoned. 
 
 " I took charge of things at once. I was the 
 only person present who was capable of doing 
 so. I sent the regular nurse to the countess at 
 once, sent all but one of the other servants out 
 of the room, and that one the housekeeper, who 
 had been in the service of the family a long time, 
 and together we worked over the stricken woman. 
 
 " I will not worry you with details. She 
 partially recovered, and in doing so, she raved 
 about the theft of a child. She accused the 
 doctor of stealing a child of poisoning her. But 
 the baby was safe with its mother, and her 
 mutterings were regarded as the fruit of an im- 
 agination overwrought by pain, and perhaps by a 
 threat made by the doctor, and which he had not 
 dared to carry out. 
 
 " Later in the day we knew that she had spoken 
 the truth in her delirium, for a letter came to the 
 earl from the physician revealing to him the awful 
 truth.
 
 THE KEY TO THE MYSTERY 327 
 
 "I will not repeat all of the letter now, 
 though I have it in my possession; but it 
 told how he had always intended to steal the 
 first born of Lady Hertford; gloated upon the 
 fact that fate had played into his hands in 
 summoning him in attendance upon her now; 
 how, now that there were two, he had taken 
 the elder, foreseeing a more sinful revenge 
 in the opportunity to rear it in sin and in- 
 famy in order that it might one day be in- 
 duced to contest the title and estates with the 
 other. 
 
 ' I have marked them both for identification,' 
 he wrote. ' You will find the mark upon the left 
 breast of the child you retain with the figure 2, 
 very small and faint beneath it. The mark on 
 the child I have stolen is the same, except that 
 the figure i, likewise small and faint, is beneath 
 it. My revenge shall extend to your sons and to 
 your sons' sons.' 
 
 " Bare your breast, John Hertford, and let us 
 see if the figure i is there." 
 
 "It is there, sir," replied the bewildered earl, 
 tearing away his coat and waistcoat, and pres- 
 ently exposing to their view the tattooed heart 
 with the figure i beneath it. 
 
 " I knew that it must be there," rejoined the 
 dean, "for I have other proof that you are the
 
 328 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 first born, or rather, the stolen child of your 
 mother. I will return to that day. 
 
 " Nothing was left undone to capture the 
 doctor. Scotland Yard was employed, and com- 
 pelled, through the influence of the earl, to 
 secrecy; but the records of the case are there, 
 and may be reviewed. However, not a trace of 
 the doctor could be discovered. He had disap- 
 peared utterly, having long planned for that 
 moment. 
 
 " The servants still talked of the ravings of 
 the nurse, and I kept you, Richard, away from 
 the house in order that you might not hear them, 
 for the life of the countess depended upon her 
 ignorance of the awful truth. The poisoned 
 nurse, to whom some unknown drug after- 
 wards supposed to be the juice of the loco weed 
 had been administered, was removed, became 
 insane, and ultimately died without having re- 
 covered her reason. The search for the doctor 
 was continued through years, and at last aban- 
 doned, the few who knew of the circumstances 
 believing that both he and the child were dead. 
 From the outside world the secret was religiously 
 kept. 
 
 " Now, one thing more. When you sent for 
 me, John, before your marriage to the countess, 
 and would have told me the story that you have
 
 THE KEY TO THE MYSTERY 329 
 
 related to Richard to-day, I would not hear it. 
 I told you that Mercy had related the circum- 
 stances to me. She had done so, but she had not 
 told all of them, believing, no doubt, that you 
 would tell me everything, and that I would 
 listen. 
 
 " She told me that while you were abroad some 
 accident had happened, and that your memory 
 had become impaired, your imaginations and 
 hallucinations rampant. She did not tell me that 
 you were not with her at that time, and I always 
 supposed that you really started away together, 
 for I never for a moment doubted that you were 
 the same man to whom I had married her pre- 
 viously. She did tell me much of the story that 
 she knew you believed to be true, but not that 
 part of it which concerns your childhood and 
 youth. 
 
 " So I never doubted that you were the John 
 Hertford that I had known until something 
 more than six months ago, when I saw and recog- 
 nized the man who stole you away met him 
 on the street in London followed him to his 
 home, and ultimately, before he died, which was 
 some weeks after I discovered him, listened to his 
 confession. From him I have every additional 
 
 proof. 
 
 " He took you to New York, having succeeded
 
 330 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 in catching a steamer which Scotland Yard 
 deemed it impossible for him to embark upon in 
 the time that was granted him. On the voyage he 
 tired of you and decided that your loss to your 
 parents was sufficient revenge. In New York he 
 abandoned you, as he afterwards learned, on the 
 steps of a house where a man named Henry 
 Hollister resided. Then for the second time, that 
 name impressed me as being familiar, and at last 
 I remembered, and by searching old records 
 proved, that an American by that name had been 
 a classmate of your father's and mine at Oxford. 
 
 " This doctor lived in New York in misery; he 
 watched you grow up in luxury, and he described 
 to me in detail your career and your subsequent 
 disappearance at the very time when he had come 
 to the determination to go to you and tell you 
 who you were, and if possible induce you to claim 
 your heritage. 
 
 " I knew then that the John Hertford I had 
 known was not here; I knew then that you 
 reigned in his place, not alone in title and estate, 
 but in the heart of the countess. I saw in it the 
 hand of God working out immutable law; I 
 bowed my head in prayer, praised God in thank- 
 fulness and kept silent. The John Hertford 
 that I had known had been absent many years; 
 in my mind there was no doubt of his death;
 
 THE KEY TO THE MYSTERY 331 
 
 children clambered around you and yours; God 
 had directed it all; could I improve upon his 
 design? I have told my story." 
 
 Richard Hertford strode across the room to his 
 cousin's side. 
 
 "John," he said, extending his hand, "will 
 you forgive me? " 
 
 " Hush, Richard," was the instant reply. 
 1 You but did your duty, nobly, grandly, firmly. 
 Let us try to forget all that has occurred in this 
 room." 
 
 Richard now turned towards the door. 
 
 "Stop, Richard," called John. "Where are 
 you going? " 
 
 " Back again to the wilderness. It is the only 
 place for me." 
 
 " What! Am I not also forgiven? " 
 
 " Forgiven? Yes; if there is aught to forgive; 
 but I cannot remain. I must go." 
 
 " You must not go. You must remain," in- 
 terposed the dean. "It is not meet that Mercy 
 should know the secret that is ours. How, then, 
 will your sudden absence be explained, Richard 
 Hertford? Let your forgiveness of others extend 
 to yourself and remain. God requires it as your 
 atonement to Mercy, as your duty to those you 
 love." 
 
 " So be it. I will remain."
 
 332 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 He stood silent a moment, and then raising his 
 head, with a smile upon his strong, sad face, he 
 turned again to John and said: 
 
 " Jack, will you help me to forget some 
 things that I have said? " 
 
 Then the two men clasped hands again silently. 
 Only their earnest eyes expressed that which 
 clamoured for utterance in the heart of each. 
 
 A few moments later, after John had readjusted 
 his collar and resumed his coat, they went out 
 from the rookery together, and the door was 
 closed and locked behind them, upon a room 
 that was to be henceforth doubly sacred to them 
 all. 
 
 Half way up the path towards the house they 
 saw, coming towards them, a group which sent 
 a sudden thrill through their hearts. 
 
 Lady Mercy was approaching them. In her 
 arms she bore little Agnes. Beside her walked 
 Lord Archie Quinlan, and trudging along by his 
 side, clinging to two fingers of his left hand, was 
 the sturdy little figure of Herndon. 
 
 " There they are! " exclaimed Archie; and 
 he came forward hastily, and, grasping first one 
 and then another by the hand until he had 
 greeted them all, added: 
 
 " Was I not right, Dick? Isn't Jack the same 
 old Jack? "
 
 THE KEY TO THE MYSTERY 333 
 
 " Just the same, Archie," was the smiling 
 reply. " He has not changed a bit." 
 
 And John Hertford, rightful Earl of Ashton 
 and Cowingford, kissed his children with a new 
 and strange tenderness, and walked beside his 
 wife towards their home, with a new lightness 
 in his step and a perfect peace in his heart.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE AFTERMATH 
 
 THERE is in the life of every man a day which 
 may correctly be termed a day of fate. Such a 
 day certainly came into the life of Richard Hert- 
 ford during the winter which followed the reve- 
 lations made in the rookery down by the brook. 
 
 It happened immediately after the holiday 
 season, and was the result of many talks between 
 him and the earl, for as soon as the strangeness 
 of their relations had worn off, they became in- 
 separable friends and constant companions; but 
 it was the direct consequence of a conversation 
 which followed an announcement made by Richard 
 that he intended to start away again upon one 
 of his endless voyages as soon as the season was 
 sufficiently advanced for him to do so. 
 
 Argument against this determination on his 
 part was without avail, and at last, the earl, 
 finding that nothing could shake his cousin's 
 purpose, said: 
 
 " Richard, since you are determined to go, 
 334
 
 THE AFTERMATH 335 
 
 there is one thing which I wish you would do for 
 me something which I cannot do for myself. 
 Do you think you will understand and appreciate 
 the motive that influences me when I tell you 
 what it is? " 
 
 " I think so, Jack; what is it? " 
 
 " I have never known and have never sought 
 to know anything concerning Henry Hollister 
 and his daughter Hope, since that hour in the 
 counting-room of the bank when I believed that 
 I had killed him and had parted from her for ever. 
 I would have news of them. Will you get it for 
 me? " 
 
 Richard did not immediately reply. He re- 
 mained silent so long that the earl looked upon 
 him in surprise, believing that he might have 
 been misjudged; but he awaited the response to 
 his question without further remark, and at last 
 it came. 
 
 " Tell me just what you wish me to do," said 
 Richard. 
 
 " I wish you would' go to New York, spend some 
 time there, make the acquaintance of Hope and 
 her father or rather of Henry Hollister and 
 his daughter, and then write to me about them. 
 You know that my original identity is for ever 
 buried in the grave with my brother in Borneo - 
 that grave which I know it is your intention to
 
 336 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 visit before your next trip is completed. I can 
 never be made known to the Hollisters as the 
 same man who spent his boyhood and young 
 manhood in their home; I must remain dead to 
 them for ever, but I would be less than a man if I 
 did not hope to know something concerning 
 them did I voluntarily remain in ignorance 
 of everything connected with them. 
 
 " I loved Henry Hollister as I would have 
 loved my own father had I ever been permitted 
 to know him; I loved Hope with all the ardour 
 of my youth; I love her now, just as I loved her 
 when I wore knickerbockers and she was in short 
 dresses as a brother loves a dear sister. I 
 need not assure you that there is not a thought 
 in my soul concerning her which does not purify, 
 augment, and exalt the love that I bear for my 
 wife; I " 
 
 " Hush, Jack. It is unnecessary for you to say 
 such things." 
 
 " I know that, Dick; but I wish you to under- 
 stand just why I wish you to do this thing for me." 
 
 " I understand it now, better than you could 
 explain it to me, so there is no need for words." 
 
 " Then you will do what I ask? " 
 
 " Certainly. I had not thought of refusing." 
 
 " That is like your generous heart, Dick. You 
 Joiow that Henry Hollister and my father were
 
 THE AFTERMATH 337 
 
 classmates at Oxford, and that the kind old 
 banker remembered his friend sufficiently well 
 to bestow his name upon the foundling discovered 
 upon his doorstep, little dreaming that he was 
 naming the child for its father. I know Henry 
 Hollister's hospitable ways. You will be invited 
 to his home. You will meet Hope ; doubtless she 
 is married ere this; but if you do not meet her 
 you will hear of her, and when I know that she 
 is happy and contented, I shall feel that the 
 last shadow has departed from my life. Will you 
 do an this? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Thank you, Richard. There is only one 
 reservation I would make in what you are to do. 
 I would request that there be no mention of the 
 name of John Ashton, unless, indeed, you feel 
 that you are empowered to convince them in some 
 way that he is dead." 
 
 Shortly after the New Year, Richard Hertford 
 sailed for New York. He arrived in the morning 
 and that same afternoon called upon the banker, 
 who was still vigorous and full of that unyielding 
 energy which had made him a successful business 
 man ; and when Henry Hollister learned the name 
 of his caller, and knew who he was, the English- 
 man found awaiting him a welcome such as he had 
 never received before.
 
 338 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 The banker made him his guest on the spot, 
 sweeping away every objection which Hertford 
 could offer, in the blunt, hearty way which 
 afforded no opportunity for argument. His 
 baggage was reclaimed from the hotel where it 
 had been sent, and before sundown he was 
 standing in the drawing-room of the Hollister 
 mansion, with the right hand of Hope Hollister 
 clasped in his own. 
 
 He uttered some commonplace phrases about 
 being happy to make her acquaintance, vaguely 
 conscious of the fact that his utterances were mere 
 platitudes, and that he was experiencing a thrill 
 such as he had never known before, not even when 
 he parted from Mercy Covington for the last 
 time before he went away into the wilderness in 
 order that his cousin Jack might win her. That is 
 how it happened to be his day of fate and 
 hers. 
 
 He had intended to remain a week at the most 
 in New York; but the week lengthened into a 
 month, and the month into two more, before he 
 decided that he must go; and then he went to 
 Henry Hollister and told him that he had de- 
 cided to take a companion with him in the future, 
 and that his daughter Hope had consented, sub- 
 ject to his approval, to accompany him. 
 
 During his stay at the home of the Hollisters
 
 THE AFTERMATH 339 
 
 he sent frequent letters to the earl, and an ex- 
 tract from one of them, written on the eve of his 
 departure from America, speaks for itself: 
 
 " We are to be married to-morrow morning 
 at ten. The wedding will be a quiet one at the 
 house; we both preferred it so, and at noon we 
 sail for Gibraltar. Within a few months I 
 cannot now fix the time we will arrive in Eng- 
 land, and with your permission, I shall bring 
 Hope straight to the Hall; and I shall take the 
 liberty of advising her father of the time of our 
 arrival and inviting him to meet us there. Hope 
 has related to me the story of John Ashton so 
 far as it concerned her. She loved him very 
 dearly and she loves his memory now, for she is 
 convinced that he is dead. Her father has never 
 mentioned the name to me, and of course never 
 will do so. It is a strange destiny, Jack, that has 
 come to you and to me, for we each have for 
 our wife a woman who was once beloved by the 
 other. ... All this will do away with the last 
 shadow that shrouded your life, but there is 
 one that hangs over me still, and I shall not die 
 until it is dispelled. I refer to the mystery which 
 surrounds the fate of your brother. It is a task 
 that I have given myself, to discover who and 
 what it was that called him out that night, and
 
 340 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 what it was that injured him so that he wandered 
 away an imbecile, ultimately to die in that 
 blistering Bornean hell; and yet I cannot help 
 doubting that I will ever know more than I know 
 now which is nothing. Had his life been less 
 perfect than it was, had his character not always 
 been above and beyond reproach, I should adhere 
 to my original idea that it was the result of the 
 jealousy of a woman. I know that I have your 
 blessing in this new happiness that has come to 
 me, and Dean Douglass would assure me that the 
 hand of God has directed it all; if that is true, 
 then I thank God with all my heart. 
 
 " I have neglected to tell you that I have seen 
 a photograph of John Ashton, taken about a 
 month before he left New York, and I must con- 
 fess that Hope was correct when she informed 
 me that he might have been my own brother 
 some years younger. Ashton wore his beard as 
 I do mine, and there certainly is a strong resem- 
 blance. If you should raise a beard I think we 
 would resemble each other." 
 
 And so it came to pass that when another 
 Christmas tide arrived, Hertford Hall became the 
 centre of a strangely reunited group, for gathered 
 around the Yule log that burned and glowed in 
 the great fireplace were the principal characters
 
 THE AFTERMATH 341 
 
 of this strange history, and in the background, 
 constantly watchful for the comfort of every- 
 body save himself, was Robert, hale, hearty, 
 complacently content. 
 
 There had been nothing remarkable about the 
 meeting between Hope Hertford and the earl. If 
 vaguely he reminded her of one who was dead, 
 she made no comment, nor gave the matter more 
 than a reflective thought; it was an experience 
 sufficiently common to see in one person charac- 
 teristics or features which bring to mind memories 
 of another. The earl made no sign that he had 
 ever seen her before; still, there was an added 
 gladness in his heart when he encountered her 
 and knew beyond a doubt that she had found 
 supreme happiness in her union with Richard 
 Hertford. 
 
 Mercy referred to the subject once, and then 
 dismissed it for ever. 
 
 " Is this the Hope Hollister that you knew, 
 or thought you knew, during the years of for- 
 getfulness? " she asked her husband; and he 
 answered : 
 
 "Yes; she is the same, but she does not 
 
 recognize me." 
 
 Two years later, also at Christmas tide, the 
 same party was again gathered at the Hall, and
 
 342 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 with them a number of invited guests from the 
 country round. The great ballroom of the Hall 
 had been thrown open; a roaring fire gleamed 
 in the massive chimney; children romped upon 
 the floor; a decorated tree glistened and groaned 
 beneath its weight of presents; the guests were 
 gathered in groups watching the children at their 
 sports, and the atmosphere was filled with joy 
 and enchantment, when old Robert made his 
 appearance and approached his master. 
 
 Half way across the room he paused, hesitated 
 a moment, and then, retracing his steps, went to 
 Richard Hertford and whispered something in 
 his ear. 
 
 Hertford started perceptibly, hesitated an in- 
 stant, and then followed Robert from the room. 
 
 Neither spoke until they were in a remote part 
 of the house, and then Robert paused. 
 
 " Can it be the same, Mr. Richard? " he asked 
 anxiously. 
 
 " Without doubt. Where is he? " was the 
 instant reply. 
 
 " It was a man before; it is a woman this time, 
 sir," said Robert. 
 
 " Was the message given in just the same 
 manner? " 
 
 "Yes, sir; precisely. She said: 'Tell him 
 that his friend Tom wishes to see him; he will
 
 THE AFTERMATH 343 
 
 understand.' I nearly fainted with fright, sir, 
 and I thought it best to go to you instead of 
 taking the message to Mr. Jack." 
 
 " Quite right, Robert; quite right. It is much 
 better that I should see this person. You say 
 that it is a woman? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Where is she? " 
 
 " At the east door. Shall I accompany you, 
 sir? " 
 
 "No; I will go alone." 
 
 ' You will be cautious, sir. Do not, I pray 
 you, forget what happened to Mr. Jack when, on 
 the evening of his wedding reception, he was 
 summoned from us in the same manner." 
 
 " I will not forget. Wait here for me, Robert." 
 
 The old man bowed, and Richard Hertford 
 turned and went out alone into the night, his 
 heart beating strangely, for he felt that the 
 mystery which had seemed to be beyond solu- 
 tion was about to be explained at last. 
 
 Before he opened the door he remained a 
 moment in the darkened hallway, the better to 
 accustom his eyes to the gloom without, for he 
 did not know what he had to face; then he 
 opened the door suddenly and stepped outside, 
 closing it behind him. 
 
 There was a figure there confronting him the
 
 344 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 figure of a woman; but when he appeared she 
 started back with a low cry, and he, without 
 hesitation, sprang forward and seized the woman 
 by the wrist, for she had raised one arm and he 
 saw that something gleamed in her grasp. 
 
 " Who are you and what do you want? " he 
 demanded coldly, speaking in a tone that might 
 not have been overheard a dozen feet away. 
 
 " You are not John Hertford! " she cried 
 hoarsely. " Why did not he come? I did not 
 send for you. You are Richard Hertford, not 
 John. Where is John? Why did he not come 
 when I sent for him? He promised that he would 
 always obey when I sent for him, and he did so 
 once ; but not this time not this time. Go 
 back and send him to me." 
 
 Instantly Richard realized that he had to deal 
 with one who had lost her reason, and, always 
 quick to think and to act, he replied calmly : 
 
 " He is ill. He must see you inside. Come." 
 
 He drew her towards the door, opened it and 
 gently forced her to follow him into the house, 
 where, still exerting persuasive force, he con- 
 ducted her to a deserted room, calling to Robert 
 as he went. 
 
 " Stand here near the door," he said to the 
 old servant, " and permit nobody to enter. I 
 will summon you if it is necessary."
 
 THE AFTERMATH 345 
 
 "Where is John Hertford?" demanded the 
 woman when they were alone in the room with 
 the door closed. " You said that he would see 
 me here. Is he not coming? " 
 
 " Presently. You will have to talk with me 
 first. This is not the first time you have called 
 upon him and sent the same message, is it? Do 
 you remember the other time? " 
 
 ' Yes ; it was long, very long ago the night 
 after the wedding. Oh, yes; I remember. It 
 was in London. I stood outside and looked 
 through the windows so long that I got very tired. 
 Then a man came along and I made him deliver 
 the message for me and presently John Hert- 
 ford came out." 
 
 " What did you do then? You tried to kill 
 him, did you not? " 
 
 " Yes," she replied simply, as though the con- 
 fession were a perfectly natural one. " I tried to 
 kill him but I did not succeed. I would not have 
 done it if he had not told me that I must go back 
 to the place that I hate. It was then, while he 
 was holding me by the arm, and trying to call a 
 policeman, that I struck him. I am sorry that I 
 did not kill him, but I shall do it to-night if you 
 will send him to me." 
 
 "Presently; you must tell me all about it 
 first. Who are you and why do you wish to kill
 
 346 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 John Hertford? Perhaps if you will tell me all 
 about it I can help you." 
 
 " I am Janet Fairfax," replied the woman. 
 " Did you never hear of Janet Fairfax? I should 
 have been John Hertford's mother if God had 
 been just and John Hertford's father, the earl, 
 had been true. He made me love him and then he 
 went away and married another woman, and I 
 swore, and my brother, the doctor, also swore, 
 that their children should perish. Then, after 
 that, they came and shut me up in a terrible 
 place where there are a lot of people who are 
 mad, and I have lived there ever since, except 
 when I got away from them that other time and 
 now. It was my brother who shut me up, not 
 the earl. He was kind and good to me except 
 that he made me love him and then went away; 
 but he was never as bad as my brother, the 
 doctor, thought he was. That was my fault, 
 for I told my brother a lie, and led him to believe 
 many things that were not true. Are you going 
 to bring John Hertford to me? " 
 
 " Presently. What is that thing in your 
 hand?" 
 
 " A knife. I found it in the street before I left 
 London. Do you think that I can kill him with 
 that?" 
 
 " Perhaps. Let me see it."
 
 THE AFTERMATH 347 
 
 She gave it to him obediently and he dropped 
 it into one of his pockets. 
 
 ' What did you strike him with that other 
 time? " Hertford asked, still speaking calmly. 
 
 " It was a piece of a garden rake that I stole 
 from the grounds of the house where they keep 
 me a prisoner. Will you give me back the knife 
 now? " 
 
 " In a moment." Then, raising his voice, he 
 called Robert. 
 
 " Ask Dean Douglass to come here," he said 
 when Robert entered the room. "Do it quietly 
 so that no one may be alarmed." 
 
 The sound of that name produced a strange 
 effect upon the woman, for she sank back upon 
 a chair, moaning, " Not he! Not he! " The 
 shawl which had hitherto covered her head 
 dropped aside, disclosing a profusion of hair as 
 white as the snow on the ground outside, and a 
 face that was still strangely beautiful, with 
 scarcely a wrinkle to proclaim the number of 
 years that she had lived. 
 
 She sobbed on and on, quietly, until the dean 
 entered the room, when, with a wild cry, she 
 sprang to her feet and started towards the door. 
 
 "Janet Fairfax!" exclaimed the dean- "I 
 thought you were dead." 
 
 She turned then, with all the fierceness of a
 
 348 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 tigress, and leaped at his throat, but the strong 
 arms of Richard Hertford seized her and held her 
 motionless; and while they stood thus there 
 came a summons at the same outer door through 
 which she had entered the house, and when 
 Robert opened it, he was confronted by two men 
 who abruptly announced that they were in search 
 of an escaped lunatic, whom they had tracked 
 to that door. 
 
 She was delivered over to them and taken 
 away, and then Richard drew the dean again 
 into the deserted room. 
 
 " Tell me all that you know," he said. 
 
 " The woman is Janet Fairfax, the sister of the 
 doctor who stole the child. I have always been 
 led to believe that she was dead, but it seems I 
 was mistaken. How did she come here? " 
 
 Richard related all that had taken place, and 
 then the dean added: 
 
 " I do not believe my friend ever really wronged 
 this woman. She was a nighty girl and very 
 beautiful. The old earl certainly paid her a great 
 deal of attention, and when she found that it 
 was mere pastime on his part and that he had 
 married another, she made charges which he 
 always assured me were untrue and I believed 
 him. I believe him still. It is our duty, however, 
 henceforth to see to it that she is well cared for,
 
 THE AFTERMATH 349 
 
 and that she never has another opportunity to 
 fly from her keepers. It was a narrow escape, 
 Richard. If Jack had gone to the door she would 
 have struck him with the knife." 
 
 ' Yes; I am glad that Robert had the wisdom 
 to come to me with the message. But the great 
 mystery is solved. We know now what happened 
 to my cousin. But who is, or was, the man Tom 
 to whom that mysterious message referred? " 
 
 "Ah! I had forgotten. When Janet Fairfax 
 was a child her father and brother nicknamed 
 her ' Tommy.' The name clung to her, and by 
 her intimates she was frequently called Tom. 
 Without doubt, our lost John knew about that 
 past, and did understand that friend Tom was 
 no other than Janet Fairfax." 
 
 Within the ancient mausoleum which adjoins 
 the chapel of Hertford Hall there is a sealed tomb 
 which bears the following inscription: 
 
 SACRED TO THE MEMORY 
 OF ONE WHO WAS 
 LOVED AND LOST. 
 
 Richard Hertford has explained its presence 
 there by the statement that encased therein are 
 the remains of one who was his companion during
 
 350 A GENTLEMAN OF QUALITY 
 
 that terrible time in Borneo, when they were 
 both slaves to a horde of savages. Before the 
 end of the first year of his married life he went 
 again to that inhospitable country, accompanied 
 by a strong guard, found the grave of the lost 
 earl, and conveyed the remains to England; so 
 that, after all, the victim of the sins of his father 
 rested beside him in the family tomb at Hertford 
 Hall. 
 
 Later, when a son was born to Richard and 
 Hope, it received the name of Hollister, so that 
 Herndon and Hollister Hertford grew to manhood 
 side by side, as Richard and John had done 
 before them. 
 
 THE END.
 
 From 
 
 L. C. Page & Company's 
 Announcement List 
 of New Fiction 
 
 The Call of the South 
 
 BY ROBERT LEE DURHAM. Cloth decorative, with 6 illus- 
 trations by Henry Roth $1.50 
 
 A very strong novel dealing with the race problem in this 
 country. The principal theme is the danger to society from the 
 increasing miscegenation of the black and white races, and the 
 encouragement it receives in the social amenities extended to 
 negroes of distinction by persons prominent in politics, philan- 
 thropy and educational endeavor; and the author, a Southern 
 lawyer, hopes to call the attention of the whole country to the 
 need of earnest work toward its discouragement. He ha* 
 written an absorbing drama of life which appeals with apparent 
 logic and of which the inevitable denouement comes aa a final 
 and convincing climax. 
 
 The author may be criticized by those who prefer not to face 
 the hour " When Your Fear Cometh As Desolation And Your 
 Destruction Cometh As A Whirlwind; " but his honesty of 
 purpose in the frank expression of a danger so well understood 
 in the South, which, however, many in the North refuse to 
 recognize, while others have overlooked it, will be upheld by 
 the sober second thought of the majority of bis re&dero.
 
 L. C. PAGE & COMPANY'S 
 
 The House in the Water 
 
 BY CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS, author of " The Haunters of 
 the Silences," "Red Fox," "The Heart of the Ancient 
 Wood," etc. With cover design, sixteen full-page drawings, 
 and many minor decorations by Charles Livingston Bull. 
 Cloth decorative, with decorated wrapper . . $1.50 
 
 Professor Roberts's new book of nature and animal life is one 
 long story in which he tells of the life of that wonderfully acute 
 and tireless little worker, the beaver. " The Boy " and Jabe 
 the Woodsman again appear, figuring in the story even more 
 than they did in " Red Fox; " and the adventures of the boy 
 and the beaver make most absorbing reading for young and 
 old. 
 
 The following chapter headings for " The House in the 
 Water " will give an idea of the fascinating reading to come: 
 
 THE SOUND IN THE NIGHT (Beavers at Work). 
 
 THE BATTLE IN THE POND (Otter and Beaver). 
 
 IN THE UNDER-WATER WORLD (Home Life of the Beaver). 
 
 NIGHT WATCHERS (" The Boy " and Jabe and a Lynx See 
 
 the Beavers at Work). 
 DAM REPAIRING AND DAM BUILDING (A " House-raising " 
 
 Bee). 
 
 THE PERIL OF THE TRAPS (Jabe Shows " The Boy"). 
 WINTER UNDER WATER (Safe from All but Man). 
 THE SAVING OP BOY'S POND (" The Boy " Captures Two 
 
 Outlaws). 
 
 " As a writer about animals, Mr. Roberts occupies an enviable 
 place. He is the most literary, as well as the most imaginative 
 and vivid of all the nature writers." Brooklyn Eagle. 
 
 " His animal stories are marvels of sympathetic science and 
 literary exactness." New York World. 
 
 " Poet Laureate of the Animal World, Professor Roberts 
 displays the keenest powers of observation closely interwoven 
 with a fine imaginative discretion." Boston Transcript.
 
 LIST OF NEW FICTION 
 
 Captain Love 
 
 THE HISTORY OF A MOST ROMANTIC EVENT IN THE LIFE or 
 AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN DURING THE REIGN OF His MAJESTY 
 GEORGE THE FIRST. CONTAINING INCIDENTS OF COURTSHIP 
 AND DANGER AS RELATED IN THE CHRONICLES OF THE PERIOD 
 AND Now SET DOWN IN PRINT 
 
 BY THEODORE ROBERTS, author of " The Red Feathers," 
 " Brothers of Peril," etc. Cloth decorative, illustrated by 
 Frank T. Merrill $1.50 
 
 A stirring romance with its scene laid in the troublous times 
 in England when so many broken gentlemen foregathered with 
 the " Knights of the Road; " when a man might lose part of 
 his purse to his opponent at " White's " over the dice, and the 
 next day be relieved of the rest of his money on some lonely 
 heath at the point of a pistol in the hand of the self-same gambler. 
 
 But, if the setting be similar to other novels of the period, the 
 story is not. Mr. Roberta's work is always original, his style is 
 always graceful, his imagination fine, his situations refreshingly 
 novel. In his new book he has excelled himself. It is un- 
 doubtedly the best thing he has done. 
 
 Bahama Bill 
 
 BY T. JENKINS HAINS, author of " The Black Barque," 
 " The Voyage of the Arrow," etc. Cloth decorative, with 
 frontispiece in colors by H. R. Reuterdahl . $1.50 
 
 The scene of Captain Hains's new sea story is laid in the 
 region of the Florida Keys. His hero, the giant mate of the 
 wrecking sloop, Sea-Horse, while not one to stir the emotions 
 of gentle feminine readers, will arouse interest and admiration 
 in men who appreciate bravery and daring. 
 
 His adventures while plying his desperate trade are full of 
 the danger that holds one at a sharp tension, and the reader 
 forgets to be on the side of law and order in his eagerness to see 
 the " wrecker " safely through his exciting escapades. 
 
 Captain Hains's descriptions of life at sea are vivid, absorbingly 
 frank and remarkably true. " Bahama Bill " ranks high aa 
 a stirring, realistic, unspftened and undiluted tale of the - 
 chock full of engrossing interest.
 
 L. C. PAGE & COMPANY'S 
 
 Matthew Porter 
 
 BY GAMALIEL BRADFORD, JR., author of " The Private Tutor," 
 etc. With a frontispiece in colors by Griswold Tyng $1.50 
 When a young man has birth and character and strong ambi- 
 tion it is safe to predict for him a brilliant career; and, when 
 The Girl comes into his life, a romance out of the ordinary. 
 Such a man is Matthew Porter, and the author has drawn him 
 with fine power. 
 
 Mr. Bradford has given us a charming romance with an 
 unusual motive. Effective glimpses of the social life of Boston 
 form a contrast to the more serious purpose of the story; but, 
 in " Matthew Porter," it is the conflict of personalities, the 
 development of character, the human element which grips the 
 attention and compels admiration. 
 
 Anne of Green Gables 
 
 BY L. M. MONTGOMERY. Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 
 Every one, young or old, who reads the story of " Anne of 
 Green Gables," will fall in love with her, and tell their friends 
 of her irresistible charm. In her creation of the young heroine 
 of this delightful tale Miss Montgomery will receive praise for 
 her fine sympathy with and delicate appreciation of sensitive 
 and imaginative girlhood. 
 
 The story would take rank for the character of Anne alone; 
 but in the delineation of the characters of the old farmer, and 
 his crabbed, dried-up spinster sister who adopt her, the author 
 has shown an insight and descriptive power which add much to 
 the fascination of the book. 
 
 Spinster Farm 
 
 BY HELEN M. WINSLOW, author of " Literary Boston." Illus- 
 trated from original photographs .... $1.50 
 Whatever Miss Winslow writes is good, for she is in accord 
 with the life worth living. The Spinster, her niece " Peggy," 
 the Professor, and young Robert Graves, not forgetting 
 Hiram, the hired man, are the characters to whom we are 
 introduced on " Spinster Farm." Most of the incidents and 
 all of the characters are real, as well as the farm and farmhouse, 
 unchanged since Colonial days. 
 
 Light-hearted character sketches, and equally refreshing and 
 unexpected happenings are woven together with a thread of 
 happy romance of which Peggy of course is the vivacious heroine. 
 Alluring descriptions of nature and country life are given with 
 fascinating bits of biography of the farm animals and household 
 pets.
 
 Selections from 
 
 L. C. Page and Company's 
 
 List of Fiction 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 ROBERT NEILSON STEPHENS 
 
 Each, one vol., library zftnt, doth decorative . . 
 The Flight of Qeorgiana 
 
 A ROMANCE or THE DAYS OF THE YOUNG PRETENDER. Illus- 
 trated by H. C. Edwards. 
 
 " A love-story in the highest degree, a dashing story, and a re- 
 markably well finished piece of work." Chicago Record-Herald. 
 
 The Bright Face of Danger 
 
 Being an account of some adventures of Henri de Launay, son of 
 
 the Sieur de la Tournoire. Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. 
 
 " Mr. Stephens has fairly outdone himself. We thank him 
 
 heartily. The story is nothing if not spirited and entertaining, 
 
 rational and convincing." Boston Transcript. 
 
 The Mystery of Murray Davenport 
 
 (40th thousand.) 
 
 " This is easily the best thing that Mr. Stephens has yet done. 
 Those familiar with his other novels can best judge the measure of 
 this praise, which is generous." Buffalo Newt. 
 
 Captain Ravenshaw 
 
 OR, THE MAID OF CHEAPSIDE. (sad thousand.) A romance 
 of Elizabethan London. Illustrations by Howard Pyle and othr 
 
 artists. 
 
 Not since the absorbing adventures of D'Artagnan have w had 
 anything so good in the blended vein of romance and conwdy. 
 
 The Continental Dragoon 
 
 A ROMANCE or PHILIFIE MANOR HOUSE IN 1778- ($J* 
 
 thousand.) Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. 
 
 A stirring romanc. of tht Evolution, with its scene laid oo 
 
 neutral territory.
 
 L. C. PAGE <Sr COMPANY'S 
 
 Philip Winwood 
 
 (7Oth thousand.) A Sketch of the Domestic History of an 
 American Captain in the War of Independence, embracing events 
 that occurred between and during the years 1763 and 1785 in 
 New York and London. Illustrated by E. W. D. Hamilton. 
 
 An Enemy to the King 
 
 (7oth thousand.) From the " Recently Discovered Memoirs of 
 the Sieur de la Tournoire." Illustrated by H. De M. Young. 
 An historical romance of the sixteenth century, describing the 
 
 adventures of a young French nobleman at the court of Henry III., 
 
 and on the field with Henry IV. 
 
 The Road to Paris 
 
 A STORY OF ADVENTURE. (3$th thousand.) Illustrated by 
 
 H. C. Edwards. 
 
 An historical romance of the eighteenth century, being an account 
 of the life of an American gentleman adventurer of Jacobite an- 
 cestry. 
 
 A Gentleman Player 
 
 His ADVENTURES ON A SECRET MISSION FOR QUEEN ELIZA- 
 BETH. (48th thousand.) Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. 
 
 The story of a young gentleman who joins Shakespeare's com- 
 pany of players, and becomes a friend and protege of the great 
 poet. 
 
 Clementina's Highwayman 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated $1-50 
 
 Mr. Stephens has put into his new book, " Clementina's Highway 
 man," the finest qualities of plot, construction, and literary finish. 
 
 The story is laid in the mid-Georgian period. It is a dashing, 
 sparkling, vivacious comedy, with a heroine as lovely and changeable 
 as an April day, and a hero all ardor and daring. 
 
 The exquisite quality of Mr. Stephens's literary style clothes the 
 story i a rich but delicate word-fabric ; and never before have his 
 setting and atmosphere been so perfect.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS 
 
 Haunters of the Silences 
 
 Cloth, one volume, with many drawings by Charles Livingston 
 Bull, four of which are in full color .... $2.00 
 
 The stories in Mr. Roberts's new collection are the strongest and 
 best he has ever written. 
 
 He has largely taken for his subjects those animals rarely met 
 with in books, whose lives are spent " In the Silences," where they 
 are the supreme rulers. Mr. Roberts has written of them sympa- 
 thetically, as always, but with fine regard for the scientific truth. 
 
 " As a writer about animals, Mr. Roberts occupies an enviable 
 place. He is the most literary, as well as the most imaginative 
 and vivid of all the nature writers." Brooklyn Eaglt. 
 
 " His animal stories are marvels of sympathetic science and liter- 
 ary exactness." New York World. 
 
 Red Fox 
 
 THE STORY or His ADVENTUROUS CAREER IN THE RINCWAAK 
 WILDS, AND OF His FINAL TRIUMPH OVER THE ENEMIES or 
 His KIND. With fifty illustrations, including frontispiece in 
 color and cover design by Charles Livingston Bull. 
 
 Square quarto, cloth decorative f 2.00 
 
 "Infinitely more wholesome reading than the average tale of 
 
 sport, since it gives a glimpse of the hunt from the point of view of 
 
 the hunted." Boston Transcript. 
 
 "True in substance but fascinating as fiction. It will interest 
 
 old and young, city-bound and free-footed, those who know animals 
 
 and those who do not." Chicago Record- Her old. 
 "A brilliant chapter in natural history." Philadtlphia North 
 
 Amtritan.
 
 L. C. PAGE & COMPANY'S 
 
 The Kindred of the Wild 
 
 A BOOK OF ANIMAL LIFE. With fifty-one full-page plates and 
 many decorations from drawings by Charles Livingston Bull. 
 
 Square quarto, decorative cover $2.00 
 
 " Is in many ways the most brilliant collection of animal stories 
 that has appeared; well named and well done." John Burroughs. 
 
 The Watchers of the Trails 
 
 A companion volume to " The Kindred of the Wild." With 
 forty-eight full-page plates and many decorations from drawings 
 by Charles Livingston Bull. 
 
 Square quarto, decorative cover $2.00 
 
 " These stories are exquisite in their refinement, and yet robust 
 
 in their appreciation of some of the rougher phases of woodcraft. 
 
 Among the many writers about animals, Mr. Roberts occupies an 
 
 enviable place. The Outlook. 
 
 " This is a book full of delight. An additional charm lies in Mr. 
 
 Bull's faithful and graphic illustrations, which in fashion all their 
 
 own tell the story of the wild life, illuminating and supplementing 
 
 the pen pictures of the author." Literary Digest. 
 
 The Heart That Knows 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth, decorative cover .... $1.50 
 "A novel of singularly effective strength, luminous in literary 
 color, rich in its passionate, yet tender drama." New York Globe. 
 
 Earth's Enigmas 
 
 A new edition of Mr. Roberts's first volume of fiction, published 
 in 1892, and out of print for several years, with the addition of 
 three new stories, and ten illustrations by Charles Livingston 
 Bull. 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth, decorative cover . . . . 1.50 
 " It will rank high among collections of short stories. In 
 ' Earth's Enigmas ' is a wider range of subject than in the ' Kin- 
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 edition by Tiffany Blake in the Chicago Evening Post. 
 
 Barbara Ladd 
 
 With four illustrations by Frank Verbeck. 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth, decorative cover .... $1.50 
 
 " From the opening chapter to the final page Mr. Roberts lures 
 
 us on by his rapt devotion to the changing aspects of Nature and 
 
 by his keen and sympathetic analysis of human character." Boston 
 
 Transcript.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 
 
 Cameron of Loch lei 
 
 Translated from the French of Philippe Aubert d Gaapl, with 
 
 frontispiece in color by H. C. Edwards. 
 
 Library iamo, cloth decorative $1-50 
 
 " Professor Roberts deserves the thanks of his reader for giving 
 a wider audience an opportunity to enjoy this striking bit of French 
 Canadian literature." Brooklyn Eagle. 
 
 " It is not often in these days of sensational and philosophical 
 novels that one picks up a book that so touches the heart" 
 Boston Transcript. 
 
 The Prisoner of Mademoiselle 
 
 With frontispiece by Frank T. Merrill. 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth decorative, gilt top . . . . $1.50 
 
 A tale of Acadia, a land which is the author's heart's delight, 
 of a valiant young lieutenant and a winsome maiden, who first 
 captures and then captivates. 
 
 " This is the kind of a story that makes one grow younger, more 
 innocent, more light-hearted. Its literary quality is impeccable. 
 It is not every day that such a heroine blossoms into even tempo- 
 rary existence, and the very name of the story bears a breath of 
 charm." Chicago Record-Herald. 
 
 The Heart of the Ancient Wood 
 
 With six illustrations by James L. Weston. 
 
 Library I2mo, decorative cover fi-5 
 
 "One of the most fascinating novels of recent days." Boston 
 Journal. 
 
 " A classic twentieth-century romance." New York Commercial 
 Advertiser. 
 
 The Forge in the Forest 
 
 Being the Narrative of the Acadian Ranger, Jean de Mer, 
 Seigneur de Briart, and how he crossed the Black AbW, and of 
 his adventures in a strange fellowship. Dlustrated by Henry 
 Sandham, R. C. A. 
 Library i amo, cloth, gilt top |i-S 
 
 A story of pure love and heroic adventure. 
 
 By the Marshes of Minas 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth, gilt top, illustrated .... $i-5 
 Most of these romances are in the author'* lighter and more 
 
 playful rein; each is a unit of absorbing interest and exquisite 
 
 workmanship.
 
 L. C. PAGE 6- COMPANY'S 
 
 A Sister to Evangeline 
 
 Being the Sivy of YTonne dc Lamourie, and how she went into 
 exile with the villagers of Grand Pre. 
 
 Library i zmo, doth, gflt top, illustrated .... $1.50 
 Swift artk, fresh atmosphere, wholesome parity, deep passion, 
 and searching analysis characterize this strong novel. 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 LILIAN BELL 
 
 Carol i na Lee 
 
 With a frontispiece in color from an ofl painting by Dora Wheeler 
 Keith. Library izmo, doth, decorative cover . . . 1.50 
 
 A Christian Stifmrr novel. foil of action, alive with incident and 
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 A charming portrayal of the attractive fife of the South, refresh- 
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 Hope Loring 
 
 Illustrated by Frank T. MerrflL 
 
 Library izmo, doth, decoratiTe cover .... $1.50 
 Tall, slender, and athletic, fragile-looking, yet with nerves and 
 sinews of steel under the eltet flesh, frank as a boy and tender and 
 beautiful as a woman, free and independent, yet not bold such n 
 * Hope Loring," by long odds the subtlest study that has yet been 
 rfr of the ftmorinn guL" Derotity Dix t in tkt Ntm York 
 
 Abroad with the Jimmies 
 
 With a portrait, in dnogravure, of the author. 
 
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