you, and I am sure you won't make me lose my
journey; will you now?"

"And pray who asked you to come all the way
from London, sir?"

"A person to whom your health is very dear."

"Oh indeed; so I have secret friends, have I?
Well, you may tell my secret, underhand, friends,
I never was better in my life."

"I am truly glad to hear it," said the little
man: "let me introduce myself; as Dr. Wycherley
forgot to do it." And he handed Alfred
a card, on which his name and profession were
written.

"Well, Mr. Speers," said Alfred, " I have only
a moment to give you, for I must dress for
dinner. What do you want?"

"I come, sir, in hopes of convincing your
friends you are not so very ill; not incurable.
Why your eye is steady, your complexion good;
a little high with the excitement of this
conversation; but, if we can only get over this
little delusion, all will be well."

"What little delusion?"

"About the 14.000l. you know."

"What 14,000l.? I have not mentioned
14,000l. to you, have I?"

"No, sir: you seem to shun it like poison;
that is the worst of it; you talk about it to
others fast enough; but to Dr. Wycherley and
myself, who could cure you of it, you would hide
all about it, if you could."

At this Alfred rose and put his hands in his
pockets and looked down grimly on his inquisitor.
"Mr. Speers," said he, "you had better go.
There is no credit to be gained by throwing so
small an apothecary, as you, out of that window;
and you won't find it pleasant either; for, if
you provoke me to it, I shall not stand upon
ceremony; I shan't open the window first,
as I should for Dr. What's his confounded
name."

At these suggestive words, spoken with
suppressed ire and flashing eyes, Speers scuttled to
the door crabwise, holding the young lion
in check, conventionally; to wit with an eye as
valiant as a sheep's; and a joyful apothecary
was he when he found himself safe outside the
house and beside Dr. Wycherley, who was
waiting for him.

Alfred soon cooled, and began to laugh at his
own anger and the unbounded impudence of his
visitors: but, on the other hand, it struck him
as a grave circumstance that so able a man as
his father should stir muddy water; should go
and talk to these strangers about the money he
had misappropriated. He puzzled himself all
the time he was dressing: and, not to trouble
the reader with all the conjectures that passed
through his mind, he concluded at last, that Mr.
Hardie must feel very strong, very sure there
was no evidence against him but his son's, or he
would not take the eighth commandment by the
horns like this.

"Injustice carries it with a high hand,"
thought Alfred, with a sigh. He was not the
youth to imitate his father's shamelessness: so
he locked this last incident in his own breast;
did not even mention it to Julia.

But now, on reading Peggy's note, his warlike
instincts awoke, and, though he despised his
correspondent and her motives, he could not let
such a chance pass of defeating brazen injustice.
It was unfortunate and awkward to have to go
to Silverton on his wedding morning; but, after
all, there was plenty of time. He packed up his
things at once for the wedding tour, and in the
morning took them with him in the fly to Silverton:
his plan was to come back direct to Albion
Villa: so he went to Silverton Grove full dressed,
all ready for the wedding.

As it happened he overtook his friend Peterson
just outside the town, called to him gaily,
and invited him to church and breakfast.

To his surprise the young gentleman replied
sullenly that he should certainly not come.

"Not come, old fellow?" said Alfred, hurt.

"You have a good cheek to ask me," retorted
the other.

This led to an explanation. Peterson's
complaint was that he had told Alfred he was
in love with Julia, and Alfred had gone
directly and fallen in love with her, just to cut
him out.

"What are you talking about?" said Alfred:
"so this is the reason you have kept away from
me of late: why, I was engaged to her at the
very time; only my father was keeping us
apart."

"Then why didn't you say so?"

"Because my love is not of the prattling
sort."

"Oh, nonsense; I don't believe a word of it."

"You don't believe my word! Did you ever
know me tell a lie? At that rate think what
you please, sir: drive on, Strabo."

And so ended that little friendship.

On the road our ardent youth arranged in his
head a noble scheme. He would bring Peggy
Black home with him, compensating her liberally
for the place she would thereby lose: would
confront her privately with his father, and convince
him it was his interest to restore the Dodds
their money with a good grace, take the 5000l.
he had already offered, and countenance the
wedding by letting Jane be present at it. It was
hard to do all this in the time, but well worth
trying for, and not impossible; a two-horse
fly is not a slow conveyance, and he offered the
man a guinea to drive fast; so that it was
not nine o'clock when they reached Silverton
Grove House, a place Alfred had never
heard of; this, however, I may observe, was
no wonder: for it had not borne that name a
twelvemonth.

It was a large square mansion of red brick,
with stone facings and corners, and with
balustrades that hid the garret windows. It stood
in its own grounds, and the entrance was through
handsome iron gates, one of which was wide
open to admit people on foot or horseback.