is a greater reflection upon your openness than
her judgment. I wish you good morning!"

"A moment," said George. "The last words
I shall hear from your lips? Not so, I hope.
Should the marriage take place, we shall be—"

"Strangers," said Esther, almost fiercely.
"May this foot wither if ever it passes the
threshold of these gates!"

The young man hesitated, and the colour
rose to his brow.

"Had I had such a counsellor before, my
course might have been wiser. Even now," he
added, "since it is not wholly certain——"
He stopped.

"Since what is not wholly certain?"

"That my offer has been accepted."

"Pardon me. As I have said, that is no
affair of mine," said Esther, coldly.

"Pardon me" returned George. "It may
be. Condescend to hear me for an instant,"
he continued, noticing her impatience. "You
have lectured me with some severity, but not
without justice. Though undeserving of such
a lot, I would fain, were it possible, retain the
privilege to be so lectured when my judgment
is disposed to stray. Tell me, Miss Vann—
Esther, if I may call you so—should your good
aunt view this matter in the same sensible and
dispassionate manner as yourself, would you, or
in other words, might I to—speak, in short,
explicitly, should she——"

"When we arrive at the dominant verb,"
said the young governess, unable to forbear a
smile, "I shall be better able to reply."

"I am not accustomed to stammer at my
lessons," replied Sir George. "The consciousness
of having made one grievous mistake—"

"Sometimes betrays one into another," said
Esther.

"Is it so? Have I, then, no hope?"

"Hope, sir!"

"Let me, for Heaven's sake, make myself
understood. Esther, you who have penetrated
the secret of my selfishness, and restored me,
I hope, to better reason, will you— should
your aunt's refusal leave me free—accept this
hand? Worthy of more than I can offer——"

"Worthy of more!" interrupted Esther,
turning her face upon him, and speaking in a
calm, low voice. "Worthy, at least, of more
than a love some minutes old—a hand pledged
to one person, and offered to another—and a
fortune I despise as heartily as I do the
infatuation of supposing it a passport to the favour
of any woman whose love is worth winning.
Good Heavens, sir! In dissuading you from the
folly you were bent upon committing, do you
dare to imagine that I would win you for
myself? Our conference has been too long. I
am obliged to you for your courtesies. Not
another word is needed. Farewell!"

She turned, and walked away.

"Another false move," muttered George, as
he gazed after her. "Shall I never regain my
balance?"

He walked thoughtfully towards the house,
taking, however, a different path from Esther's,
but had not made many steps, when one of the
under gardeners, bursting through the belt of
shrubs, came running, hoe in hand, to meet him.

"Redditch! what now? What's the
matter?" asked his master.

The man thrust his hoe into George's hand.

"Swartz— Swartz— Swartz!" he gasped,
breathlessly.

"Swartz! What of him? Collect yourself,
man. What do you mean?"

"He've gone mad, Sir George! Raging
wild about the garden, snapping savage at
everything he come near! Here he comes, by
the Lord!" added Mr. Redditch, with a decided
disposition to take to his heels.

A large black object was visible, for a
moment, glancing across the flower-beds, and
taking a direction which, intersecting, at a right
angle, the path on which they stood, would
lead the infuriated beast upon Esther's track.

"Stand behind me," said George. "Keep
quite still. I am going to whistle. If he
notices it, have no fear. A mad dog never
regards his master, nor turns to signal."

Mr. Redditch did not seem to relish the
experiment, but he stood his ground.

The black mass came bounding into the
gravel-walk, some forty yards distant. George
whistled sharply, and called:

"Swartz— Swartz!"

The animal seemed to swerve, as though
recognising the summons, but next moment, with
a sprawling plunge, dashed himself through the
opposing shrubs, and continued his furious way.

Seriously alarmed, George set off at once in
pursuit, followed by Redditch, armed, by this
time, with a stout stake. At the place where
the dog had made his blundering charge through
the covert, beads and flakes of foam were plainly
visible on the stems. It seemed but too plain that
Swartz, a powerful mastiff, had become rabid.

The alarm had already spread. Shouts and
cries were heard from the vicinity of the
stables, and thither the voung man bent his
flying steps. All was evidently in commotion.

"Where is he, boy? Where is he?" called
out George, catching by the sleeve an excited
stable-boy who came rushing forth.

"Oh, sir, the gun! the gun!" cried the boy.

"To my room. The first you find. Away
with you. Is—is Miss——"

But the lad was already out of hearing.

In the stable-yard a singular scene presented
itself. Crowded in the stable windows, mounted
on ladder, wall, the roofs of dog-kennels, or any
other secure position, almost the whole household
of Gosling Graize were assembled, watching
with intense anxiety the proceedings of
Swartz and a little stable-lad, the brother of him
who had been despatched for the gun.

The dog had penned the boy into a corner,
and, though as yet without doing him any
injury, lay on the ground within a yard of him,
his great black head between his paws, wallowing
in foam, and his blood-red eyes glaring as if
each moment he were about to make a deadly
spring. Why he did not, seemed to be the
mystery. With the spurning of his hinder paws
the animal had thrown up a regular outwork