's Fam

on, and no one had thought of attempting to convert the poor man from indulgence in his national beverage. It was the period when brewers made huge fortunes-and that in spite of the fact that they used good malt and hops in their brewings-nor dreamed, save, perhaps, in their worst nightmare, of the interference of

n. His simple-minded pursuit of pleasure occupied a great deal of his time, and prevented his spending much of it at the Brewery where his brother made it a point of honour to pass three or four hours every day. But now and again Mr. Reginald appeared at the enormous pile of buildings, rising out of the slow-flowing river on which Brockenham stands, and where the famous Family Ale was composed. Now and then he would amuse himself for an hour, sauntering in the sunshine about the wide, bri

's Dance, but not so early that Sir Francis Forcus had not received a visitor before him. A visitor

e worm, this mornin

ith its peculiarly set expression, being pale and handsome. His black hair, worn rather long, after the fashion of the day, wa

nour of so early a call?" he inquir

ng," the young man said. "I just looked in

e errand, I believe. Would it be indiscre

tion a pair of skates which he had held dangling at his side. "They've flooded

ing there already as I drove away this morning. Tooley is fi

said they were going. I tho

want to tie you at home, by any means, but s

at the Days' in Queen Anne Street. I've gone to it

ng strangely with his black hair and palely dusky com

to go to the Days' in Qu

e," h

oing there, when I wish, and they ask me,

d, and pointed to the chair on the ot

think I'll be off.

I want to say to you won't keep-emphatical

nce his own father had died when he was a boy at school, but he lectured him as little as possi

. Day going away

Day

he looked during a moment's pause in Reggie's wide

s surprised, his brother saw, but not so s

it

N

e man mean by dari

te undisconcerted silence; then, "

he

ssi

She must be sto

. Girls do say th

rivileged to say it. Miss Day,

g his hands in his pockets, leaning in his chair at his ease

w. I am waiting f

me to go into de

a flirtation with this girl,

id conscientiously. "She, somehow, seems to think I've gone further than I ha

never, so far, had any unpleasantness-have we? Do not let us have it over this. A daughter

of marrying any

ere you going to meet

be there. A whole lo

will you? To

put it t

as if it had been a dukedom; he said "our name" as though he spo

. You should have heard him banging a

your engagement to his daughter-wait! I know you are not engaged to

d-ni

wanted that money. Why it was important for him to get it at once. It was to pacify a certain client of hi

's pretty ba

to know the history. There are others,

have to s

orse. I hope-well, we s

cially distasteful to me

ou understan

d. "It was quite prematu

ked very t

p clear of th

out of their way

'd go over to Runnydale and have a look at

traction an errand which had a horse for its objective would have proved

nd of anecdote, and a pleasant, joking, familiar way of transferring money from their pockets to his own. He returned in time for dinner at Cashelthorpe, his brother's country-house a f

his morning?" Sir Francis asked, looking across the

Reggie r

Mr. William Day is s

way to his mouth to say he hoped in

nding it i

and Reggie's face grew white. "It ca

r what I told you? Unless

But what's the poor

ated his clients' money and

ay! Oh, poo

our dinner,

shoulder, and I was drinkin

ands gripping his table-napkin as it lay across his knees, his eyes on the table-cloth, seeing the pretty Deleah and he

was thinking as he banged away at hi