The League of the Leopard. Bindloss Harold

fiscal asked him; and Mr. Dane answers: 'Just what I say.'

      "'Can you not swear to him?' asked the fiscal severely; and your young friend smiled. 'Could you swear to the complexion and color of the eyes of any man who, on a dark night, had just kicked you hard upon the knee?' says he.

      "It was not even respectful; and when the rabble cheered there was more than me who agreed with the fiscal: 'This place is a court of justice – or it ought to be,' said he."

      Black, pausing, betrayed his indignation with a gesture, while Chatterton laughed in aggressive fashion.

      "Considering my worthy neighbors' prejudices, I think there was something in that last remark," he said.

      Just then Lilian, who may have overheard part of the colloquy, appeared in an opening in the tall hedge.

      "Did you convict the malefactor, Mr. Black?" she asked.

      "No," said that gentleman ruefully. "Unfortunately we did not, although I'm thinking that we did our best."

      Lilian smiled a little, and Chatterton's eyes twinkled as he glanced at her encouragingly.

      "Was that quite in accordance with the spirit of our glorious constitution?" she asked.

      "Eh?" said Black sharply. "What's this I'm saying; and I see ye are laughing at me. I mean his guilt was manifest, but a friend of yours showed considerable audacity, forby a trace of talent, in his efforts to release him. Ye will mind that it's a principle of British justice to give even a poacher fair play, my dear young lady."

      "So I was always taught," Lilian replied artlessly.

      Thomas Chatterton chuckled again, and pointed toward a man who, in turn, passed through the opening in the hedge.

      "I fancy that Mr. Black is anxious to talk to you, Hilton," he said.

      Black, however, had evidently found two adversaries sufficient without engaging a third, and, as sometimes happens, he did not recollect the crushing things he might have said until the opportunity had passed; so, after a stiff greeting, he allowed Chatterton, who was rarely ungenerous to a beaten enemy, to lead him away.

      Lilian had disappeared, but not before the manner in which she had ignored Dane had roused him to precipitate action. He forgot his prudence in a sudden fit of anger, and, remembering only that he might never have another opportunity for speech with her, he followed the girl. Miss Chatterton, however, had a fair start, and, perhaps being warned by the sound of his hurried footsteps, made the most of it; so that while Dane pursued her down two avenues, and through a shrubbery, the situation grew rapidly ludicrous. The humor of it did not strike him then, and he saw only the flicker of a white dress receding before him. Finally he came upon the fugitive in a narrow path between rows of choice chrysanthemums, where, as there was no room for two to pass, Lilian turned upon him with an ominous light in her eyes. It was evident that Miss Chatterton was seriously angry, as well as a little breathless.

      "What brings you here?" she demanded.

      Dane was not, as a rule, readily disconcerted; but for a moment the power of lucid speech deserted him.

      "I came – " he gasped.

      "That is unfortunately evident," retorted Lilian, chillingly. "What I desire to know is why, considering the size of the garden, you must, after seeing I wished to be alone, choose this particular path!"

      Dane had slight cause for merriment, but he actually laughed.

      "Any other place would have suited me, but you went so fast!"

      This was a blunder, and he realized it as he heard the gravel crunch in a manner that suggested the pressure of somebody's heel. Lilian had clearly roused herself to face the situation.

      "Admitting that it was so, will you explain why you cannot take a hint?"

      "I will," Dane said quietly, though he was once more maladroit. "I wished to ask why you have avoided me like contagion lately?"

      "Is that a necessary question, or is it generous to place the onus of such an explanation upon me?"

      "Perhaps not," he admitted. "I am not so quick of wit as I could wish, to-day, but I am going away early to-morrow, and it may be very long before I see you again; so I could not help asking it. We have known each other a long time, Lily, and I would not care to leave England feeling that you were displeased with me."

      "Have I told you that I was displeased?" asked the girl.

      "Speech was hardly necessary."

      Lilian Chatterton was not deficient in courage, and she no longer tried to evade the difficulty. "Please understand that I have neither the right nor the desire to inquire into your motives, but – since you insist – there are limits within which one must restrict one's friendship; and after comparing your own account of your nocturnal adventures with what I heard Mr. Black relate about your conduct in court to-day, it is hardly possible to avoid concluding that you have overstepped them."

      "There may be an explanation. Is it fair, as you reminded that very gentleman, to condemn any one unheard?"

      "Can you furnish one?" asked Lilian, with a quickness which was not wholly lost upon her companion. If he had spoken plainly, it is possible that the explanation might have changed a good deal for both of them; but that was just what the man had pledged himself not to do. He was not a casuist, and, having no time for reflection, saw only one course open to him. It was too late when he realized that it was the worst one possible from any point of view.

      "I am afraid I cannot, at present," he said.

      The girl's eyes grew almost wicked, for his hesitation was fatal, and she was angry that she had even allowed him to draw her into the discussion.

      "That is comprehensible," she said. "You must already have taxed your imagination severely, and it is perhaps natural that the testimony of a quite disinterested gentleman should be more convincing. Besides, as I said already, it is certainly not my part to judge you."

      "Then I can only hope that you will hear the full truth from some other person you consider more worthy of credit," Dane said somberly.

      Miss Chatterton returned no answer, but, drawing her skirt to her side, brushed past the man, who stepped recklessly among the chrysanthemums. She had, of course, no intention of looking back in his direction, but, on turning at the end of the alley, it was almost necessary to do so, and she sometimes remembered, with both a smile and a sigh, how he had stood, a somewhat commanding, as well as a slightly ludicrous figure, staring straight before him, knee-deep among the chrysanthemums. That, however, was afterward, for then Lilian was in a royal rage with herself as well as the man, because she had allowed anything he could say or do to disturb her serenity.

      Dane sighed a little, but there was resolution as well as indignation in his face as he moved away, and left the gardener, who had witnessed the scene with indignation, to assess the damage.

      "Would nothing fit yon theatrical ijiot but stamping my new quilled Regents flat?" the gardener grumbled.

      Early the next morning Chatterton and Dane stood waiting for the South express in the little country station.

      "I don't altogether understand what you have been doing, Hilton, and, though nobody seems quite pleased with you, I won't ask," said the iron-master. "I know you had a good reason for it, whatever it was; and if that meddlesome Black or any of his friends feel inclined to make further unpleasant suggestions, I shall enjoy the opportunity for a little plain speaking. If you ever change your mind, remember what I said; and don't close with any offer unless it's tempting, but come back and wait at The Larches for a better. I can't help saying I'm sorry you did not altogether hit it with Lilian. Modern young women, however, often appear to consider cheap smartness more becoming than the genuine cordiality they may feel."

      "It was not Miss Chatterton's fault, sir," declared Dane, who, growing slightly confused, wished the iron-master would favor anything else with his fixed attention. He was thankful that the approach of the express prevented the conversation from progressing further in that direction.

      A few evenings later, Lilian dismounted from her pony in the shadow of a copse. For some reason she had been restless all day, and