A few days after this Hawbury was in his room, when Dacres entered.

“Hallo, old man, what’s up now?  How goes the war?” said Hawbury.  “But what the mischief’s the matter?  You look cut up.  Your brow is sad; your eyes beneath flash like a falchion from its sheath.  What’s happened?  You look half snubbed, and half desperate.”

Dacres said not a word, but flung himself into a chair with a look that suited Hawbury’s description of him quite accurately.  His brows lowered into a heavy frown, his lips were compressed, and his breath came quick and hard through his inflated nostrils.  He sat thus for some time without taking any notice whatever of his friend, and at length lighted a cigar, which he smoked, as he often did when excited, in great voluminous puffs.  Hawbury said nothing, but after one or two quick glances at his friend, rang a bell and ordered some “Bass.”

“Here, old fellow,” said he, drawing the attention of Dacres to the refreshing draught.  “Take some—­’Quaff, oh, quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget thy lost Lenore.’”

Dacres at this gave a heavy sigh that sounded like a groan, and swallowed several tumblers in quick succession.

“Hawbury!” said he at length, in a half-stifled voice.

“Well, old man?”

“I’ve had a blow to-day full on the breast that fairly staggered me.”

“By Jove!”

“Fact.  I’ve just come from a mad ride along the shore.  I’ve been mad, I think, for two or three hours.  Of all the monstrous, abominable, infernal, and unheard-of catastrophes this is the worst.”

He stopped, and puffed away desperately at his cigar.

“Don’t keep a fellow in suspense this way,” said Hawbury at last.  “What’s up?  Out with it, man.”

“Well, you know, yesterday I called there.”

Hawbury nodded.

“She was not at home.”

“So you said.”

“You know she really wasn’t, for I told you that I met their carriage.  The whole party were in it, and on the front seat beside Minnie there was another lady.  This is the one that I had not seen before.  She makes the fourth in that party.  She and Minnie had their backs turned as they came up.  The other ladies bowed as they passed, and as I held off my hat I half turned to catch Minnie’s eyes, when I caught sight of the face of the lady.  It startled me so much that I was thunder-struck, and stood there with my hat off after they had passed me for some time.”

“You said nothing about that, old chap.  Who the deuce could she have been?”

“No, I said nothing about it.  As I cantered off I began to think that it was only a fancy of mine, and finally I was sure of it, and laughed it off.  For, you must know, the lady’s face looked astonishingly like a certain face that I don’t particularly care to see—­certainly not in such close connection with Minnie.  But, you see, I thought it might have been my fancy, so that I finally shook off the feeling, and said nothing to you about it.”