“Reason I grant springs from different inspirations,” admitted Ernest.  “There’s the reason of the heart and the reason of the head—­yes, the heart has its reasons, too.  And though the head may not appreciate them, they exercise their weight and often conquer.”

Soon there came a carriage from Bridport and Miss Ironsyde joined them.

“Oh!  I’m glad to see a fire,” she said, and sat close beside it in an easy chair.

Then Raymond spoke.

“It is good of you all to come and lend a hand over this difficult matter.  I appreciate it, and specially I thank Sabina for letting us consider her son’s welfare.  She knows that we all want to befriend him and that we all are his friends.  It’s rather difficult for me to say much; but if you can show me how to do anything practical and establish Abel’s position and win his goodwill, at any cost to myself, I shall thank you.  I’ve done what I could, but I confess this finds me beaten for the moment.  You’d better say what you all think, and see if you agree.”

The talk that followed was inconsequent and rambling.  For a considerable time it led nowhere.  Miss Ironsyde was taciturn.  It occupied all her energies to conceal the fact that she was suffering a good deal of physical pain.  She made no original suggestions.  Churchouse, according to his wont, generalised; but it was through a generalisation that they approached something definite.

“He has yet to learn that we cannot live to ourselves, or design life’s pattern single-handed,” declared Ernest.  “Life, in fact, is rather like a blind man weaving a basket:  we never see our work, and we have to trust others for the material.  And if we better realised how blind we were, we should welcome and invite criticism more freely than we do.”

“No man makes his own life—­I’ve come to see that,” admitted Raymond.  “The design seems to depend much on your fellow creatures; your triumph or failure is largely the work of others.  But it depends on your own judgment to the extent that you can choose what fellow creatures shall help you.”

Estelle approved this.

“And if we could only show Abel that, and make him feel this determination to be independent of everybody is a mistake.  But he told me once, most reasonably, that he didn’t mind depending on those who were good to him.  He said he would trust them.”

“Trust’s everything.  It centres on that.  Can I get his trust, or can’t I?”

“Not for the present, Ray.  I expect his mind is in a turmoil over this running away.  It’s all my fault and I take the blame.  Until he can think calmly you’ll never get any power over him.  The thing is to fill his mind full with something else.”

“Find out if you can what’s in his thoughts,” advised Sabina.  “We say this and that and the other, and plan what must be done, but I judge the first person to ask for an opinion is Abel himself.  When people are talking about the young, the last thought in their minds is what the young are thinking themselves.  They never get asked what’s in their minds, yet, if we knew, it might make all the difference.”