It was not his wish or intention from the first that the will should be destroyed, and he had certain scruples of conscience which now prevented his so doing.  During his journey by train he argued the subject mentally.  “They are both young,” he thought, his mind reverting to Miss Effingham and Arthur Carlton, “and will, in all probability, survive me many years; let them buffet the waves of fortune in their youth, as I have done, they will then better appreciate their accession to fortune than they probably would have done, had they come into it at an earlier stage of their life; besides, who has a better right, during his lifetime, to enjoy the estate, than the heir to the title.  The will must, of necessity, be found among my papers after my decease, so all will come right in the end,” and with this consoling plea he settled himself snugly among the cushions of the first-class carriage of the train that was now leaving Southampton far behind, on its upward course to London, and soon fell into a doze.

In another carriage were seated two gentlemen conversing in a very lively and animated strain, and were apparently much interested with scenery, farm houses, and well trimmed hedges, as the train whirled past.  They were not foreigners by any means, decidedly English in every look and action; about eight and twenty and thirty, respectively, and very good looking; the tallest was decidedly handsome; he was dressed in grey tweed of fine texture.  They had entered the carriage at Southampton.  A man of the world would have pat them down, from their general appearance and the well-bronzed hue of their features, as either belonging to, or having served in, the military or naval service of their country; and he would not have been wrong, for they were none other than Captain Carlton and Assistant-Surgeon Draycott, of H.M.  Light Dragoons, just arrived from India on furlough.

“We are going along at racing speed,” said Draycott to his companion, “but it will hardly keep pace with your impatience to reach London.  Gad, I envy you the possession of so fair a bride.  I remember the first time I met her at Calcutta.  I thought her the most loveable girl I had ever seen; but what chance had a poor devil of an Assistant-Surgeon, only just arrived in the country, surrounded, as she was, by a set of fellows old enough to be her father, it is true, but with rupees enough to freight a Pattima?  I suppose that ride through the Goozeratte did the business for you?  She is just the girl to admire that sort of thing.”

A suitable reply rose to Arthur’s lips, but very different words escaped him.