being part of the general average below.  Then we got to the inquiry, Were not dangerous places railed off?  Yes, Stebbing explained that it was the rule of the firm to have the rocks regularly inspected once a month, and once a fortnight in winter and spring, when the danger is greater.  If they were ticklish, the place was marked at the moment with big stones, reported, and railed off.  An old foreman-sort of fellow swore to having detected the danger, and put stones.  He had reported it.  To whom?  To Mr. Frank.  Yes, he thought it was Mr. Frank, just before he went away.  It was this fellow’s business to report it and send the order, it seems, and in his absence Alexander White, or whatever they call him, took his work.  Well, the old man doesn’t seem to know whether he mentioned the thing to young White or not, which made his absence more unlucky; but, anyway, the presence of the stones was supposed to be a sufficient indication of the need of the rail, or to any passenger to avoid the place.  In fact, if Master White had been energetic, he would have seen to the thing.  I fancy that is the long and short of it.  But when the question came how the stones came to be removed, I put Fergus forward.  The foreman luckily could identify his stone by the precious crack of spar; and the boy explained how he had lugged it down, and showed it to his friend far away from its place—–­had, in fact, turned over and displaced all the lot.’

’Depend upon it, Alexis has gone out of the way to avoid accusing Fergus!’

’Don’t make me start, it hurts; but do you really believe that, Jane-—­you, the common-sense female of the family?’

’Indeed I do, he is a romantic, sensitive sort of fellow, who would not defend himself at the boy’s expense.’

’Whew!  He might have stood still and let Fergus defend him, then, instead of giving up his own cause.’

‘And how did it end?’

’Accidental death, of course; couldn’t be otherwise; but censure on the delay and neglect of precaution, which the common opinion of the Court naturally concentrated on the absent; though, no doubt, the first omission was young Stebbing’s; but owing to the hurry of his start for Italy, that was easily excused.  And even granting that Fergus did the last bit of mischief, your friend may be romantically generous, if you please; but he must have been very slack in his work.’

’Poor fellow—–­yes.  Now before I tell you what I know about him, I should like to hear how Mr. Stebbing represents him.  You know his father was a lieutenant in the Royal Wardours.’

’Risen from the ranks, a runaway cousin of White’s.  Yes, and there’s a son in a lawyer’s office always writing to White for money.’

‘Oh!  I never had much notion of that eldest—–­’

’They have no particular claim on White; but when the father died he wrote to Stebbing to give those that were old enough occupation at the works, and see that the young ones got educated.’