book, apparently; a big Natural History book.

A groom was galloping for Dr. Jones and Mrs. Pont was doin' her
possible.

No. Nothing appeared to have hurt or frightened the young
gentleman--but he was distinctly 'eard to shout: "_It is under my
foot. It is moving--moving--moving out_...." before he became
unconscious.

No, Sir. Absolutely nothing under the young gentleman's foot.

Dr. Jones could shed no light and General Sir Gerald Seymour Stukeley
hoped to God that the boy was not going to grow up a wretched
epileptic. Miss Smellie appeared to think the seizure a judgment upon
an impudent and deceitful boy who stole into his elders' rooms in
their absence and looked at their books.

Lucille was troubled in soul for, to her, Damocles confessed the
ghastly, terrible, damning truth that he was a Coward. He said that he
had hidden the fearful fact for all these years within his guilty
bosom and that now it had emerged and convicted him. He lived in
subconscious terror of the Snake, and in its presence--nay even in
that of its counterfeit presentment--he was a gibbering, lunatic
coward. Such, at least, was her dimly realized conception resultant
upon the boy's bald, stammering confession.

But how could her dear Dammy be a _coward_--the vilest thing on earth!
He who was willing to fight anyone, ride anything, go anywhere, act
anyhow. Dammy the boxer, fencer, rider, swimmer. Absurd! Think of the