avaricious of legal knowledge as they pass on their way to chambers or
Hall. Now, at this window a young man was standing at the moment that
Hilda entered the archway, his eyes fixed upon a pamphlet on the laws
of succession. That young man was George Caresfoot, who was
considering whether it would be worth his while to buy the pamphlet in
order to see if he would be entitled to anything if his uncle should
happen to die intestate, as he sometimes feared might be the case. He
had come up to town on business connected with his firm, and was now
waiting till it was time to begin an evening of what he understood as
pleasure; for George was a very gay young man.

He was, however, also a very sharp one, so sharp that he even noticed
shadows, especially when, as in this case, the shadow was clearly
defined and flung, life-sized, on the dark background of the books
before him. He watched it for a moment, and as its owner, with an
absent air, slowly passed from the bright sunlight into the shade of
the arch, it struck the astute George that there was something
familiar about this particular and by no means unpleasing shadow.
Waiting till it had vanished and the footsteps gone past him, he
turned round and at a glance recognized Hilda von Holtzhausen, Miss
Lee's beautiful companion, who was supposed to have departed into the
more distant parts of Germany. George's eyes twinkled, and a whole
host of ideas rushed into his really able mind.

"Caught at last, for a sovereign," he muttered.

Meanwhile Hilda walked slowly on into Chancery Lane, then turned to
the left till she came into Holborn, and thence made her way round by
another route back to Lincoln's Inn Fields. Needless to say, George
followed at a respectful distance. His first impulse had been to go up