just now if you thought she'd take him?"

It was certainly hard on Eugene. Was he bound, against even a tolerably
strong feeling of his own, to give Stafford every chance? It is not fair
to a man to make him a judge where he is in truth a party. Ayre had no
mercy for him.

"For the sake of a trumpery pledge is he to throw away his own
happiness--and mark you, Lane, perhaps hers?"

Eugene did not wince.

"If there's a chance of success, he ought to be given the opportunity of
exercising his own judgment," he said quietly. "It would distress him
immensely, but we should have no right to keep it from him. And I
suppose there's always a chance of success."

"Go and get the picture, Morewood," said Sir Roderick. Then, when the
painter was looking in the portfolio, he said abruptly to Eugene:

"You could say nothing else."

"No. That's why you asked me, I suppose. I hope I'm an interesting
subject. You dig pretty deep."

"Serves you right!" said Ayre composedly. "Why were you ever such an
ass?"

"God knows!" groaned Eugene.