But Major Strickland wanted him to become a lawyer; and, owing
everything to his uncle as he did, it was impossible for him not to
accede to his wishes. "Besides which," added George, with a sigh, "a
commission is an expensive thing to buy, and dear old uncle is anything
but rich."

When we first set out that morning I think that George, from the summit
of his eighteen years, had been inclined to look down upon me as a
little school miss, whom he might patronise in a kindly sort of way, but
whose conversation could not possibly interest a man of his sense and
knowledge of the world. But whether it arose from that "old-fashioned"
quality of which Major Strickland had made mention, which caused me to
seem so much older than my years; or whether it arose from the genuine
interest I showed in all he had to say; certain it is that long before
we got back to Rose Cottage we were talking as equals in years and
understanding; but that by no means prevented me from looking up to him
in my own mind as to a being superior, not only to myself, but to the
common run of humanity. I was sorry when we got back in sight of the
weir, and as I stepped ashore I thought that this morning and the one I
had spent with Sister Agnes in Charke Forest were the two happiest of my
life. I had no prevision that the fair-haired young man with whom I had
passed three such pleasant hours would, in after years, influence my
life in a way that just now I was far too much a child even to dream of.




CHAPTER VI.

THE GROWTH OF A MYSTERY.