CHAPTER II


Straying about Kensington Gardens in the pleasant sunshine, his mind
occupied with Daniel's information, Piers Otway lost count of time,
and at last had to hurry to keep his engagement. As he entered the
house in Queen's Gate, a mirrored image of himself made him uneasy
about his costume. But for Daniel, such a point would never have
troubled him. It was with an unfamiliar sense of Irritation and
misgiving that he moved into the drawing-room.

A man of sixty or so, well preserved, with a warm complexion, broad
homely countenance and genial smile, stepped forward to receive him.
Mr. Jacks was member for the Penistone Division of the West Riding;
new to Parliament, having entered with the triumphant Liberals in
the January of this year 1886. His friends believed, and it seemed
credible, that he had sought election to please the lady whom, as a
widower of twenty years' endurance, he had wedded only a short time
before; politics interested him but moderately, and the greater part
of his life had been devoted to the manufacturing business which
brought him wealth and local influence. Not many people remembered
that in the days of his youth John Jacks had been something of a
Revolutionist, that he had supported the People's Charter; that he
had written, nay had published, verses of democratic tenor, earning
thereby dark reputation in the respectable society of his native
town. The turning-point was his early marriage. For a while he still
wrote verses--of another kind, but he ceased to talk about
liberty, ceased to attend public meetings, and led an entirely
private life until, years later, his name became reputably connected
with municipal affairs. Observing Mr. Jacks' face, one saw the