heliotrope to his nostrils. It sickened him. He knew that he would loathe
the scent of heliotrope henceforth.




CHAPTER I

ANN'S LEGACY


The sunshine romped down the Grand' Rue at Montricheux, flickering against
the panes of the shop-windows and calling forth a hundred provocative
points of light from the silver and jewels, the shining silks and
embroidery, with which the shrewd Swiss shopkeeper seeks to open the purse
of the foreigner. It seemed to chase the gaily blue-painted trams as they
sped up and down the centre of the town, bestowing upon them a fictitious
gala air, and danced tremulously on the round, shiny yellow tops of the
tea-tables temptingly arranged on the pavement outside the pastrycook's.

It was still early afternoon, but already small groups of twos and threes
were gathered round the little tables. At one a merry knot of English
girl-tourists were enjoying an al fresco tea, at another staid Swiss
habitues solemnly imbibed the sweet pink or yellow _sirop_ which they
infinitely preferred to tea, while a vivid note of colour was added to the
scene by the picturesque uniforms of a couple of officers of an Algerian
regiment who were consuming unlimited cigarettes and Turkish coffee, and
commenting cynically in fluent French on the paucity of pretty women to be
observed in the streets of Montricheux that afternoon.