Gregory and his daughter were talking together in the embrasure of a window.

By the other window, across the hall, stood Kenneth, alone and disconsolate, gazing out at the drizzling rain that had begun to fall.
As Galliard descended, Joseph turned his head, and his eyebrows shot up and wrinkled his forehead at beholding the knight's equipment.
"How is this, Sir Crispin ?" said he.

"You are going a journey ?" "Too long already have I imposed myself upon the hospitality of Castle Marleigh," Crispin answered politely as he came and stood before the blazing logs.

"To-night, Mr.Ashburn, I go hence." A curious expression flitted across Joseph's face.

The next moment, his brows still knit as he sought to fathom his sudden action, he was muttering the formal regrets that courtesy dictated.