CONTRABAND OR A Losing Hazard. By G. J. WHYTE-MELVILLE, AUTHOR OF "DIGBY GRAND," "CERISE," "THE WHITE ROSE," ETC. _NEW EDITION._ LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. 1871. CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I.--RAIN-CLOUDS 1 II.--AN ALLIANCE 10 III.--SIR HENRY HALLATON 18 IV.--AMAZONS 27 V.--A OUTRANCE 43 VI.--"TERRARUM DOMINOS" 54 VII.--FRANK 64 VIII.--JUNE ROSES 73 IX.--TOUCH AND GO 82 X.--AFLOAT 96 XI.--MANOEUVRING 107 XII.--THE SYREN 119 XIII.--SUNDAY IN LONDON 131 XIV.--POST-TIME 138 XV.--BETWEEN CUP AND LIP 147 XVI.--"A FACER" 156 XVII.--DISTRACTIONS 166 XVIII.--ATTRACTIONS 178 XIX.--A DRAWN BATTLE 188 XX.--A RECONNAISSANCE 198 XXI.--THE SOHO BAZAAR 209 XXII.--KIDNAPPING 219 XXIII.--"STRANGERS YET" 229 XXIV.--GREENWICH 241 XXV.--HOW THEY MISSED HER 248 XXVI.--IN SAMARIA 258 XXVII.--A HOUSEHOLD KATE 267 XXVIII.--"TENDER AND TRUE" 276 XXIX.--DAYBREAK 285 XXX.--"REMORSEFUL" 294 XXXI.--REPENTANT 303 XXXII.--"RECLAIMED" 312 CONTRABAND; OR, A LOSING HAZARD. CHAPTER I. RAIN-CLOUDS. "In confidence, Sir Henry----" "In confidence, Mrs. Lascelles, of course. I think you can depend upon _me_." And Sir Henry, as directed by a weather-beaten guide-post, turned into a narrow lane on his homeward way, while the lady with whom he had been riding, jogged her tired horse gently along the high road, absorbed in thoughts, pleasant, suggestive, engrossing--not precisely in "maiden meditation," for she was a widow--nor yet, although she was nearer thirty than twenty, wholly "fancy free."