"I will bet you twenty pounds to five shillings," said the young man hotly, "that if we go out to Heimra to-morrow, and stay to luncheon, we shall find sea-trout on the table. There may be no fishing on the island—that is quite possible; but I tell you there will be sea-trout in Ross’s house. I dare you all to put it to the proof. It is a fair offer. We can run out in the steam-launch if the sea is as calm as it is now—Mamie, you can come too, and Miss Glendinning; and my bet is twenty pounds to five shillings that you will find sea-trout produced." "Surely it would be rather shabby to go and ask a man to give you lunch in order to prove something against him?" she made answer. "And even then that would not show he had been himself in the boat. As for any of the people about here using a scringe-net now and again to pick up a few fish—well, that is not a very heinous offence." "If it is," said Meredyth (still siding with her), "it is committed every summer by a large number of highly respectable persons. Why, only the other day the Fishery Board had to issue a circular reminding owners of yachts that netting in territorial seas wasn’t allowed." "Oh, very well," said Fred Stanley, with a sort of affected resignation. "Very well. It is no concern of mine. The place does not belong to me. And of course, Mamie, you are only following out the programme which will be laid before the free and independent—the very free and independent—natives of this parish, on Monday. No doubt they will be told they have the right to take salmon and sea-trout wherever they can find them, either in the rivers, or round the mouths of the rivers, or in the sea. _They_ have that right, you understand, but _you_ haven’t; if _you_ try to catch a salmon, you will have a stone hurled into the pool in front of you! And what will be the rest of the programme when the English demagogue, and the French anarchist, and the Yankee platform-woman, come to set the heather on fire? How much more are you going to surrender, Mamie? You’ve cut down the rents everywhere—given up more pasture—given up more peat-land. What next? Don’t you think it’s an awful shame you should be living in a great big house like this, when those poor people are living in thatched hovels——" "Well," said Mary, with an honest laugh, "if I must tell you the truth, I do sometimes think so. Sometimes, when I go outside, and look at the contrast, it does seem to me too great——" "Oh, very well!" he said ironically. "When these are your sentiments, I don’t wonder that the place is considered ripe for a general riot. But whatever your theories may be, I’m going to draw the line at personal violence and destruction of property. I shall have my six-chambered Colt loaded on Monday; and if any impudent blackguard dares to come near this place——"