You may, perhaps, have wondered why a man so full of human failings, and set in so unheroic a mould as Master Nathaniel Chanticleer should have been cast for so great a role. Yet the highest spiritual destinies are not always reserved for the strongest men, nor for the most virtuous ones. But though he had been chosen as Duke Aubrey's deputy and initiated into the Ancient Mysteries, he had not ceased to be in many ways the same Master Nathaniel as of old--whimsical, child-like, and, often, unreasonable. Nor, I fear, did he cease to be the prey of melancholy. I doubt whether initiation ever brings happiness. It may be that the final secret revealed is a very bitter one ... or it may be that the final secret had not yet been revealed to Master Nathaniel. And, strange to say, far from being set up by his new honours, he felt oddly ashamed of them--it was almost as if he was for the first time running the gauntlet of his friends' eyes after having been afflicted by some physical disfigurement. * * * * * When things had returned again to their usual rut, Master Ambrose came to spend a quiet evening with Master Nathaniel. They sat for some time in silence puffing at their pipes, and then Master Ambrose said, "Tell me what your theory is about Endymion Leer, Nat. He was a double-dyed villain, all right, I suppose?" Master Nathaniel did not answer at once, and then he said thoughtfully, "I suppose so. I read the report of his defence, however, and his words seemed to me to ring true. But I think there was some evil lurking in his soul, and everything he touched was contaminated by it, even fairy fruit--even Duke Aubrey." "And that spiritual sin he accused himself of ... what do you suppose it was?" "I think," said Master Nathaniel slowly, "he may have mishandled the sacred objects of the Mysteries." "What are these sacred objects, Nat?" Master Nathaniel moved uneasily in his chair, and said, with an embarrassed little laugh, "Life and death, I suppose." He hated being asked about these sorts of things. Master Ambrose sat for a few moments pondering, and then he said, "It was curious how in all his attacks on you he defeated his own ends."