There was a deep silence, only broken by the heavy, stertorous breathing of the invalid, till steps were heard, the door was opened, and the brothers entered, Neil closing the door behind them. "Come here," said Elthorne, in an unnaturally calm voice, as if it were the father speaking to two erring boys. The young men advanced, and, after a quick glance, Neil said firmly: "As your medical attendant, sir, I must insist upon your being perfectly calm." "As your father, sir, I insist upon your waiting till I have spoken. I know my strength better than you can tell me." Neil made a deprecating sign, and moved to the other side of the couch, looking sorrowfully at Saxa, who met his eyes for a moment, and then scornfully averted her own. "Now, Alison," said Elthorne slowly, and in a voice that sounded wonderfully composed. "Yes, sir, what is it?" replied Alison quietly, and at that moment the brothers' eyes met and an angry look was directed at the elder. "This, my son: you are engaged to marry Dana Lydon." "Am I?" said the young man scornfully, and he gazed at her now defiantly, while Neil's heart sank in his breast with a terrible feeling of despair. "Yes, sir, you are," said his father firmly. "At my wish. It is an old engagement, and I have just heard a charge against you of insulting this lady by attempting to carry on a contemptible flirtation with a woman serving as a menial in this house. Tell Dana it is not true." There was no reply. "Tell Dana Lydon, the lady to whom you are engaged, that it is not true." Still there was no reply. "Do you hear me, sir?" thundered Ralph Elthorne, and Neil took a step forward in alarm, as he saw the change in his father's countenance, but the old man fiercely motioned him back. "I am not a boy," said Alison haughtily, "and I reserve to myself the right to marry whom I please." "That is not an answer, sir," cried Elthorne sharply. "I say, is the charge true?" "Ask me when we are alone, sir. I refuse to be cross-examined and treated like a school-boy before the Misses Lydon." Ralph Elthorne's brow grew black with rage, and Neil again pressed forward till his father motioned him back. "Father! for Heaven's sake, be calm," he whispered.