"And besides," he continued, "Vin has a perfect explanation of the whole affair. There is no doubt the old man was just full of this subject, and believed he could write about it better than anyone else, even supposing the idea had occurred to some other person; he was anxious above all things that his poetical countrymen over there in the States and Canada should be done justice to; and when he heard that the volume was actually published he immediately declared that he would do everything in his power to help it——" "But what about the £50—Hubert?" "Oh, well," her companion said, rather uneasily, "I have told you that that was a gift from me to him. I did not stipulate for the publication of any book." She considered for a moment: then she said, with some emphasis—— "And you think it no shame—you think it no monstrous thing—that our Vin should marry a girl who has been in the habit of going about with her grandfather while he begged money, and accepted money, from strangers? Is that the fate you wish for your friend?" "No, I don’t wish anything of the kind," said he, "if—if matters were so. But Vin and you look at these things in a very different light; and I can hardly believe that he has been so completely imposed on. I confess I liked the old man: I liked his splendid enthusiasm, his magnificent self-reliance, yes, and his Scotch plaid; and I thought the girl was remarkably beautiful—and more than that—refined and distinguished-looking—something unusual about her somehow——" "Oh, yes, you are far too generous, Hubert," his companion said. "You accept Vin’s representations without a word. But I see more clearly. And that little transaction about the book and the £50 gives me a key to the whole situation. You may depend on it, George Morris will find out what kind of person your grandiloquent old Scotchman is like. And then, when Vin’s eyes are opened——" "Yes, when Vin’s eyes are opened?" her companion repeated. "Then he will see into what a terrible pit he was nearly falling." "Are you so sure of that?" Musselburgh said. "I know Vin a little. It isn’t merely a pretty face that has taken his fancy, as you yourself admit. If he has faith in that girl, it may not be easy to shake it." "I should not attempt to shake it," she made answer at once, "if the girl was everything she ought to be, and of proper upbringing and surroundings. But even if it turned out that she was everything she should be, wouldn’t it be too awful to have Vin dragged down into an alliance with that old—that old—oh, I don’t know what to call him!——" "Madge, dear," said he, "don’t call him anything, until you learn more about him. And in the meantime," he continued, rather plaintively, "don’t you think we might talk a little about ourselves, considering what has just happened?"