"Well," said Culroyd, "I think you know a man called Deepe, Appleton Deepe." My heart _sank_! "He called on me to-day--I don't know if the fellow's mad, but he said: 'You're a cousin of Mr. William Spenworth, aren't you? Now, he's been doing one of the things that a gentleman _doesn't_ do; and some one has to thrash him for it. I'll say that there's a girl mixed up in it, but I won't tell you any more. She has no brothers, and her father's too old to do justice to the occasion. The question is: who's to give him his thrashing? I'm not as vigorous as I could wish; but I'll undertake it, if I must. If, on the other hand, you'll do it for me and do it properly, we may save a scandal; I shouldn't like to injure his mother in any way, but he has to have his thrashing.' ... Well, I didn't know whether the fellow was in his right mind... I tried to get him to tell me something more... Then I said I'd think it over... What the devil's Will been up to now?" "_Now?_," I repeated. Really, I will stand a good deal from Culroyd, because he is my nephew and I am very fond of him. But I would not submit to being hectored by my relations old and young, one after another. Goodness me, the next thing would be that I should have to give sureties to _Phyllida_ and allow _Ruth_ to make herself a ruler and a judge... "Well, what does it mean?," Culroyd persisted. "You have suggested," I said, "that this Sir Appleton Deepe was mad; I can only fear that his madness was contagious." I was _beside_ myself with anger... And at the same time _highly_ uneasy. Will had not been going to his club the last few days because of this girl's practice of camping on the doorstep there; and it was long past the time when he usually came home. Culroyd shrugged his shoulders and said good-bye. I waited--on and on. Seven o'clock, half-past seven, eight. I was just going up to dress when Norden rang through to say that some one wished to speak to me on the telephone. Need I tell you that it was Sir Appleton Deepe? My dear, by that time I should have been amazed if it had been any one _else_; he seemed to dog my steps and pervade my life. As, he said, I was apparently expecting Will home to dinner, I should no doubt like to know that my boy was with him; they had met in the street, and he had _persuaded_ him to come home...