"I must think over what you have told me," said the vicar, shaking hands, "and will let you know what conclusion I come to. I agree with you that there is some mystery in all this, but at present I see no way of discovering what it may be. Come and see me soon, my lord." "Dan!" corrected the other, smiling. "Dan be it. Come and see me, Dan, and we will talk over matters. If you discover anything new, let me know of it. I am always at home in the evenings, and you will find a hearty welcome." "I won't forget your invitation; but I wish, vicar, you would introduce me to Miss Linisfarne." "I cannot do so without her permission, but I shall see. Of course, as Lord Ardleigh, you can call." "No doubt," replied Dan, dryly; "but I don't intend to call as Lord Ardleigh. Keep my secret, sir, until such time as I choose to reveal myself." Mr. Jarner nodded and moved away, leaving Dan alone on the summit of the ridge. The young man's eyes were turned towards Farbis Court, and then slowly travelled across the hollow till they rested on Dr. Merle's house. He shook his head. "There is some connection between those two houses," he murmured. "I shall not leave Farbis till I find out what it is." CHAPTER XVI. AFTERNOON TEA. If Dan had hoped to lead a solitary life he found out his mistake at the end of his first week's camping. It became known far and wide that he was of a hospitable nature, with the result that the dell was visited frequently by all the idle scamps in the neighbourhood. Some came with aggressive looks and demanded money, and food, and clothes, and Heaven only knows what else; but Dan disposed of these folk by offering to fight them. As they rarely cared to accept the challenge, they left speedily, with many curses, and those who did engage were thoroughly thrashed, so in the end such ruffians gave the dell a wide berth. Never was the Augean stable swept cleaner than was the dell of bullies and rogues and would-be thieves, by its muscular occupant. The gipsies often looked in to see how he was getting on, but these were privileged guests. Dan had partaken of their bread and salt, so was by no means chary of his own; moreover, they were instinctively polite, and never by any chance stole his belongings. He was therefore glad to see their brown faces, and made them heartily welcome. They were charmed to think that the great gentleman--as they insisted on calling Dan--should affect the life of the road, and, had he but known the Romany tongue, would doubtless have accepted him as their brother. But Dan had other things to think of besides learning the black language, and so there remained a gulf between him and the vagrants. He was with them but not of them.