The Major swore a good deal when he discovered that his son was hopelessly in debt. Nevertheless, he cooled down after a time, and said that although it would be almost an impossibility, he would endeavour to raise a few hundred pounds to set Michael straight--in short, to put him on his legs again, provided he secured that dazzling young heiress, Florence Heathcote. But now--alack and alas! the dazzling young heiress did not exist. The girl herself was there, with her bright eyes and radiant face and all the fine qualities which the Major had given her credit for. But the glitter of gold no longer surrounded her, and she was therefore an impossible mate for Michael. The Major was choking with rage. Things were much worse than they had been at the Moat, for now the Major and the Lieutenant were scarcely on speaking terms, the Major furiously declaring that he would not advance a penny to help his son, and the son threatening all sorts of disastrous consequences in the future. Eventually, Lieutenant Reid left Langdale, intending to visit certain money-lenders who, he trusted, would help him temporarily out of his difficulties. After he had gone, Major Reid cooled down a little. The boy was his only son: he had hoped to see him a useful and popular member of society--a country gentleman, no less; for surely if Florence was as well off as Mrs Fortescue had given him to understand, the boy need not continue in the Army. All these dreams had now come to an end, and the Major felt that there were few women in the world he hated as he did Mrs Fortescue. He would have given a great deal not to meet her, but he suddenly found himself face to face with her in the little High Street. She came up to him sorrowfully. She was the sort of woman who could never, under any circumstances, imagine herself _de trop_, and she certainly believed herself to be irresistible to all men. "Ah, Major!" she said. "What a blow--what a terrible blow we have received! and where is your dear boy? I pity him from my heart." "My son has left Langdale," said the Major freezingly. "I will not detain you any longer, Mrs Fortescue. I am going for a brisk walk, and the morning is too chilly to stand still long in the street." He raised his hat and walked on. He looked very stiff and disagreeable.