"Then Norah will come to you," he went on, "and I shall be in the next room, and after a time you'll speak of me, and then--" "We must wait for the rest," I said, "But what will your cousin, Mrs. O'Callaghan, be doing all the time?" "She'll be talking to Mahony about the price of oats downstairs." "This is a very charming plan," I said, "but will it work? And do you think me humbug enough to mix myself up in such an affair?" "You're humbug enough for anything," he said, "but have you the nerve?" "It doesn't need much nerve," I said. "You haven't seen Norah," he replied. "Well, I'll risk it; I came over here to help you, and I may as well do it, little as the job suits me." "Oh," he laughed, "it'll be grand to see my cousin Mrs. O'Callaghan's face!" It was important to our plan that St. Alleyne and I should not seem to be together, so he gave me final instructions before we reached Stromore Station. "You must get the bedroom over the door," he said, "because there's a sitting-room next to it, and we must have them both." "Suppose it's already occupied?" I said. [Illustration: "WE SWUNG UP THE ROAD FROM THE STATION."] "You don't know Stromore in the winter," he said; "there won't be a soul in the place, and Mahony will kneel at your feet." "I hope he won't," I said, "because I might feel inclined to kick him." "Kick Mahony!" he cried, "the man's six feet two, and as strong as an ox. You'd better begin to be sick almost at once, hadn't you?" "I feel bad enough," I said. We shook hands in the carriage as the train pulled up at Stromore; on the platform we did not know each other. I secured a car at once, and told the man to drive to the St. Alleyne Arms, and as we swung up the road from the station I looked back and saw his lordship coming slowly down the steps. "Do ye know," asked my driver, "how long his lordship's come for?" "His lordship!--whose lordship?" "Lord St. Alleyne," he said, looking at me incredulously. "What do I know about the man?" I asked. "Where is he?" "He's there, sure, comin' down the shteps." "Indeed," I said, and told the man to hurry, as I was cold. I had no difficulty in securing the two rooms I wanted, and as I took possession of them I felt some of the pangs of a conspirator. I was also, as a matter of fact, quite sufficiently unwell to see things rather gloomily, and as I sat by my window after lunch, and looked out into the grey street, I confess that I wished myself engaged in a less dubious enterprise. [Illustration: "THE GIRL GLANCED UP AT THE INN."]