She proceeded to tell him about the past Stormonts. Her grandfather was a small tradesman in a Midland town, his family consisted of two sons, Howard and Jasper. Although not ambitious for himself, he was for his children, and he stinted and screwed to give them a good education to enable them to do better in the world than their father. That education had stood them in good stead and developed their native brains. Jasper, the elder of the two, was a very clever fellow, although he had made nothing like the money his brother had done. This, in Gloria’s opinion, was simply due to lack of opportunity, to that absence of luck which plays such a large part in human affairs. And what money Jasper did make he took good care of. “But although he has never tried to make any show, father’s career has been one of steady success,” she concluded with an air of pardonable pride. “And he is one of the most upright men, with high ideals of duty. He has not got Uncle Howard’s robust geniality, but he has most lovable qualities. I should be so pleased for you to meet him.” They strolled about for a long time before they returned to the house. Before they went in, Gloria had confided to her lover her perplexity as to what Stormont would do with his unwelcome guest. Mr. Newcombe certainly could not join the ultra-respectable dinner party that would assemble in the evening. This problem was presently solved by Stormont himself, who later on came into the billiard-room to find them. He had recovered a good deal from the shock, but it was easy to see by his nervous, jerky manner, that he was still very ill at ease over this disconcerting experience, and the necessity of furnishing some explanation of it. He tried to carry it off in his usual hearty bluff way, but Lydon knew that he would have given a big sum of money for it not to have happened. “Strange after all these years, very strange! Poor old Tom Newcombe to have come down so; he was fairly prosperous at one time. A rough diamond, but one of the best, one of the very best.” It was obvious to both there was no real heartiness in his voice as he pronounced these warm eulogies on the shabby-looking man. He went on in the same jerky, unconvincing manner, addressing himself rather more directly to his niece. “I suppose you are wondering how I came to know him?” “I think we are,” said Gloria, speaking with her usual directness. “He spoke as if you had been on very intimate terms.”