Produced by Darleen Dove, Roger Frank, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net THE MAN WHO ROSE AGAIN BY JOSEPH HOCKING WITH FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR CINCINNATI JENNINGS & GRAHAM PRINTED IN 1907 _The central idea of this story is based upon an incident in real life, related to me by C. Hagberg Wright, Esq., LL.D., of the London Library, to whom I wish to express my grateful acknowledgment and sincere thanks._ _J. H._ [Illustration: "What do our pattern young men say?" sneered Leicester.] CONTENTS I. A CYNIC'S CHALLENGE II. THE CHALLENGE ACCEPTED III. THE MAN AND THE WOMAN MEET IV. A DOUBLE PERSONALITY V. THE STRENGTHENING OF THE CHAIN VI. LEICESTER'S WOOING VII. A WOMAN'S HEART VIII. THE FOUR MEN MEET AGAIN IX. THE NIGHT BEFORE THE WEDDING X. THE WEDDING-DAY XI. LEICESTER AND WINFIELD XII. THE LAST LINK BROKEN XIII. DEGRADATION XIV. LEICESTER'S FAREWELL TO TAVITON XV. THE CYNIC AND THE COUNTRYWOMAN XVI. A GRIM JOKE XVII. HOW OLIVE RECEIVED THE NEWS XVIII. OLIVE'S LIFE IN DEVONSHIRE XIX. THE MAN WITH THE FEZ XX. HERBERT BRIARFIELD AND THE STRANGER XXI. A GAME OF GOLF--A GAME OF LIFE XXII. SIGNOR RICORDO AND OLIVE XXIII. SPRAGUE'S EXPLANATION XXIV. RICORDO'S REMINISCENCES XXV. THE COMING OF WINFIELD XXVI. REVELATIONS XXVII. RICORDO'S WOOING XXVIII. THE SECOND MEETING OF THE CYNIC AND THE COUNTRYWOMAN XXIX. GOD AND THE MAN XXX. THE MAN WHO ROSE AGAIN LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS "WHAT DO OUR PATTERN YOUNG MEN SAY?" SNEERED LEICESTER. "WITH YOU FOR MY WIFE, I CAN DO ANYTHING." SIGNOR RICORDO. SHE GAZED AT HIM DUMBFOUNDED. THE MAN WHO ROSE AGAIN CHAPTER I A CYNIC'S CHALLENGE Four men sat in the smoking-room of a London club. They were alone. That is scarcely to be wondered at, for it was far past midnight. Moreover, it was not a large club, and even when the place was most frequented large numbers were seldom present. Three of the men were chatting cursorily about a defeat of the Government which had taken place that night, but the fourth, by far the most striking looking man of the quartette, sat almost by himself, moody and silent. They were all young men. The oldest had barely reached his thirty-fifth year, while the youngest was evidently less than thirty. All of them gave evidence of being young men of leisure, and each of them could claim to belong to that class which is vaguely termed English gentlemen. "Will the Government resign, think you?" said one. "No," another replied. "Why? It could hardly be called a snatch division." "No, but governments do not resign unless the country is against them." "Which it is."