"I know what you mean," said Leo, proudly, "and I do not intend to engage myself until I am in a better position. All I ask is that you will not force Sybil to marry Hale when I am away." "I should not let her marry Hale in any case!" cried the vicar, angrily. "I would never give my child to a cripple. Moreover, the Hales are not so sane as they might be. And, Leo, I shall not force Sybil's inclinations in any way. She can remain unmarried all her life if she pleases." "That is all I want," said Leo, gladly. "I am going to enlist, Mr Tempest, and if I get a commission there may be some chance of my asking Sybil to be my wife. She will be true to me while I am away; I know she will." "Humph!" said the vicar, doubtfully. "A commission, eh?" Leo interpreted his objection. "Then you have something against me personally," he said, "and for this reason you do not want me to think of Sybil in any way. What is the matter, Mr Tempest?" "I can't tell you, Leo." The vicar looked directly at him. "So far as you are concerned, I do not wish for a better husband for my daughter, but Mrs Gabriel has informed me of something which makes me unwilling to countenance the marriage. Don't ask me what it is. I cannot tell you." "I do not ask you to tell me, Mr Tempest. This very night I shall ask Mrs Gabriel herself what she has been saying." "Better not," advised the vicar. "It will only cause you much distress." Leo looked at him in astonishment. What could his aunt have been saying about him or his parents likely to make the vicar take so strong a view of the matter? "If there is anything wrong I have a right to know," he said at length. "I shall insist upon an explanation, Mr Tempest. If I discover any valid reason why I should give Sybil up, I am quite ready to yield. When you next see me, Mr Tempest, I shall either have given up the idea of marrying your daughter, or I shall insist upon marrying her in spite of you and Mrs Gabriel! You cannot say that I am treating you unfairly. I go now." "But, my dear boy--" called out Mr Tempest, much distressed. He spoke to the empty air. Leo had already left the room and was out of the gate. After leaving The Nun's House, Leo had taken up his residence at the Colester Arms. Marton was there also, and Leo expected to see him at dinner. He was anxious to tell him what the vicar had said. But the detective did not return from his walk, and after waiting for him till close upon nine o'clock, Leo left the hotel and walked towards the castle to have it out with Mrs Gabriel. The night was moonless, but there were many stars. Here and there a swathe of mist lay on the plains below; but up on the hills all was comparatively clear. Leo, who knew every inch of Colester, walked slowly out of the town gate and crossed to the other hill. He took a narrow private path which he knew of, wishing to get unobserved to the castle. Just at the foot of this path he met Marton. The recognition was mutual.