Produced by Delphine Lettau, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net THE SQUIRE'S DAUGHTER BY SILAS K. HOCKING AUTHOR OF "PIONEERS" "THE FLAMING SWORD" "THE WIZARD'S LIGHT" "THE SCARLET CLUE" ETC. _WITH ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS_ BY ARTHUR TWIDLE Fourth Edition LONDON FREDERICK WARNE & CO. AND NEW YORK 1906 (_All Rights Reserved_) [Illustration: "IF YOU CAN ONLY BRING YOURSELF TO SAY YES, I WILL DO MY BEST TO MAKE YOU THE HAPPIEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD."] CONTENTS I. AN IMPERIOUS MAIDEN II. APPREHENSIONS III. A NEW SENSATION IV. A BITTER INTERVIEW V. THE CHANCES OF LIFE VI. WAITING FOR THE BLOW TO FALL VII. DAVID SPEAKS HIS MIND VIII. CONFLICTING EMOTIONS IX. PREPARING TO GO X. RALPH SPEAKS HIS MIND XI. UNCONSCIOUS SPEECH XII. DOROTHY SPEAKS HER MIND XIII. GATHERING CLOUDS XIV. THE STORM BURSTS XV. SIR JOHN GETS ANGRY XVI. THE BIG HOUSE XVII. DEVELOPMENTS XVIII. A CONFESSION XIX. A SILENT WELCOME XX. WILLIAM MENIRE'S RED-LETTER DAY XXI. A GOOD NAME XXII. A FRESH START XXIII. THE ROAD TO FORTUNE XXIV. LAW AND LIFE XXV. IN LONDON TOWN XXVI. TRUTH WILL OUT XXVII. HOME AGAIN XXVIII. A TRYING POSITION XXIX. A QUESTION OF MOTIVES XXX. SELF AND ANOTHER XXXI. A PARTNERSHIP XXXII. FOOD FOR REFLECTION XXXIII. A PROPOSAL XXXIV. A FRESH PAGE XXXV. FAILURE OR FORTUNE XXXVI. THE PENALTY OF PROSPERITY XXXVII. LIGHT AND SHADOW XXXVIII. LOVE AND LIFE XXXIX. PERPLEXING QUESTIONS XL. LOVE OR FAREWELL XLI. THE TABLES TURNED XLII. COALS OF FIRE XLIII. SIR JOHN ATONES List of Illustrations "IF YOU CAN ONLY BRING YOURSELF TO SAY YES, I WILL DO MY BEST TO MAKE YOU THE HAPPIEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD." "SIR JOHN RAISED HIS HUNTING-CROP, AND STRUCK AT RALPH WITH ALL HIS MIGHT." "RUTH THREW HER ARMS ABOUT HER MOTHER'S NECK AND BURST INTO A PASSION OF TEARS." "WILLIAM, BREATHLESS AND EXCITED, BURST IN UPON HIM." THE SQUIRE'S DAUGHTER CHAPTER I AN IMPERIOUS MAIDEN The voice was soft and musical, but the tone was imperative. "I say, young man, open that gate." The young man addressed turned slowly from the stile on which he had been leaning, and regarded the speaker attentively. She was seated on a high-stepping horse with that easy grace born of long familiarity with the saddle, and yet she seemed a mere girl, with soft round cheeks and laughing blue eyes. "Come, wake up," she said, in tones more imperious than before, "and open the gate at once." He resented the tone, though he was charmed with the picture, and instead of going toward the gate to do her bidding he turned and began to climb slowly over the stile. She trotted her horse up to him in a moment, her eyes flashing, her cheeks aflame. She had been so used to command and to prompt obedience that this insubordination on the part of a country yokel seemed nothing less than an insult.