He held out his arm, and, as Lucy laid her little hand upon it, he went out of the drawing-room chatting merrily; and, as he did so, Rolph leaped from his seat, and drew himself upright as if to display the breadth of his chest and the size of his muscles. "Glad of it," he said. "I'm sharp set. Come along, Glynne." Alleyne gazed at them intently with a strange feeling of depression coming over his spirit, and so lost to other surroundings that he did not reply to the major, who came up to him, moved by a desire to be polite to a man whom he was beginning to esteem. Then Major Day drew back and his keen eyes brightened, for Glynne said quietly,-- "You forget. Go on in with uncle." "Eh?" said the young officer, looking puzzled. "Go on in with my uncle," said Glynne quietly. And she crossed to where Alleyne was standing, and, in the character of hostess, laid her hand upon his arm. "There, you're dismissed for to-night, Rolph," said the major, who could hardly conceal his satisfaction at this trifling incident. Then, thrusting his arm through that of the athlete, he marched him to the dining-room, the young man's face growing dark and full of annoyance at having to give way in this case of ordinary etiquette. "Confound the fellow! I wish they wouldn't ask him here," he muttered. "Mind seems to be taking the lead over muscles to-day," said the major to himself, as he walked beside the young officer to the dining-room, while Glynne came more slowly behind, her eyes growing deeper and very thoughtful as she listened to Alleyne's words. Volume 1, Chapter XIII. MARS MAKES A MISTAKE. The dinner, with its pleasant surroundings of flowers and glittering plate and glass, with the finest and whitest of linen, was delightful to Lucy, though to her it was as if there was something wanting, in spite of her position as principal guest. This resulted in her receiving endless little attentions from Sir John; but more than once she felt quite irritated with her brother, who seemed to find no more pleasure in the carefully cooked viands than in the homely joints at The Firs. He ate a little of what was handed to him, almost mechanically, and drank sparingly of the baronet's choice wines; but his mind was busy upon nothing else than the subject upon which Glynne was asking him questions. The major had plenty to say to Lucy, but he kept noticing the increase of animation in Glynne. For she had been awakened from her ordinary, placid, dreamy state to an intense interest in the subject under discussion. Major Day did not know why he did it, but three times as that dinner progressed, he laid down his knife and fork, thrust his hands beneath the table, and rubbed them softly. "Muscles is out in the cold to-night," he muttered. "He'll have to go in training for exercising his patience. Bring him to his senses."