"A ward in Chancery, I suppose?" "I'm not certain," replied Murray-Kerr hesitatingly. "I only saw her once, on the day of my arrival at Fernhurst. She left for Hertfordshire next day. Lady Meldrum, however, seemed devoted to her--went up to town to see her off, and all that sort of thing. But who's been chattering to you about her?" "Oh, I heard her spoken of somewhere. The fellow who told me said she was rather pretty." "Yes," the other answered in rather a strange and hesitating manner, "she is--very pretty, and quite young." "Do you know absolutely nothing more concerning her?" Chisholm asked. "You always know everything about everybody when you're in the smoking-room at the Junior, you know." "In the club a man may open his mouth, but it isn't always wise when visiting friends," the colonel replied with a laugh. "I don't quite follow you," his companion said. "Surely Wroxeter is as free as Charles Street, isn't it?" "Well, no, not quite, my dear Dudley--not quite." "Why?" "Because there are some things that even I--plain-spoken as I am--would rather leave unsaid." Chisholm looked at him and saw the change upon the old fellow's countenance. "You're hiding something from me," the younger man said quickly. "I don't deny that," was the other's response. "But I really can't see why you should so suddenly become the victim of an intense desire to know the history of Lady Meldrum's ward. Have you met her?" "No, never." "Then don't, that's all," was the mysterious answer. "What the dickens do you mean, speaking in enigmas like this? Surely you can speak straight out?" "No, not in this case, Dudley," the colonel said in a rather softer tone. "I told you sufficient this morning about Claudia Nevill, and all I wish to urge is that you should avoid the pretty Muriel quite as assiduously as you will her ladyship in future." Chisholm was puzzled. His companion was evidently aware of some fact which, for a mysterious reason, he was reluctant to disclose. "But I can't see your object in mystifying me like this!" he protested. "We are friends--very old friends--surely you can at least tell me the truth?" "I've told you the truth, dear boy. Muriel Mortimer is an undesirable acquaintance for you. Is not that a friendly warning." "A warning, certainly--but hardly a friendly one," answered Dudley, swinging over a stile into the highroad. "I mention to you a woman I've heard about," he went on as the pair were walking side by side again, "and you at once give me these extraordinary warnings, without offering any explanation whatsoever. Who is this mysterious ward? What is she?" "I've already told you who she is," his companion replied, shifting his gun as he marched onward. "What she is I don't know. All I am sure about is that the less you see of her the better, Dudley--that's all." "And how do you know that?" "Because of something I've discovered," the elder man replied. "Something about her?"