Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Charlie Kirschner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. _The_ YOUNGER SET WORKS OF ROBERT W. CHAMBERS THE YOUNGER SET THE FIGHTING CHANCE THE TREE OF HEAVEN THE TRACER OF LOST PERSONS THE RECKONING IOLE Cardigan The Maid-at-Arms Lorraine Maids of Paradise Ashes of Empire The Red Republic The King in Yellow A Maker of Moons A King and a Few Dukes The Conspirators The Cambric Mask The Haunts of Men Outsiders A Young Man in a Hurry The Mystery of Choice In Search of the Unknown In the Quarter * * * * * FOR CHILDREN Garden-Land Forest-Land River-Land Mountain-Land Orchard-Land Outdoorland [Illustration: "Gave into his keeping soul and body."--Page 513] _The_ YOUNGER SET BY ROBERT W. CHAMBERS AUTHOR OF "THE FIGHTING CHANCE," ETC. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY G.C. WILMSHURST D. APPLETON AND COMPANY NEW YORK _Published August, 1907_ TO MY MOTHER CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I.--HIS OWN PEOPLE 1 II.--A DREAM ENDS 43 III.--UNDER THE ASHES 84 IV.--MID-LENT 119 V.--AFTERGLOW 161 VI.--THE UNEXPECTED 194 VII.--ERRANDS AND LETTERS 242 VIII.--SILVERSIDE 280 IX.--A NOVICE 324 X.--LEX NON SCRIPTA 384 XI.--HIS OWN WAY 420 XII.--HER WAY 460 ARS AMORIS 503 THE YOUNGER SET * * * * * CHAPTER I HIS OWN PEOPLE "You never met Selwyn, did you?" "No, sir." "Never heard anything definite about his trouble?" insisted Gerard. "Oh, yes, sir!" replied young Erroll, "I've heard a good deal about it. Everybody has, you know." "Well, I _don't_ know," retorted Austin Gerard irritably, "what 'everybody' has heard, but I suppose it's the usual garbled version made up of distorted fact and malicious gossip. That's why I sent for you. Sit down." Gerald Erroll seated himself on the edge of the big, polished table in Austin's private office, one leg swinging, an unlighted cigarette between his lips. Austin Gerard, his late guardian, big, florid, with that peculiar blue eye which seems to characterise hasty temper, stood by the window, tossing up and catching the glittering gold piece--souvenir of the directors' meeting which he had just left.