Mrs Hallam's eyes flashed at this renewed opposition; but she crossed to the old man, took his hand, and led him to a chair by the window, where she began talking to him earnestly, while Bayle turned to Julie. "And so you are going?" he said tenderly. She gave him one quick look and then said: "Yes. It is my father's wish." Bayle gazed down at her sweet face, then wildly about the room, as memories of hundreds of happy lessons and conversations flowed back. Then his lips tightened, his brow smoothed, and he said in a cold, hard way: "The path of duty seems difficult at times, Julie, but we must tramp it without hesitating." "And you, too, will help me?" Mrs Hallam said aloud. "Any way, in anything," said Sir Gordon sadly. "I would sail you both over in my yacht, but it would be madness to expose you to the risk. Yes; I'll do the best I can to get you a passage in a good ship. Yes--yes--yes! I'll do my best." He looked at Bayle in a troubled way, but found no sympathy in the cold, stern face that seemed to be unchanged when they left together an hour later, each pledged to do his best to expatriate two tender women, and so send them to what was then a wilderness of misery--and worse. "It must be, I suppose, Bayle, my dear boy?" said Sir Gordon. "Yes; it must be," was the reply. "I'm glad she says she will go down to Castor first, and stay a few days with the old people." "Did she say that?" "Yes. It made me wonder whether she could be persuaded to leave Julie with them." "No," said Bayle firmly; "they would never part, because he has ordered her to bring their child." "Yes; I saw that. Ah, Bayle, it's a bad business; but we must make the best of it. Confound it all! why am I worrying myself about other people's troubles? Here am I, an old man, with plenty of money and nothing to do but take care of myself and make myself happy, and live as long as I can. I say, why am I pestered with other people's troubles?" Bayle smiled sadly, and laid one hand upon that which rested upon his arm. "Simply because you are a true man, that is all." They parted soon afterwards, Sir Gordon to visit a friend in Whitehall, Bayle to speak to an auctioneer about the furniture and effects at the little house, giving orders to sell his own property to supply the funds for the voyage, and then to make a supposed further sale of Consols to realise the capital which Millicent Hallam honestly believed to be her own. VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER SEVEN. THE OLD HOME. Millicent Hallam was closely veiled as she descended from the coach at the inn-door, while Julia's handsome young face was free for the knot of gossips of the little town to notice, as they clustered about as of old to see who came in the coach and who were going on. A quiet, drab-looking man had just handed a basket to the guard and was turning away, when he caught sight of Julia's face and stopped suddenly.