"Will he?" said Mrs Otway shortly. "Yes; they will, as I said before, redeem him. The man has great natural love for his wife and child." "Do you think this?" "Yes, yes!" he cried excitedly, as he got up and began to pace the verandah. "I stop away because my presence was like a standing reproach to him. The abstinence gives me intense pain, but my going tended to make them unhappy, and caused constraint, so I stop away." "And so you think that they will raise him to their standard, do you?" said Mrs Otway dryly. "Yes, I do," he cried fervently. "It is only a matter of time." "How can you be so self-deceiving?" she cried quickly. "He is dragging them down to his level." "Oh, hush!" cried Bayle passionately. Then mastering his emotion, he continued in his old, firm, quiet way: "No, no; you must not say that. He could not. It is impossible." "Yes. You are wrong there, Bel," said the Captain. "Mrs Hallam is made of too good stuff." "I give in," said Mrs Otway, nodding. "Yes, you two are right. He could not bring that sweet woman down to his level; but all this is very terrible. The man is giving himself up to a life of sensuality. Drinking and feasting with that companion of his. There is gambling going on too at night with friends of his own stamp. What a life this is for a refined lady and her child!" Bayle spoke calmly, but he wiped the great drops of sweat from his brow. "What can I do?" he said. "I am perfectly helpless." "I confess I don't know," said Mrs Otway, with a sigh. "Only you and Sir Gordon must be at hand to help them in any emergency." "Emergency! What do you mean?" anxiously. "_I_ don't know what may occur. Who knows? Women are so weak," sighed Mrs Otway; "once they place their faith in a man, they follow him to the end of the world." "That's true, Bayle, old fellow--to convict stations, and become slaves," said the Captain. "Mr Bayle," said Mrs Otway suddenly. "I am under a promise to my old friend, Lady Eaton, and I have done my best to oppose it all; but you have seen how deeply attached Phil Eaton has become to Miss Hallam?" "Yes," said Bayle slowly, and he was very pale now, "I have seen it." "He shall not marry her if I can prevent it, much as I love the girl, for it would be a terrible _mesalliance_; but he is desperately fond of her, and, as my husband here says, he has taken the bit in his teeth, and he will probably travel his own way." "Don't you get fathering your coarse expressions on me," growled the Captain; but no one heeded him. "As I say, he shall not marry her if I can stop it; but suppose he should be determined, and could get the father's consent, would you and Sir Gordon raise any opposition?" "Lieutenant Eaton is an officer and a gentleman."