"There are two reasons, Toppleton," said Barncastle, fixing his eye with great intensity upon Hopkins, who maintained his composure with great difficulty. "In the first place, there are responsibilities which still devolve upon the Lord of Burningford which he would be utterly unable to assume. You might assume them, for you are a clever man. You have the making of a brilliant man in you, but he has not, and never will have. He is the most pusillanimous soul in the universe, and with him in charge, that body would die in less than six months. In the second place I have lost sight of him of late years, or rather lost consciousness of him, for he has been visible at no time since he departed from his normal condition, and since the day of my marriage, whose happiness he made a mad public endeavour to destroy, I have had no dealings with him. Where he is now, I have not the slightest idea." "Well, I know!" ejaculated Toppleton, forgetting himself and throwing caution to the winds. "You know what? Where he is?" returned the fiend, with a look that restored Toppleton's senses and showed him that he had made a mistake. "Oh, no!" he replied, his face getting red with confusion. "Oh, no, not that. You interrupted me. I was going to say that I know--er--I know how difficult your--er--your position is in the matter, and--er--that I hardly knew what to advise." "Ah!" returned the fiend, with a smile that to Toppleton's eyes betokened relief. "You have taken a load off my mind. Do you know, my dear fellow, that for one instant I half believed that you really knew of the original Chatford's whereabouts, and that perhaps you were in league with him against me. I see, however, how unfounded the impression was." "How could you suspect me of that?" said Toppleton, reproachfully, his heart beating wildly at the narrowness of the escape. "But you don't intend to let him back?" "Not if I can help myself, Toppleton," said the fiend. "I shall hang on here as long as I can, not only for my own sake and for that of my daughter, but also for the peace of mind of the exiled soul. You will respect my confidence, will you not?" "I shall, Barncastle. You may count on me," said Toppleton. "Good. Now I will resume the mortal habitation for which I have so long been a trustee, and we can rejoin the ladies." Ten minutes later Barncastle and the Poet of the Rockies entered the drawing-room. "Did you enjoy your walk, Mr. Toppleton?" queried Lady Alice. "Well, I guess!" returned Toppleton. "Your father has one of the finest estates I have ever seen since I left Colorado, and as for your moon, it fairly out-moons any moon I've seen in the Rockies in all my life." "It's the same moon that everybody else has," said the Duchess of Bangletop with a smile.